On the road again
I'm travelling again, heading north with my friend Otto from Prescott. We're now in Hoi An, an ancient city that's now listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of it's beauty and traditional architecture. Otto arrived in Saigon about one week ago today, Thursday, and Otto, Hoa, and I left for Nha Trang the next afternoon. We had a great time in Nha Trang, a beautiful beach town. We rented scooters one day and travelled around the area, first stopping at the Cham towers right in town. Champa was an ancient kingdom of Central Vietnam that was conquered by the Vietnamese who came from the north during the 1500 and 1600's, I think. It was a Hindu civilization heavily influenced by India (that's redundant I suppose), similar to the Angkor Kingdom of Cambodia. The Cham people are still around, and I talked to a Cham family at the towers for a while. The adults and the children still speak their own language, as well Vietnamese, like many of Vietnam's ethnic minorities, and this family, at least, can also write Cham and wrote a few words -- "tower," "eat," and something else -- for me in Cham in my travel guide. After leaving the Cham towers, we headed up the coast, visiting a pagoda with spectacular ocean views, then on to a series of waterfalls in a small forest preserve north of Nha Trang. It was fun. We did some hiking to get to the falls, and Otto and I swam in the pool below one of the falls.
Another day we paid $9 each for a boat trip to go snorkelling near one of the islands. It was a great trip. Visibility in the water was good, and we saw a lot of interesting coral and fish species.
On our last day in Nha Trang, we rented bikes in the morning and rode to the pagoda with the big Buddha on top of a hill, then went to the beach. At the beach we paid a woman to grill some some giant prawns for us, which were delicious. All three of us also got massages on the beach, which was fun. I enjoyed talking to the women, as I often do, about Otto, how he's single, handsome, and strong and healthy at 61. Maybe he'll take a home a wife.
On Tuesday, we left Nha Trang. Hoa had to return to Saigon to work, but Otto and I took a bus to Hoi An. We're having fun here. It really is a beautiful place. I'll try to get some photos posted soon. Hoi An is know for its tailors, so I agreed to have a linen shirt made for me for about $7. I'll pick it up this afternoon.
Otto and I took a ferry to one of the islands this morning. It was an interesting place, and it was nice to be away from the tourist areas for a while. The island was very beautiful, and they grow a number of different crops, including corn, rice, and fruit. We watched a kingfisher diving for fish in one of the ponds, men plowing fields using water buffalo, and women harvesting rice by hand. Last night, we wanted to go for a boat ride, but didn't want to take one of the tourist motor boats, so we found a woman, with her daughter and mother, paddling one of the traditional single-oared wooden boats. The women are amazing the way they oar these boats. The grandmother was old and was chewing betel the whole time, and had the black-stained teeth that is the result of betel-chewing. I think I need to try it myself. We were out just before sunset and took some photos. I hope some of them are good.
Anyway, it's been fun, and I'm sure I forgetting a lot of things that I meant to include. I should do this more often so I don't forget so much. Tonight is the full moon, which is the time here in Hoi An for some special celebration -- we'll find out tonight what it's all about.
Another day we paid $9 each for a boat trip to go snorkelling near one of the islands. It was a great trip. Visibility in the water was good, and we saw a lot of interesting coral and fish species.
On our last day in Nha Trang, we rented bikes in the morning and rode to the pagoda with the big Buddha on top of a hill, then went to the beach. At the beach we paid a woman to grill some some giant prawns for us, which were delicious. All three of us also got massages on the beach, which was fun. I enjoyed talking to the women, as I often do, about Otto, how he's single, handsome, and strong and healthy at 61. Maybe he'll take a home a wife.
On Tuesday, we left Nha Trang. Hoa had to return to Saigon to work, but Otto and I took a bus to Hoi An. We're having fun here. It really is a beautiful place. I'll try to get some photos posted soon. Hoi An is know for its tailors, so I agreed to have a linen shirt made for me for about $7. I'll pick it up this afternoon.
Otto and I took a ferry to one of the islands this morning. It was an interesting place, and it was nice to be away from the tourist areas for a while. The island was very beautiful, and they grow a number of different crops, including corn, rice, and fruit. We watched a kingfisher diving for fish in one of the ponds, men plowing fields using water buffalo, and women harvesting rice by hand. Last night, we wanted to go for a boat ride, but didn't want to take one of the tourist motor boats, so we found a woman, with her daughter and mother, paddling one of the traditional single-oared wooden boats. The women are amazing the way they oar these boats. The grandmother was old and was chewing betel the whole time, and had the black-stained teeth that is the result of betel-chewing. I think I need to try it myself. We were out just before sunset and took some photos. I hope some of them are good.
Anyway, it's been fun, and I'm sure I forgetting a lot of things that I meant to include. I should do this more often so I don't forget so much. Tonight is the full moon, which is the time here in Hoi An for some special celebration -- we'll find out tonight what it's all about.
posted by Tom Holz | 9:12 PM
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