Phu My, Vietnam

During the night, the Diamond Princess had continued it's south westerly course along the coast of Vietnam. In the early morning hours, the local pilot boarded our vessel and guided us safely to our berth in the Port of Phu My (pronounced "Foo Me").  By 7:00 a.m., all clearances were received and passengers were given the green light go ashore.

The weather had become increasingly warmer the further south we sailed. Although the thermometer read 86F (30C), the sun felt more intense and "baking hot" the closer we got to the equator. 

Phu My is the gateway to the largest city in Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh (formerly Saigon until 1975). Ho Chi Minh was a minimum two hour bus ride away from Phu My over rough roads. Tours to the Mekong Delta were even further at three plus hours one way. So, all things considered, we decided to skip the tours that day and do our own thing.

As we disembarked the ship, the first thing we noticed was that the port seemed to be far, far away from any civilization. Except for a few small buildings and some "last minute" souvenir stands set up along the pier area, the port was mostly industrial and barren of taxis or any hustle and bustle.

Except for the tour buses lined up waiting to take on passengers, there were a few free shuttle buses available to take those sightseeing on their own into the nearest town called Ba Ria. So we jumped on the shuttle for an approximate 10 mile ride southeast into Ba Ria.

Neatly squared, green rice paddies dotted the landscape.

Ba Ria was a large tourist center. There, taxis and transportation could be arranged, if necessary. The official language was Vietnamese and we encountered hardly any English speaking vendors. We were still operating under the currency of the Vietnamese Dong (VND). 

I was amazed at the scooter traffic. Never had I seen so much effort to maximize efficiency in such a small form of transportation. I saw three to four people crammed onto two wheels...

  

...large loads defying gravity and weight on two wheels...

  

...three wheels turned into tiny carts on tires...

  

...and four wheels burdened with impossible loads or ingeniously powered by makeshift generators.

We walked around inside a three story open air market called Hoa Hanh. The market carried all kinds of souvenirs from T-shirts to lacquer boxes and trinkets along with fresh grocery items such as fruits and veggies. The heat inside the market was a bit stifling and with no breeze or fans, we had to find someplace cooler. 

Along the streets, Tatzukuri was being sold. They were tiny, whole fish marinated in a sweet, sticky sauce and eaten whole...and, yes, I tried one. It wasn't squishy eating eyeballs, tail and spine all at once but it was very fishy tasting and quite chewy. 

  

Deep concentration.

Umbrellas aren't just for rainy days in the tropics.

  

That evening a Vietnamese family on a wooden fishing boat motored fairly close to our ship. As the man controlled the boat's position at the rudder, a woman and her baby popped up onto the top deck. There she smiled, waved and held her baby in her arms. The baby laughed. Then the woman and baby played with toys, laughed some more and seemed to be putting on a show, of sorts. Transcending any language barriers, it soon became obvious to any passenger watching from the Promenade Deck that this family was passively seeking donations through this entertainment. With some extra Dongs in the pocket and no where left to spend them, we stuffed the Dongs into an empty, plastic Coke bottle and tossed it out and over the side of the ship. The man quickly steered the boat where the bottle landed and the woman fished it out of the water. We watched the man and woman open the bottle, pull out the money then smile and wave back to us as if to say "thanks". It was a nice way to end our day in Phu My.

Our next stop would be Singapore...click on this link: Asia and Australia 2014