We grew up during the Vietnam war and so this country has a lot of personal history for many of us, and even more for people like our friend Art, who was last here as a Lieutenant Commander in charge of a medical hospital ship which was there for months after the war, and had a capacity for 900 patients. We wanted to support Art especially as we thought his emotions might be high.
We also were not sure what to expect. Nha Trang is stunningly beautiful from the water. The heat casts a shroud of humid air over the mountains in that entrancing layered look that we all try but fail to capture with our cameras. It is known for its white sand beaches and it has most recently enjoyed some development of luxury hotels hoping to capture the tourist dollar. We were docked on the beach side and overhead was a cable car which took you what looked to be over a mile to an upscale resort on the far shore. Some of our friends spent the day with their daughter over there and, for a very limited amount of money, had a great day.
The exchange rate really tells the economic tale - $1 U.S = $20,000 Dong. This country is still so poor. The people are small, gentle and warmly welcomed us everywhere we went. We headed out on our 4 hour Nha Trang Highlights which was to give us a tour of the countryside. Linda and Gary came with us, as Karen was under the weather.
What strikes you first is that everyone is driving a motorbike - cars are few - and there are lots of trucks. People move everything large and small on their motorbikes, and the women cover their faces with masks and scarves to escape the sun, and they wear high heels. The hawkers started immediately to follow beside our bus and one of them had the man driving while the woman unpacked her merchandise (T-shirts) one at a time and held it up for us to see as we drove about 30 mph.
They followed us to each and every stop as did all of them that we picked up along the way. The distinction here from the Indonesian hawkers is that if you say "No Thank you" they leave you alone. I have to say that we did purchase from them as we had learned they most often deal better than they do in the markets.
The city is a combination of shanty metal shops and workshops and the architecture of the better structures reflects the French influence that once dominated this land. In fact these people have suffered from foreign occupations and wars for many, many years throughout their history, and that is no doubt the reason for the dreadful economy. Generally the country is not clean - garbage and old torn down buildings abound.
Our first stop was a home where women were doing traditional floor mat weaving. Down a lane, followed by 15 hawkers we went. On the way we saw an darling little girl.
Second stop was a kindergarten class. We all love to see children, having had the company of mostly seniors for many months and these beautiful children charmed us completely. They were tiny, tiny little people who performed many songs for us in Vietnamese, and even "Frére Jacques". Both Barry and I felt something on our legs as we stood in a circle watching the children, and looked down to see one little girl entwined around us. Others came up and wanted to hold our hands or dance or take our tour stickers - which I gave up to a small boy, who instantly became popular with his friends.
Then we went to a local food market which was really interesting. Apparently there are only 2 grocery stores in Nha Trang as most shop at their local markets which are filled with the most beautiful fresh vegetables and fruit. The women squat on their haunches up on a platform, (no need for yoga to loosen hips here).
Onward to an ancient house, where we saw the traditional home temple. I liked this place - there was a back garden with lots of bonsai type trees in pots, but I am not sure how traditional this was and think it had been dressed up for this tourist purpose, although it did have a lived in look. Barry was so tall he walked into the roof of the house and knocked down a piece of fascia - no damage to him, only the trim.
Catholic church instead, and then 2 short blocks and we were back in the city!!! A quick stop at a beach where we saw the same heartbreaking young woman with what seemed to be her crippled and mentally handicapped brother slung over her back and shoulders, selling hats. She had carried him like this for hours and followed our bus on a motorcycle right up to the beach.
Our last stop was at an embroidery factory. The women here were drop dead gorgeous, tiny creatures, dressed in their traditional dress. We were enthralled by the craft they did, and it was an excellent overview - we broke down and bought a beautifully framed one for our home. The price looked in the millions, but was under $100.
We quickly went back to the ship, had lunch and then out to the huge market that was set up on the pier. Everyone was out shopping like crazy, and we purchased more gifts for our family, and some for Barry. Back to the ship for dinner and bed and we headed off to the port for Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City.
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