On Christmas Day and also New Years Day I was in Nha Trang again. I decided it would be nice to 'get away' for a while. I really didn't think too much about it being Christmas Day on the 25th, but New Years was boisterous in certain parts of Nha Trang, particularly the Aussie-owned Sailing Club, which was blasting loud dance music to a throbbing crowd of dancers who'd paid admission to the venue (90% foreigners) and were accompanied by a large of crowd of non-paying dancers (90% local Nha Trang Vietnamese) around the fringes as the dance stage was outdoors protuding out onto the beach. It was fun to just watch and listen if nothing else.
I got to know some of the local Nha Trang outdoor vendors during my stay this time. These are people, mostly women, who sell food and drinks from their own small stands they set up and dismantle each day. On Jan. 3 I wandered down to the beach to find they were all gone. Turns out the police had staged a crackdown on these unlicensed and technically illegal merchants after the new year. I heard many stories of goods confiscated, some of which were returned. The generally accepted explanation for this police sweep was that too many tourists had complained of the vendors who pester them while they're trying to relax on the beach. I can understand this perfectly well and agree with them to a large degree. Thing is, the vendors who were targeted by the police are not the ones the tourists complain about because the police targeted the staitonary vendors while the pests are the vendors who walk the beach approaching sunbathing tourists and hawking mostly sunglasses and other such goods. There was uncertainty as to whether this imposition of the law would be more strictly enforced from there on, but it is clear that Nha Trang is changing along with the rest of Vietnam. In Nha Trang more and more upscale hotels and other commercial establishments are springing up and pieces of prime beach are slowly being privatized and cordoned off with flags and fences. I've heard that up north in Da Nang, the public no longer has access to any nice beaches, only paid hotel and resort guests. Progress? Yes and no IMO.
Anyway one of the vendors I chatted with quite a lot was Quyen (sounds like Quinn) who is in her mid-30's and would like to find a husband or boyfriend to help her out with things. She is divorced with 2 kids and apparently supports herself and family by selling cold drinks from her cooler at the Nha Trang beach (assuming the police will let her continue that is). I let her know straight off I was not a candidate! Let's just say she's not my type, but she's very funny and quite the character. If a tourist tried bargaining with her too much she would call him a 'Cheap Charlie' straight to his face! But she did it in such a joking manner, that noone got offended. She went on to tell me she used to like younger men, but had changed her mind and now wanted someone 50 or older. Of course I had to enquire what was behind this dramatic change and was informed that older men have more money and don't like 'boom-boom' as much. I think you can figure out what 'boom-boom' is even if you've never heard it before! It's a term you'll hear all over SE Asia. Anyway Quyen told me when she gets home at night now she's tired and has no time or energy for boom-boom. So any guys who are interested can (hopefully) find Quyen right in the central Nha Trang beach area, but just remember to bring your wallet and 'she no like boom-boom'! I doubt a line will form right away. But buy a beer or soft drink from her and help her out.
I moved out of the mini-hotel that had been my home for over a month into an apartment not far away. I had gotten to know the staff at the hotel including one of the maids who invited me up to rooftop with her. She spoke no English and I hardly any Vietnamese, so this was a venture for me. The rooftop was very pleasant, with a nice breeze and laundry waving lazily and she had constructed a Buddhist shrine up there complete with photos of (I assume) family members, incense, and the fruit offerings you see often at Buddhist shrines. The fruit is an offering to Buddha and if it doesn't get taken (does it ever?), it later gets consumed by Buddha's lowly human admirers who have actual worldly appetites. My maid, who seemed to like me for some reason, would often give me second right of refusal on Buddha's fruit offerings, Buddha himself of course having had first right. She would bring the fruit into my room and arrange it nicely inside my little room refridgerator, and when she knew I was there, would knock and the door and come in and sit on the floor and peel the fruit and serve it to me. I'll just assume she had a lot of free time on her hands. Some of the fruit I was completely unfamiliar with and would not have known how to eat otherwise. I miss her and the other staff there, but now have new staff at my apartment building. Noone had offered to peel and serve me fruit there yet, though!
It occurred to me that the populated areas of Vietnam are like a large collection of little families who occupy a given parcel of real estate or a building. If you frequent any building, park, street, etc. you tend to see the same clan of people congregated around the same place day after day as if they're physically attached to the area or maybe they get an electric shock if they venture too far astray. Vietnamese think of themselves as a big family and their language reflects that. Of course sometimes they attack and kill each other, but what family is perfect after all?
Nice fruit arrangement in my mini-hotel fridge courtesy of my friendly maid. How could Buddha have turned this down?!
Christmas Day at Nha Trang, VN. 'I'm Dreamin' of a White (sand) Christmas'.
1 comment:
Very interesting entry! I like the story of the maid and the fruit.
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