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Published: November 17th 2011
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Nha Trang – The calm before the storm and way too many air horns.
Sadly for the remainder of Vietnam I will be camera-less because I stupidly dropped it on the floor in my hotel and it smashed to bits, not happy! So all I have now is my phone so some of the photos are less than perfect and there are far less of them because I’m not very brave when it comes to getting my phone out over a river or valley without a strap to hold on to.
Nha Trang is known for its beaches and Islands and is the honeymoon location of choice for many locals. Sadly for me I seem to be chasing the rain around in Vietnam so conditions were not suitable for lying on the beach but there were still plenty of opportunities to kick back and relax.
The roads in Vietnam are crazy busy as mentioned in my previous blogs and it’s especially difficult for buses to negotiate the traffic meaning they tend not to exceed 60kph on a good stretch of road and will spend the whole journey blearing the world’s loudest air horn to warn the motorbike riders
Vietnam - Nha Trang
In the cable car to Pearl Island they are approaching, although normally on the wrong side of the road over taking something. At times it can be a little hair raising but the overriding effect of the noise after several hours drives you in sane. The next journey for me has to be a train because I’m hoping they have no need for a horn but I’m not holidng my breath, the motor bike is king out here and nowhere seems to be off limits???
The town of Nha Trang itself was very similar to many Vietnamese towns with its street side restaurants complete with mini plastic chairs and tables. However it does have a very modern sea front with lots of western style restaurants and high rise hotels. To be honest it’s almost like two towns in one, the sea front is very much for tourism and several blocks behind it is very much the local area. I have to confess I kind of preferred the local streets for passing the time in the evenings, the atmosphere and interaction was far more enjoyable, after all I can watch sky-sports and have a pint and a burger back home so don’t really want to be doing
that here. Give me steamed fish with random conversation any day.
Because the weather was not great during my stay here I took a few relaxing strolls along the beach and headed over to the most accessible of the islands called Vin Pearl. There is a cable car that takes you over to the island and the views are beautiful, sadly the island is a little too much like a Disney Land resort for my liking, but it seemed to be doing it for many of the Vietnamese tourist visiting.
Although I didn’t get to visit any of the other Islands which are meant to be stunning I still had a very chilled out time there chatting to the locals, taking in the scenery and generally just lazing around for a few days. It was exactly what I needed and I would love to go back when the weather is sunny to relax on the picture perfect islands and indulge in a bit of snorkelling. Maybe next time, but for now I still have great memories of a city with an absorbing atmosphere and super friendly people. As with all these experiences I have finally realised I need
to plan a little more in advance about my time of arrival in certain locations because the weather can limit the experience, it’s a fine balance between being care free with no agenda or having more of a plan to maximise the prime seasons to visit, I’m now swaying towards a little more planning ahead. And on the plus side maybe there will be no more natural disasters following me around.
Having said all off of this it was probably good that I had a relaxing few days because what was about to present itself at my next destination was anything but relaxing…………..to be continued!
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