Posted August XX
Memories (so far)
It’s been over two months since I started my journey in SE Asia. There have been great experiences that even today as I am in Vietnam, seem like fond but distant memories.
Some examples include getting lost on a hike to Tangkuban Parahu, eating the worst hamburger ever made, riding a mountain bike into remote temples in Angkor Wat.
My airplane in Hanoi taking me to Nha Trang, a 90 minute flight
Memories are shaped by good and bad moments. Remember that issue about getting lost on a hike? It still made for a good memory and story later, mostly because I’m here two months later to talk about it.
The most memorable negative thing in my travels so far is a recent one. I really started to notice it in Hanoi and it has really come up as a daily experience in Nha Trang. What is it? It’s the inconsiderate and rude behavior of people in those cities.
I will add that this goes above and beyond the standard behavior by scooter and automobile drivers throughout SE Asia where they don’t follow anything resembling “rules of the road” that would be recognizable to a western observer.
Where should you drive your car or motorcycle,, on the sidewalk or on the road? Why choose when you can just do both. Where should you park your vehicle? Same answer.
Following lane restrictions, red lights, turn signals, one-way streets, U-Turns, double-parking, speed limits (both high and low) are completely at the discretion of the driver.
The Nha Trang Beachfront
The beachfront promenade in Nha Trang is marked as pedestrians only. Many times there are just as many scooters as walkers. How do they get there? They just ride across the grass or any access area where they can squeeze through.
Because all the cars and motorbikes parked on the sidewalk, you have to walk on the street. The cars and motorbikes don’t give you an inch of space. I have been brushed many times. Pedestrians walking the other way don’t give way; every interaction between pedestrians, cars, and motorcycles, in any combination, is just a game of chicken. Whoever blinks first moves out of the way.
I’ve gotten so used to all of this throughout SE Asia that I am not even using this as an example of inconsiderate and rude behavior. It’s just normal.
Sunrise at Nha Trang
Here are some examples of what I actually am talking about.
Littering: It’s commonplace to open a package or finish a bottle of water and just toss the plastic carcass on the ground. I’ve seen this throughout SE Asia but never more than in Nha Trang, and by both locals and tourists.
Loud conversations on phones in public. Using speaker mode. In my hotel at breakfast I can regularly hear 3-4 phone conversations where they’re all using speakerphone mode. And as each additional conversation gets started, everyone just gets louder, even those not on the phone.
Line jumping/cutting: There’s no such thing as a line, really. Every queue is a hunger-games style free-for-all. One day in the lobby of my hotel, I am waiting for the elevator along with one older man who has an amputated leg and uses crutches. As we wait, a group of people join us and as soon as the elevator door opens, shoves the
Stake your claim or rent a chair on the beach
old man and me out of the way and take up all the room in the elevator car so we have to wait for the next one.
Evenings on the Nha Trang Beach
That said, there are a few non-touristy but touristy things to do. This part of Vietnam used to be part of the Champa Empire, and there are still a few relics still standing. Po Nagar is in remarkably good shape, aided by some recovery efforts along the way.
The architecture of Po Nagar is reminiscent of some of the Cambodian ancient temples and rightly so, since they share historical background with the Chams who built those temples as well.
My visit to Po Nagar was pleasant and because the hillside that Po Nagar is built on is at the outlet of the Cai River into the South China Sea, the sea breeze yields a very nice cooling effect, even at mid-afternoon.
So how can you come to Nha Trang and be angry? I don’t really know, it’s been pleasant and enjoyable so far and now I understand why the hotel clerk in Hanoi, while I was checking out and telling her that I was headed to Nha Trang, said “Oh, I want to go too! That’s the best place in Vietnam!”
Lower Entry Towers of Po Nagar, an 8th Century CE Cham Temple