Good Morning Vietnam

Arcadia at anchor in Halong Bay.

Local friendly faces.

The Water Puppeteers.

Water Puppets.

The landing stage for the Arcadians.

It was a scene from a film set - Universal studios!

Staff Captain Kevin Oprey studies the pontoon.....

An interesting view of Arcadia from the shore! It makes one realise just what a palace our ship is!

The lovely tree lined promenade walk into town.

A local boat.

Mother and baby at work. When there are two passengers being transported, their men folk come along and push the bike along with a motor bike.

Spot the local?

Our passengers just loved every moment! What an adventure.

Hi Babes!

The Markets - everyone loves a bargain.

A lady returning from work in the rice fields.

Arcadia as you have never seen her before. Loving all the attention.

It is a family business - I was inside this Jink to take a look! They live on board - three generations here.

Some are nicer than others - isn't that life! This was a plush one.

The band that played for the water puppets.

Please buy one from me......

Endless stalls.................see you in Matalan!

A local Farmer shows off his home.

Water Puppets.

Yen Tu Monastery dining area for the Monks.

The people have time for everyone. It struck me that they are tiny...........

More ideas for my patio - what a patio this will be when I get it built. This is the Yen Tu garden area.

The fertile rice fields around Halong.

The junks make their way towards Arcadia.

Every wonder where all those pots in your local garden centre come from??

More water puppets.

Feeding time for the animals...


Hello Again,

Halong City is located on Halong Bay, one of the country's five UNESCO World Heritage Sites, on the northeast coast of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Vietnam is bordered to the north by China and to the west by Cambodia and Laos. The total population is 84 million with over half of the population under 20 years old. Halong Bay is forecast to the biggest tourist destination in Vietnam by 2010. Hanoi, the Capital City of Vietnam is 105 miles west of Halong City. Many of our passengers went there on a day excursion and enjoyed fantastic sightseeing and a superb lunch.

I hope you enjoyed these photographs - some taken by me and some by my good friend Graham Howell. I really enjoyed the day. I never tire of visiting somewhere new and exploring the area and getting a feel for the place. I liked it and I know I will be back in Vietnam one day - tomorrow actually!!!!!

Here is Grahams report on the day.


As dawn broke the Commodore was making his final approaches through the myriad of islands that make up the archipelago of Halong. This was safely accomplished and soon our anchor was secure on the sea bed and the tenders were being prepared for the days work that lay ahead.
Arcadia certainly looked a picture as she lay peacefully in the bay with the most fantastic backdrop of the limestone mountains in the background.

We had many of our World Voyage passengers booked on the Junk Cruise that took them around the weird and yet beautiful rock formations, if there is one place in Vietnam where each and everyone of P & O Cruises passengers should visit and take in the wonders of nature all around them then surely it is here in Halong.

Many other Marco Polo would be’s were also heading off into the interior around Halong to seek out the small villages and friendly folk that would include a farmer and his family who entertained us with some freshly brewed green tea and whilst at their home we wandered around and saw some of their precious animals.

Close by there had been a wedding and the passengers certainly enjoyed meeting some of the guests of all age groups. Close study of the faces was a joy and how they loved to see and pose for our cameras.

All too soon we were off to our next place of interest, the Yen Tu Buddhist Zen Monastery which is not that old actually. Here I could enjoy the amazing sight of Buddha high in majesty for all of his followers.

We were allowed full access to the various rooms and in particular the dining room was a delight.
Off again and this time we stopped at a local pottery where we were amazed at the intricacies of large pot making, many purchases later we left!! All too soon we were back in Halong Bay, however, I was back on the coach again and this time we went to see a display of water puppetry.

This is a unique display here in Vietnam and my how we enjoyed seeing the little puppets being manoeuvred from behind a curtain drape. The merry figure of Tu performing traditional dances alongside other beautiful puppets. The hour long display soon passed and it was back to the tender point and the warming glow of Arcadia. Again she writes another wonderful page in her short yet stunning career as a world class ship.

That is it for now folks! Enjoy your week,

Yours,

James

Friendship is like a dragon fly to a pond. The pond does not chase the insect, but lies still until it alights upon the water.