Saigon to Nha Trang

Vincent and I hop on the bus to Nha Trang in the morning. The ride is mostly uneventful until we stop in Mui Ne, which is very popular with Russian tourists, every second shop has a sign written in Russian.

Outside the bus stop is a big mango tree, filled with juicy green mangoes. As the taller one, Vincent asks me to grab the fattest mango he sees. After pulling down the mango, I’m accosted by the owner of the tree for stealing her mangoes. Since I don’t understand a word she’s saying, I apologise and let Vincent take the heat for it.

When we hop on the bus, everyone is laughing as they saw what happened from the bus. The elderly woman sitting opposite myself leans over and says “nothing in life is free”, pauses to let the thought sink in and adds “especially love”.

The phrase runs through my mind as I ponder the life of Chris McCandles (Alexander Supertramp) from Into the Wild and I have one of those long deep moments that occur when one think about the meaning of life and their purpose.

My internal philosophical discussion is interrupted within half an hour when a girl nearby asks Vincent if they can have the mango in exchange for some of their fruit. The offer is too good to pass up, we give her the mango and I am startled to see her pull out a small knife to cut the fruit. While I’m trying to get Vincent to tell me why Vietnamese girls are carrying knives on buses, she puts away the knife, pulls out a bigger knife and delicately carves the fruit into small pieces. I take a mental note to not mess with Vietnamese girls on buses.