Dive in

I went all in today. After grabbing a very quick breakfast at the hotel, I walked a block to the dive shop. Rainbow Divers was apparently one of the first dive operations to open in Vientnam. Given their established reputation, it seemed like a safe choice. We grabbed a small bus out to the harbor, where we boarded a boat bound for Hon Mun Marine Protected Area. The MPA is off the shore of Hon Mun island, which is located in the south of Nha Trang Bay. Although there were several people on the boat, only two others were diving with me. The others were taking certification courses, so they spent the ride learning, while I enjoyed the scenery. Our first dive was Debbie’s Beach. The visibility wasn’t great, but there were some nice corals and a few fish unfamiliar to me. “Few” being the key word. The whole area has been overfished, so living, moving things are not so abundant in the Marine Park. Only recently have they been able to keep the fishermen out of the area. Understandably, this is a difficult situation. The locals have been fishing here for centuries and then a bunch of foreigners come in, during the 90’s, and try to establish a “no fish” zone. Regardless of the cultural issues, the water was warm, and the dive was pleasant.

During our surface interval, we had fruit, drinks, and sandwiches with a mystery meat that I avoided. It was still relatively early and I planned to grab lunch at a noodle shop. The weather was perfect, which made me very happy, since I heard it was snowing back home.

Our second dive was Rainbow Reef, which had terrible visibility. We ended up surfacing twice during the dive, as the two other divers managed to get separated front the rest of us. Again, there was limited aquatic life, but some of the corals were nice. Apparently, a recent typhoon destroyed some of the coral; the broken remains littering the bottom. However, I like to think that a less than ideal dive is still better than no dive at all, so I was happy to get to dive in Vietnam.

Returning to the hotel, I showered and made my way out to find lunch. The dive shop recommended a noodle shop up the road. I thought he meant a “restaurant,” but this was just some seating near a noodle cart. I decided to dive in and give it a try. The vegetarian bowl was “sold” out, so I went with the chicken, pork, beef bowl; hold the beef. The meal was delicious.

I spent the rest of the day, walking along the beach. This sounds innocuous, but it required crossing the street. This is an experience in itself. There are no traffic lights on the busy thoroughfare that runs along the ocean. There are a couple of large roundabouts, but mostly, you just figure it out. Crossing the street reminds me of the Atari game “Frogger.” As my friend, Amy, recommended, “You just step into traffic and start walking.” For an American, this is completely against my nature. I kept wanting to wait for a break in traffic, where I could dart across, but it never came and was never going to come. So, I picked the moment and just started walking. The traffic (85% motorbikes/scoters and 15% vehicles/buses) just seems to flow around you, similar to water in a stream. When I got through the first lane, I stood bravely while a bus went by, then started walking again. Four lanes later, I arrived safely on the other side of the street, where I realized I had been holding my breath. I have now decided this isn’t my favorite thing to do. I simultaneously realized that I will also have to go back across the street to return to the hotel.

The beach was very active. Vendors set up at the end of the sand, selling food and drinks. Bars and restaurants line the boardwalk, giving it the feeling of a beach resort. I walked a long way down the beach, when I decided it might be easier to cross the four lanes of traffic farther away from the main tourist area. I bounded through the traffic and arrived safely on the other side. I headed south and quickly realized my mistake; I was going to have to cross a number of intersections on this side of the street that I had avoided by walking the other direction along the uninterrupted boardwalk. Ugh. I decided to take a good attitude and think of it as practice. It’s definitely an opportunity to dive into the culture!Read more