Nha Trang (train from Saigon)

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A long train journey – then we find a beach party

Yesterday’s 8am start did nothing to prepare us for today’s 5am wake up – thankfully I remembered to phone RD’s room otherwise I’d have been travelling to Nha Trang alone.

We had chosen air-conditioned, soft seater tickets, which other than the soft sleeper tickets, are the best available, costing around £7.50 for the 7.5 hour trip. The journey allowed time to rest, and to take in some of Vietnam’s rural scenery, which is picturesque to say the least. I particularly liked how some villages working in the fields would give a friendly wave to the westerners watching on as we passed by.

There were other aspects of the journey that I won’ t miss – neither of us was prepared for what lied behind the door marked WC – essentially, a hole in the floor between two foot plates, with a foot pedal for a flush.

After what felt like an age, we arrived in Nha Trang a little after lunchtime, welcomed by a sea breeze that kept the temperature down slightly. Nha Trang is a popular Vietnam beach resort, undergoing some major hotel developments – the place will be unrecognisable in a few years, no doubt as much as it is today from what it was 10 years back.

Many of the restaurants and bars are empty as we venture out in the evening, however after a little more exploration, we found a series of places that had progressively more people in them. The staff at the venues were friendly and keen to learn about us and out travels, especially as many of them are unable to afford to travel across their own country, let alone abroad.

We ended the night as many do, in one of the resort’s few late night venues, the Sailing Club. Initially unsure what to expect given a few scare stories we heard on the web, we were relieved to find a place that was packed with people from the world over, all intent on enjoying this energetic party on the sea front.


Nha Trang provided us the opportunity to just sit on the beach and switch off completely, something that you don’t really do in busy cities such as Bangkok or Saigon. The sea was warm and the waves deceptively powerful, but enjoyable nevertheless.

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