Nha Trang, Vietnam

Good Morning Vietnam! It was a gorgeous day as the ship entered Nha Trang Harbor. From a distance we viewed beautiful green mountains, small fishing villages on islands surrounding the city, and miles of beaches with warm clear water. It’s difficult to imagine that this is the same country in which so much sadness had taken place 35 years ago. I was interested in seeing how the people reacted after all of these years.
Nha Trang is essentially a fishing village but is quickly becoming known as a seaside resort. However, we were able to visit the quiet shops and talk with some of the villagers that offer a glimpse into traditional Vietnamese life.

After Independence day (unification by the North Vietnam Communist Government) on April 2nd 1975 many people from North Vietnam streamed South to the area. However, Nha Trang remained a sleepy fishing village until newly affluent merchants from Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) began seeking seaside resorts a few years ago. There is quite a bit of new construction taking place but the South China Sea beaches remain unspoiled and the hotels are mostly smaller locally owned facilities which attract local Vietnamese. Many of the French colonial buildings are still in place throughout the town. In 5 years time I would imagine this will have changed dramatically since there are already a couple of 4 and 5 star hotels being built.

Our morning was spent visiting the two most important shrines. First was the Cham Po Nagar complex, begun in the 7th century to mark the site upon which Hindus had worshipped for more than 500 years. The complex today consists of 4 towers which are the focus of the ethnic Chinese and Vietnamese Buddhists. You enter this complex via a winding staircase that leads to a large flat set of terraces overlooking the city. It’s quite beautiful and after taking off your shoes you can enter each of the towers which have their own temples.

Next was the Long Son Pagoda which has a large white Buddha statue overlooking the entire city. This temple pays tribute to the lives and tragic deaths of the monks who emolliated themselves as a protest against the Vietnam War (it’s called the American War by the Vietnamese). This was a somber reminder of the tragedies of this era and some of you may remember the pictures of the monks in the 60’s. Our tour guide told us we had to climb 150 steps to get to the Buddha. In reality it was almost 200 but he wanted everyone to visit the Buddha so he conveniently forgot about the 50 additional steps.

I had a chance to discuss the feelings about the war with our tour guide, Kuong. His comments related mostly to Agent Orange and the devastating affect it has had on the generations since the war, including the current one. Because the chemicals impregnated the ground and Rice fields it has affected the DNA of countless Vietnamese and has caused terrible birth defects. We were able to see this in some of the young. I understand that the U.S. is paying reparations for this without admitting fault. However, based on what we saw, it doesn’t seem to have reached the local people that need it.

After touring the Temples it was time for the beach and a swim so we negotiated two lounges with an umbrella for $4. Try that back home. The water was warm and the beach beautiful. But, it was hard to ignore the hawkers selling everything from souvenirs to massages and the inevitable nail jobs. We ignored most of them but I wound up buying 5 sets of postcards because I could not ignore the old veterans without a leg or a child that was deformed (Agent Orange?). I did observe that the hawkers were a little shy and not very aggressive. They were persistent, however, and had no problem sitting next to you and gently letting you know that they would stay for as long as it took for you to buy some piece of Jewelry or whatever for a $1 (17,000 Dong). At the local markets we were able to buy some very pretty rice paper paintings, T shirts, hats and other things for a few dollars a piece. For lunch we had a nice Vietnamese meal at a beachside restaurant for $10 which included two local Saigon Beers. We’re losing weight using chop sticks because we’re pretty inept with the sticky rice. We have never been to a less expensive city.

After photographing their War Memorial we decided to walk along the beach promenade which is quite beautiful. However, it was hot and pretty soon two Cyclo drivers came along side and offered to take us back to the pier for $5 a piece. Cyclos are Rickshaws with bicycles attached. It was about a 20 minute ride and the ship was leaving in an hour so we said agreed. After reaching the pier the price went up to $10 a piece. It was worth it so I showed him a $20 bill to split with the other driver. Now it was $20 a piece. I gently let him know that he was on the verge of getting nothing. That seemed to work and I didn’t mind getting taken for an additional $5 for each of us.

This is a pretty city on the verge of becoming an International resort. It’s not there yet and I hope that it retains some of its current feeling as the investment flows in. The people are attractive, warm and polite. There is a lot of poverty as is found in most South East Asian countries. However, the people did not seem quite as happy as those in other places we had visited—too much suffering I suppose. Hopefully the investments yet to be made will trickle down to the local people that need it most.