Day 73 Ho Chi Minh City

Saturday, overcast and sprinkles, with a brief period of sun during midday. Last night, we watched the dock activity and the surroundings from the pilot deck. Here, as in some other Asian ports, the outboard motor from the man-overboard boat is removed and stored inside. Safety rules vary widely by port for dock workers. Life vests and hard hats are not required here, and sandals are common. The latest plan is to sail at 0500 Sunday, so we are no longer a day ahead of schedule, and we could have spent the day in the city.

The passenger lounge is open to us most of the time now. It contains 2 wall shelves for books, a floor cabinet with 2 shelves of books, and two other closed cabinets with magazines, puzzles, and limited tourist information. About a month ago, I neatened up the books. I have not sorted them by author, but that could happen on the Pacific crossing. Today, I sorted the contents of the closed cabinets, tossing some newspapers from 2007, and dividing the magazines from the puzzles and the tourist information. I found and read several freighter industry magazines, and 4 NewYorkers. Also took several pictures of ship and port activities. One of the things I learned today is that Babylonian astronomers determined that there are 235 lunar months in 19 years. Time for a movie!