~ vietscam ~
May 22. You arrive in Nga Trang, the central coast's beach side town. You walk from the bus. This time you know the town's layout for a change. You spent 2 or 3 nights here a couple of years ago. That was on the way back to SaiGon to work. You'd just had a 3 month sojourn then too. But to Ranong, south Thailand, then to central Lao and HaNoi and SaPa in the north of VietNam.
So you know pretty much where the guest house Maurice recommended is. 'The Sunflower' it's called. But his directions are a bit vague and you walk past the alley it's in at first. You eventually find it and check in. You converse in broken English and bastardized Vietnamese. In this, the typical, cheaper, Vietnamese guesthouse, there's a downstairs, family living area. It invariably has a TV, computer [for the kids and guests] and billboards with travel information. "A friend, Maurice told me about your place. He said you have rooms for $5? "Ah. Maureece, $5 OK. No problem. Where Maureece now? How long you stay?" And it's a very good room. Thanks man. A great place to get back into writing up as it's got Wifi. That's what you intend to do for the next couple a days. And eventually do...writing up the 'travelog file' using the pfotos to help bring back the details. You add a couple more blog postings with pfotos. Of Georgetown, 3 months ago now. A couple more posts will finish Penang and Malacca and you'll be on to the more interesting episodes and affairs of what has been a great journey and traveling experience. The Wifi connection in the room has an upload speed as good as at the Noble in Penang too. So it's been catch-up time with the email too. And not a blackout in sight, either. So well done! A cheap day or two well-spent.
You meet up with Bigman John again. He's in Nga Trang for a few days. He calls you at 8:30am on the second morning. He came up to Nga Trang yesterday too. He has a great room with air-con, he reckons, for $8, down close to the esplanade. It's the low season OK! He comes round later to visit. In typical American style, apart from having air-con and hot water in the room that is, he's rented a motorbike. You go out for a coffee together. By May 26 you should have been on your way...to DaNang or back to SaiGon. But you can't decide which. If in doubt, sit tight. Do nothing! And don't worry. Soon a sign will appear and Dave'll decide. Teri a Japanese friend who lives in SaiGon messages from the Cambodian border. The address of a cheap hotel in DaNang could be handy. He's going to Sihanoukville for a six month visa. Still you can't decide what to do? So! This evening you book the bus on north to HoiAn [a lesser jewel]. From there you'll quickly catch a cheap local bus a further 30 kilometres past China Beach and the Marble Mountains into DaNang. And yes, you've got the feeling that you're going right out on a limb. Riding your luck. straining that straw on your camels' back. Because you know SaiGon and the ease with which teaching positions can be obtained there. DaNang's unlikely and HaNoi? You have US$300 and two and a half weeks before you need a visa extension. And you've decided to continue north malingering around for pfoto shoots!
After a few days of helping yourself, the Sunflower GH tells you that you're drinking too much of their Water. Really! Water! The stuff costs them less than a dollar to buy 20liters! You've used up maybe five. And now you have to buy your own at 30 cents a liter! Real hospitable. They'd been OK about it up until a male relative arrived on the scene. This is NgaTrang. This is Vietnam! Everyone's out to make a buck. This is the low season too. But really, they can't afford a couple of thousand dong a day to make a guest feel at howe! Very annoying. It's a shock. After the hospitality of Indonesia.
This episode is kind of typical of Vietnamese treatment of foreigners. They lie to you. They rip you off. They relish telling you rudely what to do! And you're supposed to enjoy it. As in any South East Asian country you're automatically rich. But the Viets want a bigger slice than the rest! Who cares. Your rich aren't you. You're able to come to this beautiful country, after all. It's all for money and money for all. And when you do manage to get something for the 'right' price, they look like you've ripped them off! When you keep going to the same place on the street, the price usually goes up. Strange [days] indeed. Most peculiar [mama]. You keep coming back apparently because there's nowhere else to go? Either the asking price goes up or the quantity goes down! You don't mind paying a bit more for stuff...like 10-15% more. You're working here after all. You make a lot more than the average local. Annoying indeed. Especially when you know it's happening. And when you're running on empty. But it's all a part of you being in this wonderfully photogenic country. Vietscam. Eat at at places on the street with a posted price. Make sure you get given the same sized portion as the locals. Everyone's out to make as much as possible in as short a time as possible. Tourists, or me who looks like one...are prime targets. In fairness, the Viets have got a lot of catching up to do. But it does get tiresome. All the more so when you're on a tight budget.
27 May: You're still smarting over the water. The blackouts become more frequent too. The sleeping bus to HoiAn leaves at 7pm. You've packed up and writing an email. The power goes out...again. Nga Trang. Annoying place. Maybe it's not like this for everyone. You're up to the bus office to drop off the big, heavy backpack. It's the heat of the day. After that what's something cheap to do to kill time 'til the evening bus departure? You know! You'll wander the shoreline. Take some final snaps. Maybe this will be the last time for a while. A Dave's-eye-view of Nga Trang. You head along the esplanade north to the bridge.
The 'sleeping bus' leaves on time. The driver annoys you telling you not to bed down on your preferred bed at the front. You end up over the central door of the bus on a long bunk...on the right side of the bus, the inside...where you reason [and experience], later, that it's probably more bumpy. Sleeping buses on Vietnam's roads in their current condition really are a joke. It's your first night-time sleeping bus experience. You don't get any more sleep than you would have on a normal 'sitting' bus. Although you do enjoy being able to stretch out. You don't get the slightly-swollen ankles and feet you experience by the end of a 5 or 6 hour 'sitting bus' trip these middle-aged days.