Ninh Chu beach -Phan Rang - fishing, tanning, and the beginning of the Russian invasion...

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The next day we lay by the beach, which was deserted except for about 10 other guests from the resort (8 of them Russian), and the occasional local.

As a short aside, the reason we skipped Nha Trang is because it's invaded by Russians. There is a daily direct flight from Moscow, and this has quite an impact on the ambience. Mui Ne is supposed to be a bit better, but as Phan Rang's Ninh Chu beach was otherwise deserted, we were not much affected by the fact that we were nearly the only non-Russians there.

Resting on the beach, we suddenly found ourselves in the epicenter of the day's fishing efforts, and were able to get a close look at their techniques - their boats are round, oversized wicker baskets, which they propel and steer with one ore, and they release the nets from them, which it then takes at least 10 people to pull in.

It is heartbreaking to watch all the effort that goes into catching such few fish. And even though the waters are overfished, they continue doing the same, for longer hours, every day, using the smallest spawn to make fish sauce, which in turn means there are not enough baby fish to grow up to be caught. But sadly, poverty and hunger usually fail to see the bigger picture.

At dusk, running along the beach, I (Sadie), ran past the few resorts, and watched the beachfront change, first into a string of seafood shacks and run-down guesthouses, and then into a makeshift fishing village, where the homes were small, crackling brick boxes with no windows, and an outdoor sink. A single toilet house in the middle of what must have been 100 huts had a long tube running straight into the ocean. However, the village's children were laughing and playing, and all along my run the ones enjoying a leasurely moment by the seaside were not foreigners, but locals. Free from the usual stigma of being the white person with money amidst the poor locals, I felt for a moment at one with the country and its people. It helped, of course, to have some locas guys as running companions, and to get laughs from old men along the way. Our day at the beach in Phan Rang was a rare treat of a vaction day, complete with coconut juice, sunsets and breezy palm trees.

Coconuts consumed so far: 5

Total days spent lounging /sunbathing: 2

Best breakfast to date: Dreams Hotel, Dalat

Amount of Vietnamese people who have taken our phot: 20 (that we have noticed...)

Sadie's bite count: a constant 20 at any given time...

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Photos

Desserted beach
It was pretty much just the two of us enjoying this beach pretty much all the day. Not to bad ;-)

The boat
this is what very many fishermen in the region use when getting the nets in and out

Waterboy
Everyone are pitching in with what they can. This kid had the job of running back and forth with equipment and water for the two crews pulling the net on the beach

A man and the ocean 1
The fishermen at Phan Rang hit the water in small circular boats

hmm where did that waterboy run of to?
It did get really hot at mid day, but the fishermen and woman kept it going the whole day

Sorting
There is a lot to go through when the net is in, and everything, except the garbage, is being used in one way or another

Getting closer
Everyone pulled the net in when it was close enough. They did get some fishe, but also a lot of garbage...

another part of the catch
Not everything can be used, the sad thing is that there is no system for gathering the garbage so its just being thrown back in to the ocean

keep fishin'
The fishermen kept it going all day, they were up earlier than us, and was still at it when we went to bed

Back to work
Early in the morning the fishing crew came walking across the beach

A bit late
the good thing about the beach, its quite flat, so if you're late its always a possibility to hop on your bike

Comments

[mom]

amazing to see the real thing
talk about recycling...