Day at the Beach

Well, today was fantastic! We got up early and had breakfast at 7:00. We were supposed to meet down at the front desk at 7:30. We were heading to Vung Tau Beach. They had a mini-bus for us and an "english" speaking tour guide named Richard. He was very nice, but very hard to understand. Mark did a lot of translating for the group.

It was about a 2 1/2 hour trip out of town, there was a lot of traffic due to the holiday. We found out that last week's holiday (thurs, 26th) was to honor the First King. The holiday today and tomorrow is to honor the Union of the North and the South Vietnam. So there are a lot of people in town doing tourist kind of stuff. The drive out was just as interesting as being at the beach. We did learn today that Saigon means Mango Cup of Tea. (Sai - Mango, Gon-cup of tea) We got a little history on Saigon. We asked Richard if people here called it HCMC or Saigon. He said they write Ho Chi Minh City on letters, but they all refer to the city as Saigon.

We finally made it to the beach around 10:40 and decided we would eat lunch first. It was all provided in our package. The restaurant was right on the beach and with the windows open, there was a cool breeze flowing through the windows. I must say, this is the first time I was comfortable in Vietnam (outside). Those of you that know me will be shocked to know that I ate clams and LOVED them!!! I was not brave enough to try the fish with a head and the prawns still had heads and feet, so no dice! There was some kind of green stuff with meat, I loved it, don't know what it was, but loved it. (I have learned, not to ask questions, just eat it.)

After lunch we headed out to the beach. We rented 2 umbrellas and chairs. Then everyone went for a dip in the sea. Dylan hated it! He cried and cried. We spent most of the time under the umbrella, just hanging onto momma. Daddy swam for a little while. He also got a sunburn! He has a nice RED back. Kim, I want you to know that Mark bought sandals!! (yes, sandals) He wore them all day yesterday. Of course he wore them with socks until we got to the beach. And his feet burned because they NEVER see the sun! We really enjoyed the beach because of the view and the cool breeze. Strange thing was that we did not see any women in swimsuits! I told you they really keep covered up, well they were swimming in clothes! Apparently, the whitter skin a Vietnamese woman has, the more attractive she is. The only females in swimsuits were our group and the little girls. It was kind of a refreshing thing to not have to see skimpy half naked people on a beach. Very different from America.

After spending time in the sea, we cleaned up (sort of) and looked around. We were ready to head back. We got on the bus and they took us around the town. It was really pretty. They had a huge statue of Jesus up on a mountain. It was built by a Catholic church. We also saw many fishing boats and the sea was gorgeous. We headed back to town, we were all wiped out from the day and very hungry. They boys pretty much slept most of the way home. We ended up stopping at a little shop to see how they made eggshell pictures, dishes, etc. It was interesting, but we were all ready to get back. They make these beautiful pictures using goose and chicken eggs. They also will paint the shells to give it some color. It can take them up to 3 months to complete one. It is ALL completed by hand...no machines at all. Very fascinating. We bought a piece for our house.

We thought we might head to the Pizza Hut for dinner because we were all starving. But we got back pretty late and we all needed a bath! So, we fed Dylan and gave him a bath. He LOVES bath time, that is why I was so surprised he hated the sea. He squirms around the tub, laughing. Then when you get him out, he is just crazy! He bounces around on the bed, laughing and squeeling, I think that is my favorite time of day! And check out the hair!!! It stands straight up on end after the bath and when he first wakes up! Man....we need a hair cut!!! I will end with a slide show of several pictures from yesterday.