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.
Enjoying the Mekong Delta
I've realised one of my dreams for this trip which is to explore the Mekong Delta. I booked a two-day, mini-tour and joined 20 other people from assorted nationalities and a hilarious tour guide named Hoh. We set off from Ho Chi Minh City in an air-conditioned bus and then took ferries and small motor boats around to explore the areas around My Tho, Can Tho and Ben Tre.
The Mekong Delta is the 'bread or rice basket' of Vietnam, an area in the south where the mighty Mekong spreads into nine tributaries before pouring into the sea. The area is full of canals, lush, tropical forests and fruit orchards. We sampled amazing fruits such as dragonfruit, rambutan, mini bananas, mandarins and durian, the very smelly fruit banned from all hotels which smelled like raw sewage and has a very weird flavour which is hard to describe. Everywhere are the famous rice fields and paddies. Vietnam is one of the world's most important suppliers of rice. Right now, the rice fields are a beautiful emerald green. Some feature grave stones smack dab in the middle of them. Apparently, some Vietnamese believe that placing graves in the fields will guarantee that the land won't be sold. (Ancestor worship is very strong here.)
The water is the central motif of life here. People live in houses built on stilts above the water, they fish, they sell their produce off of their boats, and they visit the famous floating markets which we did too. The markets are amazing. Hundreds of boats varying in size docked side by side or pulling up next to you. A big pole hangs from the front of the boat with the produce being sold hung up high including pineapples, limes, oranges, etc. Now I understand why those famous cone-shaped hats are so prevalent in Vietnam. They are amazingly effective at staving off the heat of the sun while covering the neck and face. While I realise I looked ridiculous in one, I didn't care. It did the trick. That night, we were in for a few surprises. First, Larry and Sig ( a couple from L.A.) and I decided to have dinner in town. We found a lovely place on a terrace overlooking a square where we witnessed two motorbike accidents in the space of two hours. Moto traffic is crazy here. Next, the trip included one night's hotel accommodation. I wasn't expecting much we were confronted with the classic $1 or $2 per night hotel rooms which I vowed I would never stay in. Actually, it wasn't too bad.
One thing I really dislike is the fact that snakes are everywhere here. They are constantly trying to throw boa constrictors over your neck for photo opportunities which goes down very badly with me as I'm terrified of snakes. They are also very fond of eating snake and aquariums full of snakes are ever-present at markets and the entranceways of restaurants. For the men reading this, snake meat is supposed to improve your virility.
One funny incident: we were on the ferry and this little boy from Laos took a look at me, squealed and then started furiously rubbing his skin and pointing to mine with pride. He is quite dark so the gist of the conversation was that he was almost as dark as me. He was absolutely adorable and reminded me of my nephew, Alexander.
Another funny story told by a Belgian in our group: apparently some of our group had been together earlier and ran into quite an eccentric French-Canadian jewellry designer, about 60 years old with straggly long blond hair and a large fake butterfly on his forehead. Everyone was curious about him and finally, Hoh, our tour guide politely asked him "Are you ethnic?" which didn't go over well at all. There are a lot of indigenous people in Vietnam and Hoh thought that he was indigenous from somewhere else. Hilarious!
After the tour, I returned to Saigon and took a local bus to my next destinations: Phan Tiet and Mui Ne, to enjoy the beach and do some much-needed relaxing.
The Mekong Delta is the 'bread or rice basket' of Vietnam, an area in the south where the mighty Mekong spreads into nine tributaries before pouring into the sea. The area is full of canals, lush, tropical forests and fruit orchards. We sampled amazing fruits such as dragonfruit, rambutan, mini bananas, mandarins and durian, the very smelly fruit banned from all hotels which smelled like raw sewage and has a very weird flavour which is hard to describe. Everywhere are the famous rice fields and paddies. Vietnam is one of the world's most important suppliers of rice. Right now, the rice fields are a beautiful emerald green. Some feature grave stones smack dab in the middle of them. Apparently, some Vietnamese believe that placing graves in the fields will guarantee that the land won't be sold. (Ancestor worship is very strong here.)
The water is the central motif of life here. People live in houses built on stilts above the water, they fish, they sell their produce off of their boats, and they visit the famous floating markets which we did too. The markets are amazing. Hundreds of boats varying in size docked side by side or pulling up next to you. A big pole hangs from the front of the boat with the produce being sold hung up high including pineapples, limes, oranges, etc. Now I understand why those famous cone-shaped hats are so prevalent in Vietnam. They are amazingly effective at staving off the heat of the sun while covering the neck and face. While I realise I looked ridiculous in one, I didn't care. It did the trick. That night, we were in for a few surprises. First, Larry and Sig ( a couple from L.A.) and I decided to have dinner in town. We found a lovely place on a terrace overlooking a square where we witnessed two motorbike accidents in the space of two hours. Moto traffic is crazy here. Next, the trip included one night's hotel accommodation. I wasn't expecting much we were confronted with the classic $1 or $2 per night hotel rooms which I vowed I would never stay in. Actually, it wasn't too bad.
One thing I really dislike is the fact that snakes are everywhere here. They are constantly trying to throw boa constrictors over your neck for photo opportunities which goes down very badly with me as I'm terrified of snakes. They are also very fond of eating snake and aquariums full of snakes are ever-present at markets and the entranceways of restaurants. For the men reading this, snake meat is supposed to improve your virility.
One funny incident: we were on the ferry and this little boy from Laos took a look at me, squealed and then started furiously rubbing his skin and pointing to mine with pride. He is quite dark so the gist of the conversation was that he was almost as dark as me. He was absolutely adorable and reminded me of my nephew, Alexander.
Another funny story told by a Belgian in our group: apparently some of our group had been together earlier and ran into quite an eccentric French-Canadian jewellry designer, about 60 years old with straggly long blond hair and a large fake butterfly on his forehead. Everyone was curious about him and finally, Hoh, our tour guide politely asked him "Are you ethnic?" which didn't go over well at all. There are a lot of indigenous people in Vietnam and Hoh thought that he was indigenous from somewhere else. Hilarious!
After the tour, I returned to Saigon and took a local bus to my next destinations: Phan Tiet and Mui Ne, to enjoy the beach and do some much-needed relaxing.
