Nha Trang

Nha Trang duel carrageway (quiet time)

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Finally got round to writing. I think the last time was when I’d just arrived in Thailand and met up with Keith. Well we made it safe and sound to Nha Trang (Vietnam) after some brief stops in Ho Chi Minh and a beach resort in Mui Ne. We met up with Zac and Daryl and were introduced to Zac's wife Chi Chi and 3 month old max. We spent two weeks doing the usual holiday activities like a boat trip and a kayaking day which were both good fun and of course a lot of drinking too. After helping Zac in his music shop for the last six months Daryl went back to England for Christmas so I decided to stay around Nha Trang for a little while to help out. I moved into the top level above the shop with my own little sitting room and bathroom and settled into a very relaxed routine. I get up in the afternoon most days because it’s been raining a lot so there's not much point getting up earlier - help out in the shop or watch DVDs from the shops huge collection. Basically just lazing around enjoying doing not a lot, however I would like the sun to come out soon because the days are starting to get a bit repetitive and i'd like to spend some time on the beach. It's looking hopeful because we've had very little rain in the last few days and the sun even came out for a few hours today. The night life in Nha Trang is very good, they have some cool venues and there is a crowd of westerners living out here that I hang around with. I usually meet up with them and go to the sailing club which is a bar/club right by the sea and then on to the appropriately named ‘Why Not Bar’ afterwards. If it’s a busy night and they’ve stayed open late we sometimes make our way a few kilometers up the road to arrive at a posh hotel called Yasaka for six in the morning. They put on a fantastic breakfast buffet spread from six till nine and make the mistake of allowing people who aren’t staying at the hotel to 'buy in' for a mere 40,000 dong (about one pound fifty). The place is full of older German, Japanese and rich Vietnamese tourist couples or families who have obviously just got up to start their day, and, apart from the very slight background babble and the occasional clink of cutlery on china, you could hear a pin drop in there – except that is for when we’re there. We do try our best to keep quiet and certainly don’t cause any trouble it’s just that we’ve been drinking all night so simple tasks like walking back from the drinks table with a couple of glasses of orange juice or coffee without spilling any and keeping your conversation at a low tempo become tasks which require a huge amount of concentration. It does go wrong sometimes when one of us does something like spill a drink on the way back to the table leaving a trail across the room. Someone can’t help but let out a muffled laugh which sets the rest of us off. It’s a great way to end the night though and by the time I get home I have no problems getting to sleep above the clatter and clinking of all the street food vendors setting up their stalls and the chatter of the customers (no windows in my room just open slits in the walls which are great for letting in noise and mosquitoes). I do however sometimes get woken up by the tortured wails and yelps coming from next doors garden from another poor dog. Lots of people in Vietnam are quite partial to eating dog and our neighbor is no exception which is fair enough I suppose but I’m sure he could kill them more quickly and humanely. Zac hardly ever comes out because he works a lot at night but once a week me him and Chi Chi go out for a couple of drinks when the shops closed. It’s good catching up with Zac again after so long and nice to get to know Chi Chi and Max. Some friends of ours have just finished decorating a new Irish bar and opened on Christmas day putting on a great roast beef dinner which all the local crowd turned up for so it was a good day. Christmas day is also Zac's birthday so me and a guy called Ash got together and bought Zac a cake although it probably won’t get eaten. On my birthday I had a lovely cake but after the candles were blown out no one really wanted a piece. A little later on I went into the living room to watch some TV and about ten minutes after that the lads crept in and scrunched the cake full in my face after which a small food fight ensued. A week or so later Ashley had a formal engagement ceremony and so naturally enough there was a cake there too. Again Zac was involved by getting the couple to pose for a photograph while Daryl crept up behind Ash and splatted him (they did get permission from his fiancé first). Anyway we missed our opportunity to get him yesterday but Ash is determined for revenge and i'm happy to go along with it so it’s only a matter of time. Well that’s all from me. Hope you had a great Christmas and have a happy new year and remember: In Vietnam a dog is not for life, it is just for Christmas possibly with enough left over for sandwiches on Boxing Day.