Beautiful Mui Ne

New years day, on the bus to Mui Ne. I can't think of a better way to start off the year than getting out of the city and exploring Vietnam's Southern coast.
We arrived late in the night, but had called a few hotels on our bus ride only to find out that everywhere was completely booked. As traveling will teach you, you have to be flexible.

We finally convinced one hotel owner to let us sleep on beach chairs on their property. They were kind enough to provide us with blankets and mosquito netting to hang from a thatch roofed umbrella and so we camped, in tropical style.
We woke up early as the sun was glaring and the heat was already creeping at 7am. The day called for lounging by the South China Sea, and breathing fresh, unpolluted air (what a relief!). The water in Mui Ne is silky and viscous, you can feel it's presence even on land. It is a pleasure to swim in the ocean, letting it engulf you with it's warm movement.

The following day I rented a motorbike to explore the sand dunes that are famous in Mui Ne's bizarre micro-climate (Mui Ne doesn't get rain during the rainy season when almost all other coastal towns are drenched). They have two different types of dunes, red and white. I found my way up the winding coastal road to the next town where fishing is the main livelihood. The colorful boats dot the coast, as if waiting their turn to be set free. I stopped to make a photo, and met a local girl named Nam. She is 12 years old and sells necklaces and other wares to tourists, like myself. She spoke English well and we enjoyed a brief conversation. She, like many other Vietnamese girls, was shocked to hear that at 24 I am still not married! "Why?!" she exclaims. "Because I live in Vietnam" is my usual answer.

Continuing up the road I finally find the fabled martian landscape. Red sand, marked and scared by the wind with black coal ash. It makes a beautiful pattern on the slopes. From the top of the dunes you can see the sea, gorgeous and serene, off in the distance. Sitting on the sizzling sand, I ponder the earth and it's magnitude, it's vast diversity and beauty. I give thanks for all that I have and all that I am blessed with. There is something about being in this environment that makes you turn inward. Special.

That night, Lacey and I went out for some seafood, being on the coast we felt it mandatory. Mui Ne has some of the best and most affordable sea food I have ever had. We ordered at a roadside restaurant, sitting on the infamous red plastic chairs that mark a good street food vendor. Mussels and clams cooked on an open BBQ, smothered in a delicious coconut and lime with pepper sauce, so good.

The next day, we decided to walk inland, explore the less touristed side of Mui Ne (meaning not walking on the one main road that goes through town). We climbed up the slopes of the hillside and walked past graves in fields (they seem to bury people anywhere they please, no cemetery needed). The day was warm and the air salty, a pleasant reminder that we were not in Saigon. However, the bus ride back that night was looming and reintegration into the city is always a rude awakening.

The Hang Nga Crazy House in Dalat

Taking a few days to cool off, I headed for Dalat. 7 hours on a bus will take you from the hectic, smoggy, hot city and transform your surroundings into a beautiful mountain town. Dalat seems to have a bit of an identity crisis going on; is it Vietnam or is it mini France? They have a kitchy replica of the Eiffel tower and estates in typical French architecture. There seem to have been, at one point or another, a large French population when France occupied Vietnam but unlike other locales, Dalat has hung onto the French Identity fervently.

One of the biggest tourist attraction is the Hang Nga Crazy House. The pictures do it no justice, but they will have to suffice (or google it :) The house was built by Ms. Hang Nga, the daughter of the ex-president of Vietnam. In my humble opinion, she is a genius and a visionary. She has created layers upon layers of rooms and staircases that connect buildings to each other in a twisted and fantastical otherworldly creation. She uses natural objects as inspiration in her building, so you will often see sky-lights in the shape of a spider web, and staircases made of tree limbs etc. The house is very Gaudi-esque, mixed with a little Alice in Wonderland. You can rent a room, but I suggest just visiting in the day as the house is a work in progress and construction begins early!

CELTA! better known as not sleeping for a month

I know I've been lacking in this here blog lately, and it's all because of the CELTA. I spent the better part of a month learning the pedagogy and methodology of teaching English as a foreign language without needing to know the language of the learners. It is a pretty amazing approach, that had I learned this way, I think I would speak Spanish a whole lot better than I do now. With that said, my group of 18, well 17 after one dropped, spent countless hours cramming information, planning lessons, teaching, observing teachers, analyzing learning difficulties and plenty of other fun teaching related activities.








The group was spectacular! 13 Men and 4 Women ended up completing the course, and grew to be a close knit cohort. Here are a few pictures of the students and teachers from the last day.

Saigon

Upon our return from Nha Trang, we had the pleasure of becoming acquainted with our new digs. 31 Nguyen Canh Chan, my home away from home. One of the first things I set out to do was get to know the neighborhood. We went out to grab a bite, but were a little disappointed with the immediate offerings at nearby restaurants, including eel, cat, gerbil, etc. Finally, we found a restaurant serving up Banh Xeo, a hearty rice pancake flavored with Turmeric, and wrapped in fresh lettuce or greens and then dipped in a sweet and sour sauce. Delicious! We were careful when ordering, as I was told that a common mispronunciation translates to mean "shit sandwich."

After a few day's back in the city, I decided to check out some of the local sites. The Ho Chi Minh City museum of fine art is housed in a beautiful french colonial mansion. It has some relics from Angkor Wat, and bronze as well as ceramics from the 7th century, among other treasures. My favorite part was the contemporary galleries housed in the back of the museum. There were some incredible pictures. Here are a few photos from the museum:

firsts

The adventure begins with travel, and lots of it. Fourteen hours confined by the 3 foot thick metal walls of a 747 jet plane, and you could be anywhere. I happened to be in Hong Kong. The layover was short, allowing me to marvel at the magnitude of a single apartment building, seemingly a small township jutting into the blackness of night, piercing the smoggy skies above. Early the following morning, I was bright eyed and bushy tailed, excited to finally arrive in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. My new home away from home.

The first few days I became intimately acquainted with the xe-oms, or moto-taxis. These guys are a dime a dozen and will often see a westerner, or any white person for that matter, and honk at you, which is their way of asking, "do you want a ride?"

I often oblige, as I can't tell which way is which, and for a mere 20,000 dong I'm almost anywhere I want to be. It's fun too, but don't tell my father!

Ho Chi Minh, or Saigon, as I prefer to call it, has a dizzying array of food to choose from and I spent my first few days sampling from the different delicacies. Some of my favorite are water spinach with garlic, stir fried noodles with vegetables, and the phenomenally impressive fake meat. They make faux-chicken that looks like a real chicken wing, and tastes nearly the same. Their sauces are intricate and complex with notes of flavors that I love but have not a clue to what they are.

One of the most moving experiences thus far was visiting the statue dedicated to Thich Quang Duc, the monk who set himself ablaze to protest the South Vietnamese religious policy in 1963. There are people paying respect, making offerings or praying here most hours of the day. In the photo behind the statue is a mural depicting the war, and war crimes.




After a few days of madness and mayhem, meaning halloween as Gnomes in Saigon,and being reunited with old friends, we thought it wise to visit Nha Trang. A city on the beach about 10 hours Northeast of Saigon by bus. We took a sleeper bus and vowed to never take one again! the potholed roads made for a bumpy and sleepless ride, and the absence of a bathroom was borderline torture.


The closer we got to Nha Trang, the more flooded the roads became and the harder the rain fell. We finally pulled up to a hotel/travel agency and were told to unload, which we happily did; only to find out that the weather forecast called for thunderstorms and massive downpours solid through the next week! Nha Trang slowly transformed into a scene from National Geographic, as streets flooded with waist deep water and our hotel shook from wind gusts.


Being a fairly seasoned traveller, I was determined not to let the weather dictate my experience, or get the best of me. So, I set out to see the Long Thanh gallery. Long Thanh is a phenomenal Vietnamese photographer who mixes his own chemicals and develops his own photos in his kitchen/dark room. I was the only person visiting at the time, and there were hundreds of photos that were absolutely fabulous. He has an ability to convey emotion through his images with precision and beauty. The gallery itself is something to see, a tiny house converted into a gallery with old vespas and a friendly older Vietnamese woman who curiously follows you around on your tour. What a gem.

That evening, Jamie, Lauren and I set off to the Thap Ba Hot Springs, which are natural thermal mud and mineral water which has been turned into a resort. The three of us gladly paid the $7 US dollars and soaked in the mud, which oddly enough makes you bouyant, and silky smooth once washed off. The grounds were beautiful and I would have stayed a while longer, but by dusk we were ushered out.








After arriving back at the blue star hotel, we walked to the Louisianne Brew House, a brewery located on the beach in Nha Trang. I was expecting the usual suspects, lagers, pilsners, the lighter ales on the beer spectrum. I was blown away, however, by the quality and spectrum of homemade beers they brewed. We had the sample platter which had a crystal ale, with notes of rambutan and honey, a dark lager which was earthy and smooth, a red ale which was classic and nice, and a fourth which was equally appealing. The food was wonderful as well.

We have made the best of a rocky travel experience, said goodbye to our nieve idea of a beach vacation during tsunami season, and bought a plane ticket back to the city...as soon as the airport re-opened, that is.

The Vietnam adventure has begun, and I look forward to sharing it with you all.

Cheers