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I don't think we will ever get used to hearing the alarm at 5.15, with a lot of grumbles and protest we were en route to the bus station. Nobody else was around apart from a local woman killing a chicken - good job we hadn't eaten breakfast already. A sleeper bus pulls into the station which means serious napping is to be done on the way to Nha Trang. To begin with there were only six of us on the bus but not to worry the driver was picking up the Vietnamese left right and centre to make up the money and the bus had soon reached its capacity. We arrived in Nha Trang at 6pm exactly let the hunting commence. Due to Tet (Vietnamese new year) drawing ever closer every hotel, hostel and guesthouse we walked up to was full, half the time we needn't bother going inside to find out as we were swatted away like flies. It was a real Mary and Joseph moment - doesn't anybody have a stable we can stay in? After 2 hours of walking with our heavy packs on and a brief stint at an internet cafe in the hope of booking
somewhere online our prayers were finally answered. An American points us in the direction of Phu Quy where they had a dorm of sorts. Three bunk beds and no floor space (the other occupants had emptied the contents of their rucksacks everywhere so pig sty probably fits better than stable) and absolutely no way to lock the door the other guys didn't even have a key, we just had to laugh but at least we had a roof over our heads. And thankfully the other guys in our room are really nice, we stayed up chatting and they told us we were in the hotel porter's room (poor guy).
Our first full day in Nha Trang we decided it needed to be a fun one after the perils of the night before. Following booking our bus to Ho Chi Minh and finding somewhere else to stay for our remaining time here we jumped in a taxi to Vin Pearl which is a theme park of sorts on an island just off Nha Trang (our room mates recommendation). To get there you go by one of the worlds longest cable carts across the sea. We queued for what felt like
forever but it was worth it, the view was cool if a little scary. We started at the water park so we would dry off before leaving at the end of the day. The wave pool was crazy, there was a lifeguard but you pretty much did what you wanted. Children in rubber rings crashing into each other, Kyle even got into a standoff with one particularly boisterous child. To balance out this madness a trip round the lazy river was in order except it wasn't very lazy with children and adults running circles around us. The slides were the most thrilling part no queuing (its not the done thing out here). Harriet and I definitely feared for our lives on several occasions and when on the Tsunami (the biggest slide at the park) we were sure we were about to fly off the other side. As it was a spontaneous decision we hadn't really thought about the fact that we would be soaking for the rest of the day so to try off we went to the aquarium. It was really busy people pushing everywhere and there was a queue for the big tank/tunnel so what we thought would
take a long time to get around took the best part of five minutes and we were all still soaked through. Our next bright idea was to whizz around on the fair rides to dry us off however a lot of the rides I took one look at and felt sick and I could also see others throwing up after getting off certain ones so I steered clear. The last ride of the day we queued for at least an hour and I'm still deciding whether it was worth it or not. It was cool because it was dark so once we got to the top we could see Nha Trang in lights and the cable cart was held up with mini Eiffel towers coming from the sea which were also all in lights it was very pretty however on the way back down the hill on the ride you control your own speed but if the person in front of you is on a go slow it's not much fun at all. We didn't want the fun to end there for the day so a few drinks were in order we started in my bar - Crazy Kim Bar
where we had two for one cocktails then it was on to Red Apple backpackers bar where we met some locals celebrating Tet, Kyle was even lucky enough to get a lap dance from one of our new friends. We then went on to Why not? bar where we captured the spirit of the name with cheap drinks and wild dancing to the early hours of the morning.
Needless to say our next day in Nha Trang wasn't as fun filled as the day before. Breakfast was an interesting affair Harriet and I having ordered beans with our breakfast were terribly disappointed. I'm unsure as to what they had done to them it involved chunks of garlic and herbs but we just couldn't eat them. Kyle had ordered a strawberry milkshake which looked and tasted toxic it really wasn't the one. We said goodbye to our "dorm room" and headed to our new hostel where we had our own hot shower and a door with a key so a definite upgrade.
Nha Trang is a beach town so it wouldn't have been right if we hadn't spent at least one day soaking up the sun before leaving. It
was quite chilly to begin with because of the wind there was a cool breeze the whole time we were there. We soon warmed up however and had lots of white on show which we previously hadn't had a chance to tan. The waves at the beach were amazing so big and powerful because of the wind everyone wanted to be in there jumping them including Harriet and I who really fear the sea. I also tried Rambutan fruit today for the first time, they look so bizarre red and spiky skin which you have to use some muscle to get off you wouldn't think they were edible but they were delicious and we got through the whole pack. While on the beach none of us felt particularly hot thanks to the constant breeze, little did we know we were burning. After the damage had been inspected the verdict was we resembled three lobsters which is never a good look and made the rest of the evening terribly uncomfortable.
Our last full day in Nha Trang we could not spend on the beach it was an absolute no no looking the way we did after yesterdays slow cook so
it was off to Thap Ba spa (recommended in the lonely planet). It was really far out from the centre of Nha Trang and it's pretty overwhelming when you first walk in and none of us are sure what to ask for. A communal mud bath was suggested and for £4 it included a mineral shower, a mineral mud bath that the three of us shared for the recommended 15 minutes, a mineral water bath and swimming in a mineral water pool. It was a brilliant deal. The mud made our skin so lovely and soft and it didn't irritate our sunburn. I didn't want to get out and the local children next to us were clearly loving it as they were pouring it over their heads and rolling around in it. While we were in the pool we were surrounded, all the Vietnamese were asking us questions trying to practice their English it was really fun but eventually we had to get out because we were so cold. Despite having a shower at the spa we still all left with mud here there and everywhere but it was such a good day out and a real bargain you couldn't go wrong and it was a great end to our stay in Nha Trang which started so badly.
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