The mysterious "sprayer" |
But the BIGGEST mystery to me is the sprayer (like on a kitchen sink) mounted NEXT to the toilet. I have no idea what that is for. I spent many hours thinking about it, and finally came to the conclusion that it must be some sort of bidet thing - given the French influence in Vietnam.
So what do you think the sparer is for? |
It’s been more than two weeks since I arrived so I decided to give it a try - which I did. It wasn't a very pleasant sensation - sort of like a turbo charged enema, with water spraying everywhere which precipitated in a total change of clothes.
Later in the day I recount my experience toPhilip, my Vietnamese travel agent who collapses laughing. He actually falls on the sidewalk laughing with tears streaming down his face. He then tells the people who have gathered around him who also collapse laughing.
Evidentially the little sprayer replaces the "toilet brush" we are all familiar with in North America. After you do your business you use the power sprayer to clean up any aftermath.
So be warned of the mysteries of the Vietnamese bathroom.
Off right now to "Whale Island" for two days then onto Saigon.
Highway to Hell
Today
is supposed to be "bone easy." The boat takes me to the beach;
the van takes me to the airport; the plane takes me Saigon. What could
possibly go wrong?
My ride to Whale Island is late, which begins the day half an hour behind schedule. But not to worry, I have built a lot of extra time into the schedule. I’ll still make my plane with plenty of time to spare.
My ride to Whale Island is late, which begins the day half an hour behind schedule. But not to worry, I have built a lot of extra time into the schedule. I’ll still make my plane with plenty of time to spare.
Luckily I have my cell phone (travel
hint: NEVER go anywhere without a cell phone with a local
A crowd gathers! |
We drop him at the hospital and then the plan is to now take me to the airport - but I point out we are way too late - the flight will have gone. I call my travel agent to rebook the flight and am told my scheduled flight has been delayed an hour by weather, and so I actually make the flight with just minutes to spare.
Of course I found out a half hour later what the weather problem was as we arrived in a humongous thunderstorm - which we immediately fly into - that’s par for the day.
Tomorrow, I'm off to the remote Can Dao Islands 45 miles offshore for 4 days of diving and R&R.
A Brief Exile to the Can Dao Islands
When Mr. Ha moved out here 15 years ago, he wasn't sure whether it was as a reward or punishment. He'd been a loyal party member for years, so he wasn't sure what to make of his "exile" to the remote Con Dao Islands.
Prison on the Can Dao Islands |
The Con Dao Islands were devised as a prison - somewhere to exile, torture and execute the pesky Viet Minh who weren't appreciating the glorious French colonial policy. When the Americans entered the scene in the 60's, they thought why let a good place like Con Dao go to waste so they upgraded it by adding the infamous "tiger cages" and shipping a whole new generation of pesky Viet Cong there, until they were caught red handed torturing prisoners and crossed their hearts said they would never do such a thing again (Can you spell Guantanamo?) . When they left they abandoned the islands.
The Con Dao Islands are very remote, and to date are only visited by Vietnamese vets who were imprisoned here, wandering biologists (It's a nature reserve) and the very odd tourist.
Mr. Ha, maintains a small hotel, which consists mainly of "stilt houses" - that were built during the French era. He was given a small workforce to maintain the hotel and exotic gardens, and had a spotless record back on the mainland - until I arrived.
Mr. Ha's Hotel |
When I got to my room on the Con Dao islands, I finally got through let him know how unhappy I was. But I was so upset – I got the hotel names reversed and told him I was upset with the service at the hotel I was staying in on the Con Dao Islands. This may sound farfetched, but it’s not the first time I’ve had that problem. The previous summer I was annoyed with my neighbour who continually flaunted the summer sprinkling regulations. I finally got up my courage and called up the city to complain. Unfortunately instead of giving them my neighbour’s address, I gave them mine which resulted in ME getting a sprinkling fine. I turned myself in!
My room |
In a lot of ways the Con Dao islands are a throw back in time. At 5:00 am an air raid siren sounds, letting all the good communist workers know it's time to get up. Then follows ten minutes of exercise blared through tinny speakers scattered throughout the whole island. The effect of all these scattered tinny speakers is the feeling that you're in an echo chamber. Following the exercise there are 20 minutes of stirring party propaganda.
The Gardens where the workers toil |
The Old Can Dao Airport |
what's about to befall them. The Vietnamese government has built a BIG new airport (the old French one was the size of a phone booth), put in a state of the art Control Tower, and Fire station. Word is they are about to lengthen the runway to accommodate much larger planes. And they'll need too.
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The new airport - but where are the planes? |
The new divided highway |
The Vietnamese know that Con Dao will be "the next big thing" in Vietnam and are working fast to cash in. I think in five years or less this sleepy little island of dilapidated French villas will be full of big hotels, fancy cafes, and Karaoke bars; so if you want to see Vietnam like it once was, you should plan to visit Con Dao sooner - than later - just don't mention my name.
Two more days here, then back to Saigon (Mr. Ha HATES it when I call it that - nobody else cares) and some last minute shopping then hoping there's room on the plane home.
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