Temporary Setback for the Paparazzi

Vietnam Trip - Day Five

Tianne and I got off to another early start this morning. We had breakfast at a Lonely Planet recommended but overly unimpressive restaurant close to our hotel. The highlight of this meal was my first true Vietnamese coffee experience. The coffee is dripped through a small aluminum filter on the table. It was very good, though quite sweet.

It's been very warm for the past four days (~30-35C) and was already quite hot at breakfast, so we decided to do some sightseeing in the morning. We hired a cab to drive us to the Po Nagar Cham Towers, which were built between 700AD and 1200AD. It was interesting to see our first ruins in Vietnam, but the site took us about 15 minutes to breeze through. The hill provided us with a great view of the local docks. There were a number of vendors, and we took a quick stroll through the row of stalls. It is very common for people in Vietnam to approach you on the street to sell goods (postcards). Today was no exception, and the postcard vendors were particularly aggressive.

We hopped back into our cab and headed for the Long Son Pagoda. When we arrived, we were met by three girls in their late teens claiming to be orphans who lived at the Pagoda, who tried to convince us to buy postcards to support their schooling. Something seemed pretty fishy -- the girls all spoke perfect English, which is very surprising in a country where many children cannot afford to go to school. I had also read that there was a donation box in the pagoda (entrance is free). We left the girls and headed into the pagoda.

About two minutes later we had not one but two major (and simultaneous)camera disasters. Tianne couldn't find her camera, and began searching her bag frantically. At almost exactly the same moment, my digital camera (the basic point-and-shoot Canon...did not my "good" camera on this trip) died in the lens-open position.

For me, this is a huge inconvenience because I love to take photos. But it is not the end of the world The camera had been acting up since I got here, and is still under warranty. It will be going back to Henry's when we get back, but at least I still have my camera and the memory card with photos from earliery in our trip.

In Tianne's case, everything is gone for good... her new camera, and a 4G memory card containing photos from the first few days of our trip. At least we were taking a lot of doubles, so most of the memories will be preserved on my card. We're still not entirely sure whether T's camera disappeared at the Towers or the Pagoda, but my money's on the Pagoda. T's annoyed but is handling things very well (and much better than I would if the situation was reversed).

So, we went from two cameras to zero cameras in no time flat, and had plans to head to the Central Highlands of Vietnam the next morning. We assumed that consumer goods like cameras would be harder to come by in the Highlands where many Hill Tribes live, so we hopped back in the cab and headed for a camera store. This trip is costing us a lot less than we had anticipated, so I bit the bullet and purchased a new digital camera (another basic Canon - price was the same as in Canada...maybe a bit better after my skilled price negotiations). Not quite sure what I'll do with yet another camera, but figured this is more economical and convenient than trying to purchase disposable cameras. Our journey ended back near the hotel, and with an overcharged cab ride. We were too tired to argue too much, especially over a dollar. But it was a fitting end to an eventful adventure.

We decided a little retail therapy was in order, and we found a really neat clothing store called Bambou. Vietnam is known for its knock-offs and tailors, but this store is different because it has all original designs. I picked up a new top, and we both came up with lots of ideas for what we could have made in Hoi An. Bambou conveniently has a store in Hoi An, so we will likely be making a repeat appearance.

Then we headed down to the water for some lunch and well-earned drinks at The Sailing Club, which is a nice beachfront restaurant and bar. This was our first non-Vietnamese meal in days -- we had pizza with fresh cooked tuna on it, and it was delicious. We spent several hours soaking in the beach front.

Eventually we tore ourselves away and went for a quick dip in the pool. Then we hit the shops again, coming up with more ideas for our Hoi An clothing wish-list. We also hit some of the artisan shops, including a collective that embroiders many amazing designs in silk.

T and I had dinner at a great place across from the beach called The Veranda. Inexpensive prices and amazing food. I ordered the vegetable curry and it was delicious. I had forgotten how much I love Asian curries.

We are heading for the Central Highlands of Vietnam in the morning. If you grab a map, we'll be spending most of our time in the areas around Buon Ma Thuot and Kon Tum (find Nha Trang on the coast and move in-land towards Laos).

We aren't sure yet what route we'll take to Hoi An from the Highlands. One option is to take the Ho Chi Minh Trail by car through the mountains. The other option is to go through the jungle to Quang Ngai, which will give us the opportunity to visit My Lai (site of the infamous My Lai massacre during the Vietnam War. T and I are the only two people on our tour, so we get to make it up as we go along.

We should be in Hoi An and back on the Internet sometime on May 8th.