One last trip and one last week

Our daily morning commute view. Le Dai Han is the name of the first road we take.

Greetings one last time from Vietnam!  I'll probably (maybe) post a blog from back home, especially to share my experience about "repatriating" that I often hear is the hardest part of living abroad for a time.  But for now, suddenly we are at the "one more week point."  It's a bit surreal, having been eager to go back home for so long.  And yet leaving will have its bittersweet parts too.  So many great experiences here, especially with the lovely people we have met.

Pretty effective cheap raincoat, stored in motorbike seat.

Rainy season has started!  Most days we get a shower; usually it seems to be in the late afternoon as we are ready to leave school!  But the pattern is mostly more random.  And we still get one or two dry days in a row.

Per the title, we did take one last trip to a different city.  We went to Vung Tau by motorbike, because our Vietnamese friend Chuck insisted it was a great experience. Vung Tau is about 65 miles away and going there by motorbike IS an adventure...if we go again it will be by car or boat!  Vung Tau is a port city, situated on a peninsula with ocean on 3 sides.  Once a French colonial town, it's now a popular seaside resort that draws many visitors from Ho Chi Minh City.  It also plays a significant role in Vietnam's offshore oil industry.  During the Vietnam War, it was home to the Australian Army and the American support units, and was a popular spot for in-country R&R for US combat troops.

Our guide (and friend) Chuck and his girlfriend Dana on the short ferry
ride en route to Vung Tau

We left early on a Saturday and picked up Dana and had breakfast, then drove about 2 hours before stopping at Dana's sister's place for lunch.  First we had coffee (she has a coffee shop), then went to the market to watch her buy lunch, then ate with Dana's extended family.  It was a gracious, home-cooked meal and very delicious!  

The lunch spread:  3 kinds of fish, vegables, pig ear (yeah, I know...), bitter melon soup, and rice.

We arrived in Vung Tau about 1:45 pm (took us about 3 hours to drive by motorbike) and explored.  We drove up to a lighthouse to get a great view, including a view of a large statue of Jesus, "Christ the King," built by the Vietnam Catholic Association in 1974, completed in 1993.  It is 105 feet high with the outstretched arms spanning 60 feet.  There are stairs inside we could have climbed up but we didn't drive over to the statue.

Amazing view of the city from on high.  Jesus statue over to the right.

A little closer view of the statue, from the back.

Not my picture!  (from the web by Chris Phan from Eugene, Oregon, United States - Large statue
of Jesus, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3096126)

The following beach pictures show the storm rolling in.  The beach was very beautiful and busy despite the weather being close to changing.

They look like dots in this picture but there were a lot of oil tankers on the horizon

Beautiful long sandy beach to walk on--in better weather!

Just as we were leaving the beach the rain started.  We found a coffee shop to wait out the rain, and then we drove around a bit more, had an early dinner, and headed back to Ho Chi Minh city about 5:30.  It began to rain shortly after we left the city so we pulled over and put raincoats on.  Then it RAINED THE WHOLE WAY HOME!  It took us about 3.5 hours to get home since it was dark and rainy.  Bob said that was the worst drive he's made on the motorbike in terms of feeling safe.  Remember I said that if we visit again, it won't be by motorbike?!!

Now, we are finishing up our school year.  There is one more week of final exams for our students; lectures are done and our office time is being spent organizing our teaching materials and putting them in folders and thumb drives for use for future classes.  We also assist in proctoring and grading practical exams, where students show that they can perform certain techniques.

One more picture of the optometry department, because we were taking photos for a PR shot.
Secretary Thao, Ngan (optometrist), secretary Thu, Bob, me, Mr. Long (department head), Dr. Koh (optometrist from Singapore), and Phuong (ophthalmologist).

We are also busy saying goodbyes, having dinner with friends, and starting to pack.  We leave early next Friday the 23rd and get home the same day!!  Amazing, traveling the "right" way over the international date line.  The killer will be our 5-hour layover in O'Hare airport.

A random photo, but just fun.  A recent Sunday I walked to church and saw these 2 dogs getting washed.  I asked if I could snap an photo and the guy seemed especially pleased!  The dogs did not!

The gas station on the corner across from our apartment building where Bob usually gets his gas.  I asked one of my students whether it matters (pricewise) where a person buys gas and the answer was as I expected: nope.  Gas prices are fixed by the government.

Well, that is all my news for now.  Once again, I thank you for following our "adventures" over here.  We have learned so much by living in a different culture for 9 months!  And have been thankful for the technology of today where we can stay in touch with people from all over the world and receive encouragement from friends and family back home.  We are eager to see familiar faces and get back to "normal" life for a couple of months anyway. Until next time!!