SailorJill and I Sail on the Orient Express a.k.a. Millenium's Immersion Cruise

[shipshape sam]

Great pics and commentary. We too are amazed when traveling and seeing such diversity of people and ways of living.

 

Martini Bar is one of our favorites. We like sitting at the bar, but the other outer area is okay too. Don't think the booze is self serve though.

[SailorJack]

I read your whole review in one sitting- loved it!

 

 

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Read the review in one sitting? You make it sound like a rewrite of War and Peace!:D:D. I know it was a little long, but....

 

Anyway, I am glad you enjoyed it.

 

Jack

[SailorJack]

Downtown Da Nang. These first photos were taken from a moving bus so clarity is not optimum, but it does give one a feeling for what downtown was like.

 

Like all the countries we visited in Asia, motorbikes ruled supreme. Here it looks like the start of a motocross! When a light turns red, cars stop. Bikes then squeeze between the cars and move up to take the front of the line. Cars are definitely second class citizens here.

 

 

 

 

 

It was not unusal to see a store with a name that was part Vietnamese and part English. We were used to seeing signs in English, but not a combination of the two. Notice the yellow flower decals in the windows. More on this below.

 

 

 

 

Every shop in Dan Nang (well, maybe not every shop...but almost everyone) had displays of yellow flowers out in front. Whole streets were lined with yellow - it was very impressive. Our guide explained the significance of the yellow flowers, but I am afraid to admit I have totally forgotten the symbolism.:(

 

 

 

 

Yellow flowers everywhere.

 

[SailorJack]

Great pics and commentary. We too are amazed when traveling and seeing such diversity of people and ways of living.

 

Martini Bar is one of our favorites. We like sitting at the bar, but the other outer area is okay too. Don't think the booze is self serve though.

 

Definitely not self-serve. I didn't even check to see if those bottles were full - or just empties used for decoration.

 

Jack

[SailorJack]

Arches advertising Sun World - an area of Da Nang featuring entertainment and carnival like rides - including the very impressive Sun Wheel.

 

 

 

 

This is the Dragon Bridge - one of Da Nang's top tourist attractions. Designed by an American architectural company, it spans the Han River and was completed in 2013. On week-ends, at 9:00 PM, the brightly lit Dragon breathes out fiery flames followed by smoke (actually steam) to the delight of the surrounding crowds. Unfortunately, we were not there to witness this display.:(

 

 

 

 

A couple of scenes from downtown. We had stopped here to visit a very interesting museum so I took a few pictures of the area. The ladies with the camera are photographing the Dragon Bridge.

 

 

[SailorJack]

Our visit to Da Nang included a stop at the Da Nang Museum of Cham Sculpture - which holds the world's largest collection of Cham artifacts. The 300 pieces in the collection date from the 5th to the 15th Century. The museum opened in 1919 and is considered one of the "must see" things in Da Nang. It is a relatively small museum and we spent a little less than on hour here before leaving for lunch. Should you ever visit Da Nang, this is definitely worth your time to visit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Baatman]

As we had several sea days before Vietnam, and as we had the complimentary Ultimate Drink Package, we spent some time at the Martini Bar. The gentleman to the left was our go to mixologist and should you ever have the pleasure of sailing with him be sure to order the Abracadabra martini. It is his specialty and is not on the menu. We would have one with him before dinner - and sometimes after dinner as well.:D

 

 

 

 

The martini bar was really unique (at least to us). It had a metal top and was cooled to 32 degrees and then had a fine layer of water added - which resulted in the bar being covered with a thin layer of ice. You can see the ice in the picture below. The ice served a couple of purposes - you could write cute little sayings in it and it kept your drink cool.

 

 

 

 

If all the seats at the bar were taken, there was a secondary area to sit at -not as cool, but the ice in the center of the table kept the vodka cold.

 

 

 

 

 

So you used your drink package for more than just beer!:D

[SailorJack]

One of the fun things that was included in our visit to Da Nang was a rickshaw ride through downtown. Although it was advertised as a rickshaw ride it really was sort of a pedicab - but no less fun. The driver was in back of us instead of in front of us.

 

 

 

 

SailorJill pulling out into traffic!

 

 

 

 

We head into town along the Han River. Apparently this was not an unusual sight as no one honked a horn at us, gave us a second look, or rolled their eyes!:D But it sure was fun!

 

[SailorJack]

Some scenes of downtown Da Nang taken from our rickshaw ride.

 

 

 

We didn't see any Starbucks, but a lot of Luxury coffee signs. Apparently it is the Number 1 coffee.:D

 

 

 

 

The Han River. The blue boats on the far bank are fishing boats - a lot more substantial than the ones we saw coming into port. We assumed that these went further out to sea to fish.

 

[SailorJack]

So you used your drink package for more than just beer!:D

 

Amazing what you will try when its free!:D I had never had a martini before this cruise and I haven't had one since I left the ship - but I sure enjoyed them on the cruise. The Martini Bar was just such a nice place to relax and meet people.

 

Jack

[madcitymaven]

Thank you, SailorJack, for the entertaining, informative, and humorous review. I had been skipping over your post for weeks, not knowing what I was missing. You are a gifted and witty writer. You made the end of my stressful day an absolute delight.

 

CC should hire you to write for them. I'm sold on moving ahead with making a reservation for the same cruise you and SailorJill enjoyed.

 

 

In the future, I'll never make the same mistake of overlooking one of your reviews. I hope you have another cruise scheduled soon!

[SailorJack]

Our group took up most of the roadway.

 

 

 

Like most Asian countries we visited, bike riders covered their faces - some more than others.

 

 

 

 

 

Rents for street frontage must be very expensive as we saw lots of very skinny buildings that built upwards rather than along the street.

 

 

 

 

 

No city views from this skinny hotel!

 

 

[SailorJack]

After the Rickshaw ride our next stop was at the Han Market. I had originally thought that this was the tour's "rug factory." That is our name for the stop the guide makes where he gets a commission from the sales. We got the name from our first visit to Turkey, where our last stop on our tour was at a rug factory. We had to sit in a semi-circle while the store staff started laying out $900 dollar Turkish and Persian rugs. In South America it was a glass blowing factory, in the Caribbean it was a rum factory, in Egypt it was a Papyrus factory - you get the idea.

 

Anyway, the Han Market was not one of those. It was where the locals shopped and it was stocked with everything under the sun. Our guide explained that she wanted us to get a flavor of Vietnam. We were actually rushed through fairly quickly so there was no time to buy anything even if we wanted.

 

Anyway, here are a few shots of the Han Market - sort of a Vietnamese version of Wal-Mart.

 

 

 

 

First floor was basically food and sundries.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Second floor was clothes and shoes and appliances.

 

 

 

 

[SailorJack]

Thank you, SailorJack, for the entertaining, informative, and humorous review. I had been skipping over your post for weeks, not knowing what I was missing. You are a gifted and witty writer. You made the end of my stressful day an absolute delight.

 

CC should hire you to write for them. I'm sold on moving ahead with making a reservation for the same cruise you and SailorJill enjoyed.

 

 

In the future, I'll never make the same mistake of overlooking one of your reviews. I hope you have another cruise scheduled soon!

 

Glad you enjoyed it. It is a great itinerary and I know you will enjoy it if you decide to take it.

 

Links to my other reviews are in my signature. Next cruise is a 23 day cruise through Europe in September.

 

Jack

[SailorJack]

Some shots of interesting people we ran into while walking around Da Nang.

 

This gentleman rode up to us on his bicycle and welcomed us to Vietnam. I wonder how he knew we weren't from here?:D

 

 

 

 

Three young ladies wearing the ubiquitous conical hats. We saw a lot of those hats in the countryside, but very few downtown.

 

 

 

 

I took this photo from a moving bus, so clarity is not the best. We had a lot of fun trying to figure out who she was - a model, a new bride, a birthday photo?

 

 

 

[SailorJack]

Some typical street scenes in Da Nang.

 

 

 

Looks like organized mayhem, but it all works out.

 

 

 

 

You get used to seeing signs in Vietnamese, and then you see XO Arts and Crafts.:D

 

 

 

 

The rickshaw rides are included in the tour, but we were told to tip the driver $1. I guess this shows that they earned the dollar.

 

[SailorJack]

The next time you are in Da Nang, I can highly recommend this restaurant. The food was excellent and the beer was cold!

 

 

 

The Chinese New Year was upon us and as this was the Year of the Rooster, the entrance to the restaurant was appropriately decorated.

 

 

 

 

 

Some very intricately carved artwork decorated the restaurant.

 

 

 

 

 

Our table and some of our tour companions.

 

 

 

 

Our uniformed servers hard at work. The table in the background and to the right in this photo were also in our group.

 

 

[Daisyloo]

Thank you for another interesting and entertaining review. I love reading your reviews!

[SailorJack]

After lunch we were able to walk through the restaurant's garden and admire their bonsai trees.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[SailorJack]

Thank you for another interesting and entertaining review. I love reading your reviews!

 

Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for reading it.:)

 

Jack

[Texed]

Mr. Jack,

We are on Millennium at Christmas/New Year's with almost the same itinerary. So, thanks again for the review. :)

[GweninTX]

Thanks for the read!

 

 

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[SailorJack]

After lunch we resume our tour and our next stop will be the beach area of Da Nang. This shot is of the Han River which is a major economic engine for Da Nang. It is a major transportation hub but also a tourist attraction. The blue boats are the fishing fleet.

 

 

 

 

 

This is the Han River Bridge - it spans the Han River (0bviously) and is Vietnam's first swing bridge - providing openings for ships to pass by. It is also the first bridge in Vietnam to be designed exclusively by Vietnamese engineers and architects - a point of pride that was expounded upon by our guide.

 

 

 

 

 

Our first glimpse of the beautiful and famous My Khe beach. Of course Americans know this beach by an entirely different name.

 

[SailorJack]

Mr. Jack,

 

We are on Millennium at Christmas/New Year's with almost the same itinerary. So, thanks again for the review. :)

 

Glad you enjoyed it. This was one of our favorite itinerarys. It must have been fun doing it over the holidays!

 

Jack

[Texed]

Glad you enjoyed it. This was one of our favorite itinerarys. It must have been fun doing it over the holidays! Jack

 

We will be doing Millennium this Christmas, 2017. So, we HOPE it is fun. :D