5 July 2004 - Dalat, Vietnam

Hoi An and Na Trang are both cities right on the coast with miles of great beaches. Between sitting on the beach, I did a little Scuba diving in Na Trang. The diving in Vietnam is not the best I've ever seen because most of the aquatic life has been blown to bits by dynamite fishing. Some of the reef has made a comeback, but the real appeal was the underwater architecture of caves and swimthroughs that can be explored.

The last day in Na Trang was spent with an animated cyclo (modern rickshaw) driver named Son. I ran into him near a market when I was checking bicycle prices and he caught my attention with his above-average English and stories of his life as a soldier. We became friends and he invited Sarah and I to his house the next day.

We rented a motorbike and spent the first part of the day cruising up to his friend's house outside of town. Mr. Binh lived in a small house with his wife and enjoyed telling stories of his life as a radio operator in San Francisco. He also had a list of magic tricks that he loved showing off. After Mr. Binh's house we went to a waterfall for some swimming and some lunch. That evening we went back to town and I had dinner at Son's modest home.

There I got a slap of reality. He and his family of 4 lived in a concrete room with about 200 square feet of space. They had very little in the way of earthly possessions and could manage on about 50,000 dong (less than $5) per month. They were fairly cheerful people who surrounded themselves with a large extended family, but I picked up on a touch of alcoholism. I was generous for his services, but he was quick to reject anything given out of sympathy.

---

I am now in Dalat City in the central highlands of Vietnam. I am glad to have left the beaches for awhile and am enjoying the cooler mountain temperatures. I leave for Saigon tomorrow where I will be gearing up for the next endeavor. I have made a rough plan to purchase a bicycle, saddle-bags, and a tent to carry me through Cambodia, Laos and Thailand. I am estimating that the cycle trip will take about 4 weeks and I am really looking forward to seeing the rest of SE Asia on 2 wheels (not to mention the exercise).

Realistically, one can expect to cover an average of 50KM per day and if I stay fairly close to the Mekong River I should avoid the drastic mountainous regions of eastern Laos. Riding starts around 5:30 AM and runs until about 1:30 when things start to get brutally hot. If I can, I would also like to ride a few hours in the early evening, but I have had a few hairy experiences with insects while motorcycling around dusk.