Nha Trang is one of the top tourist destinations in Vietnam for good reason. With lovely beaches, a theme park, plenty of delicious eateries, and over 70 islands nearby, there is plenty to do and see. So, when my friend Kim, who lives in Taiwan, said she wanted to come visit, we decided to check it out for ourselves.
We took the 11:00 train from Saigon, which arrived in Nha Trang at about 4:30 a.m. We were very tired and a bit hungry when we arrived, but otherwise in good spirits. Here we are on the train.
We booked a great hotel, Phu Quy 2, for US$35 a night, including breakfast. The rates are typically US$25 per night for two people. I would highly recommend staying here if you visit Nha Trang as it is very close to what seems to be the nicest part of the beach. After we checked in and dropped our stuff off, we headed to the beach to catch the sunrise.
Lots of people were already up and many of them were doing their morning workout. We saw an interesting badminton-like game that involves spinning, balance, and Tai Chi-like moves.
Kim and I spent the day at the beach while Doug went for his daily run. We rented beach chairs at the Luisiane Brewhouse, which seems to be the best location in that area. The food was a little more expensive than I'm used to, but they have real American lattes (yay!) and comfy chairs with a beautiful view of the ocean. This photo is of Doug and I at the beach pre-run for Doug and pre-relax for me.
The next day, we took a boat tour to some of the surrounding islands. We were a little disappointed to learn that the brochure had misled us: we didn't actually get to explore the islands, but rather docked the boat and floated near them for a bit. Oh well, I guess that's what you get for paying $6 for an entire day, including lunch. The photos below are of the boat harbor.
If you look closely, you can see the longest oversea cable car ride in the world. It extends from the island to the shore of Nha Trang.
Doug and I took a walk a into the wilderness area, but I decided to turn around and go back to the boat, for fear of being left behind (we were close to our hour limit on the island). Apparently, I had excellent foresight: not long after I left, Doug was nearly attacked by a pack of wild dogs. He had a standoff with them and, thankfully, wasn't harmed. Vietnamese dogs apparently hate him, because this happens rather frequently. The photo below is of the stairs that we took to the walking path.
After the aquarium, we got onto the boat and headed toward the next island, where we were to do some snorkeling. It was cold, though, so we opted for a glass-bottom boat.
After the boat tour, Kim, Doug, and I got out our books and read on the top deck, which was actually pretty pleasant. After that, we ate lunch: an assortment of seafood, including shark, plus rice and ostrich eggs.
We were then forced to come downstairs for the "entertainment," which ended up being a Vietnamese punk band. It was fun to watch, but too loud for my taste. Some lucky passengers snuck up to the top deck and hid.
Then, to top things off, they got out the "floating bar." Of course, they had the 12 year old set it up. The bartender served wine to people who were willing to brave the cold temperatures. We continued to read our books.
Finally, we stopped at an island that we could get out on! It was actually a pretty neat island in that there is no sand, but rather large, round, smooth rocks. We stayed there for an hour and had a really nice time reading and relaxing.
We ended up in Nha Tran proper around 5:00, checked out of our hotel, and headed to the Luisiane Brewhouse for dinner, drinks, and cards. We had about three hours to kill and it was a comfy place to spend our last few hours in Nha Trang. Our train left at 8:30, getting us into Saigon around 4:30 a.m. While we relaxed and waited to catch a cab, I took some photos of the pretty sunset.
Overall, Nha Trang was excellent. I loved it there and can't wait to go back.
