Vietnam Part III

Nha Trang and Mui Ne (Beaches)

One of the moments when I started becoming grouchy was when we had to get up at 4 AM to catch a 7 AM flight. We got to the airport 2 hours early, I was not a happy camper, quickly blaming Mom when the travel agency was just as guilty! Regardless, it was becoming apparent that there was going to be some upheaval with me soon. Nha Trang was nice but commercialized as we fell into a tourist trip and spent the day at the local amusement park with private beach, called, Vinh Pearl. The cable car ride was lovely along with drinking canned Saigon beers and coconut juice on the beach. We introduced Gerlyn to Nem Nuong, grilled pork sausage with veggies and herbs wrapped in rice paper. I keep on forgetting to mention the Continental breakfast at all the hotels. Some hotels were better than others with their hodge podge interpretation of ‘Westernized’ food alongside Vietnamese porridges and noodles. Not sure if one of these breakfast or the snails I ate was the culprit for my food illness for 2 days.

2 days in bed while we were at the one of the prettiest of beaches, Mui Ne. Gerlyn was in for a treat, as she spent much time with my family who spoke mainly Vietnamese and witnessed first hand Mom indenting a not so cute fish on my back. Yes, this is the prerequisite for every Vietnamese mom; to ward away the sickness, you must rub Tiger balm resembling a scale of a fish on your child’s back until they are red with blood spots. Needless to say, I couldn’t eat for days, gagged at any faint smell of fish sauce, and happily resorted to eating Spaghetti. My aunt’s beach house was terrific though, at least the confines of my room! To my dear aunt; please don’t be offended my sickness had nothing to do with your comfy home J Highlights include the Sand dunes and my mom getting money pic pocketed by these little girls.

Saigon

My Grandparents where forced to move South to Saigon in 1946 when the Viet Cong came through. Hence, half of my aunts and uncles grew up in Hanoi, the others including my mom in Saigon. The city had great energy and seemed to be filled with affluent Vietnamese. Maybe it was also my attachment towards the city, touring it with my mom and aunt. They showed me their old high schools, their old walking routes, where their friends used to live, and even where my grandparents would take them to eat ice cream if they were good. We passed by their old home and were sadly greeted by guards as it is now owned by the government and cannot be viewed.

Gerlyn and I toured the Cu Chi Tunnels one morning and were astonished by the intelligence of the VC and understood how the war was lost. I have heard the story a many times before but listening to my mom re-tell of how she fled the country had new meaning. How young and scared she must have been to leave a country, move to another and start a new life. She sacrificed everything for a better life, my whole family did and it paid off, 30 grandchildren later, my grandparents’ legacy lives on in us in America. Educated, independent, and adventure seekers we all are. I have never been so grateful after this trip. Thanks Mom, I did have a good time despite my ‘princess’ like attitude this will be experience I will never forget!