A Weekend Away - Nha Trang

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Just back from a lovely weekend in the beach resort of Nha Trang. We just missed the tail-end of the Typhoon Durian which cost many lives in the Philipines. Even a couple of days before the storm was due, waves were battering the coast. Spectacular waves stopped us having too much water fun. It's hard to gauge but I suppose the waves would have been 3 or 4 metres high. Our friend, Chris, has the friction burns to prove it!

Anyway, how refreshing it is to get out of Saigon again. So easy too. A Friday night train at 11pm and we arrived 5.30pm next morning after a decent sleep and ready to hit the sights. Left for Saigon Sunday night and arrived Monday morning at just before 5am! We did get the most of the weekend this way althouh it was a bit tiring.

Nha Trang has plenty to see although it's reputation is built on it's city beach and trendy bars and restaurants. There are things to see here too. We sat on the beach for a while but hired a motorbike for a day for less than two quid to see as much as we could. Cham ruins, photographs, temples and statues are all within easy reach. We'll just have to hit the hot springs and diving on our next trip. Our planned boat trip on Sunday was cancelled due to the coming typhoon.

There is a great choice of food here. If you like fish and BBQs, then you are in for a treat. The veggies are catered for more or less too. We had a nice Turkish meal here on the Sunday but had the choice of Japanese, Indian, Italian, French and more. The fruit salad at Cafe des Amis was similar in scale to the famous hill on which the lovely Buddha statue was perched in town!

It is true though what they say: a rest is as good as a change and an army marches on its stomach.

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Photos

Reclining Buddha, Nha Trang
This Reclining Buddha has beautiful glass orbs in the third eye position and also on the top of the head. Really exquisite,

A Burning Desire
Cham Towers, Nha Trang.

Wildlife, Nha Trang
The babies will either be cogs or dats.

Original Features
The Cham Towers are a poor shade of their past glory but they do retain a nice energy.

Sof, Buddha and Pagoda, Nha Trang
There's more statues of the Buddha than any other figure in history. This one floats above the city similar to the Jesus in Rio.

Resting Place
A local told us that 20000 people have their last remains buried in rows lik ethis around the statue.

Sofie and Kris
Karlie and Kris: We'll miss you crazy kids. I'll always remember how you talked so loco and how much we liked it!

Surf's Up, Nha Trang
Pre-typhoon Durian. All boat trips were cancelled before the storm hit land two days later.