day 72, Singapore, write up and some videos of Nha Trang, Vitnem

Nha Trang, Vietnam

Haven't written anything for a couple of days because we have been sick. Nha Trang was lovely-a nice change to see countryside and villages. First stop was the kindergarten and the kids were adorable. They sang some songs in Vietnamese and then counted to 10 in English. Dad took some video that I hope you will enjoy. After the kindergarten we visited a market close by. As usual we were accosted by street vendors and beggars. I am getting used to this and don't find it as offensive as I did at first. Dad is a much better bargainer than I am. If they are asking five dollars for something dad can usually get it for two dollars! After that we went to the ancient house which wasn't all that interesting so fortunately we didn't spend much time here. We then were taken to an open air kind of restaurant where we were served fresh fruit and a coconut drink. The drink wasn't at all what I expected-very thin clear liquid-not what you expect from coconut. The day was very hot and humid so this refreshment was quite welcome although I didn't particularly like the taste. The last thing we did was go to an embroidery factory and this was fantastic! We bought a beautiful framed piece. Some of the larger ones on display looked like paintings and even if you look closely you couldn't see the stitches. Upstairs we could see the girls working-I hope I got some good pictures. The girls here or perhaps I should say young women are TINY. They wear very tight fitting long dresses and they look like little dolls.

I forgot to tell you before we went to the embroidery factory we saw some of the countryside including a rice paddy. It wasn't planting or harvest season so it was sort of staged for us but we saw women hoeing the ground (standing in about 1 foot of mud and water) and a man plowing with water buffalo. Some of the houses here are very interesting-they looked like little temples, freshly painted in bright pastel colors. Unfortunately right next to a pretty house was a falling down shack.

Although Vietnam is communist there seemed to be more freedom than, say, China. We were told they have complete religious freedom but I am slightly suspicious that the tour guide has been told exactly what to say.

Just seen the pictures and I realize I didn't say anything about the women wearing surgical masks-this isn't to protect them from disease but to prevent them from getting a suntan! White skin is considered beautiful.

Haven't seen the videos yet but I hope dad got some of the traffic. You wouldn't believe it but the scooters and electric bicycles are all over the place. It doesn't look like they have any traffic rules and I didn't see any traffic lights. You would be taking your life in your hands to try and cross the street in downtown Nha Trang which looked a bit seedy by the way. I think our tour of the countryside was a good choice.