I didn't really have anything to post yesterday, because we really didn't do anything. Everyone was worn out from the trip to Tay Ninh, so we just stayed around the hotel and took the boys back to the park again. Thank goodness this time we didn't have quite as much drama as our last trip.
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| A Junk on the Saigon River |
The boys have been dying to go to the beach, so we decided to make the trip today. Ho Chi Minh City is about 50 km from the coast. Since it sits on the Saigon River, the beach can actually be reached by boat. There are several companies that offer hydrofoil service hourly between Ho Chi Minh City and the nearest beach which is in the city of Vung Tau. These hydrofoils are long tube boats with seats inside situated like an airplane. The boats plane off in the water and they can travel very fast. It takes about an hour and a half to reach Vung Tau.
Once we reached the city, we got a taxi to take us to the beach area. I told him that we wanted to go to the beach and that is exactly where he took us. He dropped us off at an area where Vietnamese locals visited instead of the tourist area. I am not opposed to hanging out with the locals, but let's just say that there was quite a language barrier. The beach was super crowded and there were areas of shelter and chairs for rent. We could not communicate with the people well enough to figure out where to go or what to pay, so we just walked out and found ourselves a sandy place to park our things.
We quickly became a sort of tourist attraction. I bet James posed for over a dozen pictures (I told you he is well liked here). Everybody wants to touch him. When we walked to the park yesterday, a young Vietnamese guy came out and started stroking his arms and hair. He just kept touching him and saying "Very good." All I could say was that we think so too. Several groups of young people came by and wanted to just watch the boys and stare at them. It feels strange sometimes, but I know that they are just curious. Blonde hair is somewhat of an oddity here.
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| Statue of Jesus on the Mountain |
Vung Tau is a beautiful area with several small mountains along the coastline. Atop the main mountain in the city area stands a huge statue of Jesus looking out towards the sea with his arms spread wide. There are a lot of ships passing through the area on their way to the port in Saigon. After the boys finished swimming we went inside a bath house in the beach area and paid 10,000 dong (50 cents) each so that the boys could wash off. After everyone got cleaned up we headed back to the dock to catch the hydrofoil back to Saigon. At the dock we ate at a Kentucky Fried Chicken. There are several of them in Ho Chi Minh City, but their menu has a few different items on it. James had a shrimp burger and I had strips with rice (as you might have guessed) and gravy instead of the mashed potatoes we ussually have in the US. We ate and caught the boat back to the city. As soon as we boarded, the bottom fell out. It rained heavily on us most of the way back to Saigon. We finished off the day with supper at an Italian restaurant and everyone came back to the room and crashed. The room is filled with the buzz of "little boy snores" now as I type. I guess they're all just recharging for their next big adventure. I think I'll join them.
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| Public Beach Showers |
The boys have been dying to go to the beach, so we decided to make the trip today. Ho Chi Minh City is about 50 km from the coast. Since it sits on the Saigon River, the beach can actually be reached by boat. There are several companies that offer hydrofoil service hourly between Ho Chi Minh City and the nearest beach which is in the city of Vung Tau. These hydrofoils are long tube boats with seats inside situated like an airplane. The boats plane off in the water and they can travel very fast. It takes about an hour and a half to reach Vung Tau.
Once we reached the city, we got a taxi to take us to the beach area. I told him that we wanted to go to the beach and that is exactly where he took us. He dropped us off at an area where Vietnamese locals visited instead of the tourist area. I am not opposed to hanging out with the locals, but let's just say that there was quite a language barrier. The beach was super crowded and there were areas of shelter and chairs for rent. We could not communicate with the people well enough to figure out where to go or what to pay, so we just walked out and found ourselves a sandy place to park our things.
We quickly became a sort of tourist attraction. I bet James posed for over a dozen pictures (I told you he is well liked here). Everybody wants to touch him. When we walked to the park yesterday, a young Vietnamese guy came out and started stroking his arms and hair. He just kept touching him and saying "Very good." All I could say was that we think so too. Several groups of young people came by and wanted to just watch the boys and stare at them. It feels strange sometimes, but I know that they are just curious. Blonde hair is somewhat of an oddity here.
