March 24th - Ho Chi Minh city (Saigon).

Started the day with a visit to the former Presidential Palace, now known as
Unification Hall. This is where the North Vietnamese tank crashed through
the front gates on April 30th, 1975,

Stopped at the Notre Dame Cathedral while a service was being held and got
to hear some lovely chanting. Across the street is the Post Office, which
looks nothing like the generic concrete buildings in the States. The
interior of the building looks like a grand old railway station. If you have
not been here for more than a year, you will be disappointed to know that
there is now a McDonalds next door - however, the locals are very excited
about their first McDonalds.

Next up was a visit to the War Remnants Museum, once known as the Museum of
American War Crime. It definitely lived up to its' former name, so after few
exhibits I chose to go downstairs and wait for the rest of the group to
finish their tour of the museum.

Continued to the "big market", more commonly known as Chinatown to see where
the locals are doing their shopping. It was a very lively place, with
children being raised alongside the stalls, people having lice picked out of
their hair, and an enterprising young couple who did not have a stall,
walking along with a basket of goods to sell and serenading the crowds to
get attention. Someone wanted to trade hats with me, and I declined.

The birds for sale in the individual cages were for fighting and can go for
as high as $200 US - considering that that is the average monthly salary,
they were very expensive. Our guide assured us that the owner could make
lots of money with one of these.

Finally found out why, the women especially, go around in this hot climate
wearing heavy hoodies, face masks and gloves - a tan is a symbol of a farm
worker or laborer, so it is not desired.

Last stop before our traditional Vietnamese lunch was to the Thien Hau
Temple, dedicated to the Goddess Protector of Sailors. One could purchase
birds outside the temple for $1 and have them set free for good luck.

Time to begin the 1.5 hour drive back to the ship. Along the way we saw a very
ornate red and gold truck with a procession of motorbikes behind it, and
were told that this was a funeral hearse.