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Asia » Vietnam » South Central Coast » Khanh Hoa » Nha Trang
January 10th 2013
Published: June 13th 2017
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Geo: 12.2453, 109.199

DAY SEVEN (1/10/13) — Nha Trang

If you're lucky enough to be at the beach, you're lucky enough.

This morning we see our hotel in daylight for the first time. The property is exquisite and the views along the beach, with thatched umbrellas and mountains on the distant shores, are spectacular. We have breakfast on the porch; among our selections are 20+ types of tropical fruits. This is paradise.

"It's the little things we do together" is a song from the Broadway musical “Company”. It seems like an appropriate theme for our day with Tauck. No big famous monuments … just little slices of Vietnamese life.

We pass orchards and palm trees as we wander through rural landscapes. Our first stop is Khai Sang School, a kindergarden full of precious 4 and 5-year-olds. They sing and dance for us and are then released to play with us. Two main activities: looking at photos we have taken of them on our digital cameras and being lifted in the air by their American visitors.

For them, Patrick is a personal amusement park. They are lifted higher than they have ever been and each of the 30 children stands in line for their thrill ride.
He's a very popular guy who gets a lot of aerobic exercise. Soon he recognizes that the kids have come back for seconds and thirds. They are beautiful and their laughter contagious.

Next we visit a local open-air market, the hub of village life, where we buy fresh fruit, sample fried sweet potatoes and bargain for wares. There are live fish on platters squirming around and fresh frogs who might be leaping if they weren't tied to one another. All the fish and meat is fresh and un-iced, ready for the day's consumption. Cheryl Morley mentions that you know it's fresh because nothing smells. But it's so very unusual for as Americans to see how things are sold. In addition to
fresh meats and produce, there are things like shoes, incense and bras, of all things, being sold in stalls next to fish heads. It's very much a cash economy; we are told it's hard for economists to determine GNP.

We then spend time with local weavers who sell mats for a living. They show us how it's done,
our guides explain how they are used (those who work in the rice fields sleep on very flat mats to compensate for the fact that they are bent over all day). Jackie Knight and Frank Gundlach of our group try their turn at weaving. Some among the group, including Cheryl Morley and Jacque Krupp, buy placemats.

Now we visit a 200-year-old home and are served tea and some fresh fruit as we sit in beautiful burl wood chairs. We sample Mangosteen and dragonfruit, some of the more exotic varieties Southeast Asia has to offer.

We board two motorboats for a ride down the Cai River, passing wooden bridges built just for bicycles and scooters and taking in small fishing villages that are made up of tin shanties
on stilts hanging over the water.

We lunch at Champa Restaurant where there is a curious Christmas tree. A huge Norfolk pine with garland, lights and balls, with Santa climbing up the trunk; the entire thing is supported by four
bronze Buddhas.

Lunch is a little extreme for some (Dianna's vegetarian, non-garlic dish is squid) and my
coffee is a new experiment for the Vietnamese. It is coffee grown in the region, and served in a Vietnamese version of a French press. It is stronger than anything I have ever tasted … more like a concentrated extract. I am served one ounce; I eventually add 6 ounces of hot water and it becomes palatable. They need to work on this. ;-)

Back at Evason Ana Mandara resort, Miss Cheryl and I have manicure appointments at the very Vietnamese spa. The manicure, which costs $33 and is scheduled to last 50 minutes, is delivered lying down! The technicians, of course, are not lying down; but Cheryl and I recline on massage tables as they do our nails in very dim light with soothing music being played. So very odd. A half-hour into the thing, lying flat on my back really gets to me; it becomes painful. I lift my knees and try other remedies but I finally insist on sitting up. She gives me a back rub to try and correct
the pain and she moves on. The entire event lasts 80 minutes and we don't have time for a top coat nor to sit and have ginger tea which they insist upon. We are ugly Americans who must move on to our 5:30 event. I will be talking about this manicure when I am in a nursing home.

We are now set for a one-hour city tour by cyclo, a three-wheel cycle rickshaw which is a human-powered tricycle designed to carry one passenger in addition to the driver. We tour Nha Trang and have many exciting encounters with cars, buses, pedestrians and especially scooters. Joe Adorjan is the lead dog; his experience is breath-taking. But it's quite an adventure and we are glad to have experienced it.

Dinner is the fresh market buffet of the hotel Lots of food stations with lots of food. After dinner, there is a demonstration of traditional dance.




Additional photos below
Photos: 27, Displayed: 25


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11th January 2013

Great photos. Lovemyour comments, u r such a great writer. I am on the trip with u.
11th January 2013

How nice of you to say! Lovely trip.
11th January 2013

Adorable! What beautiful babies!
11th January 2013

I would have loved to witness the kids queuing up for Patrick's thrill rides! LOL!
11th January 2013

How very precious!!!
11th January 2013

This is a prize winner, Tommye!
11th January 2013

It must be Princess Di !xoEnjoy keep writing..
11th January 2013

Do you think the little rickshaw guy was prepared for a 6'4" passenger?
29th October 2013

NB: Proper ladies don't have uncovered shoulders in public in S/E Asia. Grown men don't wear shorts ... according to my Aussie Expat Friend who lived in Saigon for 20 years. He is right. Same procedure in Thailand my Thai GF says.
29th October 2013

They are tiny!
29th October 2013

Nuthin' but organic in Vietnam!

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