Nha Trang - dedicated to Sally!

Monday 28th February

Apologies to those of you who are faithful readers of this blog for not having mentioned that we were going away from Saigon for three days, flying up the coast to Nah Trang. I hadn't realised that our early morning departure was at 4 am! It was and we made it.

We've also made it back. CNN worried us a little the other night when we wondered if we were right in line for a tsunami. As CNN was only, after Chile and the earthquake, concerned, understandably about an imminant wave hitting Hilo in Hawaii, but kept mentioning the 53 countries which were under a tsunami alert, we wondered. When they repeatedly used the phrase "the whole of the Pacific basin", mentioning only Japan without being specific about the other 53, we wondered..(1) whether the South China Sea might be considered part of the Pacific. (2) While we were installed across from the beach in our hotel in Nah Trang, thinking about the Explorer tied up at the quay in Saigon, we wondered... about our ship, ourselves and the boat trip to an uninhabited island we had planned for the 27th!

As we now know the Tsunami wasn't as massive as predicted...thank God! We watched the evacuation in Hilo along roads we recognised and were remembering the children of the Hawaiian immersion primary school we visited and their monthly tsunami drills. We heaved a collective sigh of relief when the tsunami warning for Hawaii was calcelled and the next morning with very little further information we decided there was probably no danger to us at all....we were looking forward to the boat trip!

Back to the first day. I went with Chris Hill, a History professor, (of the British Empire for this trip), and about ten students to the 'American War Museum'...meaning the war against America by the North Vietnamese, the Vietnam war as we know it. It was terribly hot and the museum was gruelling in its exhibits and not air conditioned. A lethal combination.

We arrived at the famous Rex hotel (used by US army Generals and the Press during the Vienam war) on the shuttle bus from the ship at 11.30 am, intending to take a taxi from there to the museum. One of the students remarked that she had read in the Lonely Planet's Saigon section that the museum closed for lunch from noon until 1.30pm. Bad timing. So the students went off to do their own thing and Chris, one student, Jemma, and myself went in search of lunch. We enjoyed walking down the tree lined streets looking at the shops and the French shuttered, colonial architecture. But it was HOT! We finally saw across a road the words 'Club Bar' and decided to give it a try. Good decision.

We entered into what was certainly a round bar, in a cool air conditioned room. At the sides of the room however were tall tables and chairs. Chris and I ordered (this is for you Sal!) the staple soup of Vietnam, which they eat even for breakfast, called Fa. It is lightly spiced, well 'stocked' chicken or beef and vegetable noodle soup. The noodles are fat and plentiful and the soup is partially eaten with chop sticks. It was delicious. Jemma had a cheese sandwich and french fries. We sat and chatted happily in the cool for over an hour then made our way to the museum in a taxi as planned. The fare, which I paid, was under two dollars. Chris would pay the return fare to the Rex.

The entrance to the museum is flanked in the garden with two huge tanks on one side and two helicopters on the other. The tanks are the very ones in which the victorious North Vietnamese, the Viet Kong, entered Saigon in 1975. The museum consists mainly of photos from the war and shows some of the weapons used in it. There is alot of accompanying text written by war correspondents, presidents of other nations, members of the UN and war protesters world wide asking that the carnage be stopped. Many of the photos depict victims of Agent orange and Napalm, into the second and third generations..... horrendous. Another illustration of the awfulness of war and, in this case, the fact that the war was unnecessary. A war which the US lost.

I found the press of people and the humidity and heat overwhelming and sat outside the display rooms in a sort of second floor open courtyard and drank a bottle of water. A young man sat beside me from London and we chatted. He was going round the world and had been on the move with his girl friend for 10 months....going home in 3 weeks. We must have talked non stop for half an hour and I was struck again by how easy I always find it to talk to young Brits. I think because they don't find us in any way different or 'strange', which I think some young Americans do....and perhaps they're right!

When it came time to leave we took a taxi from the front entrance. He immediately started to explain the fact that because it was a one way road he would have to take a different route back to town, therefore would have to charge us more. He charged us the equivalent of US$ 26.00! We protested, he shouted, we asked to go to the police, he started driving still shouting "No!", this went on for some time and foreseeing a Diplomatic incident, if not a confrontation in a police station which we hadn't time or inclination for, Chris paid up. It was our own fault: we had not taken a taxi from a recommended company and had not negotiated the price first...an absolute must. This was a lesson hard learned.

Nah Trang where we have spent the last few days is not a beautiful town but it is in a stunning setting: it's surrounded behind by green tree covered hills and mountains and faces a beautiful bay. The long beach stretching in front of our hotel had white sands and was bordered by tiled paths under casuarina and palm trees. The sea was a gorgeous blue/green and there was always a warm breeze....in this climate better than no breeze at all. The temperature was in the seventies and low eighties unlike Saigon where it has been about 95 degrees with 90% humidity.

The flight from Saigon to Nah Trang is only 45 minutes but we had to gather in the Union prior to boarding our bus to the airport at 3.45 am... we were all pretty stunned and sleepy. It's a horribly early time to be on one's toes. Our amazing dining room stewards were there with orange juice, tea, coffee and croissants, as cheerful as if it was a normal morning. The bus ride to the airport was very quiet indeed and most of the students slept. The flight was smooth and easy but no sooner had we settled into our seats. preparing to doze than we began the descent into Nah Trang.

We were met by our guide Liem, (easy to remember for George and me) and taken to the Hotel to deposit our backpacks and have a quick breakfast. The excellent coffee, the best I've tasted since January, with fresh fruit and croissants gave us the necessary jolt we needed to face the day.

We visited first a Buddhist shrine with another elevated white Buddha sitting atop a hill. To get there we got off the bus and walked along a high bridge enjoying the cool breeze which was a godsend as the temperatures had soared and we were in bright sunshine. We looked down on a turquoise sea dotted with fishing boats

We have seen enough Buddhist temples to last the whole trip and I felt a little flat at the thought of wandering round yet another. The surrounding gardens however were worth the visit on their own. There was a lovely cool breeze under the trees and there were flowering bushes: frangipani, hibiscus, golden shower,...and the view of the bridge and the sea. We were all starting to recover.

We had lunch in a restaurant and were tiring fast. The food was great as was all the food we have enjoyed in Vietnam: sea food, pate and fa (soup). I shall be visiting the Vietnamese reataurant again in Westdale! We decided to dispense with the afternoon planned activities and return to the hotel for a rest and a refreshing swim in the lovely pool.

The following day was heaven. After visiting a marine museum we took a boat out to an uninhabited island and were finally able to swim in this beautiful sea we have been travelling on and gazing at! On board were two Vietnamese women who gave pedicures, manicures and massages. They were kept busy all day but I only had a manicure. ($5.00 as was everything else!). The water was cool but after the first plunge a joy to be in... what a wonderful swim!

More tomorrow....off to bed again.