In case you don’t know about Tet, it’s the the lunar new year, and is the biggest celebration in Vietnam. As the year of the Tiger approached and we made our way down the coast from Hanoi, we were constantly told that getting to Saigon was going to be tough as Tet (Feb. 14) drew nearer. Therefore, we purchased all of our train tickets ahead of time to guarantee that we’d have good seats on all of our trains. Plus having solid plans helps Tania feel comfortable about the future, but we won’t go there right now.
Tet is the time when families get together to drink and be merry with each other, like Christmas, but also to remember relatives who have passed. But mostly, it’s a week long celebration that out ranks any other holiday during the year.
The week before Tet, we felt the anticipation grow and saw the extremely elaborate decorations being built around Saigon (think Mardi Gras meets the Rose Parade). Amazingly beautiful decorations. Yet Steve and Lisa kept saying that the city was going to be empty for Tet, similar to how LA empties out for Christmas, because not many people are from Saigon, and therefore return to their remote towns to see their families during the week following Tet. So because of this, we decided to head up to Nah Trang where Steve’s (and Dave and Brian’s) dad lives. It’s a mellow beach town where their father, Hugh, has two apartments, one of which we could stay at for a few days. So we hopped onto an overnight bus, slept in the oddest configuration of reclining seats one can imagine, and headed up the coast.
Beaching it at Louisiae in Nha Trang. It's a tough life we live.
Nha Trang Beach as the sun sets behind us
Hugh greeted us at the apartment and made us feel right at home. We spent most of our days relaxing at the beach at the Louisiane’s resort and deciding whether the lobster being sold by vendors were as fresh as they looked. The city didn’t come alive until the night because shops were closed for Tet, so we weren’t given too many options during the days, which was fine with us. Yet at night, we had great seafood and Indian meals, and enjoyed the celebratory atmosphere the buzzed throughout the city.
After dinner with Steve's dad, Hugh.
On Tet eve, we joined the crowd that packed the beach and watched an extensive yet impressive fireworks show over the water. To call the beach packed, though, is not doing it justice. All we can say is that the entire city, plus everyone in town for the week, were on the beach. Crazy. Yet things didn’t get out of hand because luckily, the men had the world’s largest urinal at their disposal right there on the beach.
Tet eve on Nha Trang Beach
On Monday we met up with Steve and Lisa’s friends from Saigon Anne, Jacob and their son Lucas at their resort just out of town. Not much changed from what we had been doing at the beach. Just the environment changed from the ocean to the pool. It’s a rough life we live.
Having not done too much site seeing in the past few days, Tania and I searched Trip Advisor for the most important things to do while in Nah Trang. The winning site was the natural mud baths. Figuring our travel-weary bodies could go for some organic health care, we grabbed a cab out to the fringes of town. As we soon found out, we weren’t the only ones. When we pulled up, we saw the sea of tour buses that we’ve come to identify with tourist traps. Then we saw the masses pouring in and out of the gates before us. Hesitantly, we made our way to the ticket office and purchased the all inclusive VIP package, which gave us a private mud bath (no strange foreigners in our mud, please) and changing room, and a 45 minute massage afterward.
Drenched in our provate mud bath.
Well, we did our obligatory 20 minutes in the mud, received the hurried 20 minute massage, and quickly rinsed off so we could catch the next cab back to Hugh’s apartment to meet the gang and take the overnight bus back to Saigon. Feel free to skip the mud baths if you’re ever in Nah Trang unless you’re feeling extra Clark Griswoldy that day.
It was great to spend time with Hugh and get to know this mellow beach town of Nah Trang. It’s a far cry from the intense scene in Saigon, which is obviously why Hugh moved his life up here. Thanks for playing a great host, Hugh! Looking forward to seeing you at Luke and Thu’s wedding in April!
No comments:
Post a Comment