Bob and Ann in Vietnam 2005-2006 Eldertreks Tour

Catch of the Day

Due to highway construction we left at dawn to get over the pass before 8:30 AM road closure. We made one stop at a beach resort with friendly fisherpeople displaying their catch (meager) close to shore. Also met a previous beneficiary of the wheelchair project who chatted brightly with Thuy and Roger.

Ann and Bob in a Mud Bath

When we arrived in NhaTrang we toured a museum dedicated to the 19th c. French doctor who discovered the cause of the bubonic plague while living here. After checking into our large tourist hotel, Yasaka Saigon Nha Trang, we had lunch at it’s Sole House - good as ever. Some of us visited the mud baths in the afternoon, where we partook of the sequence of soaking, washing, showering and swimming with Thuy leading the way. As a first experience it was both unsettling and fun, and we felt wonderful when dry again. Still the first order of business when we got back to our rooms was a shower, long and hot, and even then mud residue continued to appear from ears, etc, for days!

We had time to find an Internet Cafe and then have a drink in the lobby with Kathleen before we caught our bus to dinner.

New Years Eve Dinner


New Years Eve Crowd

New Years Eve was celebrated with good wines in abundance and a seafood meal featuring lobster tails, crab, grooper and rich dessert. We were ready to call it a night instead of joining the revelers at the Hotel Party, but decided to find out what was going on right before midnight. A lovely Vietnamese crowd swarmed in front of the temporary stage outside the main doorway. This free party attracted families and young people on scooters who greeted the entertainment enthusiastically, but still remained mellow after the countdown to Western New Year at midnight. All ten of the Eldertrekers + Thuy and Roger showed up briefly to exchange New Years wishes.

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