Nicolas had finished his formal education including a course at a seminary, humanities at a, university, and a course at the Military Academy - and he had recently served as an intern in a National Guard regiment. His father, Emperor Alexander III, wanted his son to have practical Navy experience and sent Nicolas on a voyage around the world. Nicolas was twenty.
His fleet set off with three warships, the Pamiat Azova, the Vladimir Monomakh, and the Zporozes. Later on, three more warships-the Admiral Nakinmov, the Manzur and the Korets - from the Sibirsk fleet joined them. The flagship Pamiat Azova, which had been built at the Baltic Shipyard in 1888, was 115.6 meters long, weighed 6,700 tons, and carried fifteen heavy artillery guns and seventeen small artillery guns. Powered by steam engines, it could run seventeen nautical miles per hour. The entire fleet, which consisted of thirty officers and 600 sailors, had called at ports in Greece, Egypt, India, Sri Lanka, and Thailand before arriving in Sai Gon. Henri Danel, the French Lieutenant Governor for Cochinchina, had approved a budget of 15,000 piastres for the visit and had checked the list of local officials to attend the reception honoring Nicolas. On 28 March 1891, French military and naval officers boarded the Russian fleet at Cap Saint-Jacques (now Vung Tau) to welcome Nicolas and his entourage and then to escort the fleet upriver to Sai Gon, where the Lieutenant Governor a for Cochinchina awaited them along with an honor guard of one hundred marines.
Twenty cannons discharged a salvo of welcome as the future Nicolas II strode down the gangplank of the flagship Pamiat Azova. The band played the Russian national anthem. The man who would become the last tsar of the Russian Empire landed it in Sai Gon among the hurrahs and shouts of "Long Live Russia." The motorcade, which was escorted by cavalrymen, followed Catinat and Norodom Boulevards through intersections decorated for the three-day visit. On the first day, Nicolas and his entourage saw the French opera Jirojles -Jirojlas at the Opera House. Visits and entertainments filled the next two days. Nicolas took part in two dances, one hosted by the French Government on land and the other on board a ship called the La Loire. He also attended a performance at the National Theatre and a lion dance in Cho Lon.
On 30 March, the French arranged a big farewell for Nicolas, mobilizing the city residents to participate. Nicolas was extremely pleased with the visit and, during the farewell party, told the Lieutenant Governor that he felt at home. At 4:00 P.M., the Russian fleet lifted anchor and departed Sai Gon for China, Japan, and the Russian port of Vladivostok. Nicolas was the first Russian emperor to tour the world. The trip did not have an overt political aim. However, the King of Siam (Thailand) felt the visit helped strengthen Siam's nationalist stand against Western (especially British) domination. The 10 French wanted to take advantage of the visit for their struggle against the Germans. Nicolas himself did not want to playa political role during the al voyage. People found him to be "a bad politician but a good host."
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