Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Chilling on the beach in Phan Thiet and Mui Ne, Vietnam
I am chilling out at the beach again. After spending a lot of time in cities, it's nice to be just hanging out and hanging off the back of motorbikes, zipping along with Vietnamese drivers who don't speak a word of English but try nonetheless ;-)
I'm staying at a resort/golf course in Phan Thiet for a few days. Phan Thiet is a fishing village which retains the charm of the French colonial era with lovely villas and boulevards. The whole place smells like rotten fish but it is very charming. Again, these folks see very few blacks so when I took a tour of the city and fishing harbour, the cry went up and everyone came out running to see "Chocolate" as they call me. People are hilarious. They hold up babies for my approval and my arm is sore at all of the waving I have to do. I now have a deep respect for royals who spend so much of their time smiling and waving at strangers. My rikshaw driver was so taken with me that he took me to his house to meet his family and gave me a tour. His house is a lovely turquoise blue with a concrete front and lovely tiles on the floor. Despite having five children, I only saw one king-sized bed. The back of the house didn't have a proper roof but was covered with thick plastic. The place was spotless with a rudimentary squat toilet out back. I was very touched that he took me there and introduced me to his family.
Yesterday, I explored Mui Ne which is a lovely beach resort and get-away for middle and upper class folks from Saigon. Mui Ne is a centre for wind surfing and offers a lot of attractions. Yesterday, I visited both the red and white sand dunes. It's amazing - though you are really close to the beach, trekking in the sand dunes makes you feel like you are in the Sahara. I even tried sand sledding which was quite fun. But it's hot as Hades there. There's also a canyon with beautiful red sandstone.
Today, I'm just going to hang on the beach and soak up some lovely rays. Tomorrow, I take the bus to Nha Trang where I will catch a flight to Da Nang and get ready for Christmas in lovely Hoi An.
Some of the fisherpeople go out into the water in these bamboo baskets. It's amazing to see them squatting in them and paddling away.
I'm staying at a resort/golf course in Phan Thiet for a few days. Phan Thiet is a fishing village which retains the charm of the French colonial era with lovely villas and boulevards. The whole place smells like rotten fish but it is very charming. Again, these folks see very few blacks so when I took a tour of the city and fishing harbour, the cry went up and everyone came out running to see "Chocolate" as they call me. People are hilarious. They hold up babies for my approval and my arm is sore at all of the waving I have to do. I now have a deep respect for royals who spend so much of their time smiling and waving at strangers. My rikshaw driver was so taken with me that he took me to his house to meet his family and gave me a tour. His house is a lovely turquoise blue with a concrete front and lovely tiles on the floor. Despite having five children, I only saw one king-sized bed. The back of the house didn't have a proper roof but was covered with thick plastic. The place was spotless with a rudimentary squat toilet out back. I was very touched that he took me there and introduced me to his family.
Yesterday, I explored Mui Ne which is a lovely beach resort and get-away for middle and upper class folks from Saigon. Mui Ne is a centre for wind surfing and offers a lot of attractions. Yesterday, I visited both the red and white sand dunes. It's amazing - though you are really close to the beach, trekking in the sand dunes makes you feel like you are in the Sahara. I even tried sand sledding which was quite fun. But it's hot as Hades there. There's also a canyon with beautiful red sandstone.
Today, I'm just going to hang on the beach and soak up some lovely rays. Tomorrow, I take the bus to Nha Trang where I will catch a flight to Da Nang and get ready for Christmas in lovely Hoi An.
Some of the fisherpeople go out into the water in these bamboo baskets. It's amazing to see them squatting in them and paddling away.
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I love that you've achieved a sort of celebrity status - getting tours of private homes, waving to the crowd, approving babies. (Chocolate? I don't think that would go over very well in the States.) You are the perfect person for that.
Do you miss Holland? Holland misses you.
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Do you miss Holland? Holland misses you.
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