On Angkor Pandaw we have been,
And wondrous sights we all have seen.
This trip has been a special one,
We've made new friends and had such fun.

We ventured out each day by bus,
With Duoc and Vu in charge of us.
The sights of working life to see,
We drank rice wine and hot green tea.

A shopping game then Duoc us set,
He challenged us, just for a bet.
A list of items we must seek
But only Vietnamese to speak!

A strange assortment we did buy.
What's this said Duoc with startled cry!
A purple fruit held in his fist,
"Most certainly not on the list"!

In Viet Tri town they make a hat
A conical one, where people sat
And showed us how they made them all.
With tiny hands which were so small.

We also watched a dance display.
They dragged Shaun in, to his dismay!
Then all held hands and danced around
Then he was pulled down to the ground!

In Ba Trang town we walked for miles,
And saw ceramics in huge piles.
We also watched a Lion dance
Where some men drummed and others pranced.

A water puppet show we saw
With noisy music and folklore.
A cake factory was also seen
We tasted some, I wasn't keen.

Each evening Dang prepared for us
A special cocktail with no fuss.
In James Bond style he shook not stirred
Which is the way we all preferred.

A gong was rung before we ate
To make quite sure no one was late!
Each meal we had deserved a star.
Chef Hung with Stein was on a par.

With Toan in charge of housekeeping
He oversaw our cabin cleaning.
The beds are made most carefully,
And left pristine for us to see.

For 10 days we've cruised many miles,
And seen this land with endless smiles.
The people have enchanted us,
Xin Chao we practiced on the bus.

We'll all miss Vu's endearing way
Of saying ESCURSION every day!
At all his jokes, we laughed a lot
Some were good and some were not!

A clap of hands must surely go
To the man in charge - our Captain Do
He's steered us all on this great trip
We felt so safe on our small ship.

This sadly is our final day,
Now we are here in Halong Bay.
Please raise your glasses and all say
To this great crew. "Hip Hip Hooray"!

Lucy Allison