Dec 17-19: Dalat

I loved Dalat. It's famous for its cool climate, making it a perfect spot to grow flowers & fruit. I had been hearing from my students that people go to Dalat mainly to get out of the heat of Saigon, so I was surprised to find that there was so much to see & do there.

I lucked out on a 15-dollar tour that took me to a flower farm, a coffee plantation, a silk factory, a rice wine distillery, a pagoda with a very happy Buddha, a beatiful waterfall, & an old French train station. I took tons of photos of it all.

The next day I decided to go exploring on my own. I walked & walked around the town. I saw the famous flower gardens, Crazy House, Bao Dai's summer palace, a Catholic church in the shape of a Buddhist pagoda, some more waterfalls (though these were under renovation), & the central market where they were selling all kinds of dried & fresh fruits. At the end of the day, I sipped a Saigon Beer as I watched the people go by.

I briefly considered staying another day, but it was time to go back to Bien Hoa (my home base in Vietnam) & regroup before meeting my brother & sister-in-law in Saigon on the 22nd.

Dec 14-16: Nha Trang

I had been hearing about Nha Trang ever since I arrived in Vietnam in June. All of my students kept saying it was the best beach in Vietnam. Now I finally had the opportunity to see what all the fuss was about.

I took an overnight sleeper bus from Hoi An, arriving in Nha Trang at 6:00am. I quickly found a hotel room for $5 a night - the cheapest one yet! I left my backpack in the room & headed for the beach.

There was no one there. Of course, it was a Monday & it was early in the morning, so maybe all the beach goers were still snug in their beds. I looked in the guidebook & found out that there were some Cham ruins not far from the center of town. These were the same people who built My Son in Hoi An, where I had just been. I decided to rent a bicycle & check them out.

Po Nagar was an interesting site, well worth the 11,000 dong entrance fee (about 60 cents). The ruins have obviously been well-taken care of - rebuilt & cleaned up. It was like being in an outdoor museum. The temples are still used today as worship sites. When I ducked inside, people were crowded around altars to Shiva, a hindu god, burning incense & muttering prayers.

On my way back to town, I stopped at the Long Son Pagoda, which was at the top of a long stone staircase. At the top, I found the pagoda & several large statues of Buddha, as well as a cemetery full of stacked crypts. Very cool. Back at the bottom of the hill, I had lunch at the vegetarian cafe there, which served your standard Buddhist grub: fake meats & rice dishes for a few pennies.

The next day, I took a boat tour of the islands off the coastline. At our first stop, several of us dove into the water while others went for parasail rides. I was just putting on my mask & snorkle when I felt a slight sting - & then another. I looked down into the water: jellyfish. I wound up with a rash of little red bumps all over my body that itched like the worst mosquito bites for days & days.

After that, I was ready to spend an entire day lazing on the beach, doing nothing but reading & listening to the waves roll over the sand.

Dec 10-13: Hoi An

Hoi An is a cute little town. Since it was in the area considered as the demilitarized zone during the Vietnam War, many of its buildings were spared from destruction. Especially in the older section of town, you can still see wonderful examples of traditional Vietnamese architecture. These days the old buildings have been converted to tailor shops & lantern sellers, restaurants & bars. It's a great place to spend the afternoon people watching.

One day, I took a tour to My Son, a complex of Cham ruins about an hour away from town. During the bus ride to the site, our guide told us that his father was a member of the Viet Cong who had died on the front lines during the Vietnam War. Then he went on to explain that many of the structures at My Son had been destroyed by US bombing. "Why? Wrong information! Any Americans in the group?" No one answered.

When we got to the main gate of the complex, they took us the rest of the way to the ruins in US military jeeps. Our guide said that indeed these were authentic war-time vehicles that the Americans left as they were fleeing the country - Ha! Any Americans in the group?

As we toured the complex, our guide explained the unsual construction methods used by the Cham people, & pointed out that many of the statues there were missing their heads. "Why? Because the French wanted them for their museums! Any French in the group?" No one answered.

We all hung our heads in shame as we returned to the bus which would take us back to town.

Back at the hotel, I looked in the guidebook for something to do the following day. I noticed that there was a strip of beach not far from town, so the next day I checked out a bicycle from the hotel & rode out to see what it was like. It was beautiful - white sand, gentle waves, & not too many people. I spent the whole day there, lounging under a palapa & reading a book. Aah.

Next stop: Nha Trang.

Happy New Year from Hong Kong!

Stuck in Hong Kong

The last few posts have been about my month-long trip around Vietnam, but I have been writing the posts from a cozy little hotel room in Hong Kong. I came here to apply for my entry visa to China in anticipation of my move to Shanghai where I will start a new job teaching English.

I have already received my China visa, but the school where I will be working doesn't want me to go to Shanghai until January 9th, which means I'll be in Hong Kong for another week. I guess there are worse places to be "stuck". Besides, it will give me plenty of time to continue catching up on my Vietnam travel posts.