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| Vietnamese Folkloric Dance |
One can only imagine how different Nha Trang was a half
century ago. John Kennedy was president
and the Vietnam conflict was just beginning to capture major international
headlines. Those old enough to remember
the war will remember the Buddhist monks who set themselves on fire to protest
the regime of Ngo Dinh Diem who had been trained by the French before the
French withdrew from Indochina in the 1950s.
Diem, a Catholic, in a strongly predominant Buddhist nation was accused
of persecuting the Buddhists so a number of Buddhists¸ to call attention to the
discrimination, set themselves on fire.
One of the leading monks to do so was from Nha Trang and last year in
the same port, at a Buddhist pagoda, we saw a statue of the first monk to set
himself on fire for his cause.
At that time, Nha Trang was in non-Communist South Vietnam
and the conflict between the Buddhists and the South Vietnamese government was
consuming more and more of President Kennedy’s time. 50 years ago, on November 1, 1963, Diem was
overthrown and killed. Three weeks
later, Kennedy himself was assassinated.
By 1964, under Lyndon Johnson, the war was escalating rapidly and
continued to take major American casualties until the ceasefire accord under
President Nixon in January 1973. Two
years later, with Gerald Ford as president, the Americans were driven from the
US Embassy in Saigon and the Communist takeover of Vietnam was complete. As vivid as the memories are for those my
age, it’s hard to believe that most Vietnamese today are too young to remember
the war.
And today, Nha Trang, which was used as a place of R & R
for American forces in Da Nang to the north¸ and other areas of South Vietnam,
is a peaceful and attractive small city with a focus on resorts and cruise ship
visits. The only real evidence to the
traveler of its really troubled past is the Vietnamese flag of a large yellow
star centered on a solid red field which indicates that the Communists from
Hanoi in the former North Vietnam are now in charge. Those of our generation fought in the Vietnam
War and we are reminded of those, like our cousin Dave Paben as well as many
other friends, who spent time, not on a cruise ship, but fighting a war in this
country.
Since Barb and I had done a wonderful shore excursion here
last year visiting the Long Son Pagoda with its large Buddha statue, the Cham
Towers, originally a Buddhist site but now a Hindu one in this Buddhist
country, and a fine embroidery showroom and handicraft center, we opted to do
no shore excursion today. That’s why I
am writing this post since my Hong Kong one was quite long and the next one in
Singapore will be long too. With no
shore excursion, this one will be brief so Barb will do the Singapore post.
Unlike last year, when skies were blue the entire day, our
day in Nha Trang this year began mostly cloudy and with a definite threat of
rain. The vendors’ booths along the pier
had lots of wares already on display and we felt sorry for those who were
worried that the high winds would scatter the clothing and lightweight
souvenirs all over. We enjoyed a later
than usual breakfast as we knew the shuttle to central Nha Trang wouldn’t leave
until 9:30. Likewise we had time to
browse the vendors’ stalls before going into town with friends Bob and Nancy. Then everything became the proverbial Chinese
fire drill, with apologies to political correctness. Getting the four of us on the pier ready to
go at the same time proved daunting. We
finally gave up and mutually agreed to go independently of each other.
The ride was uneventful but before we were off the bus, the
street vendors were waving at us wanting us to ride in their taxi or motor
scooter or to buy their post cards, etc.
We weren’t in the market for taxis and just wanted to walk around the
area to see if we could find some stores or vendors that WE wanted. No luck, but we were chased by drivers who
thought that after saying no to previous motorcycle drivers and taxis, somehow
we would pick them and go for a motorcycle ride. Barb commented that she was ready to go back
and expressed her great dislike for the hawking of wares and services. We agreed that it was a definite difference
in cultural behaviors.
After a quick lunch and browsing the stalls outside the ship
again, I set out for a short walk away from the pier to see the area that we
could see from the ship. Once again, I
ran the gauntlet of the taxi and motorcycle drivers who wanted to take me
wherever. We realize everyone needs to
earn a living, but sometimes I really want to walk!! I enjoyed walking around a nice resort
visible from the ship before returning and attending a wonderful Vietnamese
cultural show in the Queen’s Lounge before setting sail. We did escape any rain
today and for the most part the skies cooperated and the extreme heat and
humidity were blunted somewhat by a mild wind.
We had to admit that we were pleased that if we had one port
in Vietnam this year, we were glad it was Nha Trang rather than Phu My which is
the gateway to Saigon. We visited both
last year and the drive to Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) had been a tedious two
hours. We were glad to see Saigon last
year because of its significance in the Vietnam War, but we didn’t feel the
need to see it two years in a row. After
our relaxing day in Nha Trang we were ready to set sail for Singapore for a two
day visit.
CT
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