The next stretch on my way south took a couple days so I stopped for the night in Quy Nhon. It’s the kind of city that isn’t really frequented by foreigners. I imagine the buses skip this city entirely but people traveling by motorcycle may end up staying here. I had some time before dark so I took a ride out to a peninsula to try to catch the sunset over a fishing village. The mountain on the island ended up blocking most of the setting sun but I got in a few decent shots. Just before getting back to my bike, I happened to pass a group of about a dozen fisherman unwinding for the day. It was only a matter of seconds before I had a beer in my hand and they were force feeding me fresh snails and some sort of nuts that look like peanuts but they’re soft inside and are much tastier. Maybe that is just what fresh peanuts taste like?
None of the men spoke any English but that didn’t stop them from trying to teach me a few words of Vietnamese while I also taking selfies with each member of the group. I’m guessing I had stumbled into one of the last remaining areas of Vietnam that foreigners are seldom seen. Every sea fisherman I have met is a tad messed in the head. Maybe it’s the isolation and intense sun all day that makes them crazy but they are a blast to talk to. It’s too bad I don’t understand Vietnamese or I would have asked to go fishing with them the next morning in their strange little bowl-shaped boats. The group of fisherman started to dissipate quickly after it got dark so I went back to Quy Nhon to rest up before the next long stretch.