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Published: September 4th 2006
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well I have finally left Tam Ky and it was a an emotional last day but i kinda knew that id be going back to pick up the rest of my bags so it wasn't as bad! Felt really strange leaving though because it did become my home but once again i was stepping out alone to do some travelling with no plan really as to where i was headed! my friend lam booked me a bus ticket for nha trang which is about 500 km south of Tam Ky so i was taken by mrs hahn and anh (a guy who came to same goodbye to me, who i taught, but he also helped out at the Home of affection). In true vietnamese style it was an hour late so i stood there having a a very basic conversation with anh, while also having my very own dragon dance by dozens of young local boys (it was national day in vietnam - where they celebrate their independence!) before it turned up and he put me on the bus!
so i got on the bus about 9 to find only 1 remaining seat next to a canadian called peter...but there
was a slight drawback, the air conditioning was dripping rusty water over this seat! I decided i didnt really care at first, it was just a bit of water but after 5 hours it really started to annoy me!!! i couldnt sleep because i was so wet and the drips kept me awake and when we stopped for the toilet i explained to the driver who just laughed at me! (and there was me thinking that they might even give me a refund! : I) anyway, the driver finally attempted to put a stop to the drip by wrapping the curtain around the air con vent! sleep at last!!!
I arrived at Nha Trang at 7 in the morning - very tired and a funny brown colour!! I met my friend lam and her french friend for breakfast before she got on the bus for saigon and then went in search of a hostel! I found one finally that had a bed but it was a bit pricey compared to most places (by pricey i mean $12 per night which is only really 6 quid but most people i met were paying $6) but i stuck it out there
for 1 night! i bumped into an english couple who i had met on the bus and went with them for a drink and a wander around the small city then we headed to beach for some much needed rest and relaxation!
I decided to head back on my own and get myself a motorbike taxi tour of a few key places in and around nha trang, my guide seemed pretty cool and really funny and his english was pretty good! he took me to some ancient cham ruins and then to a huge white budda which is the old part of the city.
I didnt have to pay an entry fee to go to the budda but i walked towars the steps and a teenage boy started talking to me and said he was gonna show me around- their were a few of them all dressed in the same blue shirt so i assumed they were kinda like tour guides or just being really friendly! so we chatted and walked around the pagoda/temple for a bit and then he explained he had to go to the orphanage and asked me to buy postcards which were more money than
Tam Thanh
Scholarship presentation for 105 of the kids i had on me! when i said i couldnt he really turned on me and said i would have bad luck and made me feel awful! i finally got rind of him and started to make my way up the stairs to the budda..on everystep there was someone begging, a cripple, a blind man, elderly women and they were all pushing their conical hats in my direction! it was really tough and the first begging ive experienced to that extreme here. Anyway i made it to the top (which was a long way!) and was approached by a girls who appeared about my age, we just chatting away abt this and that and I had a look at her paintings. She told me that all the small kids that were running around the pagoda and the budda lived at the temple because they were orphans and she had lived their since she was 2. She seemed really sincere so i had no reason to doubt her but on returning to me motorbike taxi man i explained what she had said and he told me thats what he was trying to tell me before i went in that it was all
Tam Thanh beach
this photo just shows how excited the kids were to see me or my camera! a scam and the kids live in little houses behind the temple! So it appears i am still pretty naive! So there's me giving away my money and my water! i guess im just an easy target - i think i might need to harden myself to these sorts of things!
Went out with english couple and a few others for dinner last night which was cool..then had an early night to prepare myself for a long boat trip today! Went to four islands and had a wicked day meeting new people and seeing the beautiful scenery!went snorkelling too! so now im about to head off for dinner with a girl from london and a guy from israel (who i met on the boat) ! should be fun! oh and moved to new hotel! its great!
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