In Nha Trang
We arrived in Nha Trang two nights ago, and we're leaving for Ha Noi tonight on the train. It's been raining ever since we left Da Lat. We haven't seen much because of the rain, but we have eaten some good seafood. We'll have to come back sometime when the weather is better. We did go to the Oceanographic Institute, which has a pretty nice aquarium, yesterday. We walked about three miles to get there and got pretty much soaked in the rain. We took a cab back to town and went to a restaurant the cab driver recommended, which probably wasn't a good way to find a place to eat, but it was delicious. We had a seafood hot pot -- lau, the kind you cook at your table -- with a crab and squid and fish and who knows what else.
We had a very interesting trip from Da Lat to Buon Me Thuot. We took a bus, and the scenery was absolutely spectacular the whole way. Things got interesting when we got within about 25 km of Buon Me Thuot. The road was so flooded, vehicles could not get through. We waited on the bus for only about 10 minutes before we were told to get on a boat that would take us to the other side of the flooding. The boat was a little scary -- overcrowded and no guard rails to prevent us from falling or being bumped overboard. We got to the other side safely though. We waded through some more water, then came to a van that was already overcrowded -- there was no way the three of us -- we were travelling with Sonne, a Dutch woman we met in Cat Tien Nat'l Park -- could get on the bus. The driver apparently said he would be back in 45 minutes, but that couldn't have been possible. We started looking for another ride. We ended up riding on the back of an open-bed transport truck with a few Vietnamese people, but the driver stopped about half way and went into a cafe. We learned he was afraid of getting in trouble with the police for hauling passengers -- I don't know why. One of the Vietnamese women had a cell phone and called for a cab, which worked out fine.
We spent the night in Buon Me Thuot at a hotel, because it was too late for Hoa's family to come get us. They live on a farm about 30 km or so outside town. The next morning we went to the farm. Hoa's aunt Khanh has 10 kids, all adults. Most are married and have children, so it's a huge family. I think Hoa wants to talk about the time we spent in BMT, so I'll just say that although life on the farm is more difficult than in other places we've been in Vietnam we had a great time, the family was very nice, and I enjoyed my short time of picking coffee.
Tom
We had a very interesting trip from Da Lat to Buon Me Thuot. We took a bus, and the scenery was absolutely spectacular the whole way. Things got interesting when we got within about 25 km of Buon Me Thuot. The road was so flooded, vehicles could not get through. We waited on the bus for only about 10 minutes before we were told to get on a boat that would take us to the other side of the flooding. The boat was a little scary -- overcrowded and no guard rails to prevent us from falling or being bumped overboard. We got to the other side safely though. We waded through some more water, then came to a van that was already overcrowded -- there was no way the three of us -- we were travelling with Sonne, a Dutch woman we met in Cat Tien Nat'l Park -- could get on the bus. The driver apparently said he would be back in 45 minutes, but that couldn't have been possible. We started looking for another ride. We ended up riding on the back of an open-bed transport truck with a few Vietnamese people, but the driver stopped about half way and went into a cafe. We learned he was afraid of getting in trouble with the police for hauling passengers -- I don't know why. One of the Vietnamese women had a cell phone and called for a cab, which worked out fine.
We spent the night in Buon Me Thuot at a hotel, because it was too late for Hoa's family to come get us. They live on a farm about 30 km or so outside town. The next morning we went to the farm. Hoa's aunt Khanh has 10 kids, all adults. Most are married and have children, so it's a huge family. I think Hoa wants to talk about the time we spent in BMT, so I'll just say that although life on the farm is more difficult than in other places we've been in Vietnam we had a great time, the family was very nice, and I enjoyed my short time of picking coffee.
Tom
posted by Tom Holz | 9:25 PM
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