April 20, 2024

Hello from Danang.

One of the first things I want to do when I get home is watch Good Morning Vietnam.

Speaking of return trips, we have just 2 weeks left on this trip. Kirby was nice enough to remind me my lawn needs mowing. Funny thing about my friends, they found my top shelf spirits, but couldn’t find my lawnmower.

Today, I’ll take you on a potpourri walk through our trip with stories that are worth sharing, but haven’t made the cut yet.

When we arrived in Hong Kong, the authorities boarded the boat and locked down all provisions, i.e. liquor and tobacco.  This was a huge surprise to Sean, our bar manager.  He said he had all of his bartenders inventory their stock and moved things around so that no bar would run out.  A few days later, I was visiting with him and asked for the details and he told me the complete story.  He said some countries, like India automatically lock up his provisions, but he can prepare for that.  He hides liquor and tabaco in an empty guest room or somewhere he knows they won’t look, but Hong Kong caught him off guard.  He said this was a first, they have visited Hong Kong several times and this has never happened before.  He went into Hong Kong and purchased whatever he would run short of, which is just exactly what Hong Kong wanted.  Well, we all survived.  Speaking of running out, Sean informed me we were about to run out of whisky, and he wanted to make sure my room was well stocked before that happened.  He offered me a bottle of Elijah Craig, which was on the high top shelf, which means it’s not free in the bars.  I said please and about 30 minutes later a bottle was delivered to my room!  He really takes good care of me. 

Kim wanted a little pocket money for Vietnam, so she changed about $20.00 for Dong and got 500 thousand dong.  

What’s even better is the receipt shows our bank balance at just over One Billion dollars.  We talked about coming back to live as billionaires in Vietnam, but then realized a dinner starts at a million dong, so we will stay home for awhile.  

Our wonderful captain was scheduled to be replaced over a month ago, but his replacement didn’t have his paperwork in order and was not allowed to fly.  So, our captain has stayed on much longer than he intended.  We are all happy that he is still here.  Speaking of crew, when you’re with the same waiters, bartenders, suite stewards, you start to bond with some of them.  Ethan was just one of those guys that we both fell in love with.  He was a bar server, waiter, busser, almost any job you want to name he probably did it, including room service.  One day, he was nowhere to be found and we ask his friend and roommate where he was.  Well, his mother had had a stroke and was in a coma, so he was trying to arrange a flight home.  Ethan is in his mid-twenties, so, this was completely unexpected.  Well, he got home okay and saw his mother.  Now, the siblings have to decide what the next move will be with her.  He says he will be back by Singapore, so there’s a slight chance we will see him again.  Hope so. 

We are now in Saigon where it is 96 degrees and humid (feels like 104).  Kim is off running around, and I am staying in my room where it’s 71. 

Danang’s tourism guide.

Fancy fishing boats.

Dragon Bridge.

I was finally kicked out of the observation deck lounge for wearing shorts.  The funny thing was we were the only people in the lounge.  I just don’t get it. 

Because we are world cruisers, we are treated to special events every so often.  Tonight we went to a bamboo circus, it was absolutely amazing. 

We are leaving Saigon in the early afternoon tomorrow, headed for Cambodia.  They are issuing extreme heat alerts there.  More cabin time for me. 

Champagne and caviar sail away tomorrow, sure wish I liked the stuff.  

What might come next?