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Nha Trang – Two points of clarification

Tuesday, July 25th, 2006

1. Of course I didn’t sleep on the mattress on the floor.  Dean offered, and it was barely out of his mouth when I gushed, “Well, if you’re sure…”

2. I must make an amendment.  I said that only in Vietnam could someone get mugged – or almost mugged – by ladyboys.  I have it on good authority that the same thing happened to a good friend of mine – let’s call him Jon for the sake of argument – in Borneo.  I stand corrected, as the man in the orthopaedic shoes once said.

Posted in Travel, Vietnam | 1 Comment »

Nha Trang – All the gang’s together again

Saturday, July 22nd, 2006

The tone for our few days in Nha Trang, the ‘party’ beach of Vietnam, was actually set when we got on the bus from Dalat to head down there.  An Irish guy, Dave, had been out with Dean till the early hours the night before.  He slept in until the bus was about to leave, and just managed to haul him and his bag out in time.  He sat down, just as Dean turned to him and asked him if he had his passport.  “Jayzis”, he shouted, and launched himself back down to the hotel.

Yep, this was going to be a heavy one.

We got to Nha Trang a few hours later, and had a bit of trouble finding a room – it’s the Vietnamese holidays at the moment, and Nha Trang is one of those rare places that is popular with both locals and backpackers alike.  We were also looking for a room for three people (me, Dean, and Dave), which is always problematic – trying to explain to Vietnamese hoteliers that we needed three beds, not two, was like banging our heads against a brick wall.  Finally, when we were incredibly sweaty and exhausted (well, the guys were – obviously I was most fragrant and full of beans), we found someone who offered us two double beds and a mattress on the floor for $10.  We took him up on his offer – it was at such a stage he could have offered us a bed in a stable with donkeys and lowing cattle and we’d have snapped him up on it.  Now, where have I heard that before?

It was quite late in the day when we arrived, so we chilled out in the room until it was time to go out and eat.  We found a lovely cheap place that did good vegetarian food (Dean’s veggie), and had a few beers there before heading on to the busiest spot in town, the Nha Trang Sailing Club.

Now this was a place that we’d heard all about.  It was the place to go – the only place to go in Nha Trang after all the other bars shut.  Apparently, everyone ended up there at the end of the evening.  So we were a bit surprised to arrive there and see what, from the outside, looked like a flash restaurant.  Even looking at the menu posted outside scared us – prices were similar to UK restaurants (unheard of over here, especially on our budget).  Still, we were undeterred, and pushed on in.  And it turns out that by day it’s a flash restaurant, by night it turns into backpacker central.  They even serve drinks out of jam jars.  Called, imaginatively, a Jam Jar. 

Within a short time of being there, we’d bumped into everyone we’d met on the bus – two Australian girls, an English couple, and an English and Canadian guy.  It was so much fun to catch up with everyone, and have a few jam jars to drink.  I went home relatively early (by Sailing Club standards), but Dean and Dave were more hardcore, staying until the early hours.  Apparently on their way home they were almost mugged by a group of ladyboys.  Only in Vietnam.

Dave was flying out of Nha Trang early the next morning, and had set his alarm for 6.45am.  However, by that time he’d only had about an hour’s sleep, so didn’t wake up, even with me shouting at him and hitting him to turn his alarm off.  I’m such a sweetheart when I’m woken up early.  Eventually, after about three attempts to wake him, I gave up and rolled over.  The next thing I heard was Dave asking “What time is it?”  I looked at my watch and grunted “7.40”.  “Jayzis” he shouted, and launched himself out of bed.  He was meant to be checking in for his flight at that very moment.  Still, he never came back, so presumably he got there ok.

I spent the rest of the day sunning myself on the beach.  We were expecting it to be raining, or at least overcast – it’s the rainy season here at the moment – but we were really lucky and only got the sun.  Dean joined me later on that day and we were soon joined by Pete and James, two guys he’d met earlier in his travels, and Doireann and El, who in turn they’d met in DaLat.

It’s funny, but I suppose obvious – because Vietnam’s a long country, everyone either goes all the way north or all the way south, so you keep meeting the same people all the time.  This is fantastic, and means that you get to know people pretty well, and that there’s always a familiar face around.  Here, more than anywhere else, I’ve felt part of a big group of people, and it’s making a real change.  I don’t know if I could keep it up in every country – in fact, I’m pretty sure I couldn’t, as it usually involves some fairly heavy partying, but it’s ace just now.  Over the next few days we met back up with Owen and Pamela (from HCMC), Rich, who’d been to Mui Ne for a couple of days, and my two favourite Canadian brothers, Jamie and Jason, who I’d met in Phnom Penh.  Soon it seemed like everyone knew everyone, and it was hard to keep track of how long everyone had been around. I felt like Frenchie at the end of ‘Grease’, when she sighs, “Oh, all the gang’s together again”.  Except my hair’s not pink.  My bikini is though – will that do?

And so the days panned out.  Beach, meal, out with a group of friends.  I actually didn’t do any other sight seeing in Nha Trang, although there were a few things to go and see – I was happy right there on the beach, to the manor born, laughing with people who by now feel like old friends.  I had a lot of reading time, and I also had a lot of thinking time.  This was good.  I needed to do some creative thinking, because my next stop, Hoi An, was the clothes capital of Vietnam.  The mother ship was calling me home…

Posted in Travel, Vietnam | 1 Comment »

DaLat – Easy Rider

Saturday, July 15th, 2006
I've never been a big fan of motorbikes. Even when, as an impetunious teenager, I spent time on the Isle of Man, world mecca for bikers, I always resisted offers to be a passenger - I mean, the TT ... [Continue reading this entry]

Posted in Travel, Vietnam | 6 Comments »

Saigon – The Heat Is On In Saigon

Thursday, July 13th, 2006
OK, to those of you who've seen Miss Saigon, I'm sorry for putting this song in your head.  You'll be humming it all day, except for the fact that you won't be able to remember any other lines apart from ... [Continue reading this entry]

Posted in Travel, Vietnam | 4 Comments »

Saigon – Recent History

Thursday, July 13th, 2006

There were a couple of things that all three of us (Richard, Dean and I) wanted to see for definite in Saigon (officially it's Ho Chi Minh City, but everyone still calls it Saigon).  There was a walking tour recommended ... [Continue reading this entry]

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Can Tho – Tour groups are bad

Tuesday, July 11th, 2006
In Chau Doc, we decided to take a tour of the Mekong Delta, which would take us all the way up to Saigon. We were promised floating fish farms, minority villages; all in all, it sounded like a tour ... [Continue reading this entry]

Posted in Travel, Vietnam | 4 Comments »

Phnom Penh/Chau Doc – The klutz is back

Tuesday, July 11th, 2006
On my last night in Cambodia, my plans were to have a relatively quiet night so then I could get up fresh and early for the boat to Vietnam.  Of course, these all went up the wall.  I'd had a ... [Continue reading this entry]

Posted in Cambodia, Travel, Vietnam | 4 Comments »

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