Recovery in Nha Trang (Vietnam)

It’s August 2022, and after emergency surgery in Nha Trang, JB is recovering for a month.

My parents know people in Nha Trang (even though we’re from Hanoi), and during JB’s hospitalization, my mom and I get to visit two apartments. Located in a condominium, presented by her friends, and we end up choosing, of course, the most beautiful one, with an incredible view of the beach from the 24th or 36th floor. In short, paradise! It’s perfect for recovery. Don’t ask me how to rent it, because it’s been resold since. Every day, we can enjoy the beautiful morning light. It’s a three-bedroom, so my parents can stay with us.

In the first few days, a nurse comes to change JB’s dressings until she can remove the stitches (I can’t remember why dissolvable stitches couldn’t be used). My poor parents have to take care of both of us, because I’m like a zombie after the shock, and JB has to relearn how to eat little by little. They cook for us, swim every day at the beach across the street, and explore the surroundings on a motorbike. My mom says Nha Trang’s water is excellent and can cure many diseases.

Photo: my mom visiting Nha Trang’s famous rocks

During a scooter ride, my parents were chased by a particularly sturdy and vicious dog. When it almost reached the motorbike and was ready to bite, my mom had to threaten to hit it to make it back off… immediately. She pointed out where the dog was, and we never went there (guess why?)

After two weeks, when we’re both able to manage on our own, my parents return to Hanoi, and we stay there for another two weeks, including one in a hotel closer to the center. I think this concept of parents still taking care of their sick adult children, or vice versa, might not be familiar to Europeans, but in Asia, family is really important. We’re truly grateful to them, because their help was extremely precious. No longer knowing the Vietnamese codes (the nuances, the manners), I had to let my mom handle the relationships with the nurses and doctors (thanking them properly), because I’m utterly incapable of it, and plus I don’t understand the regional accent at all. A simple question becomes difficult, and they also have specific vocabulary. My aunt, who is a doctor, also follows us remotely and prescribes medication for JB, while our friend-doctor V. also calls us regularly. JB is well surrounded, though very thin.

People who don’t understand why this situation seems so serious to us should imagine the state of a Vietnamese public hospital, and the fact that a European gets emergency surgery in a developing country.

JB and I won’t visit anything at all for a month; the only trips we allow ourselves are going to restaurants, the movies, and the spa. JB completely stopped working for his clients for a month and paused the law studies he had undertaken. It did JB a lot of good to play basketball at arcades and eat his favorite pizzas at 4P (the best pizza chain in Vietnam). The poor guy lost a lot of weight and, due to the absence of a gallbladder, will have to adjust his diet a bit.

Nha Trang is a seaside town that has become very touristy, but it remains one of my favorite cities in Vietnam. There’s a gentle atmosphere, energy-filled spots, and white sandy beaches stretching for about ten kilometers. Plus, the seafood is too, too good!

One evening, after a great meal at a restaurant, we feel the wind picking up and buy two ponchos from a small shop. A downpour starts right after, and after 15 minutes of waiting, the rain doesn’t seem to want to let up. In Vietnam, when it rains heavily like that, it’s not the rain that’s worrying, but the flooded streets. We know that if we wait too long, the streets will be way too flooded, and we won’t be able to get back on the scooter with so much water. So we decide to brave the rain to go home. It’s only a 15-minute ride, but it’s very dangerous because cars don’t slow down, and every time they pass, they splash even more water on us. It’s raining hard, and JB wears prescription glasses (not very practical). You absolutely have to ride in the middle of the road to avoid ending up in the sewers by accident (in heavy rain, the sewers are wide open, and you can fall in and die). It’s a road I know very well and know the exact location of the sewers, and when we were riding, the streets were barely flooded, but for you, tourists, don’t do the same!