Last Day in Nha Trang - Part 18

Thursday 16th April – Last Day Nha Trang.

True to his word Kris had remembered to leave his door open and I arrive after a final check of my room to find him and Matt flat out on the settee while Simpson DVDs played in a loop on the TV! I stored my bag in the corner, left a note saying that I was going to the beach and quietly let myself out..

The beach was virtually deserted. A few people in the distance lay on sun beds yet there was no one in the sea.

As I sat on the beach I gazed out over the flat, still ocean, past the huge pylons that carried the cable car to the island, and noticed the biggest ship I have ever seen. The photos I am afraid are hazy due to the distance and heat yet you can still see the vastness of this thing. The pylons had dwarfed our boat as we passed below them each day on our way to the islands and yet here was a ship that was moored far out past these pylons and was still higher than them!! There are cruise ships and there are cruise ships!!

I lay down on the slope of the beach, my feet about three foot away from the water and drifted back off to sleep. I awoke to find my feet being caressed by the cool water as the tide so slowly inched its way up the beach. With my feet now constantly lapped by the waves, my body warmed by the sun and my skin cooled by the soft breeze I spend a very blissful two hours on the beach before returning to Kris's house for a shower.

The house was just waking up, people blurry eyed from their late night indulgences, demanded food to ease their moaning stomachs! Bikes were hauled upright after their abandonment the night before and with my sarong hitched once more into a lady like position we headed off to find strong coffees and bacon butties!

Caffeine hits were ordered, extra sauce was smeared onto thick bacon and life returned to the dead bodies surrounding me. Last Day in Nha Trang!! What were we going to do? Kris had decided to spent the whole day with me, we could go to the Marine Park, climb the steps to the Great White Pagoda, go sight seeing in the surrounding hills. What did I want to do? Joe wanted more coffee, Matt wanted to go Go Carting. Everyone's face lit up! Final hits of iced coffees were downed, helmets were stuck onto heads and we were off.

The Fun Park where the Go Carts live is a thirty minute drive from Nha Trang, up the coast and slightly inland. We raced along the free way dodging fume belching trucks as we went. Out over the long bridge spanning the huge lilly filled waterways, tiny floating houses, life styles so different from our own. We passed through rolling hills green and fresh after the heat of the city. Joe snapped random photos as we raced along. Kris's helmet decided to detach itself from the foam inner that was rammed onto his head. With no straps to hold it in place, it was left to me to rest my hands on top of his head as we raced to prevent it from blowing off!

The Park was reached, bikes parked up, bugs were wiped from the fronts of our bodies. Riding pillion does have some advantages. We paid for our tickets and entered our very own amusement park as the place was deserted.

Staff sat in silent booths, cafés lay empty. The boys thought this was great and raced about like children climbing onto statues and doing very strange things to innocent small penny rides!

The Go Carts were located at the far side of the Park, I declined their offers to partake of the races and was handed their entire belongings to watch over as they climbed into their vehicles.


I am so glad I made the decision to film and photograph the following events rather that take part. Carts were rammed into the side tyres, shunted from behind, caught with some cracking side swipes and chaos generally ensued! When their time was up and the barrier was slid across the road to bring them back to the pits, they took the tight short cut and did another two laps before the guys could stop them!

Thunder rolled in the distance, the sky darkened but no rain fell so we headed off to the Pirate Boat ride. This was followed by the tiny Bumble Bee ride suitable for 4yr olds according to the sign and then as the boys headed for the next toddler style ride the sky's opened in true tropical fashion. Ten minutes later it stopped, the ground steamed and we headed back to the Go Carts. This time with the camera on video I stood beside the track and filmed their antics as they races around and around.

As they finished their final lap I became aware of the multitude of tiny bites I was receiving and realised I was standing in a swarm of mossies. The rain had brought them out to play but as it was day time I had put no spray on at all. I had received only one bite during my whole visit to Asia and now I had hundreds!

The boys joined me and we races away from the trees to the animal enclosures to play with the primates. Peacocks strutted their stuff, the boys did the same and the day passed by in riotous laughter and fun.




Our return journey to Nha Trang was as eventful as out outward one but with twice the traffic to weave around. The Boys decided to recover watching TV for an hour or two allowing me a final stroll along the beach front.

Every evening at about 5pm the evening breeze picked up bringing children and grown-ups alike to the beach front to enjoy the cooling effects of the onshore winds.

Mopeds festooned with Kites appeared on the corners, hand carts were rolled into place, all selling coloured kites and other such wind orientated delights. I sat and watched the growing crowd fill the shoreline. Three weeks had flown by.

In another four hours I would be getting on the night bus to Ho Chi Minh City. From there I would fly to Bangkok and then home. Three days of travel lay ahead of me.



I got up and returned to find Kris.

Our final meal was Mexican! JP joined us once more, along with Matt, Amanda and Joe. Crème caramels followed with chocolate sauce and as I licked all the plates clean I realised I had had no chocolate since the Mars in Pattaya three weeks before! With the meal finished we all said our goodbyes. Kris walked me to the bus stop, we hugged and I told him to go to Guava's and get drunk with his friends before I changed my mind and cancelled my flight!


My trip had been amazing, I had travelled and seen sights that many people only see in books. I had met random people with fascinating stories to tell and had completed my PADI Open Water but best of all I had seen my son become a man. Seen his new life, met his new friends, seen the friendship and respect he held within this tight community. I returned home happy and proud.

Until the next time ….....

Another Hot Day in Vietnam - Part 17

Wednesday 15th April

Another hot day in Vietnam. I wandered off to the beach after a leisurely morning shower and my usual breakfast of vegetable crackers and cheese on the balcony. John arrived about 10am, settled down beside me for a spot of sun worshipping, before we had a lovely refreshing swim and long conversation. He is also looking for a flight to Bangkok and thought the $95 that we had found was a very good deal. He asked which airline I was flying with but as I had left it all to Kris I had no answers for him. I asked him to call into the Dive shop about 1pm as I was meeting Kris for lunch saying that we would try to be at the shop about that time so Kris could give him some more details.


At about mid day we said our goodbyes and I returned to my room to shower before walking to the boys house. Kris was just coming off the phone to JP. He and a few friends were lunching at Lanterns and Kris suggested we join them there. I had a lovely meal of fried rice and tofu while everyone sat around eating, chatting, laughing. The social side of dining in Vietnam is a pure pleasure to indulge in. Meals stretch out over hours, people leave and others pull up a chair. Drinks are refreshed and conversations wander over the broadest fields of topics!

John called Kris's phone half way through the afternoon which totally surprised Kris as he had no idea who John was. The Dive shop had felt sorry for him as he had been waiting for over an hour for us at the shop and had passed on Kris's phone number. He and Kris chatted for a while, Kris giving him the details he needed, while I ordered some more drinks!

Kris was working the 6pm to 8pm shift in the shop that evening so we eventually made our way from Lanterns to the house, changed and headed back into town. I hit the internet while Kris did his evening duty selling dives to the passing tourists. Dinner was held in the cafe next to the Dive shop as no one could decide where to eat and the cafe was the nearest place to sit down and discuss the matter! We all ordered much too much food especially as our lunch had stretched over the entire afternoon and neither Kris nor I were that hungry. Joe and Matt battled their way through it all washing everything down with copious amounts of beer before we headed off to Guava's for a second evening of live music.


The music was once again brilliant. The Organised Pub Crawlers arrived about 10pm, this time 15 people had signed up and they danced and drank in the true tradition of a Pub Crawl. Kris, Matt, Amanda and Joe decided to join the 'Crawl' in their adventures. I was invited but politely declined. Everyone had the following day off work so I knew it was going to be a full on evening. Kris ran me home on Joe's Bike and promised faithfully to leave the door to his place open so I could drop my bags there when I checked out of my place in the morning. I kissed him goodnight and once more climbed the many steps up to my high altitude balcony.

Qualified - Part 16

Tuesday 14th April

I was decidedly tired this morning when I woke. It was still only 5.30am so I rolled over only to be disturbed by a text from Kris 20 minutes later. He had left his takeaway on the lounge table. Could I pick it up for him and bring it to the boat. I showered, gathered my things, including my own takeaway before walking to his house. I could see the pot on the table but the door was locked. I tried to phone him but the directions for making a call within Vietnam on my O2 sim were just too confusing and I abandoned not only the call but also his food. He could share mine!

At the Shop Simon was still wandering around not happy, I kept out of the way until the mini bus turned up for the ride to the harbour. On the boat everyone was in a much happier mood, the 'Mom' sign still amusing my fellow divers and staff. Kris , Amanda and Joe did the 'stone, scissors, paper' game to see who was to deliver today's address to the boat. Amanda lost, heading to the front of the boat to deliver the now familiar speech with a smile. I do so love the professionalism these guys give to their work.



We sailed out past Octopus Rock, which confused me until Kris explained that Miska was doing a deep dive with one of his Advance Diver students. They jumped overboard, the boat started up again and we motored back into the familiar surroundings of the bay.


Kris explained what skills we were going to go over as we kitted up, we buddy checked, signalled and jumped in.

I did a Controlled Emergency Ascent but ran out of air just before I got to the surface. I did it again this time judging the breath rate better and making it to the surface on the one breath. Weight belt removal, fin pivots, mask clearing followed by the usual photo shoot and exploration.


We finished with mask removal which was quite funny as I had been taking my mask off for photos all morning! Kris signalled an Assisted Air Ascent but half way to the surface he spotted a group of squid so the ascent was side tracked while we followed them taking photos as we went. As I said, having ones son as ones instructor does lead to some interesting skill learning!


Lunch was superb, why we hadn't done this before I do not know. Hot rice from the boat flavoured with the left over sauce from the night before. We all tucked in eagerly not worrying about the chicken curry the rest of the guests were eating.


Around to Moray Beach for our final dive of the day, a few more skills, a bit of bubble ring blowing followed by more exploration and games. Kris took us out quite far so we could reach the limit of the depth I am allowed to dive to, a photo to prove it and I was getting cold again.



We headed into the shallower water to warm up, watching the large shoals of fish disappear into the coral as we approached.






How so many fish can disappear into so small an area is amazing. All too soon it was time to return to the boat. Kit was removed before I got onto the boat, put back on in the water for the practice and then removed once more to be handed up to Son. I stripped it down while Kris threw Joe overboard, Matt joined the fun as the two Boat Dive Masters finished off putting away the dive gear.



Who's idea it was to expand Joe I do not know but the results were hilarious. With a regulator stuffed inside his rash vest he began to grow and grow. Everyone was laughing so much as we watched him inflate. Kris and Matt held the top of his vest together as he disappeared inside it. Amanda passed me her camera and did a great jump in to join them. And these are the responsibly people we trust our lives to under the water!




It was unanimously decided by Angel,Tobias and myself that we would have an hour or two to sleep before we sat our final exam that afternoon. Kris and Joe were happy about this and we arranged to meet back in the classroom at 3pm. I arrived with what I thought was plenty of time only to find the other two had already started! Within twenty minutes however I had finished and reviewed my answers. Kris said I had to stay put so I began the alternative exam in the back of the book. At this point Kris took me out of the room and marked my exam! 96% Pass. Two questions wrong, one that I knew would be wrong as I had had no idea how to work it out plus a second one that I wasn't quite sure about and had guessed. Simon joked that even after Kris had given me the answers I had got two wrong. His mood had improved over the day. I replied that it would have been too suspicious if I had got them all right!

Kris went over my two mistakes clarifying the depth ratio for air consumption, he took my photo for my certificate and together we filled in the hundred and one sheets to confirm I had completed the whole course satisfactorily. I was now a certified Open Water Diver!!

As I walked back to the apartment John cycled by. He had been keeping an eye out for me, unfortunately he was due to be somewhere that evening but would I be on the beach tomorrow. I said I would and we arranged to meet for lunch.

Kris joined me at 6pm saying we had to sort my flight out today! I had been saying that for two days! We took his bike to the cyber cafe and my flight was booked within minutes- it is so easy when you know what you are looking for. Next stop was the Night bus to Saigon, ticket in my hand we set off for drinks at Guava's until the rest of our clan joined us for supper.

In two days I would begin my journey back home- I wasn't ready to leave. I felt at home here. People waved hello as I passed, the lady in the corner shop greeted me by name, I was making friends in my own right. I didn't want to go home at all.

In Guava's conversation turned to my leaving. Bangkok airport was closed I was told – hadn't I heard!The city had broken into chaos again, 12 people had been shot that day. Even though my flight was booked I may not be going home after all! But 4 days is a long time in Asia and anything could happen. We decided not to think about it and just enjoy the days that were left.

We joined the others for our evening meal at the cafe next to the dive shop, following it with ice-cream from the Italian across the road before going back to Kris's to watch some DVD's. Yet another day had passed but now I was a Certified Diver!!

Training Continues - Part 15

Monday 13th April

Today started early as I reviewed my home work and re read some of the information before heading to the dive shop and harbour. Kris was waiting for me on the dive boat smiling, Matt had written me onto the board as 'MOM' much to every ones amusement!

My home work was checked as we motored out to sea, Kris and I having a difference of opinion over one of my answers before I collected my kit, putting it all together under his watchful eye. The 'O' ring was checked thoroughly, hoses were connected, gauges were checked. Satisfied with my efforts he then helped me lift the completed rig back onto the side of the boat, secured it ready for our dive and lit up a cigarette! So much for healthy divers!!

At Octopus Rock with Buddy Checks performed, we were first off the boat, my water entry being the only serious lesson to be learnt that day. It was great fun playing with buoyancy control. Deep breath in and up you go, breath all the way out and sink again. It felt totally natural to be under the water, my ears were fine, my breathing settled into a steady rhythm, Kris signalled OK and we set off over the reefs.

I'm glad Kris knew where we were going as I was totally disorientated within the first two turns. One rock looked very similar to the next, one patch of sand blending into another. There is so much to see and do underwater. I was seeing loads yet missing even more. The 40 minutes flew by, Kris signalled for our assent as I realised we were below the boat again. I was just beginning to feel a little cold and was quite glad of the warmth as we returned to the surface and the hot sun.

With air supplies changed for the next dive, I tucked into the warming pineapple and some strange white fleshed fruit that tasted a bit like Kiwi as we sailed around the bay to Moray Beach.

The second dive was fantastic. We dutifully reviewed my skills, mask removal, fin pivots, out of air and secondary air supply, then we went to play!! The Lion fish was still guarding his patch. The moray Eel did his swim past on que and now with a supply of air to maintain me I could wait outside the octopus lair for him to appear! I was so busy watching him that Kris had to physically touch me to gain my attention. A huge ball of fish circled above us as I realised it had become much darked due to their presence. It was the sort of thing you see on the TV (or in the film Saving Nemo) yet here I was, sitting below them as they moved in their slowly spinning ball. Fascinated we watched as they moved away. Kris blew some bubble rings, mine were not as good but were defiantly rings up to a distance oftwo foot – then they fell apart while Kris's rings continued up to the surface expanding in diameter yet holding their integrity.

We sat under the boat – as one does! Unfortunately the regulator doesn't work upside down which confused me at first as I knew I couldn't be out of air that soon! I checked my gauge, there was defiantly air there, I tried to breath but there was nothing there. I righted myself to signal to Kris and the air began to flow again! That was when I realised regulators don't work upside down!! Its the little things they don't tell you in the class room that makes diving interesting! Having walked from one end of the boat to the other along the hull, breathing periodically, I stopped for a photo and returned to the surface! Kit was handed up, everything was dismantled, washed and stowed before we jumped back in again for a swim!

We tried the hull walk without the aid of air. It is incredibly slippery and without the buoyancy the wet suits had given us, quite difficult to keep in contact with the boat. I made it about half way before slipping off and coming to the surface. Kris made it to the end without incident, apparently it is his party trick!!

Matt and Joe performed some incredible 'bomb' jumps, soaking our little man in his glass bottom boat as he passed. He had just finished mopping up the splashes when they did it again, this time together causing a huge splash wave to cover him! He shouted good naturedly, waving his fist at them and swinging his oar, this was a normal occurrence at the end of the day it transpired and he normally kept his distance from the Foolish Boys as he called them.

More sun was soaked up on the upper deck on the return run before we headed straight back into the classroom for our next theory lesson. Big mistake! With all our exertions and the fresh sea air of the morning we were soon nodding away from our concentration and I found myself more than once jolting back to conciousness!

By 3pm I was on the beach asleep! I woke at 4pm to find the sun had gone! Totally disorientated I looked to my side to see sunlight lighting the sand. I sat up and looked towards the sun and town. Of all the places to lie on the beach I had chosen the only spot right opposite the huge hotel on the beach front. I moved ten foot to my right, lay back down in the full sun and went back to sleep!! Diving is very tiring!!

Eventually I left the beach, completed my assigned homework and met up with Kris and the others. Matt wanted Indian so he could eat the left overs on the boat. I too thought this was a great idea. We collected JP from Rainbow Divers as we passed. He was in need of rescue he had informed Kris when he had phoned him. Unknown forces had prevented him from leaving the bar all day and food would be a welcomed change to the liquid lunch and tea so far consumed!

This time we headed upstairs, pushing two tables together to accommodate us all. Drinks and food were ordered, conversations flowed, the day was recounted for JP's amusement, hull walking was dissected into its various components and general nonsense followed. At the end of the meal Kris announced that he had no money! I do wish he had told me before I'd left the house as I only had a couple of hundred on me. JP kindly picked up Kris's remaining share of the bill. Kris suggested Guava's for after dinner drinks. We arrived like refugees with our food pots in our hands, Kris took our drink orders, anything we wanted he said, much to JP's delight – I found out that Kris runs a regular tab at Guava's at that time of each month, a useful thing when money runs out!!

Son arrived complaining Simon was in a bad mood, someone had crashed his PC while he had been away (or so he was claiming) and blood was required to sooth the beast! Two people had also cancelled last minute for a dive, further deepening his darkened mood. Kris bought Son a beer and the world looked brighter. We were home well before midnight (11.30!) our takeaways safely placed in the fridges for the morning. Life was settling into a pleasant routine of fun, food, drinks and sleep! Life was good.