Sunday, March 15, 2009

Nha Trang Vietnam!

Friday, March 13, 2009 – Mom’s birthday! Nha Trang Vietnam
We are now 13 hours ahead of Delaware. Beautiful full moon for Mom’s birthday! It is gorgeous as it reflects on the water when we step out onto the balcony…
Population of 200,000 but has a heavy local and international tourist influx – their Ocean City! There are approx. 10,000 trawlers in the province and they fish for abalone, lobster, prawns, cuttlefish, mackerel, pomfret, scallops, shrimps, snapper and tuna!
Salt production is also large employing over 4000 people.
Currency is the dong. Approx. 17,400 dong equal US$1. (Do the math to figure out how many dong for your home!)

What a beautiful arrival we had to the beach resort of Nha Trang with the high green mountains were in the distance! There were several rocky, arid islands (there are actually 20) as we approached the port. The temperature was warm already at 6:00 so we knew it would be summer day in Vietnam…meaning lots of humidity and bright sun.

We had to tender to the dock (which means going on a smaller boat (not that small as they seat about 100!) to be taken to shore) and were able to get onto the first tender! (They can only give out so many tickets for each tender so you have to wait for space if you are not up early!) We were lucky as we found out the late arrivals had a two hour delay with their tours as there were problems with the tenders. We took the free shuttle bus to the city market and hired a taxi for 3 hours for $35. And it was air conditioned. A must!

The beach road is meticulously landscaped with a park with modern sculptures and manicured trees. The trees had square flat tops! Like a man’s military haircut! It is a picturesque entranceway for visitors from the port. Along the route is the Pasteur Institute, which was founded in 1895, by Alexander Yersin, a Swiss geologist who is one of Vietnam’s greatest heroes. He was a student of Dr. Louis Pasteur and immigrated to Nga Trang in 1891. He founded the Vietnamese hillside resort of Dalat, isolated a plague-causing bacteria as an antidote for Bubonic Plague and brought quinine trees to Southeast Asia to fight malaria.

Our first stop was at the Long Son Pagoda where we were met by teenager girls speaking English! They were orphans living with the monks and selling paintings on silk to help their education. In their excellent English, they called the men in our group “Happy Buddha”. Try to find a photo of a Happy Buddha and you will understand. The women all got a tickle out of that comment…Anyway, the girls trailed us the entire time we visited the Pagoda. We bought one (did you doubt that?). This is a 1930s pagoda and you must take off your shoes to enter. Incense burns continually and bananas and chrysanthemums are offered at the altar. There is a tall white Buddha on the hillside behind it, which is the symbol of Nha Trang. There are great views of the city from the top and you are surrounded by more vendors selling paintings on silk, sunglasses, sodas and water, fans (they were needed!) and postcards in packs of 10 (but what you see from one pack is not necessarily what you get in the one you buy…). There was also a very large and long reclining Buddha, similar to one in Bangkok. He is resting on his arms and looks so peaceful.

We continued up the hill to the French Gothic Nga Trang Cathedral. Built in 1933 above the city center, it is one of the few remaining relics from the hated French colonial days. We enjoyed the medieval-looking stained glass windows.

Po Ngar Cham Towers are impressive temples towering over the River Cai and the city. Starting in the 8th century, the Cham people (an early Hindu empire in Central Vietnam) built this temple to honor Yang Ino Po Ngar, mother of the kingdom. There were originally ten structures and only four remain. Today you can enter three towers (after removing your shoes) as they are still in use by local Buddhists. The altars and incense add to the intrigue of the architecture along with the carved epitaphs of Cham kings, carved doors and the statue of the goddess Bharagati on her lotus throne, which was carved in 1050. You get a good view of river life from up above – houses on stilts and boats plying the river with their goods and transporting passengers. Fascinating!

We also stopped at the Thap Ba Hop Spring Center were one could have a mud bath and swim. It is an outdoor leisure complex where you can soak your bones in soothing pools of hot, mineral-rich mud.

Time on our own!! We ate on a park bench by the sea and wandered through the market place and had a great time!!! Prices are cheap. Really cheap. Pearls, crafts, laquerware, silk clothing…it was fun! AND we found the Bao Beauty Salon at 27A Le Loi, phone 0905 707 495. $13 for two shampoos, one facial massage, and two haircuts! In a very trendy and stylish salon! I melted into the chair as she gave me a head massage and then a facial massage. It was oh so difficult to get out of that chair…They did a great job and we had fun with them.
We took the pedicab (carriage seat in front of a bicycle) for a ride around town also.

The traffic is intriguing. There was only light in the entire time that we saw. There were a few roundabouts but otherwise, no stop signs either. People are driving on bicycles, motorbikes (with 2-3 people on them), taxis and cars and they all go at about the same rate of speed. No more than 30 mph. Horns blare all the time and people have enough time to avoid any type of collision. They make U-turns in the middle of the road just by turning. No reason to look – just turn. The others will slow down for you. It can be a big unnerving if you are seated in the pedicab and you see the traffic coming at you…!!!

The Vietnam of today is a fascinating country. The people are friendly and genuine. The prices are cheap. I really enjoyed the day. Two special moments – sad and touching: Sad: We passed an elderly woman who was quietly crying while sitting on the sidewalk on her haunches with two large empty baskets in front of her. At first we thought she was putting on an act. I went back to check on her and she was such a sad little figure. I tried to talk to her and she looked at me and patted her stomach and quietly wept. I gave her some dollars and she looked at it inquisitively and kept patting her stomach and crying…poor thing. Touching: I chased after a vendor (how often does that happen??) and was looking at another vendor and tripped/stubbed my arch (how to explain but it has been bothering me). I limped back to my bench by the sea and suddenly this little old lady (with modern purple glasses!) comes up to me with some cotton and wants to help me bandage my arch!! She was so concerned and wanted to help me. She kept at it, but I was fine. So then she pulled out her postcards she was trying to sell. :)

We took the last bus back to the tender dock and the last tender to the ship. It was just about sunset and was so pretty. There is an overhead gondola leading from the mainland OVER THE SEA to the VinPearl resort, where you can swim and snorkel and stay at the hotel. Our ship could not dock in town since we could not get underneath the cables.

Dinner was fun with everyone wearing their purchases from the day and Philippa Healey was the singer, who has sung on West End productions in London. It was the Buccaneer Ball also – people had on their eye patches, wore swords and costumes!

You know, you too can have this much fun! Consider joining me from April 20-26 from Southampton to NY on the Transatlantic crossing on the Queen Mary 2. There are lots of discounted programs and if you want go earlier to tour the UK or Europe, we can arrange that also. This year is the year for great value in travel. Most everything you see online we can match or beat. And by booking with Preferred Travel, you are making this world a better place for the children of Niger. At no extra cost to travelers, a donation is made with every booking. For more information go to www.waterishope.org. Hope to see you in Southampton!! LGTravel@verizon.net or Chuz2Cruz@comcast.net