A sad tale on a hot day

Well it is back on the big yellow bus again. The stay in Saigon was a short one. Unfortunately, I did not get the chance to meet Hau’s family. Something came up and we were forced to cancel our lunch appointment. Oh well……. Maybe next time. I have to say it was good to see them. During our conversation, I was asked if I would be interested to go to Miramar (formerly Burma) with them…….. hmmmmmmmm  …. Maybe…. I asked about the situation there and was assured that it is a very safe place for tourists. It would probably be a lot of fun. I will think on it. As far as I am concerned, there is no better tour company in all of Asia and if they feel it is safe enough for me, I believe them. My friends at V’Explore have never let me down. It will be good to go home. It is hot here. Not so hot as I miss the snow and cold, but hot just the same. The cooler ocean breezes of NhaTrang will be a welcome relief. Also, a person really gets tired of every person on the street trying to offer or sell you something. It can be fun once in a while to see the hustlers, but for me, I would rather be away from tourist areas and live the same as the locals. Even when walking through the park in the heat of the afternoon, I was followed by a woman offering some services.

So….. I did not get the chance to walk around with my fake wallet. Oh well. I can save that fun for

 another time. The sun has set and it is still hot in Saigon. I have spent most of the day doing absolutely nothing. I did consume vast quantities of water and iced tea. Hopefully this will not make the bus ride uncomfortable.

Now a tragic tale…..

Mai had made arrangements to make an escape attempt with somebody she new. Fortunately, Mai successfully escaped one week before and never ended up part of  this story. If I can recall correctly, A brother and sister with her two children had prepared a small fishing boat and had plans to set off in the middle of the night. Success!! The four were able to evade the patrols and get into international waters. I imagine they were elated that they were able to get away, but then the motor quit in a storm that hit. For a rough couple of days they were tossed about in the little boat. When the storm finally passed, The woman and two children were all that was left on the craft. The brother, along with all the food and water were swept away in the storm. The trio

drifted for days without food and water before one of the children succumbed to .their weakened condition and died. A few days later the other child died also. You would that the poor woman had suffered enough, but after a few more days, the rotting corpses of her children forced her to make the heartbreaking decision of throwing them into the sea. She was horrified to witness sharks tearing apart the little bodies as she drifted away. For a couple of more days she drifted alone until another storm hit. The little boat ended up getting smashed on some rocks and the poor woman spent a day clinging to a rock for survival. Somehow she survived and when day came she discovered she was in the Hong Kong harbor. The harbor patrol picked her up and she ended up in the notoriously harsh refugee camps. After months of abuse She was sent back to Vietnam where she remains to this day. She cries a lot and now suffers from depression and other mental issues. The horror!! We cannot even begin to imagine the hardship that some of the people he have had to endure.

The noise is up again in the hotel. The crews next door are using air chisels on a connecting wall resulting in a lot of noise. I have two nice women from France check in and one of their first questions was about the racket. Thankfully it all stops by 5 pm.