Well, this morning I adhered to my new rule and took some money with me on my walk. Thankfully, I did not need to use it as I stuck to the route I was familiar with. Interestingly, there were fewer people exercising today than I had observed over the weekend, even though the weather was perfect.

There was piped music being played through loud speakers this morning for us all to enjoy. I took a short video clip to share here with you.

One new exercise I spotted was being done by a man, exercising on his own, wearing just shorts. He would rub his tummy with his right hand. Around and around about 10 times. Then swap hands and rub his tummy in the opposite direction. Then repeat. Perhaps it aids his digestion; who am I to question? No one gave him a second look though.

There were actually some life guards on duty this morning – sitting under that red and yellow umbrella. They didn’t seem to be too busy which was good. While the beach looks deserted, there actually was quite a few people swimming.

This path that follows the beach in Nha Trang would have been a beautiful area a few years ago. Obviously, before COVID.

I walked up a small bridge which crossed over the pools to take the following photos.

This place is derelict as well and there were no signs that it was undergoing any repairs. Which is a pity.

As I left our hotel just before 6am, I spotted another use for the footpaths. Two women had set up a bike washing business and were quite busy. When I returned the number of bikes had increased to five.

After breakfast, Mick and I had one important job to do; washing. We had spotted a business not too far from our hotel, so we packed all our dirty clothing into a plastic bag and dropped it off, leaving confident it would be there for us when we returned – all clean.

As the washing weighed less than 3kg, we paid the woman 60,000 VND (or $4 AUD) and let her know we would return in 4 hours, twice as long as she advertises it would take. Unbelievable. And sure enough – it was ready when I returned at 1pm.

We did not have a lot on our list to do today after we had done the washing, and a few steps further on we made a split decision to have some pampering. In this city, around where we are staying, there are lots of businesses offering massages, and we have resisted the encouragement of the people standing in front of their shops for the last 4 days.

Mick selected a foot massage and I chose a facial. He was the only customer for a foot massage which was given by a very strong young man who was slightly concerned by the state of Mick’s heels. Or at least that was what I picked up from his pointing while I waited with Mick for my beautician to arrive on her motorbike.

I was the only customer here too. I was not sure which way I was to lie on the bed, but the young woman explained that my head went on the small leather cushion over the sink (I thought that could have been where feet were washed). For the next hour I had different creams applied and removed after various massaging techniques were used to rub in the cream, exfoliant (I’m guessing) and eventually a face mask. I kept getting cream in my eyes because I wanted to check what she was about to do next. My son’s fiancée had told me a horror story about a facial she had received in Vietnam on an earlier trip where she had her whole face shaved with a cut throat razor. Thankfully that did not happen.

Towards the end of my experience, I was asked to sit up and the woman gave my back a good pummelling. Anyway, Mick and I both enjoyed our experience and came home to have a shower to wash all the creams off!

Mick and I have walked past many schools during our stay here. Yesterday around 6.30am when I was lost I passed at least 6 different schools as parents were dropping their child or children off. I believe the first session for school starts at 7am. Always near the schools are small street food stalls. Many children seem to have their breakfast at them before they wave goodbye. All school children wear face masks as they enter the grounds. I saw one little girl aged around 7 years old yesterday who was crying, clearly not too keen to go to school that morning, and her father was trying to console her and encourage her. Brought back memories.

Bike Riders Update

There was one slight ‘slip’ – but I’m assured it looks worse than it was.

They crossed over fast flowing rivers and past lots of waterfalls – all full as a result of the rain and the recent typhoon. Some of the bridges were in bad shape, and were as high as 30 m above the water. That sounds pretty scary.

Our son told us that much of the ‘trail’ is mostly cement, only about an inch thick and minus much reinforcement. The cement was badly damaged in lots of places, I’m assuming a lot like the footpaths Mick and I have seen, and in lots of places one side of the road was taped off, making the road even more challenging to ride. Bikes are not the only traffic on this road – cars, trucks and buses also use it. The bigger the vehicle, the faster they go apparently.

They passed some interesting sights while driving, lots of animals roaming freely, including goats, and this family heading somewhere. But they were pretty pleased with their efforts and the opportunities they had today.