Day 13 – Vietnam

I wake up to the clunk clunk clunk of the train. The sun is out the scenery is stunning once again. We pass fields of flowers Yello and Red. Valleys of rice fields, Farm villages with giant pens of geese. We pass mountains with boulders larger than buildings. It’s fun to wake up to moving beauty.

The other occupants of our car a young man his wife and their child offer us some of there breakfast. They are going further we are getting off shortly. We decline but thank them.

We reach the coast about an hour before our destination, banana and coconut trees silhouette the rising sun across the small rock lined bays. People fish on large junk boats, small dragon boats troll the sides. Surreal. This place. We go back inland large white birds fly over the rice fields. The sun rising behind them.

Clunk clunk clunk.

Sleeper train is the best way to travel. Nothing beats it, maybe for speed but not for scenery or comfort. The tiny little bonds you form even without speaking the native language. Men have tea in the morning in the hallway. They stand and chat the scenery passing by.

We arrive in Nha Trang. We make our way past the morning sidewalk eateries. It’s breakfast but we want to leave our bags at our hotel. We drop the bags off and head to the beach. The waves are intense really powerful. Boom. Boom. Boom. They hit the beach hard. It’s great sound to eat by. We have breakfast at a really strange place. Ladies make your coffee and attend to you intensely. A total change from the north.

We get back to the hotel. Our room isn’t ready. We wait in the lobby an hour. Maybe this place isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Hotels here are a crap shoot. Chinese tourists give everything bad reviews. So you can never tell. We almost leave to eat and the room is ready. Hot shower here I come. It’s the most stunning room we have stayed in. America or otherwise.

We have a balcony that looks out over the city. It looks brand new. Like it was just taken out of the wrapper. You can see a giant Buddha off in the distance.

We go eat at a beer club, tamarind ginger wings and some fresh beef, sprouts and pepper greens salad. It’s super yummy. Washed down with a couple tiger beer’s and we’re off to see the Buddha.

The Buddha is amazing I only take my big camera. The temple below has children playing everywhere. We donate money. A man tries to swindle us out of more money at the sleeping Buddha but dawn and I stop him from pocketing our money and just put it in the donation box.

It’s made us sad that people pray on us when we’re open to new experiences. But I’d rather get swindled a few times then never try anything and remain closed off.

We head back and lie down. Long day today. Tomorrow it’s beach time. Then the overnight train to Saigon.

Day 1 – Day 2 – Day 3 – Day 4 – Day 4 1/2 – Day 5 – Day 6 – Day 7 – Day 8 – Day 8 1/2 – Day 9 – Day 10 – Day 11 – Day 12 – Day 13 – Day 14 – Day 15