Yes, I have seen the largest Buddha in Vietnam. He is reclining, close to death. And it was awesome, even surrounded by a herd of seventh graders. It was our class trip to MuiNe, a week without walls.
We traveled to a small beach resort town called MuiNe, near a small traditional fishing village and a larger town called Phan Tiet. OK, so at first I was skeptical - a class trip in a fancy beach area where most expats head when they are ready for a beach trip, and in a fancy hotel to boot? I come from the land of challenges for kids, you know, camping, challenges, a little going without the niceties in life to build a little character. I have to admit, it was a delightful trip. I suppose going without cellphones and ipods for the week was a challenge of sorts.
The kids were great, and surprised me in so many ways. They are basically really good kids. I have very few management issues from day to day. But even those little bouts of silliness and spaz melted away in restaurants and hotel rooms, rest stops and stores. These kids are seasoned travelers. They are not two buts about it.
Phan Tiet is famous for its fish sauce, or nước mắm Phan Thiết. I wish this was a scratch and sniff blog, because you would get the full effect of these vats that hold the fist while they ferment. Yup, mmmmmmm. This is the only picture I took. Fish sauce is used liberally in Vietnamese cooking (Thai and Cambodian too.) I got to chug a capfull for fun. More about that later.
It's mango season, hurray! I just finished two as a Saturday afternoon snack. Here, they grow along the stream we visited.
Shortly after arriving at our hotel, we set out for a stroll in the "Fairy Stream". I want to go back to the bus trip first.
It took five hours to travel about 200 miles. That is, of course, because of the fact that the main highway that runs up and down the coast of Vietnam all the way from HCMC to Hanoi is a two lane road. A two lane road that is shared by buses, trucks, scooters, bikes, oxen, chickens, and small children dodging traffic. Maybe I should say that it is a three way road because most of the time the bigger busses and cars have no qualms about passing around other cars even if there are cars coming the other way. My colleague at one point asked our Vietnamese guide to tell the bus driver we were not in any hurry, which changed his aggressive passing for about an hour, then back to pell mell. My other colleague made me sit in the front bus seat because he doesn't like to. : ) I have to admit, living in Vietnam has put me in many situations where I just have to decide to relax and go with it.
The Fairy Stream was a beautiful walk in a spring fed stream through and dunes. I have never seem anything like it. Clean, cool water, white and red sand with carved limestone surrounded us. For kids (and adults!) who spend their time in a noisy, busy city, it was a purely delightful afternoon.
I couldn't complain about 6:15 AM beach duty. It was the only time we let kids swim in the ocean. The afternoon surf was very rough and choppy, and kite surfers were everywhere. We stuck to the pool after each days outings.
Here's the deck that leads to our hotel, Sunny Beach Resort, right on the beach.
There is no better place than the beach for a good group challenge. "Team building", ropes courses, and the like are a new endeavor here in Vietnam. We used a company called Embers, the only such company I think. Our guide, Dylan, was great. He explained that their main competition in corporate team building are large companies from Hong Kong who fly in teams fro the week. I think adventure stuff will grow tremendously in Vietnam in coming years. I have a couple of former camp colleagues who could make a killing.
We challenged the kids to climb Mount Ta Cu, a good 2 hour hike up giant rock formation stairs. It was hot, and challenging, and all fared well. (Except maybe my bruised big toenails from wearing covered shoes for the first time in 8 months and climbing a mountain.)
The pagoda at the top is beautiful from above, but under construction from below. It was constructed 1861 during the Nguyen Dynasty.
The Buddha was awesome. The cafe suda (iced coffee) that Dylan snuck my way as we reached this end of our 2 hour hike helped me enjoy it even more. Here's the whole crew.
Views from the cable car that took us down from Mt. Ta Cu after a great lunch at the restaurant at the top.
That same afternoon, we were down in Phan Tiet, a fishing village We had a photo scavenger hunt ala The Amazing Race, through the fish market and local museum. What fun! Encouraging 7th graders to talk with the locals and ask for pictures, objects, and advice really takes them out of their comfort zones to say the least. At the beginning, I felt that they were all hiding behind my "skirt". By the end, they performed a singing and dancing version of High School Musical Three in the middle of the fish market. And yes, there were points for taking a picture of your teacher leader chugging a capfull of fish sauce. Ewwww. But you got to do it for the team right?
All of the beautifully colored fishing boats are hand made.
I loved catching this local barber shop scene. Very Vietnamese.
Mr. Smith's group approaching a local merchant during the scavenger hunt.
At the local museum, this man makes a traditional Vietnamese basket fishing boat. It is fascinating to watch people maneuver these boats with just one paddle in the ocean.
This finished one against the wall is beautiful. Wouldn't mind taking one home for the wall...
After all of that sweaty climbing and scavenger hunting we enjoyed both of the beautiful pools at the hotel.
One of my students was happy when the guard rescued his room key from the pool gutter.
This is the ocean in the actual fishing village of MuiNe. We hiked by here to the cliffs on the ocean where the other group spent the morning repelling. The afternoon winds (amazing!) kept us from sharing the repelling thrill. (They actually called it absailing, which is what I think they call it in Australia).
Caught this in the little town - an "internet cafe". All of the local boys are playing video games I think.
The food was delicious, all the way around. On our last night we had this cook out near the beach.
...and a campfire on the beach.
I truly enjoyed MuiNe, and the chance to get to know my students outside of the classroom and our normal routine. And I admit that having my own nice hotel room was an added bonus. I slept well, which is not something that often has happened on trips with students before. I think that Waugh family may get to go back next year...
On the home front, we are slowly emerging from a nasty bug that has put us flat for weeks. We are so ready to feel really good!
Below, please find Cinderella in the Reading Week storybook character parade. Can you guess who it is?
Hope you and yours are well. Tan Biet for now.
