A Tale of Two Coconuts

I arrived yesterday in Mui Ne, a nice beach town about 4 hours from Saigon. Today I hiked to the "Fairy Stream". The stream is only a few inches deep, so you can walk in the stream itself. The water is a deep red-brown, from the color of the soil, and intricately carved limestone structures. I didn't see any actual Fairies, but I felt sure they must live in these structures. There did seem to be something magical about the place.

Like many other places, there are kids nearby who run up to you and try to be your "guide" where no guide is necessary. They will walk with you for a while, and then expect to get paid for their "services". I usually dismiss them but this time I allowed a couple of kids (brother and sister) to "guide" me because they were cute and funny, and I played with them along the way.

As we were walking I heard a loud "THUD"! A coconut had just fallen a few feet to my right. I looked up -- there were coconut trees all around me, and there was a strong wind. If that coconut had fallen on my head it would surely be fatal. I recalled Newton's Laws and started to mentally calculate the speed of a falling coconut when I heard another "THUD" -- a coconut had just fallen a few feet to my left. I screamed and ran. My kid guides giggled and ran after me. We ran like that all the way to the "waterfall". I put that it quotes because it's really an abuse of the term to call it a "waterfall". It actually should be called "a little stream of water pouring over a few rocks".

When I returned back I paid my kid guides for their "services". I found they weren't that concerned with the amount, but the sister was adamant that she should not get less than her brother.

While the stream may have been fancifully named, I felt it was an enchanting experience nevertheless.