Hoi An to NhaTrang - Day 9

We left early this morning for the airport, although the weather made it very uncertain that we would be able to fly to Nha Trang.  If we are unable to fly we are faced with a lengthy bus ride, as much as 12 hours, so we are delighted when we are not only able to board and take off from Hoi An, but we are also able to land as planned in Nha Trang.  Unfortunately, though, we are unable to visit the local village because of the rains.  Instead we take a brief bus tour of the city, especially the area near our hotel.  After checking into our hotel we have lunch, and take a siesta.  Later this afternoon we meet with our guide for a “frank” roundtable discussion of Vietnam today.  Fortunately, we are able to ask just about anything we want, and get a good idea of Vietnam politics today.  For the most part things have improved dramatically since the US dropped its embargo in 1993, and the economy has opened up significantly in the 16 years since then.   However, the accompanying personal freedoms that we have come to take for granted have not come to the Vietnamese people.  Our guide indicated that he must be very careful about what he says, and very circumspect when speaking in the presence of others.

Nha Trang - Day 10

We set out by boat to visit a fishing village across the bay.  It seems to be much more prosperous that some of the other villages we have visited.  The homes, in particular, seem much nicer.  We transfer back to the boat via round bamboo basket boats or bamboo raft.  Since the raft appears to be the more stable of the two, most of us choose that craft.  Once we are all safely back on the boat we make our way to a nearby white sand beach, where we spend the next hour and a half.  The only problem is the wind is roaring, the waves are still depositing debris from the storm on the beach, and the sun is no where to be seen.  All in all this stop is a big bust.  We’re glad to get back to land for lunch.  Most of us then take a tour to a nearby Champa kingdom temple in the center of Nha Trang followed by a visit to a local market.  Both quite interesting.  One of the neatest parts of this trip has been the congeniality among the 10 of us.  We get along very well, and have been having daily cocktail hours together nearly every night of the trip.  Great fun.

Nha Trang to Dalat - Day 11

Our day today begins at 5:15 am, so we can have our bags out by 6, eat breakfast and board the bus in time to depart at 7 am!  Again, because of the storms we have to take an alternative route to Dalat which will take an extra hour.  For the next 5 ½ hours we wind our way circuitously across two mountain passes, fortunately for us through some of the most gorgeous, lush scenery we have seen.  Though the road is a bit harrowing at times, none of us minds because of the mind-boggling scenery.  We arrive in Dalat in time for lunch, and then proceed to visit a local silk embroidery picture factory.  These are some of the most unbelievable pieces of art you can imagine.  Each looks like a hand painted water color or acrylic.  They tell us that each square centimeter has as many as 600 stitches.  Get out your ruler and take a look at a centimeter to see how mind boggling that is.  We then go to Truc Lam Zen Buddhist Pagoda, situated high on a hillside above Dalat.  It is a very modern structure, begun in 1993 and completed 2 years later, and is reached by gondola.  The grounds are gorgeous with formal flower gardens lush with numerous varieties of flowers and topiary.  After checking in at the hotel we are met by our home hostess and taken by cab to her home for dinner.  The home is lovely, one of the nicest we have been to, the food delicious, and we enjoyed talking with her 22 year old daughter who is studying English at Dalat  University and is very fluent and able to help us communicate easily with the rest of the family.  Very nice evening.