Updates from Vietnam…

Hot. Very hot. Muggy and hot.

It’s pretty here! We just got in to the beach resort last night and it’s what you think of when you think of a white sand beach, blue water, palm trees… except you probably don’t think of the trash floating in the surfline.

Blech. It’s not filthy-gross, but it’s definitely dirty- lots of rags and bits of shredded fishing net both at the high tide line on the sand, and then rolling around right where the waves are coming on shore.

Pretty good illustration of how developing nations are caught between conflicting desires and demands; on the one hand, they want/need the hard currency and boost to the economy that tourism dollars (or euros or yen or whatever) brings, but on the other hand they don’t want to throw a lot of their own precious money into better services like garbage or run campaigns to provide alternatives to people just pitching their shit into the rivers.

In Saigon we saw lots of shanties right along the river, plus people’s boats that serve as homes, and you know that they don’t have someone coming around to pump out any sewage tanks or municipal garbage services. That stuff goes right into the Saigon river (or the Mekong, or wherever) and right out into the ocean, where the less-water-soluable stuff winds up washing up on shore of the fancy beach resorts.

Fortunately, they have a crew out first thing in the morning (I was up at 6:30, an effect of a screwed up body clock) that nets the trash out and hauls it away, so by the time we jump on some jet skis or a boogie board or a kite surfer (assuming some surf comes up- it’s as flat as a pancake out there right now) it’ll be cleaned up.

Other than that, though, it’s almost exactly what you would picture when you think of a tropical, kind of third-world beach resort area. Gorgeous white sand beaches, little crabs skittering around, palm trees, thatched roofs, open patios for drinking and dining.

The prices here are screamingly good- $40 US a night for a room with AC in a decent spot, clean, shower; food is quite cheap, with every meal we’ve had in Vietnam thus far being 12 to 18 bucks for the both of us; stuff like massages or bus rides all a very good deal. GG wants to get her toenails done while we’re here since it’s like 1/4 the price of home.

Not a ton of bugs thus far. We did get chomped on a bit by some mosquitoes in Ho Chi Minh City, but once we started spraying on the “Jungle Juice” sold at REI (100% DEET solution) they’ve left us alone. Of course, we’ll probably die of cancer or something, this gunk is strong, but oh well. Only one little roach in the bathroom when we checked in and he got a one-way trip into Mui Ne’s sewer! (He wasn’t very fast so I snagged him.)

Around here, we’re going to probably do a sightseeing trip to the big sand dunes; there’s one set that are white sand and another that are yellow. There’s also a big, relatively new (1972) reclining Buddha nearby associated with a much older (250-300 years) temple complex that we might visit.

And of course there’s laying by the pool, playing in the ocean- I want to try kite surfing lessons if the wind comes up, and boogie boarding if the surf comes up, and jet skiing- and maybe renting mopeds and goofing off.

That’s it for now, it’s too hot to sit here on the computer without AC (it’s in the lobby) so I’m going to chill elsewhere.