Postcards from Viet Nam ...part one

“as soon as I arrive I’m targeted by hoards of children with plastic boards for sliding down the dunes, I man as if!!!”

I've just experienced my first mud bath.
Picture this, a concrete slab with about a dozen shower rings hanging from above, they have blue and white striped shade cloth draped around them and in you go to change into your swimming costume. The girls here don't wear bikinis or even one piece togs, they wear a t shirt and 3/4 pants.

So not wanting to get my new togs dirty I decided to buy one of those demure and ever so elegant one piece outfits, you know the ones with the little skirt that hangs around the bits you don't want to show anyone, then you must shower, communal of course then you can climb into one of the many mud baths that have been created.
For a minute there my skin was soft and smooth and shiny, I thought I was 18 again, geez was my skin ever like that anyway??? So moving right along, it's a fantastic experience, you have little dippers for pouring that mud all over you so here I was grovelling about like a small child making all sorts of sounds of excitement and glee.


Then onto Mui Ne, another 5 hour  bus trip with the local movie playing full blast, oh what joy I think, even my ipod doesn't drown out the noise but I manage to settle into taking another zillion happy snaps out the window..


We stop along the way at a roadside cafe and as I scurry for the toilet I come across a mob of caged monkeys where  a local woman taunting them and naturally  I give her the evil eye.  Next to them there was also an eagle and he too was caged, a majestic, huge creature, pure white with dark wings. I did take photos but they are not good and I don't feel happy as I leave. The look of that eagle stayed with me for some time after and even now I can see his eyes  so clearly, almost haunting me............


The coastal areas are beautiful, with sands of red, yellow and white. The country side is a lush green with more paddy fields, bullocks and conical hats dotted about fields. Huge boulders dot the hills and I can't help but wonder if this beautiful landscape that is picture perfect was destroyed by napalm and bombing during the 'American War'.


My friend and I find ourselves accommodation in the Sunshine Beach Resort, which we could actually swing a cat in if we had one in contrast to our last digs. Anyway it is costing us $23.50 a night for two, the price is rising!


This morning I arose early and jumped on the back on a motor bike and headed for the fishing village, far out talk about pandemonium...the fishing boats were moored out to see and the little round thatched boats go out and bring in the night's catch. All sorts of fish, and people running about chattering wildly trying to get the best catch I think. I can only imagine what's going on and I'm the only foreigner there with camera in hand of course.

Bullocks line the beach hauling great mounds of squid or something, women haggle and argue over their tubs of fish, all being sorted, one uses her rubber thong to move the fish about.  Women wade out with their baskets on hips or heads, to meet the little round woven cane boats as they ferry the catch to shore hoping for first pickings.


Next I'm off to  the red sand dunes, of course as soon as I arrive I'm targeted by the children with plastic boards for sliding down the dunes, I mean as if!!!.......geez I can just imagine me with camera in one hand, spare arm and legs flailing about wildly as I slide off into oblivion.........nope not today matey!

I get dropped off at Joe's Art Cafe, a lovely little place owned by a Canadian hippy guy of around 50. Here I am happily reading a book and eating my cornflakes and chai tea when all hell breaks out and two of the local girls who work there are having a fist fight, long hair flying everywhere, slapping and hitting each other behind the counter. Well another western guy gets up and breaks them up, with difficulty I might add and life goes on....mind you they were still arguing for some time after that, and I was having such a peaceful time.


Well that's it, I'm going back to my hotel room to read my book for a while b4 thinking about lunch, booking another bus ticket for Saigon tomorrow and generally doing very little for the rest of the day.


By the way I'm going to have a seafood dinner tonight, maybe one of those giant tiger prawns the size of our lobsters or maybe a lobster, I'm feeling really adventurous.