Facing the Dragon - Chapter 12

I depart Hoi An with mixed feelings. While I am ready to leave and explore another part of Vietnam, the people of Hoi An and the charm of this town have quickly grabbed hold of me. Before departing, I make my way over to the shop where I did emailing to say goodbye to Than and her son. Than offers me breakfast but time does not permit a meal as I will be boarding the bus that will take me away in a few moments. Our exchange of goodbyes includes the exchange of our email addresses.

Today, we are headed in the direction of Danang to the Marble Mountains. Impressive from afar, the views from the mountain’s peak are supposed to give a good overview of the surrounding areas.

The climb up the mountains and in and out of the mountains caves is quite a workout. As I walk in and out of pagoda’s that were somehow constructed in and around these caves, I ponder to myself how the people who built these pagodas were able to get the needed materials up the mountain. Later, I relax and take a moment to myself in front of a secluded pagoda to absorb the peaceful environment. The setting is serene. I walk around the corner and find a huge marble smiling Buddha in my path. After looking behind me and confirming that I am alone, I kneel down, bow and pay homage for a couple moments. I feel at peace. Before heading back down the mountain, I take one more stroll and come to an overlook point which offers a spectacular view of the famous China Beach below us. China Beach was a very popular rest and relaxation spot for American GI’s during the Vietnam War. Given the tumultuous history of this beach, I am surprised to find how clean and untouched it appears, at least from afar.

I descend back down the mountain and out onto China Beach. Walking on the break where the sand meets the sea, I feel the water run through my toes. The water is clear and the warm water has a perfect temperature. I swim out about 20 feet to where Erin and Michael are and begin to body surf with them. The water is refreshing on this hot day and it feels good to just crash into the water and enjoy the sea like I did as a child. Eventually, I end up in the bamboo pavilion on the beach and munch on a sandwich while I watch some Vietnamese teenage boys play a passionate soccer game.

After lunch, we walk back to the bus to continue our journey towards Danang. I decide to shift my seating position and move up to the passenger seat so that I can sit next to our driver, Qui. Qui is a friendly chap. His seat is covered with an American flag that he says a tourist gave him years ago. With his limited English, he tells me that he is Catholic and managers to make a few Viet Cong jokes. The reason that I moved up front is because I wanted to get closer to the action and get another in depth view of the rough roads we are driving on.

The size of the potholes in the road continues to amaze me. These craters are large enough to easily cause a blowout. A car or truck that didn’t have its weight distributed evenly across the vehicle could literally flip if it hit one of these potholes. I see some overturned cars and trucks where this appears to have been the case. The road has approximately 1.25 lanes of traffic. This has meant constant beeping, stopping and starting as Qui competes with people, bikes, motorbikes, cyclos, rickshaws, cars, trucks and busses that vie for what they perceive to be their piece of the road. Amid this chaos, many people are carrying bundles of wood, sheet metal and even curtains on their bikes or rickshaws. I see one man riding a cyclo loaded with wood and being followed by another man driving a motorbike. The amount of wood loaded onto the cyclo makes it impossible for him to even attempt to reach the pedals to propel himself forward. Even if he could reach the pedals, the weight of the load is much too heavy for him to move the cyclo forward using only the power of his legs. That is where the man on the motorbike comes into the picture as he has his foot placed on the back of the cyclo. The engine on his motorbike is providing enough power to propel the cyclo and its large load forward, albeit slowly. As I watch this with my own two eyes, I have to try and remember to myself that Qui is competing with vehicles like these for a section of the road.

As we drive along, I keep waiting to hit a barren, remote area where there are no palm trees, vast expanses of water, hills or beaches to gaze at, but I continue to be pleasantly surprised by what I am seeing. This wonderful scenery continues precisely until we arrive in Danang. While Danang is the 4th largest city in Vietnam with a population of over 400,000, it is not a city that is know for it’s beauty. It is a big city but at first glance it appears to be drab and unimpressive. Danang experienced rapid growth and development during the Vietnam War when the neighboring air base spawned the greatest concentration of US military personnel in South Vietnam. Given the fact that we are passing through Danang to get to Hue, I can only presume that this is not an overly popular tourist destination.

Eventually, we arrive in Hue and it is immediately apparent that the reason we quickly pushed through Danang to get here has more to do with Hue itself and less to do with the inadequacies of Danang. Hue is the former capital of Vietnam. It held that title until 1945 and was the sight of many intense battles during the Vietnam War since Hue marked the point where the control of the South Vietnamese Army ended.

We exit the bus and head to the check in counter at the Huong Ciang Hotel. I am impressed with the design of the hotel as well as the excellent views of the Perfume River from the outdoor bar surrounding the hotel. After spending a half hour lying on my bed in my room and listening to my stomach growl, I head downstairs for dinner. We walk over to a local backpacker restaurant where the food is supposedly decent and cheap. This is the kind of restaurant that serves Vietnamese food in addition to hamburgers, hot dogs and pancakes. I am not too excited.

The portions are large though and food always seems to taste better when the quantities are large and the cost is small. I have a local Hue specialty called ‘bahn it’ along with broiled pork, a banana pancake and a couple of beers. It is a strange combination of different types of foods but the highlight is definitely the ‘bahn it’. Bahn it consists of a rice and vegetable mixture made into a pancake that is dressed with peanut sauce. While the food is decent, the atmosphere in the restaurant is much too touristy for me. There are more tourists at this restaurant than at any other restaurant I’ve dined at on this trip. Nonetheless, you cannot beat the value as I left with a bit of a buzz and a full stomach for 3 dollars.

After dinner, a few of us walk over to the nearby DMZ Bar. It is easy to see why this venue had the reputation of being a place to come during the Vietnam War for prostitutes, drugs and any other type of activity that falls into that general category. It is a dingy place with a good juke box belting out American and British classic rock and pop songs and everyone seems to be on their 3rd or 4th drink. The DMZ bar is loaded with tourists although I am sure that a few prostitutes still manage to use this venue as a place of operation. This is a Western traveler’s paradise if he or she wants to limit their interaction with locals to staff only. I spend most of my time chatting with Sebastian and Claire. Given our ages, I find it both funny and peculiar that these two men seem to be most like the friends I have at home that are my age. That includes the discussions we have about women and drinking and the sick sense of humor that I and many of the people I tend to associate myself with seem to have. I guess we are all dirty old men when it comes down to it, no matter the age. Claire and I joke with Sebastian about the boat ride he took in Hoi An and the extra services that “may” have been a part of that excursion. It seems that Seby has been waiting for an opportunity to share his story and he doesn’t hesitate to give it to us straight.

Sebastian’s adventure started with a boat ride that he took with a woman he met on the street in Hoi An. Actually, the boat ride turned out to be a pretty short one as it amounted to paddling about a quarter of a mile until they were behind a large ship in a secluded area. After Seby rowed the boat behind the ship, the boat ride took a much different twist. Sebastian told us that the woman performed oral sex on him right there in the open. He said that the woman told him that it was $2 for the boat ride but nothing for the additional services. I cannot stop laughing in shock, and disturbing awe, as Sebastian graces us with the information that he slipped the woman a $5 dollar bill and gave her a kiss on the cheek at the end of his interesting boat ride. I joke with Claire about him getting involved in these types of endeavors but he makes it quite clear that while he finds Sebastian’s stories humorous, he does not like to participate in any activities of this sort. I don’t think he is kidding either as he is the resolute, conservative type.

I find Sebastian’s story to be sad and entertaining at the same time. I find it distressing because many of the women working in the prostitution industry are working to support their children and survive. With no other opportunities to make a living, the harsh truth is that human services pay a livable wage that many other jobs do not. Yet, I also find his story to be compelling. Why? Because these types of situations are very bizarre, and until this point in my life I have never really been exposed firsthand to prostitution. I am also torn as my Western upbringing is trying to tell me that I should classify these women as disgusting and repugnant because of their profession, but I can’t. They are human beings and deserve to be treated with respect and dignity, no matter what their profession is. I guess I don’t find prostitutes any more unethical than anyone else, including myself. Different circumstances call for different responses and in many cases the women working as prostitutes have not been blessed with the opportunities many of us take for granted. The reality of it is that they need to make a living and support their families and are able to achieve this end by providing this service.