Doin' The Twist in the South China Sea

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD MORNING (from) VIETNAM!!!!!!!!!!!! I've missed writing to you guys terribly. Apologies for this uncharacteristic delay in my blog updates. :-) Right now I am in the beautiful beach city of Nha Trang, Vietnam. The last few days have been pretty hectic, filled with lots of bus rides, border crossings, new currencies, new faces --- but it's all been amazing. Here's the scoop since we last spoke.

After I left Kampot, Cambodia (where I went on the Bokor Hill Station tour), I headed for Sihanoukville - a beach town on the south coast of Cambodia. Lonely Planet calls it the "costa del Cambodia" - well, I might have to rename it the "el crapo del Cambodia". The beach was pretty grimy and trashy, I didn't even go in the water. This beach makes Coney Island look good. I stayed at a fun guest house filled with westerners, which was the only saving grace during my 24-hour stay. That night was pretty entertaining, as our guest house was pretty much the only happening party in town. I played some pretty fun drinking games, and learned all about Vietnam/Laos/India/Nepal from some new friends. Anyway, once I arrived in Sihanoukville, I immediately realized that I was done with Cambodia, and ready to move on to Vietnam. My 3 best friends from Phnom Penh had all left for Vietnam prior to my southern excursion, and I kept meeting backpackers who had just come from Vietnam and couldn't stop talking about how amazing it is. SO, I decided to leave Sihanoukville, go back to Phnom Penh, and then catch the next morning bus to Saigon (aka Ho Chi Minh City) to meet up with my friend Brad and travel up through Vietnam with him. After a great bus ride - with new British Jewish friends from Manchester, England - we arrived at the border of Cambodia/Vietnam. You know you're entering a Communist country when, after passing one rural shack village after the other, you come upon a massive gated fortress with red flags on every visible post, holding both the hammer & sickle and yellow star within view of everyone who dares to approach. Anyway, the border cross went fine, thanks to a stellar bus company (who would have thought!!?) I arrived in Ho Chi Minh (HCM) early afternoon on the 6th, and spent that afternoon walking around the city with my friend Brad. I knew right away that I had made the right decision when I got to HCM. The city is a more modern version of Phnom Penh - cleaner, more western, and great fun to walk around. The streets are filled to the brim with motorbikes - even moreso than Phnom Penh, which is surprising. We only had a few hours to kill before we had to leave, so we walked around the backpacker area of the city, and then headed to Chinatown and walked around there for a while. Everyone kept staring at us, since we were the only white people on the crowded streets, and plus my friend Brad is freakishly tall (6'4).

Right - I forgot to update you on my revised travel plan. Since I joined my friend Brad in HCM, I decided to continue on his rather quick trip up the coast to meet his dad in Hanoi on May 15th, the same day that I will then fly back to Saigon to meet Zack. Therefore I'll get to see Vietnam twice - the second time a bit slower than the first, and a few more destinations along the way.

So, from HCM, I took an overnight bus to Nha Trang - we arrived yesterday morning, found a nice guest house 1 block from the beach, dropped our bags, and headed for the beach. Having been at the crappy beach of Sihanoukville only 2 days (or what seemed like 1 continuous long day) before, this beach is la creme de la creme. Absolutely stunning, picturesque, massive beach stretching along a huge curved coastline with golden sand as far as you can see. The road that parallels the beach looks like it could be the boardwalk in Tel Aviv, or even Miami Beach -- except then you look closer at the main road (once my colorblindness wore off a little bit) and you see an endless row of red flags that stretch all the way along the way. Oh yes, I'm in Vietnam, can't forget that!

You know you're in Vietnam when, after someone asks you where you're from, you hear yourself gulp in your throat after you say "America"...luckily their reply is filled with excitement and eager to here more about our country. Did you know that the US dollar is pretty much the standard currency here, along with their Dong. $16,000 dong/dollar. In fact, Cambodia also uses the US dollar as its main currency. For a country that we were at war with about 30 years ago, things have definitely changed here. This country is on the up-and-up. You see western brands in the cities, development and new buildings seem to be sprouting everywhere, and sanitation systems seem to be more prominently put in place (even though people still throw trash in the street).

Ok - so our first day in Nha Trang was beach bum-tastic. We soaked up some rays, then walked around the town for some good eats and drinks. A couple of highlights from last night: our first stop was in this loud, bumping (yet small) Vietnamese club, and everyone was just seated on couches around the room not talking (since the music was so loud). All eyes were on the two big white guys when we entered, and about 3 different girls (and 1 guy) kept sitting next to us in alternating rotations to practice their sparse English. There was a lot of awkward smiling, but you gotta love the Vietnamese for trying with their English. Later on we found the happening western bar in town - Crazy Kim's - KIM: I took a picture for you! - and enjoyed a game of pool and some beers.

By the way - if you ever go backpacking around southeast Asia, expect to play A LOT of pool. I think my previous exposure to the game was during those random trips to that pool hall in Newburgh next to Big 3 Deli when we had NOTHING TO DO!!! (REMEMBER ROSS - back in the day!!!), and I can't say that I've liked the game so much, but every guest house you go to, every bar you enter, there's always a game to play. And, I'm actually getting pretty ok at the game. :-)

Today was our big boat trip around the islands of Nha Trang. Brad & I were picked up at 8:30 am and were brought to the harbor to board a boat with about 40 other Vietnamese families. (The boat next to us had all of the Westerners, but we realized later that this would be to our advantage). Our day would bring us to 4 different islands, and lots of random fun along the way. First stop: snorkeling off of island #1 (Hon Tam I think?) The coral reef around the island was beautiful, and we saw lots of cool tropical fish. The best part about snorkeling was the tiny jellyfish scattered about that you had to avoid. I think I was stung a couple of times, but luckily it was just a minor prick on the skin...no tragedies today folks, sorry! After snorkeling, we boarded the boat again for lunch - all prepared on the boat by the staff, and it was amazing! There was so much food left over, and for some reason, everyone kept thinking that Brad & I could finish it all. 'Oh, don't worry, those monstrous Americans can finish it for us.' :-)

Once the table was cleared following lunch, one of the crew brought out 3 buckets tied together and placed it in the center of the table. These are no 3 ordinary buckets - this was our very own Vietnamese party boat drum kit! Another crew member jumped on the stage with his electric guitar, and our 2 tour guides came out with microphones and started singing Vietnamese songs. Of course, after the crowd warmer-uppers were finished, the MC came up to Brad and me and asked where we were from, and subsequently dragged us on stage to sing a song from America. (because there is only 1 song that comes to mind when someone asks you to sing an American song). Our MC chose Hotel California, (which is a big fave in this part of the world), and Brad & I got about 2 lines into the song before we went blank. (Aly - you should have been there!!!!!!!!!) The song cut off about midway since we were just standing there blank-faced, but fortunately the band went right into their signature rock song - Chubby Checker's "Twistin The Night Away". Ah, this is a much easier song with which to make a fool of myself, my mind said. So, I began twisting on a boat in the South China Sea while the Vietnamese were channeling good ol' Chubby Checker. We brought the house down. It was quite a scene.

After the dancing, we stopped off another island for some more diving off the boat's top deck/drinking rice wine in the sea (standard operating procedure, I'm sure), and then we headed to an aquarium on island #4. Very cool place, saw some great fish. Then we ended the day back at Nha Trang and were brought back our guest house. Fun times.

The best part about evenings in beach towns are the great seafood you can eat for dinner - mmmmm. Brad and I shared a heaping portion of clams, mussels, king prawns, oysters, fish, and squid, as well as two monstrous desserts - all for about $7 each. Too right. Excellent dinner.

And that brings us to now. I've heard from lots of people from my parents' generation that they find it strange to hear from me in Vietnam when they spent so many years trying to stay out of this country. I think I have lots more to learn about the history of Vietnam, (which I'll do more thoroughly on my second trip up the country - starting in Saigon. The Viet Cong's Cu Chi tunnels and the War Rememberance Museum will be my first two stops when I return to HCM) but for now, I think it's a truly unique place. Vietnam joined the World Trade Organization only a few months ago, and there is a sense of prosperity in the air in this beautiful country. I'm very new to Vietnam, and I will have many more stories to share before I leave, but I think Thailand and Cambodia were just preparation for Vietnam. This is what I've been waiting for - history, culture, landscape, politics. Lots to see and do, and it will be great.

That's all for now - this internet cafe is closing down, so I must say goodbye!!! Please add comments and email me!!!

Lots of love always!!!!!