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Published: April 18th 2008
Nha Trang Beach
It was overcast and rainy when I walked the beach one afternoon, not an unwelcome environment given the heat earlier. Shortly after this pic I had to run to a beachfront resort taking shelter from the downpour.My flight from Hoi An to Nha Trang was enlivened by meeting Gary who was taking some R & R from Afghanistan where he was employed in US air force airport logistics. After landing in Cam Rhan Bay, the old US forces airfield, we took a 20 minute taxi along a beautiful coastal highway ending in the beautiful beach town of Nha Trang. My hotel is on Beit Thu street which is about two blocks from the beach
Nha Trang is a seaside town with a healthy fishing industry a salt producing industry and as well a tourist magnet. It is the first coastal place I've been to in Vietnam with beaches, unlike Halong Bay with its monolithic rock sculptures. Diving is a popular attraction here as are boat trips out to the nine outlying islands. I took one of these tours which it turned out was crammed with Viets, except for four Russians who were as confused as me. In spite of the language barrier, I had a great time and found that with the right attitude/smile and willingness to get along things went smoothly. Of course it's also true that the Viets were pretty well all on
The Same All Over the World
These two had the beach to themselves this rainy day and made the most of it. I used my zoom to stay out of the picture, so to speak vacation, enjoying a drink or two of Tiger, the local brew, and prone to bouts of happiness and good will toward all. (Actually, I found this friendliness apparent throught SE Asia with few exceptions. The exceptions having to do mostly with scrambling for a living: not hard to understand). Later in the week I was in a restaurant when one of the Russians approached me for a discussion, and a shared meal. We made slow progress with his halting English and my non-existent Russian. I've since got an email from Vladovostoke from poor freezing Vlad.
On the boat tour I also met Tristan and his new wife, both Vietnamese, on their honeymoon. They live in the US, around Washington D.C. This is a success story out of the war. Tristan's father was connected to the US' forces in Saigon during the war. With the fall of Saigon in '75 the family escaped to a refugee camp in Malaysia. (My own experience to the "boat people" is tenuous, with only some support given to a family that had re-located to Ottawa where I worked for the Canadian govt. at the time.) The family made it to America where
Tristan and Ha
This is just after our trip to the islands off Nha Trang. Tristan and Ha are on the right while the fellow beside me is ...., actually I forget now. they prospered. He was returning to the land of his birth now that the victors had allowed/invited ex-Viets to return.
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