Hangin' in Na Trang and On to Saigon

We rolled out of our overnight bus in Nha Trang, all bad hair and halitosis, and jumped in a cab to go find ourselves a home. As is so often the case, we ended up in the first place that we checked out, but only after leaving the boys with the bags and scouting around at a number of others first. This routine is usually worthwhile, though, and in this case we discovered a food stall at the end of an alley where Remy and Connor would go every morning for breakfast. For a couple of dollars each, we could have an enormous bowl of either pho or bun thit nuong and a coffee and enjoy the effusive company of the proprietor, who encouraged us to drink and smoke as much as we liked because one of the herbs in his dishes, which he called "tung", is apparently a miraculous hangover cure. We ate lots of the herb, but avoided creating the need for it.

Nha Trang is the consummate Vietnamese tourist town - lots of huge resort hotels of questionable architectural merit lining the extraordinarily beautiful beachfront, amazing street food, and a surplus of Russians and all the things they seem to attract - gaudy jewellery stores, skanky clothing, liquor and cigarettes. There is no real market scene in Nha Trang, except for one pathetic effort at a night market in which every stall sells the same made-in-China junk. That being said, the tourist crowd in Nha Trang (beyond the majority Russians) is very eclectic, incorporating Europeans of all stripes, Chinese, Koreans, and an over-representation of Canadians. As a result there are shops and businesses catering to all.

 One of the highlights of our stay was the day spent at the Thap Ba Hot Springs. For a very reasonable fee, we were able to partake in a mud bath and a soak in natural hot spring water, which is purported to cure everything from the heartbreak of psoriasis to the pain of a heartbreak, and many other physical and mental ailments in between. Afterward, you can hang around the large hot and cool pools and waterfalls and enjoy some really good, reasonably priced food for the rest of the day. It was just the tonic we all needed!

Hollis hamming it up in front of the mud inlet pipe (look between his legs), demonstrating the effect that not washing your hands before you eat or drinking the tap water can have. It made the staff laugh.

The family that bathes together, stays together. Hollis and Bowen being brothers while Liz and Remy get grotty.

Finally, a chance to be alone and do dirty things with each other!

Incredible, we had this entire pool to ourselves! And no, it wasn't because anybody had dropped a dookie.

Connor and Bowen getting some exercise, in keeping with the health theme. "Green Sally up! Green Sally down!"

Flashdance, anyone?

On the way back from the hot springs we stopped in at a Cham temple. The Cham were an Indianized civilization that ruled this area about 1000 years ago, and built these beautiful Hindu temples all over. Lots of lingam around, sculpted with remarkable physiognomical (if somewhat boastful) accuracy. It is refreshing to be around a religion that celebrates, rather than suppresses, that aspect of our existence.

No, there was not a toxic spill at the temple. This is a Vietnamese tourist.

A view of the river estuary and Nha Trang from the temple. 

The Indian influence is obvious in the art at the temple.

A performance of Cham folk dance .

Once again, we were inappropriately dressed to enter the temple and so had to don the proffered robes. At least these beat the bath robes in other places. I would actually wear this outside the temple!

Sugar cane juice! We researched it, and it is actually quite good for you. It is essentially a palatable form of grass juice, and is very cheap in this part of the world. We have at least one a day.

Feeding the cane through the mangle. Add a touch of lime juice and you have one of nature's wonder foods.

Again, being conscious of wanting to provide Connor with a comprehensive tropical experience, we signed up for a day-long boat excursion. Connor, who had never tried snorkeling before, had only ventured into the pounding surf at An Bang with Remy's snorkeling gear and had not had a good time. We wanted to make sure he had a positive experience of snorkeling, and our day around the Cham Islands proved to be just the thing! Clear water, gentle seas, lots of coral and fish with a minimum of plastic was ideal. We also met a family of Australians that was entertaining, consisting of the estranged parents, their adult daughter and her fiancee. The friendly but drunken, foul-mouthed, spoke-what-was-on-his-mind father was a hoot, but it was easy to see what had caused his wife to separate from him so long ago or what caused his daughter so much embarrassment. He was a lot of fun, though, and despite his age was one of the first people to jump off the upper deck. The other interesting members of the group were a couple of inept Indian men, one of whom had been drugged at a bar the night before and had had all his valuables stolen.

The lunch on board was very good, and Remy and Connor definitely ate their money's worth!

Hanging out on the upper sun deck, where we got lots of GoPro video of everyone jumping off.

This sign made us laugh!

Remy and Connor at our favourite breakfast spot for the last time! We bought breakfast for this street urchin, who never thanked us for it and went on to demand money for a drink afterward! Oh well, charity shouldn't come with a price tag, anyway.

A bonus of the trip to Nha Trang for Liz was being able to have a bathing suit tailor made for her. We have been traveling for long enough that we are actually wearing out bathing suits! For $28 USD, Liz had a bikini made to order that would have cost about $150 at home.

We had to say goodbye to Nha Trang, as we wanted to explore Saigon and area a bit before the two older boys had to return to Bangkok for the return to Canada. We took the train again in order to be able to enjoy the countryside and be able to get up and stretch en route. The train was busy as we approached Saigon, but there was lots of onboard food service en route, which was nice, and overall the trip was fairly pleasant. We installed ourselves in a squeaky clean guest house in the centre of the backpacker district and set out to explore. We quickly came to feel at home in our neighbourhood, identifying favourite smoothie and pho joints as well as establishing a pleasant breakfast routine. As busy as Saigon is, we preferred it to Hanoi as afar as big cities go!

Highlights (if you can call such sombre experiences such) were the War Remnants Museum and the tour of the Cu Chi Tunnels. The former, while an intensive session of Viet Minh propaganda, also gave an excellent perspective on the almost fifty year struggle against European and American imperialism. It was sobering to see how cruel both sides were to each other in the name of higher ideals. The latter was an inspiring example of how tough people can be when they are fighting for their lives, and an illustration of why the Americans were never going to win.

The two brothers, showing how much they love each other! We are all becoming aware of how soon this will end.

An iconic building in Saigon - the platform you see is a helipad! Saigon underwent double digit growth in the 90's and there is a lot of modern architecture in this city. The government helped drive the building boom by ordering various ministries to rent office space, a lot of which still sits empty.

Remy outside the Ministry of Silly Walks. No, not really. Displaying perfect form at a game of cua da.

Another fine example of socialist architecture.

One of the nasty traps used during the Vietnam war, displayed at the Cu Chi Tunnels.

An American tank (M41 Bulldog, for those that care) that the Viet Cong succeeded in destroying around the tunnels, left as a monument to how the valiant peasant freedom fighters managed to conquer the imperialist American pig-dogs.

Another nasty trap. It is amazing how inventively cruel people can be to each other.

Finally, the ultimate tourist experience for the boys - shooting an AK47 in Vietnam!

Viet Connor.

There are hundreds of thousands of these all over Vietnam, and just as many more like them all over  Laos and Cambodia. 

Hollis in the tunnels of Cu Chi. It got very dark and claustrophobic (Hollis is squatting in this photo), and these tunnels had been enlarged for the comfort of bulky Western tourists. Some Viet Cong lived in these tunnels for 6 months at a time, and there were kitchens, workshops, classrooms and hospitals all underground.

Hollis, happy to see the light of day! Just a few minutes underground and we were all sweaty, grimy, and nervous. 

Finally, shooting the real thing! Too bad it was the end of the day and the guns were all gummed up, causing many misfeeds.

This group of university students stopped by to practise speaking English with us. It was a fantastic opportunity to trade cultures and let them know what the tourist experience in Vietnam is like.

We finally had a chance to model all the custom clothing we had had made in Hoi An. This is our best "album cover" pose.  Unfortunately Bowen did not have his custom deck shoes on, as they still have to cure for another week. 

On the way from our room to enjoy homemade muesli and fruit with yogurt in the park.

We knew this day would come, but it was still a teary event as we said goodbye to Hollis and Connor. In another "small world" incident, they shared the flight with Eduardo, whom we had met on the overnight bus.

Saigon marked the end of a phase in our travels. We had been working toward a deadline, when Hollis and Connor would return home, and the paradigm within which we had all been living was about to shift drastically. It was a time of much excitement for Hollis, as he begins his adult life, and for Connor, returning to the bosom of  his own family (we all probably know just a little too much about the other now). It was a sad time for Hollis' brother and parents, all of whom will miss him, but we are excited for him as well. Bowen is not as excited - his best friend and confidant is leaving, meaning he will have to share a room with his parents full time (not a great prospect for them, either!) and nothing to look forward to but challenging food, home school and intense scrutiny of his junk food eating habits. Our schedule, however, is wide open until we have to return to Canada, and the three of us will be traveling much lighter and more economically, which will mean being able to treat ourselves a bit more. We have more of Vietnam to explore, so after our goodbyes we Remy, Liz and Bowen headed back to our room to prepare for our onward travels.

~Remy