Nha Trang - Beach Fun!

Okay I am going to do my best to condense 3 fun days into one travel blog......

Firstly - WE HAD SUN IN NHA TRANG!! - this was very exciting. When we left Hoi An it was raining and overcast, we had been told it wasn't going to be that great in Nha Trang either but they were well wrong!

We arrived in Nha Trang very early - 7am as we had caught the sleeper bus from Hoi An the night before. The sleeper bus had been pretty horrendous if truth be told. Up 'til now we had had pretty good experiences in the overnight transport, but this bus was grubby, with little ventilation, too many people crammed on it (we saw people sleeping on the floor) and a very bad bus driver who clearly didn't know which side of the road to drive on and how fast you should go over speed bumps. I say this not to worry our Mums (don't worry Mums we are fine) but just because we had been so impressed up until now. We were pleased to get off it I can tell you.

So - we had the whole sunny day in Nha Trang ahead of us - and two more after that. We were very perky despite our lack of sleep and just wanted to get our swimming cossies on and hot foot it to the beach (which is exactly what we did!). Our hotel, I have to mention - the Duy Hung - was very nice. So Day 1 we pretty much lazed about on the beach, drank cocktails (well singular really) at the Louisianna (only so that we could use their pool!) and then when the sun finally started to fade we returned to the hotel to get changed and head over to the Long Son Pagoda. The pagoda (we were getting experts now - seen so many) was nice and the best part was the humungous (spelling - Mum?) white Buddha statue sitting at the top of the hill. We climbed all the steps to the top and then admired the view over Nha Trang - in the dusk. It was pretty spectacular. Our bellies were hungry though (sea air?) so we tore ourselves away and headed to a 'Lonely Planet' recommended restaurant. It was fantastic value for money! I ate a 3 course meal for about 1 dollar (50p) - and it was gooooood!

I have to start a new paragraph now - because I want to mention 'Krazy Kim's' - the cocktail bar we stumbled upon after our meal. We were a bit naughty really and spent more than we should have, but here are my excuses:...the cocktails were buy 1 get 1 free; the pool table was free; we met some cool (slightly drunk) aussie and english travellers. So it would have been rude not to stay long. We found our way back to the hostel at around 1am - after a great night.

Day 2 - poorly heads. Late wake up. So at about 11.30am we ventured out of our hotel, found a nice cafe to have some breakfas...no sorry lunch in and then hired some bicycles. We planned to visit the much acclaimed Thap Ba Hot Spring Centre about 4 kilometres up the coast. We were going to have MUD BATHS!! Woohoo. It was so much fun - the day was boiling hot, we got to the Spa (which was set in the most beautiful hill side location) and then were allocated our very own mud bath (we have pics!). It was a bit weird jumping in to a tub of mud but we were told it was good for our skin - and it was something a bit different so we went for it. Quite cool really - you actually float in it. It was also warm mud so it didn't feel too icky. After this we got showered (mud sticks!) and then jumped into a thermal mineral pool. It's a hard life. The pool was amazing - it was warmer than our body temperature, and there were little waterfalls and fountains everywhere to cool off under. All in all a great day. We topped it off by having another "LP" recommended meal and a stroll across the beach in the evening.

Day 3 - another late wake up, and more bikes hired. This time, we headed down the coast about 3 kms to the port and then to the Oceanographic Museum, which is housed in a huge French building. In itself the building was fantastic, with balconies, pillars, shutters and nice grounds. The sea life was also extremely interesting. In the different sections there were; live fish (stingrays, exotic coral fish and small sharks); skeleton of a humpback whale (massive); bottled eels,fish, water snakes...all kinds of things floating in phameldahide...the hall looked a bit like a science lab with about 20 rows of shelves floor to ceiling high with bottled sea life and then a bit about the history of some old ships, submarines etc.

Feeling suitably educated, and a bit grown up - we headed to the waterpark for some juvanile fun. And it was so much fun. Dale and I pretty much had the water slides to ourselves for 2 hours. The waterpark is set right on the beach and is the perfect way of cooling off on a hot day. The slides are so much fun. It wasn't until the park was about to close that we finally dragged ourselves away. We spent the last hour of daylight lying on the beach and watching the sun go down. Then of course - food - this was our last night in Nha Trang (before we head to the hills of Dalat) and food had been a major part of each day. Choosing which restaurant to go to, then what to pick from the menu - deciding whether to go for seafood or noodles or meat dish - this is the life.

We enjoyed Nha Trang - despite its ever so touristy feel. Some people hate this, but for 3 days sandwiched between a couple of more cultural, historical cities - for us it was just what we needed. Lots of fun, good weather, great food and nice people.

Bliss.

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