Swimming with the fishes

Squidding boat

The hotel business can be quite a headache, but also quite a joy at times. I find that many guests are hard to say goodbye to. We only know each other a few short days, but become friends quickly. I am always interested in hearing their stories, and they in turn are interested in the experience I have with this country and how I can add to their vacation. To hear it is time to check out is a bit sad. Some leave saying they will be back again, and others sadly will become distant memories. I truly hope they enjoyed staying with me as I have enjoyed hosting them. It is these people who are making this working retirement worth while.

There is something odd going on. Last night my British guests checked out and now the Hotel sits empty. It is not only me, but almost all of the hotels. Business seems to come in spurts with a week or so of chaos, and then

A very nice couple.

 another of quiet. I went into the main tourist area today and saw almost nobody there.  I dropped in on some friends of mine and they were complaining of there being no customers at all for them. HuH?…. I wonder if the ash cloud from the eruption has cancelled many flights here.

Today I will tell you about one of the tours offered in NhaTrang. I had the pleasure of spending a day with Mandy, Britt, Lloyd, Lee, and Carl on a snorkeling and Scuba adventure. As a hotel owner I get a few perks, and enjoying the trips with my guests at no charge, or reduced cost is one of

Nice people.. I hope to see you again

them. Britt decided to do 2 dives, and all of the others decided a day of snorkeling was just the ticket. We were picked up at our hotel at 7:15 am and driven to the main office to be fitted for gear. We met some other people who were going for diving and snorkeling and off we went. The van became crowded with people and seeing my displeasure, they offloaded a person and some gear for a motorcycle to deliver. I have to give them credit for taking our comfort seriously. A short 5 minute drive and we were at the port area. Also to my pleasure, we were loaded on to our boat with no problems or confusion, and we departed promptly. (I am hoping this is a standard practice and not

Bia Hoi with my British Buds

 staged for my benefit) The boat was in good condition and it took about 45 minutes to reach our destination of Mun Island. Fruit and drinks were served on the way. Britt was taken to the rear of the boat and geared up for her dive and we were all given equipment in new condition. The first reef we stopped at was OK but not spectacular. We spent an hour swimming and enjoying the new coral growth and the colorful fish. Back to the boat and we moved a few hundred yards to another area of coral. Like the first, it was new coral on top of dead, but in much more abundance and much more marine life. It was pleasant. We spent another hour exploring the reef an the surrounding rocky slopes. There were lion fish, Trigger and Angel fish, sea urchins and sea cucumbers, and many varieties of parrot fish. There were also a few oddities such as trumpet fish and others that I do not know the name of.

on the scuba boat

News Flash!!  At this moment the police have returned to the hotel next door. I do not know what is going on, but a couple of the guests headed out in a hurry. Probably because of the short term arrangement the hotel has. I hope they are not shut down as many of my fun evenings are watching the goings on of the place……. Anyway,

The second dive ended and we all were back on board. The boat headed back to NhaTrang and a very good lunch was served consisting of curried chicken stew, grilled pork chops, and mixed vegetables. We arrived at the docks without hassle and were driven back to the hotel about 12:30. All in all it was a good day The people with me were hoping that it would have lasted a bit longer, but they all seemed happy. I will use this company again. By the

Fish Farms

 way…. If you want to become a certified diver, here is where to do it. It is inexpensive and fun. A snorkel trip is 18 dollars, a 2 dive day is 40. To become certified is 250. Try and get that deal in your own country!! 

I mentioned dead coral in the preceding paragraphs. I will talk a little about that tomorrow. An interesting and sad bit of Vietnam history.

A bus, some cops, and a MIA….. Road Trip!!

A slow ride

It seems that everyday poses a different challenge for a person here. I have mentioned before that Vietnamese people see things very differently than we in the west. Generally in business we like to have a plan and execute it with logical precision to get a desired result. The Vietnamese on the other hand get an idea and the construction begins. If the idea changes or gets modified, just go with the flow and modify things as you go. It can make for some very strange bedfellows. For example; we were traveling on a highway yesterday and encountered a very large modern sigh that boasted Pho Bo which is beef soup and Sony products. The restaurant was in the Sony showroom….. Huh!! The challenge for me in the last few days is a coffee shop who has decided to do some renovations. Their building is attached to two hotels that are filled

A nice temple

 with overnight guests. In order not to affect is coffee business, he has hired a night crew to renovate starting at 11:00 pm. Well!! Midnight and the air chisels and sledge hammers start banging on the walls. Quick to react, I was out the door and in their face yelling for them to stop this stupidity. The owner of the hotel next door joined me and seeing how I was able to put an end to the madness, has now warmed to me. Maybe our relationship will be better. Anyway… the owner of the coffee shop had not even considered there might be a problem wit doing demolition during the night when attached to two hotels Sheesh!! Talking about not thinking thing through.

Collecting fares

There is a bus that stops very near our hotel and travels the entire distance of NhaTrang. Drifter and I were too saddle sore to even think of a road trip, so never being to the end of the line, I joined him for a bus ride. The number 4 runs every 20 minutes and stops at around 8 pm. From our area the bus departs near the tourism college and passes in front of the hotel. We jump aboard and a pleasant young lady in uniform charges us the 15 cents for a ticket and gives us our change. We are sitting amongst some very attractive young people…. In air-conditioned comfort, we drive a short distance along the ocean before turning up a small street lined with street food vendors, many of them serving food that makes my mouth water. The

Same same but different

 bus turns along 2/4 street (named for the day the North Vietnamese entered the city). After a short drive through a business area we cross two bridges we come to a large intersection that has both a traffic circle and an island in the middle. If a person gets off and walks 3 blocks towards the ocean, you will be in downtown and the busy Dam Market area, a great place to spend an afternoon shopping. The bus continues past a couple of more traffic circles and near the Maximark supermarket (the only one in NhaTrang), and then cuts a few blocks towards the ocean to run down Nguyen Thien Thuat street. This street leads into the

The drivers view

heart of the main tourist area passing many bars, western and Asian restaurants with surprisingly good food, and to the infamous Sailing club and the Why Not Bar. The bus again turns on to the ocean and continues to the harbor and stops very close to the cable car to Vin pearl land. Wow!! How convenient. Unless you are a late night person, there is nowhere you cannot get in 15 minutes right from our location.  We hopped off the bus we were on and jumped on a returning number 4 having to pay another fifteen cents for the fare. The bus took us back and the rest of the day was spent lazing around watching the world go by. After dinner, we jumped on the bikes and headed down to the bars in the main tourist area. Over a quiet drink we decided that our butts had calmed enough for another Road Trip!!

a custom tiled bike

Drifter had plans to try to get a bus to a town called Phan Rang about 110 km south of NhaTrang to find a MIA ( missing in Asia). A buddy that has disappeared for 30 years. He had some new information that he may be found in this town. Instead of leaving a day early to find him, we decided to turn it into another adventure. 

 Nothing was going on in the expat bars, and we could not bring ourselves to hang out in the expensive and trendy night clubs so we decided just to go back to the hotel and spend a couple of hours sitting in chairs on the front side walk sipping a cool one and winking at all the young beautiful people walking by, but alas it was not to be. We pulled up on our bikes to see 6 police officers in our place. EEEKS!!!! A raid. They were a bit surprised to see us come in, and maybe more so when I started using the reception computer.

Difter.... Do you need a wife??

After an hour, Drifter decided he would forgo our nightly tradition of people watching and hit the sack, unfortunately for me, I had to stay. Records were checked and rooms inspected, and then paperwork was taken away, Hmmmmm…. The next day Mai and the landlord have a meeting with the provincial police to determine our future. Oh Well…… Road Trip!! Why worry… we were legit, so Drifter and I were off for an overnighter to seek out an MIA he has looked for so long…… The adventure intensifies!

On our way to Paradise

Tilling the field

With the exception of horrid weather, I am going on a white water rafting trip. I have a family staying with us that was interested in doing something a little bit different. I have decided to join them in order to be able to give a first hand account for future guests. I will let you know how it all turns out in another post. The trip includes picking us up at the Hotel and transferring us to the river an hour away in the mountains, a BBQ lunch, and all the free beer I we can handle. Hmmmmmm…..BBQ and free beer??? I am not sure I like the sounds of that….. NOT! Anyway…..

I want to tell you about Paradise…. Yes Paradise. Drifter and I had a road trip to paradise and it goes like this;

Another temple

Li’l Sissy and Puffy after a good nights rest were going to be put to the test again. There is a town called Doc Let about 45 kilometers north and Drifter and I decided it was our next destination. Our Aching buts seemed to be OK and the smell of adventure was in the air. We left a bit late and cruised along a beautiful highway that parallels the ocean to the north of NhaTrang. We pass by an abandoned Russian resort that for some reason or another came to a grinding halt and sits there large and ominous beckoning ghosts to call it home. A not to distant drive and we encounter a tiny fishing village. What better a place to have lunch! We blinked and it was gone, so we turned around and looked for a roadside spot that had tables assuming there would be food service. We found a place and to the amazement and glee of some nice locals, we sat down. When they discovered that we had some crude language skills, they were even more elated. We asked if they had food and

Meow

the response was “what do you want?” Ok….. Uh…. How about Bun Me (submarine sandwich). The mother ( I assume) gives some commands to a young lady and off she runs at top speed. There is no food service here, but like in so much of Vietnam, if you want something, they will provide. It is taking the young lady a while and we engage the family in conversation so to speak. They of course ask of our marital status and the like, but surprisingly to us, two of the older women pull out cigarettes and start smoking. They then talk to us about the merits of having more than one wife. Cool!! The husband shows up and adds to the conversation. Unknowing to drifter, (I think) I deflected the pressure from me telling them that I was married as hell, but he was available. The husband showed up and then all sorts of marriage combo’s and advice were told. It was fun and finally the gal showed up with our submarine of pork fat, duck liver pate, and veggies. I asked about the distance as it took so long and was told that the submarine shop was very far away. Well!! If they would have said something, I would have spared her

A spot in the middle of nowhere

the trip. After enjoying the lunch with the family and watching fisher folk returning with their catches, we asked for the bill. 18000 or 90 us cents for 2 submarines and 2 Pepsis. We left a tip and carried on our way leaving the people with a story to tell. All in all a great experience (even though I would have preferred meat to pork fat in my sandwich). We are only into our trip for an hour and it is looking good. Heading north we merge into dreaded highway number 1 and run the gauntlet. I do not know if I could adequately describe how dangerous this highway can be. 

Lets picture a 2 lane road paved with asphalt softened by the heat of the day to form ruts and ripples at random spots on its entire length. On those two lanes, add a shoulder perhaps 3 to 4 feet in width on both sides. They are not even with the pavement. The road was layered 4 inches higher than the shoulder so there is a spot of instability when crossing. Now let’s add

Looking for a needle

 distractions. Along the sides of the highway will be many signs, goods, and services that are as close as possible to attract the attention of the motorist. The vehicles that have stopped at these places have dragged sand and muck onto the shoulders. Now let’s add the traffic. For the most part, motorcycles travel on the shoulders weaving back and forth to evade the debris pulled onto the roadway by emerging traffic. On the main softened washboard ridden pavement are trucks that sometimes make ours look timid, with horns factory stocked with decibel levels you cannot count. Who ever is the loudest and the biggest and most aggressive has the right of way. They will charge side by side not caring for on coming traffic. While they are doing a deadly dance, a fast moving minibus will get involved, its smaller horn blaring. Both lanes and almost both shoulders are taken by these maniacs.

Fisher folk

They come towards you at reckless abandon and you squeeze to mere inches from dropping into a ditch. They pass and your helmet gets sucked by such violent force that the chin strap starts to choke you. Ahhhhh I survived that one but guess what??? The same thing happens from behind so you better be keeping an eye on that rear view mirror non stop. The difference from the behind assault is that those ear piercing horns can shock you so severely. That who knows where or how you will react…. Maybe right in front of them. Anyway….. We are on our way to Paradise…. The adventure continues