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Published: March 26th 2010
Petrol for sale!
These green bottles are everywhere on the roadside as everyone runs out of petrol all the time....convenient!Nha Trang 10th -11th March
Having not booked digs ahead this time we took the easy option and booked into the hotel where the bus spat us out. For $10 it was clean and comfy, excellent value and nicely situated but unfortunately neither of us has a card or can remember the name of the place!! Nha Trang is the seaside city famous for its beaches used by US forces for R&R. It has a good reputation which we think it deserves. The sea front is nicely set out with wide boulevards and walkways and great eateries line the beachfront roads; especially good on Biet Thu.(Try the claypot fish dishes they are unbelievably delicious and great value..) The beach is good but unfortunately for us the weather was not and after our snorkelling trip was cancelled due to high winds and the sky was dull and leaden we decided to make this a one night stop. We strolled along the windlashed beach, relaxed a bit, drunk some coffee and walked up to (yet another) Budha which is huge and white and can be seen from all over town. After an amusing motorcycle taxi back to the hotel we prepared for
Nha trang beach
Just look at those clouds the last night bus of our open ticket, a 10 maybe 12 hour jaunt down to Saigon or Ho Chi Minh City.
Anna: Really liked this place even though it was a quick stop. If the sun had been shining it would have been an excellent rest stop, lovely beach, great food, good nightlife, lots of choice and cheap ! We realised when we arrived, after unpacking our things that neither of us had the charger for the laptop....hmmmm we could only think that we had left it plugged in the wall of that last hotel room. After numerous calls to the hotel, it transpired that they couldn't find it, yeah right so spent the best part of that first day trawling through the streets of Nha Trang trying to find a charger.....no joy. On the other hand we had a really good look at the town! Would definitely recommend stopping in Nha Trang.
“Save the best for last” - unfortunately not the case this time! Another wretched coffin bus and another bloody horrible sleepless night that found us dumped on the busy Bui Vien in district one of Saigon at somewhere just before 7am.
Travel
Big waves
Good job our snorkelling was cancelled! note - open bus ticket - while there seems not be a reasonably priced flexible alternative to travel Hanoi to Saigon or vice versa and to visit the “must see's” on the way, our experience was 3 abysmal journeys out of 4. The service and attitude of the staff especially on the northern legs was poor and even the southern legs which were staffed slightly more professionally saw mad scrambles to retrieve luggage in far from safe and comfortable situations. I would seriously worry about travellers who may be slightly frail by nature or in stature as baggage loading and reclaim is chaotic and hard work at best. Flying is an option as Da Nang has an airport and so is the train ($35 from Hanoi to Hue) although some travellers have said that the service at times is not much more comfortable than the buses especially at busy times such as holidays etc. If you are a patient midget the bus is fantastic!
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