Rock On Nha Trang
Trip Start
Jun 18, 2008
1
42
46
Trip End
Sep 04, 2008
Nha Trang,
Vietnam
Monday, September 15, 2008
We arrived in Nha Trang, host of the 2008 Miss Universe Pageant, at 6:30 a.m. and were luckily able to check in to our hotel right away. We slept for the next three hours and then went directly to the beach. We rented an umbrella and chaise lounges (more plush than the sleeper bus) and just chilled. Well, more like burned. No matter. The temperature was pleasant, the sand was soft, and we had the beach almost entirely to ourselves. Which, unfortunately also meant that all the hawkers selling postcards, sunglasses, fruit, cigarettes, you name it, really honed in on us. As bad as it sounds, I even stopped muttering "no thanks" and began to completely ignore them.
On our second day, we went on a boat tour of the islands! This truly was an instance of "you get what you pay for." In other words, for a $9 boat ride, we got "snorkeling" in murky water with garbage bags instead of coral reefs. We splashed around in inner tubes that were actually old tires. We visited a "floating bar" that was one of these inner tubes thrown into the water and three water bottles filled with complimentary rice wine. And we had to pay a separate admission to visit an island where there was an additional fee to sit on the chairs.
But the real kicker was the lunch hour, during which the brochure promised "entertainment." Our tour guide, who wore sunglasses with one lens missing the entire time, was a riot and claimed that no matter what country you were from, he could sing a song from that country. There were a handful of foreigners, but one thing that is cool about Nha Trang is that it's an actual vacation destination for Vietnamese people, too, not just honky Westerners. So, we foreigners were still a minority on the boat tour and therefore the recipeints of great mockery. Anyway, true to his word, all the Americans had to stand up and help the guide sing "Oh my darling Clementine" though no one knew but the one line. We also sang "Yellow Submarine" even after we explained that the Beatles are from England.
We thought the humiliation was over, but no. Earlier on the trip, we had all written our names and nationalities on a list circulated around the boat. The guide drew numbers from a hat, and if it matched your name on the list, you had to go in front of the boat and either 1.sing a song, 2.dance, or 3. jump into the water. And, don't you know, all the foreigners (except poor Jason who was relishing a turn in the spotlight) had their numbers picked. Even though I wanted to be a good sport, I found myself mortified once I was on the makeshift stage (the helm). I couldn't think of what to possibly sing so I chose to dance. The tour guide sang "La Bamba" (not my request), and I shook what my momma gave me for about 60 seconds. There is video proof, which will undoubtedly appear on YouTube thanks to my dear boyfriend Adam Rosen. So, alas, the "entertainment" portion of the boat trip was us entertaining the Vietnamese and each other.
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We had been planning to use our bus ticket to take us all the way north from Hochiminh to Hanoi, which would have meant spending less than 24 hours in two cities, Hoi An and Hue, in the middle of the country in addition to two more nights sleeping on the bus. Due to some unexpected events, we decided not to push ourselves and fly directly from Nha Trang to Hanoi, where we are now. So, we got to stay at the beach longer, and we also gave ourselves more time to enjoy Hanoi and Ha long Bay. So, I'm bummed we are skipped Hoi An and Hue, but now we'll just have to come back to Vietnam and not try to squeeze everything into 2 weeks! But, it's ok because tomorrow we leave for a three day-two night boat cruise on Ha Long Bay, which I am so excited for. Stay tuned!
