Trip to Nha Trang
Hello Everyone,
Thought I should bring you up to date since I haven’t written recently. The monkey bite is healing slowly but I should have a nice scar to punctuate my story about the time I was attacked by a horde of wild monkeys in the jungle of Vietnam.
Since that trip to HaLong Bay, I’ve been to Hoi An, a small town just north of DaNang. Lots of damage due to Typhoon Xangsane still evident. Visited lots of temples and pagodas. Interesting but I don’t know anything about the symbolism. They are always crowded with statues, lots of gold and red color, incense burning and offerings of fruit in front of the statues. I want to learn more about the religion and the history. Would make me better appreciate what I see. From Hoi An, went to My Son (pronounced me sun) which is an ancient Hindu religious site built in the 1500’s and discovered by the French in 1896.
Am currently in Nha Trang enjoying a few days on the beach before starting to work next week. Went to the beach yesterday and got toasted. Today visited a temple with a reclining Buddha 18 meters long and another standing on top of the hill that is 24 meters high. Both look to be made of white marble. Impressive. Tomorrow I take a boat trip to several islands and I’ll probably get toasted again. What the hack. I never see the sun in Hanoi.
I’ve rented a four story house a fifteen minute walk from my school. A house is larger and cheaper here than an apartment. Go figure. A house in Vietnam is a vertical structure, one room wide and several stories high. There is a room in the front and one in the back on each floor. A stairway going up separates the two rooms.
I’ll send pictures of everything when I get back to my computer in Hanoi. Did you get the pictures I sent the other day?
I’ll send a group e-mail soon which will give more details of my travels. It’s been fun so far. But soon I go to work. I’ll only have one and a half days off each week so my traveling will be reduced. And so will my expenses.
How ’bout them Vols!!! Hope we can win out.
Go Georgia!! Beat Florida!!!
Go South Carolina!! Beat Florida!!!
Love to all,
PaPa, Dad, Tom
higgiro39