Blue Sun

Day 16 - June 25

Friday.

It was one of those days... a traveling day where things out of my control messed up my plans, and as a result, my itinerary had to change. What to do?

I took a night train in from Nha Trang to Saigon that was supposed to get in at 6am and I had booked a tour of the Cu Chi Tunnels (about 30 minutes outside Saigon by car) leaving at 8am. I thought 2 hours buffer for an 8 hour train was enough. Well, I was as wrong as putting a french in an army uniform and expecting him to fight. We pulled into the Saigon train station promptly at 8:40am.

So I used the day to book my flights and hotels in Thailand as well as to catch up on the sleep I didn't get on the train. I also re-booked my Cu Chi Tunnel trip for Saturday and then shortened my Mekong Delta trip to just a day on Sunday. Then I took my newly found day in Saigon to explore a bit on the back of a moto, seeing what the city's less popular dwellings have to offer (turns out it offers a little chaos on the roads and in the markets). Friday night I decided to check out some of the nightlife, going to the Blue Gecko (an Aussie bar -- those guys always have lively bars) and a few establishments in Pham Ngu Lao, the main backpackers' stretch. All in all, not a very exciting day... but sometimes those are the best kind.

Day 15 - June 24

Thursday.

I had an overnight train to Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City schedule for to leave 10pm, so Thursday was my last day in Nha Trang. I spent the day hitting the few truly tourist sites in Nha Trang, which like so much of Vietnam, revolves around Pagodas and other religious sites. Nha Trang's contribution to the world of tourist bus locations are the Po Nagar Cham Towers and the Long Son Pagoda with large Buddha statue. The Cham Towers were constructed over 6 centuries (5th century - 11th century) and are still actively used for individual Buddhist prayer. They were interesting but I didn't feel comfortable spending much time walking into these towers as people were praying and the incense was overwhelming. There were about 100 tourists walking around -- 99 were Asian, 1 was a white jewish guy from the States.

The second site I went to was the Long Son Pagoda with 60 foot Buddha. As soon as I entered, I was approached by a young girl who decided to give me a tour of the place... of course this meant that she would ask for a donation at the end. She said she was a student in the school that was literally next door, and since the building resembled a school, her story seemed plausible. Her english was good and she knew the history of the pagoda well; she even took my picture on the steps leading up to the giant Buddha statue. As we were walking around, we were joined by a boy who claimed to also be another student. He chimed in occassionally with more tidbits. But I didn't like that I now had two guides. And for some reason, there weren't any other tourists around, which was surprising. It could have been that I picked the hottest time of day to go, but I didn't feel totally comfortable.

And when the young girl and boy took me to the scenic overlook of Nha Trang -- which was also the most remote part of the campus -- they hit me up for the donation in exchange for 10 post cards. The surprising part wasn't that they were asking for money, since that seems to be the tradition in Vietnam; rather it was how much. They wanted 100,000 Vietnamese Dong, which was $6 for 10 postcards. Each! And they had the same post cards! So here's the deal they were offering -- $12, 20 postcards of Nha Trang, which were doubles. I wasn't paying $12 per night for a room with air conditioning and satellite TV. I laughed, which only made them feel worse. In the end, I gave them 50,000 Dong, took 10 postcards and told them to fight about who got credit for the donation. I would have felt bad about the whole thing but 1) the audacity to ask for 100,000 since I was tourist, 2) that I had not asked for the tour, 3) that they each wanted the absurd amount of money and 4) that the girl said the 50,000 Dong was ok for a donation but that she wouldn't give me the post cards unless I gave the 100,000, cleared my conscience that I was doing anything wrong. I actually think I got taken by them since the postcards were really rather crappy.

And then after the transaction, on our walk down to the exit, the teenage boy asked if where I was from. "America" I answered, since they don't understand USA or the States here. His response was to loudly say "Osama bin Laden," and then with his hands mocked an airplane crashing into a building, smiled and laughed. I wasn't sure how to react. I wanted to actually deck the kid, since he'd been so obnoxious the entire time he was around. But I also didn't know if he knew the gravity of saying that name, of making those gestures, to not just an American, but a New Yorker. It'd be impossible for him to know the depth of those wounds, the scars that still exist for many of us. But even not knowing that, it would take a jackass to make such a comment. And I did really want to deck him. But I told him to stay where he was and just walked away, yelling at him not to follow me as I would find the exit myself. I think that was the better alternative. So while the Pagoda and statue were impressive, the experience was anything but. As the Brits that I've met on the trip would say, "unlucky." And it was a clear sign of how America is viewed by many in the third world -- excessively rich, expected to donate to any cause, and the overwhelming target for third world enmity.

Hotel: Golden Hotel (I would recommend it); negotiated $40 for 3 nights; new building, A/C, TV; didn't eat breakfast there; found hotel from walking around, not through Lonely Planet

Scuba diving: Jeremy Stein's Rainbow Divers; very strong recommendation; highly professional; PADI 5-star; owners also own a bar intown (Rainbow Pub) where divers and staff meet up for happy hour of the night of the dive

Day 14 - June 23

Wednesday.

So after my day of diving, I decided to enjoy Nha Trang's beautiful beach and relax at the Louisiane Cafe. The cafe has its own set of chaise-lounges, full waiter service and a relaxation center with staff masseuse all the while prohibiting beach-side hawkers from approaching guests. The cost -- 10,000 Vietnames Dong, which works out to about $0.60 for the day. You have to pay additionally for the food and masseuse, but just eliminating the hawkers is worth the price of admission. I spent my day reading James Michener's The Covenant, which is historical fiction novel about the history of South Africa from the migration of initial African through 1979, in preparation for my trip there later this summer. By the end of Wednesday, I was a full 400 pages in, which means I'm about 30% done.

As for night time activities I met back up with Meghan, Tom, Tony and the other backpackers at the Nha Trang Sailing Club. The night was rather tame, as I mostly heard about Tony's 2-year stint in the Peace Corps in Tonga. I also had a very long conversation with a Vietnamese employee, Thuah, who worked at the club and spoke phenomenal english (let's face it, with the extensiveness of my Vietnamese, english was the only way we were going to communicate). I learned how difficult it was to save up money in Vietnam, even for great english speakers who are paid higher wages, as well as about Vietnamese dating life and the pressure for early marriage. After the Sailing Club, Thuah took me and another guy for Pho Boa, the traditional Vietnamese dish of noodle soup, beef and vegetables; this was the late night equivalent of Waffle House or hitting a late night diner.

Day 13 - June 22

Tuesday.

Sorry for the delay between postings. It is now Sunday, June 27 and I'm in Saigon. For some reason, I've had a hard accessing the site here.

Back to Tuesday.

My morning was great -- I was on the dive boat by 8 and in my wetsuit by 9. There were about 15 people on my boat and 6 instructors, which is a great ratio. When I thought things couldn't get any better, I found out that I'd be paired up with an instructor for myself, Marc; for those of you like me, it took me a minute or two to do the math, but apparently 1 to 1 is an even better ratio than 2.5 to 1 (good thing I'm not a big betting man). Could you ask for anything more?

I had two dives, the first at a site called Madonna Rocks and the second at Moray Beach. Madonna Rocks had much better visibility, with reasonably cool sealife and great hues to the coral. It was a reef that reminded me of diving on the Great Barrier Reef off Cairns, Australia in terms of the fish and plantlife. Not quite as good as the GBR, but a fun warm-up dive nonetheless. I was underwater for 50 minutes with my lowest depth 19 meters (or about 60 feet).

Moray Beach had poorer visibility, but better sealife, namely Moray Eels. This time Marc and I dove together, but merged our group with another for a total of 4 divers, 2 instructors. The incredible part of this dive was that Marc and the other instructor brought some sort of chum and fed it to Moray Eels on three different occassions, including enticing one of them to pop its head out of a cove for feeding. Just really cool to see. And we also had a couple of swim throughs -- where we'd swim through holes in coral formations. Usually these have less light, and thus, very different sealife. For instance, with one of the swim-throughs, we crossed through into a school of approximately 100 fish about the size of a potato. Amazing to have them just swim by you like you're another rock formation or animal. All told, I was down below for 57 minutes with a maximum depth of 17 meters.

One of the many things I love about diving is the closeness with the environment. Specifically, I feel like just another part of nature -- right there with the schools of fish, the swaying coral, the current. Man was not intended to be a part of this environment, but through our ingenuity, we've found a way to do it without causing much harm. And no matter what is going on in the world above water, the actors in this environment just go on with their lives. Witnessing the existence of this submerged world has a very peaceful and calming effect on me. It's like anything that could cause you trouble above ground can be escaped deep beneath it.

So after my morning of diving, I just spent some time on the beach, watching the water from above. That evening, I met up with Meghan, an American from Atlanta who was on my dive boat, and some of the Canadian and American backpackers she's met in her journey, for drinks. It was a fun night to hang out with other backpackers, since I was in a stretch of 10 days of traveling solo. We discussed the great joys and challenges of backpacking, laughing throughout the night.

Day 12 - June 21

Monday.

I awoke in a Saigon hotel after the adventures in travel of the prior day. My flight wasn't until 1pm, so I had a good portion of the morning to do anything. I decided the best way to use my time was to go down to the backpackers area to book tours for my return later in the week.

I thought the cab ride from the hotel would be about 10 minutes. I was only off by a factor of 3. A half an hour later -- battling through Saigon rush hour traffic -- my cab dropped me off in front of several travel shops. Long story short, I price my tours for a half-day trip to the Cou Ci Tunnels and an overnighter to the Mekong Delta and then find the first internet phone I can to call Mom and Dad to wish them a happy anniversary and father's day, since it was still Sunday in the States.

To head back to the hotel, I decided to skip the cab and hop on the back of a moto. That was one of my better decisions on this trip, as I quickly learned that Saigon and Hanoi are very different cities with regards to who owns the road. In Hanoi, cars trump motos; the reverse is true in Saigon. Since there are 5.5 million people and probably 70% have motos, motos literally are everywhere. And they don't get out of the way of cars, so cars crawl along while the agile, fleet motos zoom between cars, sidewalks and other motos. Makes for a fun, video-game like experience. Fortunately for me, my moto driver took me another route back, so I had the chance to see more of the residential and non-touristy side of the city. So far, I like what I've seen -- it was a good preview of the 4 days I'll spend in the city later this week and early next.

Eventually I made it to Nha Trang and spent the latter part of the afternoon getting acquainted with the town. Very nice public beaches. My main objective was to find a good dive shop to book my trip the following day, Tuesday. I settled on Rainbow Divers because they appeared the most professional and was staffed with a guy from California, Ben, so there was no possibility of mis-interpreting anything he said. My evening activites were relatively quiet as I had to be up at 6am for my 2 dives. I had dinner and happy hour drinks at The Sailing Club, a nicely designed bar/restaurant on the water that has a happy hour from 6 - 10. The Chicken Satay was damn good and spicy -- highly recommended!

Day 11 - June 20

Sunday.

First things first -- Happy Father's Day

But just as, if not more importantly, Happy 30th Anniversary Mom and Dad (see, I remembered)

Sunday was supposed to be a travel day for me. I had a 2pm flight from Danang (the closest airport to Hoi An, about a 30 minute drive) to Nha Trang, a beach town between Hoi An and Saigon which also has the best diving in Vietnam. Well, as often happens when traveling, the best laid plans of mice and men often fall awry.

I started off the morning with one of my favorite travel activities - negotiating. I was trying to get some odds and ends and had a fun time trying to play several merchants off each other. I think the primary reason I enjoy negotiating is that it makes me feel like I acquired an applicable skill at Wharton -- since it was the I spent half of my bidding points on (Prof Diamonds class was well worth it too!). My main difficult with negotiating while traveling is that I had a hard time telling if I really got a good deal or still got ripped off just having paid slightly less from one merchant than another. In the grand scheme of things, it's literally only a few dollars anyway.

Walking around Hoi An is truly an experience because there are so many clothes shops, restaurants, art galleries and merchants that want you to come into their establishments. They all have young women outside who ask people as they walk by "what country are you from?" and then "you come into my store?" A no to the 2nd question is followed up with the ubiquitous "you have girlfriend?" And that happens several times a day -- you have girlfriend? Now as a Western guy in his 20s, that question could be asked from several directions:

1) "will you come into my store if I make you smile?"
2) "will you marry me, take me to America and give a shot at a big house, nice car and everything I've seen on those real-life American TV shows like Baywatch and Melrose Place I see on Vietnam TV?"
3) "you want to go to Madam Boom-Boom's room?"

And with a big smile on my face, I mutter the most frequently stated 3 words heard out of tourists in Vietnam "No thank you."

The Madam Boom-Boom is actually a quote from a driver of a moto who asked me if I wanted to buy some pot and then if I wanted to go see Madam Boom-Boom. I don't think there was anything lost in translation there.

Back to Sunday. I find out at noon that my 2pm flight was cancelled from the travel agent I booked it through (she actually hunted me down throughout all of Hoi An). She booked me on a 12-hour bus to Nha Trang, which while cheap ($5) and air conditioned, had me nervous. I asked her if it was a tourist-only bus, and she said yes. I had read about the Open Tours bus in Lonely Planet and assumed it was that one -- which had a pretty good write-up. She said she would pick me up at 6pm to take me to the bus station. So I headed back to Cua Dai beach for a little day in the sun. On the way, I ran into 2 guests from my hotel that they were able to re-book and are flying through Saigon with Vietnam Airlines putting them up in a hotel for the night, as the flight to Nha Trang wouldn't leave till morning.

I went by the travel agent's office, but no luck, she wasn't there. So I just headed out to the beach, realizing that I was going to spend a night on a bus -- I thought it would be cheap sleeping accommodations. Fast forward a few hours and the agent picks me up (a little late) and I mention to her that other fliers got a deal where Vietnam Airlines was making arrangements for them. She said it wasn't possible. We get to the bus stop, and while waiting for the bus, she goes to check again -- same story, not possible. Bus comes and it's not a nice Open Tours bus -- it's one of those you'd expect to see chickens, goats and sheep in the aisles -- and my jaw drops. 12 hours of hell I'm thinking. And since the plane flight was cancelled, now all 45 seats are taken. I get one in the last row. I'm sitting there, sweating to death because the A/C is negligible at best, thinking I might actually melt before I arrive.

And then an angel appeared... or at least that's how my travel agent looked, halo and all. She said in her best English as a 2nd language that she yelled at Vietnam Airlines that they were making deals for other people, so they should do it for her passenger. And they relented! So I got on a 10pm flight to Saigon with a 1:30pm flight to Nha Trang booked for Monday. Vietnam Airlines put me up in a nice hotel for the night in Saigon -- king sized bed, A/C and tons of cable channels. It was funny -- the only people who were re-booked and given hotel rooms were white, western tourists. I don't think it is in the nature of the Vietnamese people to question authority -- such is life under communism. In contrast, the Westerners were raised on questioning... Or maybe we just have a large sense of entitlement? Or more likely, we are used to the games the airline industry plays.

Even though I lost about a day and a half of travel, things worked out for the best. I went to sleep on a very cushy pillow... at least I think it was because I was out before my head hit it!

Day10 - June 19

Saturday.

I decided to rent a bike and tour Hoi An while getting a decent cardio workout. Considering that it's always 90+ degrees without the everpresent humidity, I could have just sat on the bike seat, went no where and still feel like I worked out hard.

After running errands (back to the tailor and to the travel agent) in the morning, I sat down to lunch at the Mermaid restaurant, a place where I'd eat 4 times in 3 days -- talk about what good service, prices and food will get you. Sitting at the table next to me was another American, a guy in his 50s. We started chatting, and as we were both dining alone, he asked if he could join me... of course I obliged. Turns out Jeremy is an anthropology professor at a mid-Western university in Vietnam conducting research for his class, mainly how Vietnam is commercializing, how the government is marketing "traditional Vietnamese culture" such as clothes and the effect that this is having on some towns and people. Interesting stuff. Jeremy noted that Vietnam is now 10th in tourism in Asia, up from 31st a decade ago. But what was more intriguing about Jeremy is that he's also a Vietnam Vet. He's not the only Vietnam Vet I've met on this trip, which must be a surreal experience for them to come back here. Jeremy is also active in Veterans for Peace, which has been highly critical of the Bush administration. It was great to hear the perspective of someone who has been through hell in a war (or officially, a "conflict") and what must go through a soldiers mind when making decisions, especially in reference to everything that has occurred in Iraq, Afghanistan and the halls of Washington.

Lunch was great, but afterwards I needed something lighter... so I decided to check out Hoi An's beach. It was a 15 minute, 2+ mile bike ride through the semi-Vietnamese countryside, where I passed shrimp farms, palm trees, a river and a lot of people in pointy, straw hats to get to the sand of the South China Sea. The beach was relatively quiet, but there are women hawking a variety of items like peanuts, cigarettes, jewelry, pedicures and foot massages. The only thing that's annoying is that they don't take no for an answer. The first time you say no thank you, they just smile and ask you if you want something else. The second no gets a higher-pitched inquisitive "no?," like they never heard the first one. The third time they say maybe later, which to them means no matter how you reply, they will be back in an hour. And then they tell you their name, after which they demand that if you buy from anyone, you buy from them. So what happens when you do buy? Somehow, like sharks smelling blood, they flock to you just after you've paid for your item to give you a guilt trip -- with full on (crocodile) tears -- about how you didn't buy from them. Unfortunately, the only response that I've seen work is to be somewhat rude and adamant that you are not buying all day. Otherwise, I really enjoyed the beach. It's long with white sand, nice mountains in the distance, warm water -- really picturesque and overall, great.

Day 9 - June 18

Friday.

I left the hotel before 5am for my flight to Denang, afterwhich I would take a bus to the town of Hoi An. My very early taxi ride was incredibly surprising as we drove through market areas that were packed (packed!) to the brim with people. And motos were flying around right and left. The sun had not risen, but just about everonye in Hanoi had. I was absolutely amazed at the scene.

Arriving in Hoi An in the morning, I took the day to become acquainted with the town. Hoi An is a former fishing village, port and regional capital. It still has a lot of the charm of its former self since it avoided a lot of the carnage of the Vietnam war. There are buildings that are from the 14th century (and look it, in a charming way) as well as more modern pagodas. Hoi An also has a fair bit of shopping, especially custom made clothes. Some when in Rome... yes, I bought more clothing. Blazer, a bunch of shirts and some pants (light-weight). Very happy with the blazer and pants, not so with the shirts. What to do?

After checking into my hotel (recommended from a boatmate in Halong Bay -- Hotel Thuan Xien -- I would absolutely go back), I had breakfast there and met a fellow traveler, Molly. Molly is an American spending a year on a Watson Fellowship, which is like a Fulbright except you go to many countries. She's been researching in Peru, South Africa and Vietnam so far, and is off to India in the next few weeks. So we had good conversation over breakfast, and then met for dinner. Good company. And that was Friday.

Day 8 - June 17

Thursday.

Our boat spent more of the morning kayaking and swimming. I kayaked through a small cave into an amazing lagoon. It was not blue and didn't have brooke shields, but was beautiful nonetheless. There were only 3 kayaks in the lagoon, all from out boat, so it was remarkably peaceful and so relaxing. Plus, there was a little undercurrent, which made the kayaking a little challenging -- so I got a decent workout.

Otherwise, the day was spent back in transit from Halong Bay back to Hanoi. I was able to meet up with a few more Wharton travelers -- Chandra, Meghan and Jeanette -- for a dinner at the restaurant Little Hanoi 1 one of the best deals on my trip (it's in the Lonely Planet for anyother travelers out there). Fun times.

I'll be spending Thursday night in Hanoi and will fly to Danang to catch a bus to Hoi An -- my next big stop -- very, very early Friday morning.

Day 7 - June 16

Wednesday.

I left Hanoi for a 2-day, 1-night tour of Halong Bay, which is about 100 miles (or a 3 hour drive in Vietnam) northeast of the city. Halong Bay is a group of approximately 2000 islands which was granted World Heritage Site status by UNESCO in 1994; I think that means it's bad to pollute it and a government can market the hell out of the area while having hundreds of merchants sell a lot of crappy touristy goods. If you know more about World Heritage Site status or what UNESCO is or means, please tell me, I'd love to know.

My group on our boat had 13 people -- 6 couples and me. Well, really 4 couples and 2 other twosomes traveling together. But everyone was young and fun. 3 couples from the UK, 2 from the US and 1 couple from Paris thrown into the mix.

There's no way to describe Halong Bay and its islands other than stunning. Just beautiful, quiet and serene. The islands themselves resemble the pointed ridges of the back of a dragon's tail (I have to stick with the dragon analogy here in Vietnam -- more on that later) with water having submerged various levels of the pointed spikes. The majority of the islands are not inhabited, while forming great inlets and bays. There are also numerous caves, one of which we walked through. That's where our guide explained to us that Vietnamese culture holds 4 animals sacred -- the aforementioned dragon, the pheonix, the tortoise and the unicorn. In case you are wondering or haven't noticed, 3 of those animals are not real. Totally fictional. Don't exist. It's like saying America's favorite animals are smurfs, cenataurs, hobbits and Elvis. One of the Brits openly wondered if Vietnam's animals perished with iraq's famous weapons of mass destruction.

So we spent the day on the boat moving from one incredibly beautiful inlet to the next, alternating between swimming and kayaking. I also finished off The Da Vinci Code (I liked the book -- and for the other 2 Americans who haven't read it -- I had no problem with the ending) while relaxing in the sun that was cooled ever-present slight breeze on the ship's roof deck. Just an incredible feeling. And after dinner, the majority of us returned to the deck to sit under the stars while drinking sticky rice vodka. Or at least the label said it was vodka. At $US 5 a bottle, none of us were going to question it (and that was the most expensive drink on the boat). The vodka wasn't bad -- far better than than I expected.