22 Dec 2011: THE KEY TO A HAPPY WINTER SOLSTICE

Winter arrived in the northern hemisphere today. Down here by the equator it's hard to tell. The days are warm and sunrise is the same as sunset: 6a.m., 6p.m. To mark the occasion, the South China Sea welcomed me in. The portly Russian men all wear Speedos or bikinis, my nationality is harder to guess in red hibiscus surfer shorts. Not many Americans here, so I must be Aussie, right mate??  

But I'm not alone in the sea. Mui Ne is still a fishing village at heart, and the nets and boats dominate the view from the beach. What's unusual is the shape of the craft ---- round like soup bowls. With a single paddle that's driven by rotating the upper body. It looks inefficient, but they've been using it for centuries. Locals also scrape the sand when the tide goes out, gathering inch-long clams and periwinkles.  

Thick seawalls have been built all along hotel row because the sand has eroded right up to the steps. At low tide, the most you've got is 5 or 6 feet of sand to walk on. At high tide, the waves smash into the hotel breakwalls: good for shell gathering. Another welcome sight has been squirrels in the mix of pine and palm trees. And bats at dusk, also like home. Not so charming is the sight of the house cat hunting down a 4" lizard in the bushes and devouring it, tail first.  

No pictures of the room yet ---- we have to move to another room tomorrow. The door lock is wonky and we just can't swear enough in Vietnamese to solve the problem. Instead, the very smiling staff take turns helping out the idiots who can't turn the key. Must be Australians --- look at his shorts!