Hot Springs

So, hey, I totally forgot that I never got to finish my series on my trip to Vietnam. I finally got the pictures that my sister took on a cd in the mail, so now I can share.

Our first excursion from the River Ray Resort was to a hot springs. Our tour guide drove us over, but didn't mention that the hot springs was a bathing suit-necessary activity. In the US, any hot springs my family and I had ever been to/heard of were more viewing-centered, with nature walks and such, but not actually getting into any water. Luckily, the gift shop sold some not-too-hideous swimwear for only the equivalent of $10-11 apiece.

Here are some pics of the place:

The first thing we did was have a mud bath. We got a private cabin with a big tub inside, which filled with the hot spring water while we put the mud on ourselves. An employee put a few bags of prepackaged mud and some scented oil in a bucket, and we just had to rub it on our skin and wait a little while for it to dry, while walking around outside. This was much better than the natural volcanic mudbath I had in Kenya, which left my bathing suit irrevocably sulphur-scented.

Here are my mom and I:

After the mud dried, we were supposed to wash it off thoroughly in the shower, which was extremely difficult, and then soak in the hot tub for a while. Our skin was kind of dyed darker in some places for a while, but I think the hot water got most of it out.

Then we got to go swimming in some of the pools nearby. They varied in temperature, from cool to pretty hot.

After swimming, we changed back into clothes in the restroom. I was reminded how modest Americans are when some woman (I think most of the other foreign tourists that day were German) came into the bathroom and got naked to change without bothering to go into a stall. There was even a window in the restroom door, but she obviously wasn't concerned. It's funny to get little peeks of how other people and other cultures operate.

Next was lunch at the resort's restaurant. It might have been the best meal I had in Vietnam. I don't even remember what it was, but it was very light and sweet.

Before we left, we walked around for a bit, checked email for cheap at the information center, and took some pictures.

Here's a fantastic thing:

Then we went home for swimming at our pool, supper, etc. It was a good day, and I got a new bathing suit out of it.