Vung Tau with the Children

Co Bao recommended that we do not show as many films this time since the children were going on a special field trip the next day. This has been a long trip in the making but I am so happy that this dream of mine is coming true. We had a movie night on Saturday night but early on Sunday, I woke up at 5pm to head back to the Pagoda once again. The tour company that my cousin Hanh Dung has reserved was very punctual since they called me at about 5:30 making sure that I woke up and are prepared for the trip. Hanh Dung was not able to join but she was very nice in preparing “xoi” which is a sticky rice snack for the children and delivered it to my hotel at 5:45 am before I took off for to the Pagoda. I was hungry and the “xoi” is still fresh and hot so I snacked on that as an impromptu breakfast on the way to the Pagoda.



As my taxi arrived at the Pagoda, all the children were already boarded on then bus and waiting eagerly to go. I was surprise at their energy so early in the morning on a Sunday. They were filled with enthusiasm and broke into song and continued their vocal performances the entire two and half hour trip to Vung Tau. This is considered the closest beach from Saigon and is actually not that far geographically. The traffic and streets conditions in Vietnam however, do stretch the journey to a lengthy ride. The tour company I hired had a driver and three other helpers. They were very good with organizing the children talent’s for singing by having a little contest. They would take turns singing on the microphone with the winner receiving treat snacks. Although there was one child at a microphone at a time, they choose children songs which everyone knew so it was a sing along were every child knew the lyrics. I was the only one on the bus who was clueless since it appeared as if these nursery rhythms were never etched into my childhood before I was planted into American culture.



The pagoda had fewer than two hundred children but I only took 30. Co Bao told me that she selected the best behaved and used the trip as an incentive for them to behave the weeks before in preparation for the trip. Co Bao selected well since every single child in the group of 30 were angels. They were the best behaved and good spirited children I have ever had the pleasure of being with. They took turns going up to the microphones to sing their songs on the bus and just enjoyed every single moment.





We arrived at Vung Tau on north beach about 9am. I had this fear of the ensuing chaos concluding in loosing the children once they stepped out of the bus. On the contrary, it was a pleasant surprise to see them line up hand in hand as the children paired up in two lines. They all wore matching red t-shirts and were given a yellow hat to help identify them among the beach crowd. I had printed out pieces of paper with my cell number, and the address of the Pagoda. I was going to pass this out to the children but was so impressed by their orderly conduct; I decided not utilize this form insurance for the children’s safety. We counted from the line to make sure there were 30 children and then proceeded in an orderly fashion out to the area where there were beach chairs assigned to our group. The children were then instructed to go to the dressing room to put on their swimming clothes. Most of them just put on shorts but some had pants. It is rare to have bathing suites in Vietnam apparently. The children, both boys and girls, just wore their normal cloths to go swimming. The red t-shirts and yellow caps were part of this ensemble which comprised of their swimming suite.




I changed into swimming trunks which I purchased at Vung Tau not too long ago from this same beach on my last team building trip for my group. I joined the eager children onto the beach hand in hand into the water. As we walked pass the hot sand swinging our hands up and down, I felt just as carefree and as happy as a child, just like one of the children.



The children love the beach and ocean water but none of them knew how to swim. This was quite a daunting task because I felt I had to keep an eye on all the children in the water making sure no one ventures out into the deep or has any challenges with the water. I had learned that they only had one other experience with the ocean since they had a field trip to Phan Thiet. Their lack of exposure to swimming pools and beaches precluded them from any form of swimming instruction.



Their lack of swimming skills did not deter them from plowing through the water and having a great time. They stayed together in groups with the smaller children on the shore while the older teenagers venturing out into waters that came up to their necks. These older children all called me “Thay” which meant teacher. The smaller children also caught onto this and also gave me this honorary title. One of the 7 year old enquired why I was referred to as “thay” which was clarified since I taught English to these same children in the past.



We just waddled in the water all the way until noon. I knew I was going to be into trouble since the little sun tan lotion I had put on must have been washed away by the salty waters and the Vung Tau sun was piercing. I was in for some serious sunburn. I was lost in the childhood care free spirit to even notice my reddening skin. Even though I a few hour lessons teaching English and had spent movie nights with these children, this is the first experience were we all were able to hang out and have fun for an extended period of time. It is a great treat.



We washed up and went to the restaurant which was adjacent to our beach area. There was a wedding event at the same time inside the banquet area but we all sat on the balcony where we were able to see both the ocean view and the banquet where the reception of the wedding was being held. The children were fascinated by the wedding and made call kinds of commentary on the bride as if it is some kind of soap opera television show.




After the meal, the children were too full to swim so a group of about six of us went for a walk. We were all hand in hand strolling across the water’s edge. The children continued with their line of questions such as if I was married and if I had children. It sounds like personal questions but I think the Vietnamese culture it is a common and natural for them to enquire about this. They were very puzzled by the fact that I am about forty and have no children. It was a paradox which they could not fathom. I have noticed that for me to be a Vietnamese it is quite a social anomaly and therefore the children perceive me as an alien from another planet.



The children’s appetite for soaking in the sun and swimming in the beach is insatiable. Some of the boys were already splashing on the shore when we came back from our walk. This became a contagious activity that consumed the entire group including myself. I became fatigued; I lied on the water’s edge where the wet sand kept me cool. What started out as a wet sand fight, ended up me loosing and being buried under the sand. They took creative license of piling on sand with castles and figures. It was a bit difficult to breathe with the large pile of sand completely covering me except for my face to breath. I had an itch on my face but realized at that point, it was senseless since there was no way to then scratch with my hands buried under piles of sand. It was a little frightening but I also felt totally secured under the many little loving hands which put me into this sand tomb.



The schedule was for us to leave at two. I jokingly said that it was 2am and that we would stay longer. The children were also hesitant to go and dragged their feet when it came to getting cleaned up. We ate the “xoi” which Hanh Dung had purchased for us. Even though lunch was only a couple hours ago, the swimming and beach activities seem to work the children’s appetite very quickly. We did a final count in two line file similar to the start of the day. Everyone was accounted for so we slowly made our way back onto the bus.



The tour guide team started new games on the bus having the children play a guessing game which was a variation on the dating game. It was a cute game where the older teenagers had a blast playing. There were some songs but the spirit was not the same as in the morning bus ride where there were much more exuberance. A DVD was then played for the remainder of the bus ride. When I came on board, a little 7 year old child took my hand and motioned to sit next to her. She is darling and I could not refuse such a gesture. During the ride, another girl who swam with us of the same age came over and I had two little darlings side by side. I felt like I was the happiest “father” in the world.



We stopped at a rest area where there were many vendors selling snacks. I took them by the hand and we strolled through the tourist shops. There were many other busses for different tourist groups which made this same stop. I purchased them some sweets and bread snacks. While their thirst was being worked up, I asked if they wanted a drink. There were advertisement signs enticing their eyes for soft server ice cream. Some of the younger children mentioned gestured to the ice cream so I asked who wanted it. They all then raised their hand as if eager to supply an answer to an itching question. I then walked over with a small group of the teen age girls to buy the ice cream. It was priced at 4,000 per cone. That seems perfectly fine with me but the children were gasping expressing that it was such a rip off. They refused for me to have to spend this. I insisted but they would not budge and reasoned that we had drinks on the bus. I felt the sincerity and a sense of gratitude that they appreciated what was given to them today and they did not want me to feel that they would take advantage of my generosity.

The evening skylines darken on the last leg of the trip. The mood was more somber. Trinh who was one of the girls came over to me as if to whisper in my ear. Nothing seems to come out however but she motioned if I can sit with her. I gladly came over and she wanted to express something but I sense some hesitation. She started to then said, I can’t tell you. My curiosity is peaked so I insisted, and persisted. She then looked sheepishly down and said she is not happy. I replied with a question of why. I said this has to be one of the most special and fun days I have had. She agreed and said it was the one of the best days she can remember. She is just sad that it is coming to an end. She does not want to go back and just want to be back to Vung Tau with me. It was very sweet. I tried to comfort her saying that we will have other opportunities. She was still limp as if her life spirit was been sucked out of her. I took her hand and said that we will remember this moment for a long time and that I will always cherish the fun times. She started to tell me that she is not very happy with her life and that she is very sad since she does not have any one to care for her. She said she does not believe in herself and that she is all alone. I was rather surprise that there is such a world of sorrow on such a young child. She clung on to my hand and just did not want to let go and she wanted to hide her face since she was tearing. I promised that I will visit and we will have more fun trips. She then tried to smile but I can tell there was sadness.

She then said that even though she has just begun to get to know me, she has never had any one care for her the way she has today. I told her that seeing her joy and the children’s joy is the most wonderful gift I can ever receive and that this is one of the most special trip and moment for me. We sat there with out many words but there was a bond that was quite unique. When the bus came to a stop, she did not want to leave and did not want to release my hand. I tried to make light of things and said that co Bao is waiting and is worried if you don’t return. She reluctantly started to leave. Trinh jokingly said this is the wrong stop, this is not her home and she waned to come with me. She knew it as all in jest so she later continued along with the other children. The mood was a somber and most of the children were pretty exhausted and waved good bye. I was really touched by Trinh and the every child on our trip. There was great warmth and love that the children had for all of the things that was around them. They saw joy in just about every little thing. At the same time, there was emptiness and lost within their hearts. I have never had children and am very drawn to them. It is as if my attraction towards wanting my own child and them wanting parents was a force that made our experience such a unique one. I am very touched by every moment of that day. I have to live up to my promise and visit the children once again before I head back to the US.

The children took my camera and just had a field day. You can see a complete set of pictures which is uploaded to here.