I love the beach.

Hello Everyone! We arrived at the beach a couple of days ago..I honestly can't remember as I am now officially on beach time and I have no gauge for real time. And I don't care either... Will mentioned yesterday or at some point that we needed to get our tickets to head toward Hanoi and all my mind could think about, and very muddled at that, was ...leave, what, why are we leaving? The beginning of the trip started with the beach of Myanmar. Ngapali Beach...my favorite. But this fine beach of Nha Trang is a very close second. If the town was quieter and smaller then it would probably be the new favorite. It is in times like this, when I am lying on a beach when I wonder to myself...why do I live in the desert? I love the water and miss it. Every trip away from Santa Fe always includes some water to moisten my soul. I could never leave the mountains either, so I guess I will either have to find the perfect balance of beach and mountains sometime in my life.

Once we arrived here I let Will know right away that there would be no economy backpacker accomodations for me. We are staying at a lovely hotel with crisp clean white sheets that we actually sleep on/in instead of our silk sleep sacks. The room is gorgeous with a little bit of a view and air conditioning AND cable....we have actually watched tv at times after coming in from the beach, and the best part of the whole scenario is that it only cost$30/night. I could stay right here for the next two plus weeks until it all comes to an end.

Yesterday i bought three silk dresses and some lingere! I can not even quote a price because I feel a little bit like a criminal. They were so cheap that I feel like I stole them!

When we arrived in Nha Trang I suggested that we just get off the bus and decline the moto taxi guys and make our own way to a hotel. I am admittedly tired of people asking me "where you go?...where you from?...you want taxi? You want buy book? Hey lady you want buy some jewelry today? The answer is consistently no, no and no. At this point in the trip I realize that I am beyond tired and the desire to be chatty has left me all together. I now simply walk past these people totally silent. I stare straight ahead and say nothing. Will, on the other hand is still being polite and says, Oh, no thank you, or some other kind or silly retort.

So when the bus pulled up there was the gang of moto taxi guys waiting for us. It was 545 am. Before we were even off the bus they were tapping on my window saying hey lady you want taxi? You Need Hotel? yelling through the bus window. It was all too insufferable. I realize these folks hardly make more than what I spend on my coffee addiction and I should be more sympathetic, but after awhile you see the rigged game you are all a part of and eventually I don't want to play anymore. Once you realize what a pawn you are the whole thing loses its luster. Also, the infuriating thing is that they hardly leave you any room to actually get off the bus and collect your bag. We clearly stated NO we do not want your help and still they persisted. We started walking down the road toward the beach and we had a couple of guys following us on their motos waving hotel flyers and trying to get us on their motos. We knew that a hotel was just two blocks away and we could just walk. Its not that we could not afford the $1-2 they would have charged to take us there...but there is something energetically that is not to my standards that makes me not want these folks help. Maybe I have lived in Santa Fe too long and some of you are now rolling your eyes in your head with that comment. But really, to be successful on the road you have to have an inner compass that says yes to some situations and no to others...not just for safety sake, but to also not put your energy in the line of someone elses energy that seems black and sucking. That should probably be enough on that subject...

Anyway, we left the street and these guys behind and walked on the beach for a little while and then decided to get some breakfast and then get a hotel. When we went back to the road the same guys were there waiting for us. Unbelievable! I asked them if they did not have anyone else to harrass in town but they did not get it.

We had a great breakfast and really took our time looking at many hotels. It had to be just right for me. Will and I came up with a great deal that he would pay $5 a day toward the room and buy me a beer everyday and I would pick up the rest of the cost. We went to hotels from $200/night to $10 a night and honestly the price for $30/night is just as nice as the one that was $100 night, just a block further from the beach. No problem! It feels so good to be here and honestly the only thing missing for me at this point is a sexy female companion. Actaully, I am certain the same goes for Will too. Someday I will travel to these lovely places perhaps with a great love. For the first time in a long time, I could actually see myself doing it, too. Enough about the future though..

So today we are renting a tandem bike and heading off to yet another Pagoda. It has been three days without a single prayer and we have stuff to pray about. This is Will's suggestion actually, he wants to go to the pagoda...I could easily stay on the beach and not do another thing besides read and sleep. I feel confident that we will have no transportation issues with the bike. Traffic is slow and easy here.

We had a little too much to drink last night....the Why Not Bar has happy hour from 9am to midnight....we started there and then headed to the cycle cafe for dinner. While you are eating people often walk up and try to sell their stuff. I realize that when we are eating I am usually the one looking out and I simply shake my head and they go away and Will never really deals with these people because his back is to them...we had a reversal of that last night and I realize after parting with about ten dollars on stuff I would never have bought that we need to go back to the original plan OR Will needs to toughen up.

When we arrived at the cafe a woman was selling books (bootlegged copies) and wanted to know if I wanted one...I actually looked in her box and told her I had read everyone of them. Then I started asking her if she had read this one or that one...and that she should, it was a good book...kind of reverse harassment I guess. Anyway, she left and we sat down for dinner. Then another guy showed up selling books and Will said "later, after dinner." I said you cant tell that guy to wait and then not buy one! He said he never said he was going to buy one, just that he would look later....it has been my experience that if you say later, it means you will be BUYING one LATER. This was going to be good. We had our dinner and there was a woman who came in selling bracelets. I told her no. She went away. At the end of the meal I went to the bathroom and when I came out there was a young man on the floor with his portfolio out selling pictures of life in Vietnam. Will was looking at them. I could not believe it. Give an inch and they will take a mile and then when you say no after they have taken the time to show things to you they get really bossy and pout and get a little mad. I ended up buying a picture because I felt we had to karmically as this guy had went through his whole protfolio and the Will said he had no money. Ugh! So I parted with 100,000 dong (about $6). The guy had it all figured out....he rolled the picture into a tight roll and put it in a pvc tube. No problem. The guy was a really beautiful man....stunning actually and I told him that he should be a model and not selling other peoples artwork and he said the comment made him uncomfortable. I guess maybe the booze made me say such a flirtatious thing, but really, he was beautiful. Will agreed.

So, in the mean time while we are pouring over pictures the book guy has disappeared only to reappear with an insane amount of books! I looked at Will and said, ok now you have to buy a book! We ended up buying three books....two for me and one for Will. The guy was happy. We were finally leaving and the lady who had wanted to sell me bracelets earlier was still there. She had watched us give our money to two other people. She asked me again if I wanted some jewelry and I said no. She got pissed and said "excuse me....you buy photo, you buy book, why you no buy jewelry....." I looked at her and said, because I do not want....and walked away. It was probably a shitty thing to do but I had already said no. These folks have the inside track on how to tap into latent catholic guilt. I am STILL thinking about that lady even today!

Ok, thats enough...we have a pagoda to ride to and then there is always the beach...

Ciao
willandCODY