December_9_2001page2

The culminaton of the week was going on Viet Nam's
version of the Mexico "Booze Cruise". They bill it as
a boat trip to 4 islands with swimming and snorkeling.
We did not set foot on one island. They have guy
named "Crazy Man" who gets the beer flowing at 9am and
from this point you had better watch out. There was a
little snorkeling mixed with a seafood lunch and then
the show stopping Nha Trang Boy Band for live
entertainment. The drummer had to stop midway through
the performace to emtpy his bass drum which was the
water jug for the dish cleaning. After a rousing 5
song set (which proved to be the only songs they new),
it was off to another "island". Going to an "island"
means dropping achor off the island and finding a way
to drink more booze. This time it was the floating
bar. Everyone into a floating ring with "Crazy Man"
in the center of a larger one dispensing the not so
tasty Mulberry Wine of Dalat. We felt a bit sad for
the older couple who sat on the boat wondering what
they had gotten themselves into. If you just read the
brochure, you might have thought it was a gentle day
excursion. The next stop was the resort island where
you could either pay to go to the beach, or stay on
the boat, now a floating dance party, and listen to
the boy band play the same set of 5 songs. Other
boats where docked near by, people started jumping on
to ours...We can't even remember how many times we
danced to La Bamba. We were back to peir by 4:30 and
now had to trust "Crazy Man", who probably drank more
than he served, to direct the bus driver back to our
hotels. It brings back memories of college spring
break and was a fun way to cap off a rather uneventful
two weeks.

Tomorrow we are off to Hoi An. Another coastal town
with a beach and a beautiful ambiance. We hope to be
on the beach for Christmas and in Loas for the New
Year.

We hope your holiday planning and preparations are
getting you in the spirit. This area has many
christians so we are starting to see christmas trees
in some of the hotels. Makes us a little homesick.

Love and peace,
Brad and Jennifer