Some time during the night the power went off. I can't remember hearing a storm but I do remember waking up aware that the fan had stopped blowing cooling air over me. It was dark and I was too tired to investigate further so I threw the thin sheet off me and went back to sleep. The fan was on again when I woke so it couldn't have been anything too major.
I walked down to the dive shop early only to find it was still closed. Not in any rush to go anywhere I wandered back onto the beach road and sat outside the museum to pass the time away.
A sweet man in one of those hand pumped three wheeled chairs came over to me to sell me postcards. He was polite and pleasant and we spent a good 20 minutes going through his various selections of postcard packs. I eventually settled on one that I liked and bought it. He then tried to sell me more but I explained I only had enough money for one and looking a bit down hearted he pumped his chair back onto the road and headed off into the town.
The mini bus was just arriving as I returned to the dive shop allowing me to get straight on. We had a few pick ups to do from hotels off the beaten track which allowed me to see a bit more of the town, before we headed off to the harbour.
The ride past the lobster men and cable cars was as enjoyable as the previous days trip, the sun was hot in the sky even at that time in the morning and I was happy to sit in the shade with the others. Kris went over the plan of the day with his two students.
The snorkelling was brilliant with visibility even better than the last time I'd gone. The huge thunderstorms we had been having since I had arrived in Asia had abated, allowing the seas to settle and clear. I borrowed a T-shirt from Kris to make sure I didn't burn this time and kept an eye on the backs of my legs throughout the day.
Lunch of fruit and bread was followed by another swim at Moray Bay. There is a sweet man with a blue glass bottomed round boat who calls by all the boats to collect anyone who would like to see the fish without getting wet – well not that wet anyway! Between divers jumping in, people jumping off boats and the general splashing that goes on around that much water no-one stays completely dry, but at least you didn't have to swim to see the fish and corals with him.
There were no special guests this time so the return journey to the harbour was spent lounging around on the upper decks with Amanda, Kris and Matt trying to even out my tan!! So far my back was a lovely shade of red, my front a pale brown with my forehead pink and peeling from the constant overhead sun! Between that and the strap lines I felt like 'Kerriann of many colours'.
Back at the apartment I began to realise how quickly the days were passing. I wanted to arrange a flight back to Bangkok soon as the news was reporting unrest within the country again. I also started to think that leaving my Open Water until Simon came back on the Monday was pushing the time limits a bit, especially as I had time now to sort all these things out. I made a mental note to talk to Kris that evening and with his help make some definite plans.
Having eaten bread and fruit for two days on the dive boat I decided to have a walk into town to see if I could find some cheese and a few tomatoes to liven up my boat diet.
The main supermarket in town is disguised as a boat shop! Those of you who saw the TOP GEAR program where they travelled from the bottom to the top of Vietnam on Motorbikes in a week, will remember the big boat they bought Richard Hammond to put on the back of his bike – this is the shop where they bought it from!! Boats of every size fill the front section of the shop, while lanes of supermarket shelves lie behind the glass doors to the rear.
The air conditioning inside the supermarket brought chills to my skin, the contrast to the outside air being extreme. I found my cheese, some vegetable crackers, more peanut crackle, some tomatoes plus a large bottle of Fanta. A quick gaze at other available products that filled the shelves, just for future reference and I was back out into the heat of the day. Now in a shopping mood or as near to one as I ever get, I walked home the long way, popping in and out of shops as I went. There is no hard sell at all in Nha Trang, the shopkeeper follows you discreetly just in case you have a query but when you have finished your browse, you simply thank them, they smile, you nod, they nod, you leave, they sit back down.
I stood, fascinated by a young man sitting just out of the sun inside his open fronted Art shop. With paint brush in one hand, a photo of woman in the other, he deftly put paint to canvas creating his incredibly accurate and realistic copy. There were probably pieces of his own work in the shop but the main stay were copies of famous and easily recognisable paintings.Kris finished at 5pm that day allowing me to meet up with him at his place at 6pm. The TV was on when I arrives and we wasted a pleasant hour with Joe watching Trawler men battle their way through the oceans before meeting up with Matt and Amanda in town at 8pm. Following the usual deliberation we chose the Indian Restaurant for tonight's evening meal, opting to sit downstairs as we didn't know there was a quieter upstairs, until a load of people walked down the hidden staircase at the back of the room and out through the packed downstairs area!! Full from our meal and with my left overs packed up safe for the boat trip the next day, we returning to Guava's for the live music that is performed each Thursday.
Two guitarists and a Bongo player stood beside the bar. The place was heaving at the seams yet everybody was happily welcoming all new arrivals, people shifted left and right a little to make room on the long settees that ran around the walls. Drinks were passed to those who couldn't move, kisses were blown to those we could not reach and waving arms flowed up and down the room as people noticed each other. The atmosphere in the bar was wonderful. I never did get the names of the guys singing, I simply clapped and sang, listened and watched as the evening grew later and later. Beers appeared in front of me, cameras flashed, more people arrived. Son arrived with the news that the boat was full the next day and would I be upset if I couldn't go. As I was a free loader I said it was fine, I had already had two free days out on the boat and there would be other days. Relieved he bought me another beer and we all moved up to allow him to sit with us.
The live music finished to thunderous applause about 11.00pm to be replaced by the resident DJ. We sat for another quarter of an hour before it was decided, I'm not sure by whom, that we were all off to the Red Apple around the corner. Grabbing the beer I was still only half way through I followed everyone outside and around the corner into the night.
Tables and chairs were scattered along the pavement out side the Red Apple, loud trance music flowed from the open door, and this place too was packed. We pulled some more chairs together and joined the crowd outside in the warm night air. I was introduced to other dive instructors from rival shops, the story of how we found Murphy in Cambodia was told, trade was discussed, dives were compared, and the evening passed in a glow of warmth and discussion. A heated discussion started between Kris and a guy, points were pushed back and forth, they decided to disagree and to the words of 'What an A*** H***!' Kris decided it was time to call it a night .
It was now 1.30am and they were due on the dive boat at 6am. Kris bought us both a final beer as we jumped onto the bikes of those who had them and headed home. Matt said we might have a problem getting into our place as it was so late. Kris was three up on the bike with us and said to try but if it was locked we could sleep at his place. The three of us arrived at the gate to find it firmly closed and padlocked. I was happy to walk to Kris's but Matt sounded his horn and miraculously a light came on as a very sleepy landlord came to the gate. I apologised profusely for our late arrival but he simply looked at Matt as if he was used to his late appearance and closed the gate quietly behind us. Kris called good night as the gate closed and headed back to his house, Matt said good night as I headed for the staircase, I responded likewise hugging my beer as I climbed an awful lot of steps to the top floor.
It had been a brilliant evening and I had thoroughly enjoyed myself. Drinking on the street in the heat of the night is something quite special. Not ready to call it a night I sat out on my balcony slowly savouring the last of my beer and giggling to myself as I burped loudly from the gassy bottle!!
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