We have made it to Danang City and have internet access so I'm going to post about our day yesterday in Nha Trang. Yesterday morning at 5:00 a.m. the driver came and picked us up for the trip to the Ho Chi Minh airport. It was Mary Kathryn, Sarah Beth, Mr. and Mrs. Nguyen, Tram, Nikki, Bao, and me. Little Bin stayed home with his nanny for this trip. On the way to the airport we stopped for breakfast at an outdoor resort that was very nice. There we were met by Mrs. Nguyen's youngest sister Op and she made the trip with us.
After breakfast we loaded back up and headed to the airport. We had a short hop to Nha Trang airport. As soon as the girls got their electronics out and "made their nest" it was time to put them back up to prepare for landing.
At the airport we were met by another tour operator. We immediately headed to lunch and then the hotel to check in. We dropped off our things and headed back out to see the sights. We went on a boat that ferried us over to Monkey Island. I have forgotten my drive to be able to download pictures back at the Nguyens' house so it will be a few days until I can add photos, but you have to check back and see them. The monkeys are actually tame and used to all the people. Bao even fed them from his hand. They had a show where the monkeys rode bikes and did other tricks. Usually people spend hours on the island swimming and sunning but we headed on back over because a storm was coming up.
Next we visited Cham Ponagar Tower. It was built in the 11th century and had many shrines. We left our shoes at the door and got to go in. Our tour guide described all of the symbolism of the temple. He then took us by the open market where the Nguyens purchased some of their favorite regional specialties.
For dinner we went to a nice restaurant that had a room upstairs reserved for us. It had a large round table and a lazy Susan that is almost the size of the whole table. All the foods are brought in and place on the lazy Susan and you dish out foods into a bowl to eat from. We all have been using the chopsticks, but sometimes in frustration will put them down for a fork.
We have tasted so many new foods and found many that we really like. Mary Kathryn has made Mrs. Nguyen promise to teach me how to make Spring Rolls. She loves them -- any flavor, doesn't matter what meat is in them -- fish, shrimp, beef, pork -- she loves them. Yesterday I tried squid prepared four different ways! I must say I liked the fried squid the best. I went back for seconds on that one.
One thing that I have learned while here is that I will never, ever, ever try to drive in Vietnam. They do have lines down the road, but those are merely a suggestion. They drive all over the road. And the cars have to share the road with hundreds of motorbikes. They all go different directions, there are no turn signals at the stop lights so they just "muscle" their way through to make a turn. We met an American couple today that said their most excitement they've had for their trip is they crossed the road in Ho Chi Minh. Nope, me, I'll stick to the van.
Last night we spend the night in the Yasaka Saigon Nhatrang Premier Beach Resort Hotel and Spa. The room was very nice and the view was spectacular. Mary Kathryn decided that she wants to honeymoon there. We turned in early because we had to be ready to leave at 6:15 the next morning. We didn't know what was ahead of us -- just that we were to be in the lobby at 6:15 -- so we got back to the room after dinner, took showers, and went to bed.
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