Visiting Duane's Old Stomping Grounds

  Cam Ranh, Vietnam
Monday, February 26, 2007

We had one day to spend in Cam Ranh but thanks to the reckless speed of our bus we arrived in Nha Trang early. Cam Ranh is about 30 km south of Nha Trang, the major beach destination in the country. We took a taxi the rest of the way to Cam Ranh city. This was our first big diversion from the tourist track. There were exactly two tourists in the town, Julius and me! We didn't have a hotel picked out but there were a number of them and they appeared quite empty. We chose the first one on our side of the street. It was a "clean enough" hotel with very friendly staff and A/C for $8 a night.

Our reason for diverting off the tourist track was a request from a good family friend who was based in this town during the war. He had not been back to visit but hoped to one day. He wanted to see what the area was like now. It had certainly changed. The group of villages he described were now a city.

Cam Ranh Bay is one of the deepest bays in the world, making it an ideal port. The Americans had a big base there during the war and the Russian Military leased it when the Americans left. When the Soviet Union collapsed they couldn't pay the lease and moved out. Vietnam declared that they were done renting the place out. According to flashy signs around town they will be upgrading the port over the next few years. The rest bay has been completely taken over with shrimp farms and fish farms. It is quite a sight when you check out the place on Google Earth. It is nice to see it being used for peaceful endeavors.

When stopping by an ATM we met a VQ (what the Vietnamese call the people who fled overseas after the war) who was home for Tet to check on her investments and businesses. She got us hooked up with a taxi company she knew in town. The driver didn't speak English so one of the girls in the office came along to be our guide. They rarely get tourists (most are former U.S. soldiers or their children coming for the same reason we are) so we got good treatment.

It is good we got help as the town is not set up for tourists at all. Our guide was 25 so she wasn't around for the war but she was able to show us places that were around back then. She took us to meet her family. Her mom was visiting from the US. Her mom's parents fled for their lives after the war (they had been fighting against the North Vietnamese and feared retribution) and they have slowly been sponsoring their children to come to America. Her mom finally was able to go in her 50's!

Unusual Buddist Temple

It has been hard for her mom as Michigan is a big change from Vietnam and her lack of English isolates her a lot. She is hoping to get citizenship like her parents one day and sponsor her own children. It is a long process. Our guide's sister was also visiting for Tet from Saigon along with her children ages 3, 2 and 1. Busy lady!

Our guide said that relatives in the US tell her that life in America is hard and you have to work constantly. It is true, think of how hard immigrants and refugees from Vietnam work when they get to the US. Many do well, but they don't get much free time to enjoy life. Most send money back home to help relatives and build homes and businesses. The town has a fair number of the three story, skinny fancy houses that the locals call "American houses" because they are almost always built with money from their VQ relatives. Our guide says that some families just live in their cousin's house for free and don't work, but most open a shop on the first floor.

Next we went to seafood restaurant that was built over one of the fish farms. The seafood was great and fresh, as they scoop it out of the tanks behind the restaurant and onto the grill.

Seafood Feast

We had barbecued shrimp (1 pound), 2 pounds of fried rice with seafood, beer and bottled water for four for only $10! Cheaper than even the touristy Vietnamese towns. In fact, everything in this town was cheaper Because they don't have tourists, they don't know to inflate the price.

We stopped at a number of Catholic churches in the city, the main one takes the Asian theme and runs with it - very cool. Another was more traditional looking and had a Catholic school in the same yard. 

Visiting the Catholic School

The kids were out at recess and were very curious when we came up to visit. At first they were shy but once we pulled out the digital camera and let them see the photos of themselves they became total hams. It was like a party and we were sad to leave after a short visit.

We found everyone in town very nice. Older people (40's and up) speak English well but there aren't as many here. Many died in the war or were able to flee in the boats to become refugees in other countries. It is a young city just like it is a young country. 30% of the Vietnamese population are under 15.

Thankfully we were able to get a plane for the next leg of our trip. It was a small ATR 72 but it got us there. The whole "budget airline" concept doesn't exist yet in Asia so they managed to serve a sandwich and drinks, even for a 45 minute flight. Very different than the US.

Check out all our photos of Cam Ranh at our Smugmug page!