The New Vietnam

When I think of the New Vietnam (in contrast to the war-torn Vietnam which resides in most American minds), I think of Nha Trang. When I say "new" I mean a country enjoying the benefits of an economic boom. There is money to be spent in Vietnam, and not just the money of foreigners. This generation of Vietnamese are very much in vacation-mode, for they too want to enjoy the fruits of their labor.

Chris and I left the Central Highlands for this coastal city. This was our first experience with a sleeper bus. We had seen a few of them in passing, crammed to the gills with backpackers, and we thought "Wow, what a great idea!" for each seat was reclined for supposed long-transport comfort. The seats were piled two-high in three rows. These buses were really something to behold. We've only seen them in Vietnam (and as we were to find out, there's good reason for this). Our bus out of Dalat wasn't too bad, as it was mostly empty. Chris and I vied for the seats in the very back, which were really mats. I would say it was like a giant bed, but the mats were reminiscent of gym mats and not very comfortable. With every turn of the bus through the hills, we would slip and slide while trying to prop ourselves up to enjoy the mountain vistas around each hairpin turn.

We descended the mountains to find shimmering blue waters spread in front of us. After all this time, we were returning to the sea. We had arrived in Nha Trang just as evening was setting in, but this suited us just fine as we stood out on a patio outside of our room. As spectacular as the sunset was, we knew the sunrise would be even better, rising over the South China Sea.

The location of our hotel was superb, on a main strip across from a beach promenade. A white sand beach was only a short walk away. But the beach wasn't really what interested us on that first night. From the roof patio we could make out letters across the way on an island—they were hung there like the Hollywood sign, only these letters spelled out "Vinpearl." There was also a string of Eiffel Towers spanning the water between Nha Trang and the island, all lit up in the night. This was all so mysterious to us as we hadn't read anything about Vinpearl in our guidebooks. Fortunately, an older gentleman from New Zealand came out on this patio and informed us that Vinpearland is a theme park: Vietnam's Disneyland. Well, this was something different! After being toted around to different locations, made to sample everything under the sun from crickets to snake wine, it was time to have some real fun.

A Day in Disneyland

The next morning, Chris and I set off for Vinpearl. In the light of day we could see the Eiffel Towers were set up for cable cars. They didn't look too far away, and seen as how we were always looking for a way to save money, we decided to hoof it down the beach. We figured the promenade would take us right to the cable cars. Well, like so many other times in our travels, we were wrong. We came to a point where the promenade was under construction and had to find our way back to the main street. By this time we were sweating profusely. The cable cars seemed to never get any closer; in fact, we couldn't even see where they went. Was it on a hilltop? We were cursing ourselves for deciding to do this walk. Where were all the taxi drivers when we wanted them? We prevailed though, and came to the top of a hill where the cable cars were taking off. We took advantage of the giant fountain outside the ticket office and practically submerged ourselves in water. The walk had taken more than an hour, and we were sunburned and exhausted, so needless to say, we were happy to get a cable car to ourselves where we could air our sweaty t-shirts out. Tickets for the cable cars and the park cost us $21 each; a high price in Asia, but we figured it would be worth it for a day in Vietnam's Disneyland.

The cable cars, connected by giant Eiffel Towers (not as big as the original, but still impressive) extended for three kilometers across the water. By the time we reached Vinpearl Island, we were relatively refreshed.

One thing we noticed immediately upon entering Vinpearland: we were the only foreigners. This was a playland for the Vietnamese, though it was set up like any other park in the Western world. Still, it was nothing like Disneyland. There were roller coasters, but none of them seemed to be running. Activity was centered in the waterpark, which was fine with us, as we were anxious to cool off. The facilities where we changed into our swim suits were modern, clean and well-maintained, so we felt the standards were quite high. Still, as we took to the waterslides, we had to wonder if they were equipped for heavier-set Westerners. As Chris and I got into a double innertube and slid over the lip of a particularly steep slide, we looked down in horror and wondered if we would flip over the side. I could hear Chris's "I don't like this" all the way down (which I gave him crap for, as he sounded like a five-year-old) but he was really speaking for us both. After another slide, where I hit the water at a weird angle, we figured maybe the slides weren't really for us. We were pretty much content with floating down the lazy river which wound around the park. Then we spent the remainder of the day hanging out on the beach, which was one of the best beaches of the trip. I say this because it felt completely safe. I could walk out into the water without worrying about stepping on glass, sharp rocks or sting rays (one of my main concerns with beaches in general). Also the section of water was netted off—no sharks or jellyfish. The water was warm and sensuous. Off in the distance we could see the skyscrapers of Nha Trang and the storm which bore down on the skyline. The storm didn't come our way, but still the clouds were hunkering. After a good swim and some relaxation, we changed our clothes and went to check out the aquarium, which was quite good. Moving platforms moved us through tanks which held sharks, manta rays and other magnificent creatures. In one of the main tanks, a lady dressed as a mermaid swam back and forth, much to the delight of everyone present. Like a kid, I was thinking "This is so cool!"

On paper, it doesn't seem like we did a whole lot. Slides, lazy river, beach, some food, the aquarium—yet it was a full day and completely wiped us out. Even the cable ride back seemed to take forever. It was dark by the time we got back to the mainland. This time, we were wise and grabbed a taxi back to our hotel. Vietnam's Disneyland was a nice respite from all the tours we had been taking.

Speaking of tours, we had signed up for yet another one. But this one would prove to be most unique.

Partying with the Locals

So here we were again, with all the other foreigners, waiting for our tour to start. Everyone was jammed pack on the docks, where all the tour boats were taking off. There were awful lot of Vietnamese families. This made sense, seeing that Nha Trang is a resort town for the Vietnamese. However, Chris and I were getting nervous as groups were being called off into the boats, and here we sat with the locals (not really locals, but I'm calling them that for lack of a better word). We eventually realized that we were being put with a Vietnamese tour. This didn't make us particularly happy. "They'd better do the tour in English," I muttered to Chris.

It turned out that there was one other American couple on the tour; they were Chinese-American, but at least they spoke English. For our benefit, the tour guide did speak English, but the English always followed his presentation to the locals, and always was much shorter and less dynamic than the Vietnamese version. We did feel that we were getting shorted.

Luckily, most of the tour was full of activity. We sailed to a nearby island where we were left to snorkel and participate in other water activities. The old lady in me opted to take the glass bottom boat, a relatively safe activity (I was becoming more and more afraid of the ocean every day on this trip). Chris and I agreed that the main attraction of the boat was not the tropical fish nor the colorful coral—no, it was our tour companions who would delight in everything. Everything needed to be pointed at, with both fingers and cameras. Perhaps Chris and I were jaded by that point. We could not share our companions' excitement, even if we could find entertainment in their reactions.

We did end up snorkeling in the end, but it was off of a rocky beach. There were men rowing around in what appeared to be washtubs, selling things. Again, this was more entertaining than the snorkeling. Chris and I sat around a lot on that island, waiting for the master of ceremonies to finish his noodles.

By the time the boat came back for us, lunch had been set out. The seats had been rearranged to encircle a large table. Vietnamese dishes were strewn about with the intention of sharing. It was a communal meal, and quite frankly, it was the best part of our tour, for we got to interact with our tour mates. While they had been freakishly childlike on other parts of the tour, they were quiet and polite for the meal, passing us dishes and displaying wonderful table etiquette. None of the food was stand-out, just noodles, spring rolls and veggies, but it was so authentic and without a touch of the West that Chris and I count it amongst our favorite meals in Vietnam. After our initial skepticism, we felt lucky to have been put with locals.

After lunch, the dishes were whisked away and the seats rearranged once more. The table had been converted into a platform for the master of ceremonies to entertain us. I had been wondering about this guy from the start of the tour—he really thought himself a stud, with his dark shades, standing with his chest out, posed on the bow like a model in a Versace cologne ad. In truth, he wasn't much to look at. It was hard to figure out what he was all about, especially now that he was donning a coconut bra. I suppose he fancied himself a comedian. To our amusement (and horror, on some level), he called tour members onto the stage to sing with him. When it comes to activities like this, I shrink in my seat, hoping that I will not be called forward. But being the only white girl, of course I got called up. He wanted to perform a scene from Titantic with me, with our arms outstretched singing "My Heart Will Go On." It was dreadful. Then Chris got called up to sing "Yellow Submarine." It was all very embarrassing, but at least we knew that we'd never see these people again.

After everyone was done humiliating themselves, a band set up on stage. It wasn't much of a band, just a guy with a drum kit made out of plastic containers, and one of the crew members, looking very much like Mr. Miyagi in the Karate Kid, with a guitar. Our hopes for Vietnamese music were incredibly low. But wow, this Mr. Miyagi guy could really wail, on both guitar and on vocals. He actually gave me chills, he was so good. This tour was getting better and more interesting by the minute.

After the entertainment was over, we jumped off the boat into the open water, where a floating bar was set up for the tourists. Floating in innertubes, we were given plastic cups of sangria. At this point in the trip, everyone was in party mode. Music was pumping from the boat and all of a sudden we were in a nightclub in the middle of the ocean. Some of the braver souls jumped into the water from the top deck of the boat. This wasn't something I would ordinarily do, but the sangria had given me courage and I took the plunge. There was a sense of bonding as everyone floated in their tubes, applauding those who jumped. We had never felt this bonding on any previous tour. For this reason, I have to rate this tour as my favorite in Vietnam, if not in all of Asia.

Time to Kill

We arranged for a sleeper bus to take us to Hoi An, our next stop up the long coast. The journey was to take twelve hours—a long time to be in a bus. But it was one of those giant sleeper buses, designed for sleeping and relaxing, so it couldn't be that bad, right? Well, we would find out the answer to that soon enough. However, we still had time to kill in Nha Trang, so Chris and I finally took advantage of the beach across from our hotel.

Though I preferred the beach in Vinpearl Land (pristine, safe waters), the city beach was pretty good. I went in a few times, though I was really swum-out by this time. Plus, there were some suspicious lines of murkiness working their way over on the drift. I could only imagine what kind of pollutants were in the water. It was hard to feel clean after coming back after my last dip. The setting was good though, as Chris and I had rented lounge chairs for the day, and there was a drink stand nearby. So we drank our beers and sat in the sun, soaking up this quintessential beach experience.

Nha Trang—the Disney part of our travels. And yet it was more cultural than we had expected.

And now for that sleeper bus ride to Hoi An...