Nha Trang

I flew from HaNoi to Nha Trang(NT). I know Mr. Dung and his family here. Dung is a young man with a wife and two children. Dung was forced to drop out of school at the age of 12 because his father had no money. This lack of education has hampered Dung's chances of employment, yet he has learned Eng. and tries to make money teaching and as a guide.

Dung took my by motobike to Tuy Hoa, which is 100 KM north of NT. I wanted to meet with a woman who I had met in Portland, Christine. Christine has a daughter in Portland, but had taken a job for 18 months as a volunteer, teaching Eng. in the high school. The road to Tuy Hoa is highway 1, the national highway the runs the length of VN. Tuy Hoa is a growing area, with a nice beach. The city is easy to navigate and considerably less traffic than NT or other bigger cities in VN. I visited one of Christine's classes and talked with another teacher from Colorado. Things are very cheap here. Christine says she can live on $100 a month, which includes the rent for her house. I saw some beautiful homes in Tuy Hoa, and lots of young people. There are desperate for English teahers too.

I came back to NT and then road with Dung by motobike to DaLat. This was about a 4 hour ride over the mountains on a new road. I should say part new road. VN has obviously spent a lot of money making this new road, but I am not sure why because it is difficult to get to and then suddenly stops in the middle of no where. The new road cuts through the mountains, so the climb is difficult for buses or large vehicles. The sides of the road have steep rocky terrain and susceptible to falling rock, mud slides, and erosion. The views are impressive and little sign of human habitation during the ride. Also, you have to make sure you fill up with gas otherwise you will be stranded. I am not sure what we would have done if we had had a flat tire. Ha!!

Dalat is a much cooler climate, higher in elevation. It has a French influence and has some great parks with all varieties of flowers and trees, like the tall pine trees. They also grow many different varieties of vegetables, cabbage being very popular. The hillsides are all beautifully terraced with weedless gardens. They grow very little rice here. Also lots of coffee trees. I trekked to the highest mountain peak and visited other parks. In the morning, there is often fog or mist in the air. In the afternoon, it would rain heavy for about 3 hours, then clear. And they have power outages almost every day, sometimes lasting 8 hours.

One food I enjoy eating in NT in Banh Cuon. I think I spelled that right. I have eaten it at one particular street restaurant in NT. Three sisters, all dressed in pajamas(at least that what it looks like to me), with their conical hats, cook on the pavement with little or no equipment but an open fire. These sisters are well past retirement, maybe seventy or more. When I show up, they smile, showing all their missing teeth. One sister works with a watery, milky batter. She laddles out a cupful onto a flat grill, heated from an open fire. With a chicken feather, she gently stirs the batter on the grill. After about 1 or 2 minutes, the batter becomes like a crepe, and she removes it with a chop stick. Another sister adds some mung beans to it and sprouts, then rolls it. Finally, she uses a scissors to cut it into sections. Another sister serves it and brings the fish sauces to enhances the flavor. It definitely wouldn't pass the health code, but again I am impressed with the how much they can do with so little, and how tirelessly they toil, day after day, for a mere subsistence. This breakfast is about $1 USD.

One new thing that I bought at REI in Portland was a Steripen. This is a device that can purify water. I have used it now many times and it great. Sometimes I get to the hotel and I have forgotten to buy water. Now, I can fill my water container from the tap, zap it with my Steripen and use it. I does take some faith to use the first time, but so far it has worked well. Sometimes, I have to zap the water several times before I get a "green" light which means it is ok to drink.

I will be in NT a few more days, then head to Saigon, and Cambodia. My next blog will probably be from Cambodia.

I have been able to watch some news on CNN, like part of the Democratic convention. The price of gas here has dropped about 10 cents. (they use dong).

Take care all. Enjoy your life....