VIETNAM: FISHING AND FROLIC

Squid. They're incredibly smart creatures, like pigs, so I always feel bad whenever I eat them. (Unlike cows, which are essentially walking carrots with a gas problem.) But sadly for squid, they don't have the "Bunny Factor" and I'm a hypocrite, and we were at a fishing village at the outskirts of Nha Trang, so...



But on to sunnier matters. Today was the day we said goodbye to our first guide -- see earlier posts about the Texting King: He had more attitude than a Beverley Hills prom queen -- so needless to say it was a day of celebration. And what better way to celebrate than to walk along a gorgeous beach. Avid readers will know the photo is cribbed from two posts ago, sigh, but hey, it's from our hotel window and from this high up you don't see the garbage.




Note this closeup of the building in the panorama shot. It's designed to look like a lotus bud.



And note the palapas. Unlike those throughout the Carribean, they're designed like the traditional Vietnamese conical hats.



And of course, Edward Scissorhands has, once more, been here before us. On the second photo note the white paint at the base of the trees. It's not just for bugs. Instead it's to act as a reflector so motorbikes don't plow into them.





As always, too, there are trees decorated with night lights. Which reminds me, it's time for bed. Have to be up early tomorrow to fly to Danang and the Marble Mountains then drive to Hoi An -- a city well worth seeing!



Sweet dreams,

Me

VIETNAM: BUDDHA AND BURNINGS

So... we finally made it to Nha Trang.

Nha Trang is noted for its beautiful beaches, its diving, the picturesque fishing villages surrounding it, and as the birthplace of Thich Quang Guc (English spelling inaccurate due to Vietnamese alphabet), a Buddhist monk who burned himself alivein protest of the policies of the Diem regime. A major Buddhist shrine has been erected in his memory. You call read all about the appalling Diem here -- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ngo_Dinh_Diem -- an American uber-ally whose family was so unspeakable that the U.S. government tacitly approved his assassination.



Above is the statue on top of the hill. The plaques surrounding the base are each dedicated to a monk who burned himself in copycat suicides.

Halfway up the hill is a reclining Buddha.





And here's a statue to the monk whose immolation focussed the anger of the international community against Diem, which in turn led to his assassination.



I mentioned fishing villages. Here's the entrance to one of the tackier aquariums I've ever visited. I'm surprised it's not in Dalat. :)



But the sight of the fishing villages is truly glorious, as is the sight of the boats on water. I'll be taking you to floating fishing villages in in Halong Bay and Cambodia, so let's let two photos suffice for now.





Allan

VIETNAM: THE ROAD TO NHA TRANG

Well... cast your mind back a couple of weeks -- before the Cannes and Venice excitement -- and wake up in Dalat, Vietnam's Niagara Falls without the falls. We've just been to a Buddhist monastery -- where fortunately we were able to escape our idiot guide who strolled around in his preppy scarf, texting all and sundry. And now we're headed to Nha Trang and have stopped at a Buddhist cemetery on account of road construction. Driving on, I asked the snoozing guide if Vietnam had any problems with soil erosion. "No," he said. And one minute later...




The non-erosion continued for the next half-hour through miles of timber cutting and deforestation. And then we encountered the homes below. They belong to the Ethic Minority People, as the Vietnamese put it. They've lived here for centuries and are being squeezed. Note that the homes are built on stilts. The stilts are to protect against snakes and lizards, flooding, and are a place to store things.



Just when things were getting boring we drove up into the Cloudy Mountain range and found ourselves flying by turns into and out of, well, clouds.



Then down and on through rice and tea plantations.



Finally we enter Nha Trang. I remembered massive walls in Xian and other cities in China, so as we approached this smallish underpass I asked if it might be the walls of the old city. Our guide roused from his slumber in ther back seat, rolled his eyes, and said, "Of course." Then rubbed his eyes and texted somebody.



At last we got to our hotel across the road from the beach. Have to say, it was EXTREMELY nice. Although we had to keep the lights on because of the sunken living area beside the bed with no railing. (Also a sunken tub by the toilet; nearly cracked my head open on a midnight trip. :)



But what a view! What a sunset!





Ahhhhh..... :)

Me

VIETNAM AND CAMBODIA: SNEAK PEEKS

I've been over my head getting back to work after Cannes, Nice and Venice, so forgive today's lazy post. Here are random sneak peeks of upcoming places and people to get us back into the swing of the travelogue of Vietnam and Cambodia . (You can see Saigon and Dalat in previous posts. :))

Below, variously, are sample shots from Nha Trang, Hoi An, Halong Bay and Siem Reep -- with much much more to follow in future posts. (Hanoi, Hue, Elephant Mountain, Cloudy Mountain and Danang are absent from the mix. They'll be coming, not to worry, but not just yet.:))

Enjoy!



















Hope these have tempted you to come back. :)