Playing catch-up 2

While in Vietnam I bought a shirt that looks a lot like a Hawaiian shirt, but was made in Vietnam. (Vietnamese sizes are different; the shirt is a Vietnamese XXL, but it just barely fits me.) So now in addition to the red Hawaiian shirt, I have a green Vietnam shirt that I can wear at formal occasions.

This is ET2 Jim Healis and Thom Pritchett, both of Network Administration, at the Sailing Club in Vietnam, holding a my carved turtle. I was going to name it Truculent, after the Navy P2V patrol bomber that flew over 11,000 miles nonstop some years ago, but I realized that it needed a Vietnamese name. I'm thinking about Xanh, pronounced Sang, which means "Green" or "Blue". What do you think?

I was able to go ashore to the Sailing Club in Nha Trang in Vietnam and take my laptop with me. I connected to the internet via the Sailing Club's wireless network and was able to reset a password that I hadn't been able to do aboard ship. That's Xanh, to the left of the laptop, sitting next to a sugar-free Royal Hawaiian smoothie.



This is CAPT Whiting (from Roosevelt, UT) and CDR Esplin (from Redding, CA), both from the U.S. Public Health Service, at the conclusion of our meeting on Sunday, 29 June, 2008. They joined USNS Mercy at Guam, participated in the missions in the Philippines and Vietnam, and will be leaving when we make our next liberty call.


This cute little girl wanted me to buy something from her, but she didn't have anything that I needed. I had a coin in my pocket, and gave it to her in return for letting me take her photo (which unfortunately does not show her beautiful long black ponytail).



There are lots of little shops in Nha Trang where all kinds of clothing can be bought, for the beach or for going out to dinner, like this Sunsport shop.



IT1 Welling and ET2 Healis, two of the Petty Officers who work with Network Administration, having lunch at Louisiane in Nha Trang. I had the Vietnamese Chicken, stir fry chicken with peppers and onions, and it was delicious. (I can neither confirm nor deny that the banana split at the far side of the table was mine, but it was also delicious.)



Two Vietnamese kids wanted me to buy something from them, but they didn't have anything that I was interested in, so I said to them that I would give them 5000 dong (about 30 cents) if they would let me take their photo. They said that I would have to pay EACH of the them 5000 dong. Hmmm, 60 cents, I thought. So I said that was okay but that they would have to let me take TWO photos, and they agreed. So I took one close up, and then this one from a little further out, showing the bike and scooters in the background. So here they are, two future Asian business people with great smiles!



Parasailing at the beach in Vietnam, with USNS Mercy anchored out in the background.



A cricket match between the folks from Australia and the folks from India who are onboard USNS Mercy was held on Wednesday, 25 June, 2008, near the Sailing Club in Nha Trang, Vietnam. In this photo, the ball (a yellow tennis ball was being used) has just been bowled and is in the center of the photo, with the batter getting ready to swing at it. The team from India (and other places as well) reportedly won the match.



Here I am standing next to one of the sculptures in the park by the Nha Trang beach; I'm wearing my Pacific Partnership 2008 shirt and the Vietnam hat that I used to keep the sun out of my face. If you look carefully you can see USNS Mercy near my left elbow.



Shell looks at the scooter traffic on Tran Phu street in Nha Trang, Vietnam, and decides that he wants to go back in his bag before crossing the street. The scooters don't stop, they just weave around the pedestrians who cross at the crosswalk. The banner over the street reminds everyone that the Miss Universe 2008 pageant is going to be held here in July.



Shell sits on the children's slide in the park by the beach in Nha Trang; Shell decides that the slide is too steep for him to try, but he enjoys the view of the island where the Vinpearl resort is located and USNS Mercy anchored out in the bay.