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Published: February 17th 2008
Dalat - City Canal
Remember the city canal in India a few blog entries ago? Find the 7 differences!Finally got away from the tourist traps in the south. It seems like all tourists are following the same track, as defined by the Lonely Planet. Takes away the feeling of being an "explorer" really. The local people have become accustomed to tourists and only offer a limited variety of tours, so you don't have the option of having a view of the areas where the other tourists don't go. Every single foreigner you meet has the exact same pictures on their camera's. There is one alternative: the easy riders. They drive you around on motorcycles, where ever you want. But as a single traveler, it's just too expensive. So I took the tours that all the backpackers do. Nha Trang is another beach town. The only "cultural" thing worth visiting are the Cham Towers, a temple complex from Hindu times. Not so many Vietnamese are Hindu, so you wouldn't find many Hindu sites around in most of the country. Aside from that, it is just another city full of scooters and a tourist area full of smaller and bigger hotels, restaurants and shops. Since the Lonely Planet dominates the brains of most tourists, they are still building more and more
hotels to cater for the stream of sheep following the dictated track. It seems to be impossible to get away from that though: the Vietnamese have caught the smell of money, and realize that showing you "the real life" will not make them much money. I spent the first days recovering from the bus ride (lots of sleeping), then rented a scooter to visit the Cham Towers and the Oceanographic Museum. Just before sunset, I almost got lost in the suburbs. Quite a nice area, but I couldn't risk getting stuck in the dark.
That evening, Francis and Stephane (the Canadians I met on the bus to Dalat) had arrived in Nha Trang as well. Francis and I went out to get a little tipsy and trying to escape the bars for westerners, we ended up in a Vietnamese discotheque. We both danced quite expressively, which resulted in the 3 tables around us being empty within 20 minutes. The girls' clothings were much more revealing than mine (I was wearing jeans and a pullover, it wasn't very warm in Nha Trang), so that couldn't have been the reason they left. We noticed that the Vietnamese didn't dance, eventhough it
really was music made for dancing. Techno and trance... what happened to Vietnamese culture ? It looks like all over Asia, the locals try to imitate the western lifestyle. Pretty soon, the whole world is going to be following the doctrine of western society. But they're not quite there just yet. The Vietnamese are quite protective of their own customs and lifestyle. If you ignore the street vendors and beggars (India thought me that!), most people are very friendly and welcoming. It'll just take a lot of time to break through to other subjects that could lead to you actually learning something about their lives.
The language barrier doesn't make it easier either. I had hoped that more people would still speak some French, but only a small part of the older generation does. The people who speak English are the people who deal with tourists every day and have their predefined list of things to talk about with foreigners. One exception was the lady who owns the "Crazy Kim" bar, but she had studied in Montreal. Her bar is the nicest place in town in my opinion. Not only did I have the best Calamari Fritti here, the
Nha Trang - Oceanographic Museum
Felt like I could have been in Gargamel's lab! girls are very friendly, Kim is a strong woman with a mission (fight sex tourism) and they play good music.
Stephane and Francis had been feeling somewhat tensed about each other. They just had different ways of travelling. Stephane had to some freelance work and only came out for dinner the first few days, while Francis and I hung out together. We walked all the way from the tourist area to the port, trying to find a place where we could book a boat trip to see the islands. We didn't, but ended up jumping into the longest cable car over water in the world (3,3 km). It brought us to an island that is now transformed into a big theme park. It reminded me of Sentosa Island in Singapore. The weather was really not warm, and it just seemed surreal and boring to us to find another attempt to copy the western lifestyle.
A few days later, the 3 of us went on a boat tour to the islands. All booking offices offer identical tours, at identical prices. We had expected it to be the typical "now do this and now do that" sort of trip, but
what we got was beyond imagination. The "guide" took his microphone and explained the itinerary. It sounded like he assumed that all us westerners just wanted to have a party on the boat. In American pep talk style, we were invited to sing a song, clap our hands. "We will be dancing and you can even do karaoke. I assure you, you do not leave before you get drunk. Are you all happy?? That's not loud enough, scream it again; *Are you happy ??*". Urgggg not really.
Around 10AM, we arrived close to the first island. Time to jump into the water for some snorkeling. The weather was mostly cloudy, but at least a little sun came through just at that moment. It was nice to see the reefs, but I am sure I will enjoy it much more when I go on a snorkeling trip in Thailand or Australia at some point in my life. The goggle leaked, the weather was not warm enough, nobody was really communicating, and I felt too much like I was being "forced to be happy". Around us, there were a dozen other boats just like ours, doing the exact same things. And westerners
Nha Trang - Cable Ride
If anything, you'd do it for the scenery. Not for what's on the island. were put on different boats than Vietnamese. The next "treats" included lunch on the boat (count to 3 in Vietnamese all together before starting - and try to count louder than the boat just next to us), and the performance of the "boys band". I guess the picture give you a good idea. They tried to encourage people (= pull them) to go on the improvised dance floor, where the ceiling was too low for even Vietnamese people to stand up straight. And finally, there was the "happy hour": free cocktails and pineapple if you'd jump in the water again, where they had set up a "floating bar". The boats around us had identical floating bars. It was getting colder and colder, and I *really* didn't take this tour just to be treated like a teenager and/or get drunk. Maybe getting drunk would have helped to digest the sillyness. Some Brits had gotten all drunk by the time we were heading for the second island. We were going to skip one of the islands today, they told us. The current is too strong... duuhhh. I bet they say that every day. On the second island, we were supposed to have
Nha Trang - Theme Park
3D video game, flying a delta. another drink and relax on the beach. All together, now. A beach full of westerners coming from all the boats offering this tour. Nothing to see, no guided tour of the island. We found a small path long enough to hike for half an hour. Another hour to kill on the beach. By 15hrs, we arrived at the last island, and visited the aquarium. The only interesting event of the day. Back by the hotel at 16:30. "Please tell your friends about us!". Yep, will do.
Francis and I left the same evening. Stephane had another project he needed to work on, and would fly to Hanoi on Sunday. Our initial plan was to go to Hue, and from there head towards Laos. Just before we went on the night train to Hue, we discovered that the weather in Hanoi would be clearing up from Monday on. That made us change our plans. We walked around in Hue to see the main sights (a complex of pagoda's and buildings that belonged to the emperor in the 19th century). It felt like autumn in Hue. Completely clouded, but no rain fortunately. We jumped on the night train again to Hanoi.
Two days of night training: definately time for a shower. The temperatures went further down as we drove north. It still is pretty cold here in Hanoi, but at least it should get better from tomorrow on. Hanoi is definately a lively place. Wouldn't mind spending a few more days here, but my visa expires on the 20th (next Wednesday already!) and we both really want to see Ha Long Bay. Francis and I booked our tour, Stephane is taking a more luxurious tour in a few days. We leave at 8AM tomorrow morning. 3 Days, 2 nights. One night sleeping on the boat, another day in a 3 star hotel. If you google for boat tours on Ha Long Bay, you might find the boat we are on: the Imperial.
On Thursday (a day later than my visa expiry date, so they might charge extra, but people tell me they probably won't), Francis and I are flying from Hanoi to Vientiane, the capital of Laos. Very curious to see Laos. Everybody says it is the most laid back country in South East Asia. Even the Australians say that. If an *Australian* says a place is the most laid
back country they know.. I tend to believe them. When I was in Dalat and Nha Trang, I had considered to skip Laos because I had gotten tired of all the bussing and frustrations of traveling alone. But Francis is heading there and we seem to be having a lot of fun, so I feel confident enough to give it a go after all. It is much easier to handle the hardships when you're not alone. Everything becomes something to laugh about. When you're alone, frustrations can really get you down.
Okay, time to put this online and join the Canadians for a drink. They wanted to try "the cheapest beer in the world": less than 2000 VND/glass. Which means that 10 USD will buy you 200 beers. I'd rather have a good old Leffe (they do sell them here), but then, I am not a guy.
xxx
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Rutger
non-member comment
A happier girl!
Heyhey Sabrina, I'm very happy; good company makes a journey so much nicer! Cheers, Rutger