VIETNAM'S COASTAL JOURNEY NORTH

After cooling off in Dalat I was ready to get back on the open bus ticket ride to my next destination which was Nha Trang a premier diving & coastal area. As most tourist areas in Vietnam, it seemed to be more prosperous and had more English spoken here type of shopping. I loved their long very well manicured beach area across the fairly large city. Except for the mountain areas, most of Vietnam tends to be fairly crowded, as there are about 85 million folks in an area about the size of Italy. I also stand corrected on my remark about motorcycles. I do think about 90% of the middle age range in most cities such as Nha Trang probably have motorcycles. After seeing more of the poor countryside I think owning a cycle is a lot less affordable for the average rural person. Many more of them still ride bicycles. Along the river edges in Nha Trang, the Mekong Delta & many other waterways in Vietnam many peoples main means of transportation seems to be boats. The boats are often like a large canoe, & women are often running them with a little outboard motor. The women haul produce the men catch and haul fish. the Vietnamese are very enterprising. The large wide cone hats gliding along often with oars in hand, make many scenes here very timeless.

I got a 3/4 day snorkeling trip for $12 with snacks & lunch included. We had 2 long snorkeling stops in very pristine water. The cruising around the large bay was on an azure sky day that showed so clearly the huge variety of coral & fish below. Having learned there were some stinging jellyfish in the area I requested a full length wet suit & got it. To get it to go over my hips, in this yet another hip less world, I had to wear a large men's size. It was only over a foot too long for me. The other passengers, tried not to laugh to hard. but it worked. The only place a jelly fish could have gotten to me was on my hands or cheeks, face ones. After getting stunk really badly by one in Mexico in "81" I take no chances. After 2 days here I was ready to go to my 3rd bus pass stop, the city of Hoi An.

Hoi An is famous for its very intact old city. I stayed in one old merchant house turned guest house just to see & feel the very ancient presence around me. Some of the hand carved furniture was mother of pearl inlaid. In the center area of the house was an open courtyard. I was amazed that the house still could use the water from the well dug hundreds of years before. No, I did not drink the water from it. But the house did feel a little spooky. Many generations had lived and died there. Hoi An is also known for doing some of the best tailoring & sewing in the world. I did try to resist but the little desk clerk, at the most ancient guest house, convinced me to check on prices across the street. Yes, you can pick out the fabric, get pure silk, have 2 fittings, get it done in 24 hours and spend less than buying it off the rack. You are aware from a previous log my great larger than large luck. I knew this would be much quicker than shopping around, more fun, cheaper and less humiliating. I went for it. Two pair silk pants, with matching Vietnam style dress to wear over the pants. a spare blouse for each pair of pants as well. for much less that $100 total. I needed clothes to teach in. What a win win. the fits were excellent. My 1 day of fittings & visiting historic Hoi An was delightful.