Mai Tâm Goes to Vũng Tàu

A few days ago I got a call from Thu, the manager at Mai Tâm, asking me if I wanted to go to Vũng Tàu with everyone on Saturday. Vũng Tàu is a beach community that is very popular with people in Ho Chi Minh City ... maybe the closest beach to the city. There are two ways to go to Vũng Tàu ... by sea and by bus... The boat trip is quite a bit faster, but with the number of people involved in this project, the only way to make the trip was by bus. So when Thu told me I had to be at Mai Tâm by 6:50, I was a bit shocked, but didn’t feel too badly, because I knew there would be many more people who would have to be ready even earlier and would have had children to organize and coordinate ... all I had to think about was myself. So, at 4:45, I set out. As it happened, there was a taxi directly outside my apartment and no traffic to speak of, so I got to the orphanage by 5:20.

It was so cool ... all the kids were ready, with their little backpacks and sunhats and sandals and excited faces. Gradually, the rest of the volunteers arrived until we were all assembled. Many of the other volunteers were seminarians, either from the Camillian community or the Jesuit community. Both have centres in Thủ Đức, which is the district that Mai Tâm is located in. I was the only foreigner, so had no clue what was going on, but at some invisible sign, we all started walking ... well, it turns out the 50-seat bus that was rented for the occasion could not traverse the narrow streets near Mai Tâm, and so we had to walk a couple of blocks to get to the bus. Which was fine, but what a sight ... toddlers toddling and babies being carried and boxes and bags and cases and cartons and backpacks all being lugged ... and we all made it. The bus was full with several seats housing 3 or 4 people. Fr Toai had already left in a smaller bus, so I am guessing there were 65 or more people in total.

The sponsors of the day was a lovely couple who came on the trip with their young (12 or so??) son and his friend. Nice, well-mannered kids. How wonderful these people are ... they hired the buses, paid for food and snacks, and also treated everyone to lunch at a restaurant. And they joined in the day’s activities; what an inspired act of generosity! It was a great day.

SiSi and Le Thu

Despite our leaving so early, the traffic leaving Sài Gòn was horrendous. I thought we were never going to get out of Thủ Đức, let alone Hồ Chí Minh City. There is a lot of road construction in that area and some of the roads had reduced lanes. I can imagine traffic will flow much more easily in a year or two ... but I guess there will be that many more cars on the road as well. Luckily, people had thought to bring lots of distracting food, starting with bánh mì, which are like subs ... in this case, pickled carrot and daikon, cilantro and ham and chicken cold cuts and a bit of hot sauce. My buddy Thiên sat on my lap and carefully picked off every shred of vegetable and only ate the chicken. I wondered if his having no front teeth made it difficult to chew the baguette (knowing in my heart of hearts that he is a picky eater) and when somebody asked him if he was ok, he said he wanted rice. Sure enough there was some sticky rice and he ate quite a quantity of it. Thu thought he might get sick, but he was fine. Only one upchucker in the bunch and that was little Chua. There was a DVD of Tom and Jerry (the perennial favourites here) as well, so kids (and some adults alike) were kept amused. We had one rest stop along the way and although there were lots of little toddlers off to use the WC, we collected everyone with no problem. After another quiet hour or so on the bus, with another drink and another wee snack, we arrived in Vũng Tàu happy as clams.

The Lovely Miss Thy

Vũng Tàu seems like a city on the upswing. I think because of the beach, as well as offshore oil and gas exploration activities, there is lots of development money flowing into the city. I saw lots of new construction ... residential, commercial, and hotel projects. And the road into the city is very attractive, with manicured boulevards and plantings ... dragons, mostly! We didn’t go to Vũng Tàu City, which I understand is quite amazing. Instead we went to a beach ... not sure of which one. I was the only foreigner I saw and I know lots of my RMIT colleagues say they stay at a beach further up (or down) the coast, as it is a bit quieter ... likely with more amenities. The beach we went to was fine ... lots of sand for the kids, shaded canopy with deck chairs for 60, and shallow water for the kids. There were a few restaurants, lots of little food stands (squid, octopus, shrimp on a skewer, ice cream, etc) and vendors selling trinkets, but no boardwalk or bars or other venues that might attract Westerners. The beach itself was very clean and well maintained. There were lifeguards patrolling the shore and of course the kids had lots of supervision. In addition, it was quite an overcast day, so nobody got sunburned, although there were a few pink shoulders and noses.

Chuot and Fr Toai

When we got to the canopy, it was there that the scope of planning for the day became apparent. All the kids had bathing suits and extra clothes packed, which is a feat in itself, but there was a huge bag of steamed corn (100 pieces) that was still warm. This was similar to the corn that we saw cooking in Hoi An. Very tasty. There was bánh bao, the Vietnamese version of baozi , and cases of milk, and huge bags of chôm chôm, and packaged snacks. Wow, everyone was well-fed. It was amazing that people had organized the food and the packing and the kids, as well as the transportation, facilities, and restaurant. Quite an undertaking! I don’t know how long they had been planning the event, but they really pulled it off.

OK ... to the best part ... the kids had a blast. It was so nice to see them running and splashing and enjoying even the simple pleasures of running down the beach with a pinwheel. They dug and collected shells and ran and ran and ran. The staff at Mai Tam also had a lot of fun as well and it was a joy to see the moms laughing and enjoying their day as well.

Thien

The volunteers, some of whom were meeting the kids for the first time, fit right in ... carrying and playing and reassuring and helping in any way possible. I know that the young seminarians may have young brothers and sisters, but I was really impressed with how comfortable they were and how the children responded to them as well. Lots of fun.

I didn’t go swimming (couldn’t exactly organize myself) and so I was on shore patrol and got to help with a few grumpy babies/boys who may have been a bit frightened by the water (aka Mr Ha and Mr Chot). Mr Minh had a nap on my lap and that was fine. I got lots of bà time, as I rode both ways and always had a kid in my lap ... first Thiên, the Tieu, and then Minh. It was nice.

After a session of swimming, the whole group was treated to lunch at a restaurant (after snacking ravenously all morning) and there were several dishes .. omelette, beef and vegetables, morning glory or rau muống), as well as the Vietnamese version of hot pot, called lẩu.  Everything was so delicious!

  

After meds and another round of swimming or playing in the sand, showers and a change of clothes, it was time to head back. On the way home, the kids slept most of the first half of the trip ... the little angels. After a pit stop, people chatted and watched TV and just rested. Traffic got heavy as we got closer to Sài Gòn, but peace prevailed. We encountered some fairly heavy rain, but that had turned to just a light mist as we walked from our disembarkation point back to Mai Tâm. When we arrived, some savoury cháo gà (chicken congee) was waiting for everyone. The kids ate (or didn’t) and some went to bed, while others watched TV. There were a few little meltdowns occurring as I departed on a xe ôm (in the driving rain) to go home ... I almost felt guilty at leaving the moms to deal with the cranky kids, but I am sure that it was just exhaustion and once they were in their beds, everyone was sure to sleep soundly. It was a great day ... one to remember.

The Beautiful Miss Thao