Day 7 - Sunday, the beach

Today, we went to the beach - Vung Tau! It was another really long, exhausting day but worth it. We woke up early, had breakfast and packed our bags before getting into taxi's that took us to the hydrofoil station. There, we met up with some UEF students, got our tickets, and boarded the boat. It looked just like the one that everyone got sick on last year when we went from Hong Kong to Macau. My seat was next to Andrew and while people around me were getting sick and running outside, I sat there reading my book, The Thing They Carried, feeling perfectly fine. It was bizarre. I guess my stomach problems just have nothing to do with motion. Also, just as a side note, Phoung had a really cute frog fan that i really like, I'm going to look out for those. Anyway, we got to the dock after a two hour ride or so and cooled off at this restaurant with drinks. I stuck with water to stay hydrated. We then reboarded the bus and drove a short ways to this mountain that had a huge Jesus statue on top. I took one look and knew I couldn't handle it - plus, using up all of my energy to see a Jesus statue that would not have any real personal value to me didn't seem worth it, so i stayed in the poorly air conditioned van and tried not to concentrate on the fact that I already had to go to the bathroom again because of all of the water I was drinking. After what felt like forever, the group came back soaking wet with sweat and we took the bus to lunch - the restaurant we'd just had drinks at. Lunch was delicious. Even though my stomach is still really upset, I was starving from only eating toast for breakfast so I had tons of the soft shelled crab - it was amazing. By far, the best thing i've had on the trip so far. Tin and Elizabeth were both amazed at how much I could eat but I was famished.
After lunch we drove to the beach (and btw, there are still a lot of motor bikes here although the area is really beautiful with a lot of spas and resorts). Some of the group went to see a temple and while I wasn't sure if i could handle the sun, I did not want to end up sitting on the bus and having to go to the bathroom again. I definitely made the right decision. The beach was not too hot, with a nice breeze and the water felt great! The only scary thing was all of the trash floating around in it that kept touching our legs and freaking Elizabeth and me out. After a while of playing in the water with Andrew, Elizabeth and I went to the bathroom with Sarah where we were forced to clean our feet numerous times and saw a beautiful pool that looked so cool and inviting. The guard, however, did not. I then laid out for a little and got hit with a lot of sand from the boys' soccer game. We also played in the water with Phoung and the other girl from UEF who did not know how to swim which was kind of scary when we went out into deeper waters and she pulled Phoung under when a large wave came. Also, it was interesting to see how everyone was dressed. Men were in normal shorts but very few woman were in bathing suits and absolutely no bikinis. I just can't imagine going swimming in a sweater and jean shorts. It seems so heavy. Way too soon though, it was time to leave so we went and showered and put back on our sticky clothes. I felt so dirty from the water and the sand that coated my body immediately after I stepped back outside. Also, Phoung had worn my shoes so my feet ended up completely coated in sand for hours - no matter how dry my feet were, the sand just wouldnt fall of. Anyway, we eventually got back 0n the hydryfoil and were stuck there for the next 3 hours or so because branches kept getting stuck in our motor. I, of course, was sitting in the poorly air conditioned room so I spent the entire ride dripping in sweat but eventually just accepted it and talked with Andrew, Elizabeth, Mike and Matt. We were all starving - it had been hours since we'd last eaten. I stuck with my ritz and gave Matt my last granola bar. Hours upon hours later, we arrived at the dock and Mike, Sarah and I took a taxi to the international medical clinic. Everyone else got to go back and shower before heading off the to the Barbecue Garden for dinner.

We were all amazed at the medical clinic - it was so clean, and air conditioned, and new. Then, they kept us waiting for over an hour and we weren't so impressed. We were all starving. I think this is the longest I've ever gone without eating. Overall though, my blood test came back okay, I was hydrated, the only problem was the intense shooting pains that kept running through my stomach every now and then. A long time after Mike's leg was bandaged for his burn that he got from running into a motorbike's exhaust pipe, I was given some medicine and we we're allowed to leave...after waiting forever to pay. My bill was 160, 85 of which was for after hours fees. By the time we left, Mike and I had taken our friendship to a new level - first with bonding on the boat and then hearing about each other's medical problems.

Dinner - spicy and really hot but good. I would definitely recommend it to someone going to Ho Chi Minh. Grills are built into the table and you order raw meat of all different types and then cook it for yourself. My only two comments - 1) don't go there if you are starving; having your food so close, but yet not ready to be eaten sucks and 2) be prepared to be hot; a lot of smoky wind blows in your direction no matter where you are sitting. I had garlic shrimp that were really spicy but really good! and came pre cooked! My chicken was more difficult because I didn't know when it was done. Also, they charge for the napkins which they don't tell you until you pay the bill. After dinner we took a taxi back to the hotel (some people walked but I was too tired) and went to sleep. Even though the bed is really hard, it still felt amazing to lay down after such a long day.