Nha Trang

I ended up buddying up with Ryno and Devin and we left on the same bus to the quiet coastal town of Mui Ne. Once there we rented motorbikes from guys that were standing on the side of the road. We paid them $5 and with no contract, guarantee (say, passport) or even knowledge of where we were staying, they let us take the bikes. So we set off, still wearing our backpacks, to find a cheap guest house. We snagged the last two rooms and both got a good deal at Pin Pon. Then, a Canadian girl named Laura that was on the same bus with us showed up, saying that she was unable to find any rooms for a reasonable price. Even though my first impression of her, from the bus, was that she was a pathological liar--generosity prevailed (or maybe it was my saving $3 a night?) and I said that she could take the other bed in my room.

Taking full advantage of our bikes, it was off we went to explore the countryside around Mui Ne. For the next two days we rode around to different sand dunes and beaches. Also, we met Manuela and Leonora from the States and had a good time cruising around with them. Leonora is good friends with one of my good buddies that I met in Argentina. Good times were most definitely had, but after a couple days Mui Ne didn't have much to offer (except good food, quiet beaches and world class kite surfing) so I hit the road again in an effort to hustle up to Laos.

Dalat was a must see before making the long trek up the coast. On the treacherous roads between Mui Ne and Dalat I met the newly engaged couple, Chris and Elissa. We shared the relief when we made it there safely, to the beautiful mountain town that smelled heavily of the pines that surrounded it. After finding the restaurant with porcupine and anteater on the menu too expensive, we settled for a place with some good western food (Vietnamese food isn't great...compared to Khmer and Thai) and decided that we would climb the Lang Bian mountain together the next day.

And what a perfect day it was. Taking the public bus to Lac Duong, we paid the 50 cents to get in, took the picture next to the fake zebra and started our way up. Chris is an avid birdwatcher, and so whenever a tit, bulbul, warbler, cattle egret, or kite hawk (that's all I remember) would appear, the binocs would be out and the bird positively (sometimes) identified. It was really interesting. And the 360 degree view from the top was spectacular. On our way down we trudged through the same forest fires that we encountered on the way up (weren't sure if they were controlled burn or not?) and high tailed it to a nice restaurant in Dalat where we splurged for a good meal after a big day or walking.

A beautiful bus ride brought me down off of the central highland plateau at sunset and I now find myself in Nha Trang. Once again by the beach. I was trying to catch the night bus for another 15 hours (to Hue) last night when I got into town, but it was already long gone. It was probably for the best because my stomach started to cramp right as I got off the bus and I was resigned to my bed for the rest of the night--luckily I had HBO (Grandma's Boy...?) to keep me company. On the bus from Dalat I met Li Li and her sisters who were coming back to visit family from their home in Vancouver and Tom and his father John, who were also refugees....Tom back for the first time and his father back to retire here. Tom and I talked the whole way from Dalat--agreeing on the sad state of our country (education, health care, defense...even agriculture...how is it that nothing is right!), he gave me an impromptu Vietnamese lesson and recommended a movie, Journey From the Fall, which I will now recommend to you. He said it is the only movie about the war from a refugee's perspective. I'm sure it's really interesting and look forward to seeing it once I'm back. He also told me his story--how they were able to get on a flight the day before Saigon fell and that his father, an algebra teacher at a Catholic school, was only able to escape fighting in Dalat's last stand against the VC when he was smuggled out in the back of a truck, under the smocks of the nun's with whom he worked.

The stomach is back to normal and tonight I'll take the bus to Hue--from where I'll continue the long journey to cross over into Laos. I'm still deciding how much of this I will backtrack when Brock comes...it'll either be back to Nha Trang or we'll just meet up in Danang and save ourselves an overnight bus ride.

Oh--one thing about Nha Trang...I've seen more guys riding on motorcycles with full size refrigerators on the back (presumably taking them home from the store) than in any other place I've been so far. Pretty impressive

Better get out of here. I've got a 7 year old sucking down Marlboros to my left and that "I swear, by the moon and the stars in the sky" R&B song blaring to my right.