Nha Trang (7/13-7/15)

Read below for our account of our three days at the Vietnamese beachside resort of Nha Trang.
And for photos, click here.

Daniel

Welcome to Nha Trang, a beach side respite compared to the hustle and bustle of Saigon. After a short thirty minute flight from Ho Chi Minh, we arrived in the beach town of Nha Trang. This is THE destination for Vietnamese vacationers looking for hot sun and sweeping tracks of sandy beach. We checked into the Ana Mandara Resort for three days of rest and relaxation.

The first couple days in our sea side villa we spent relaxing by the beach side pool reading books and trying our hand at Su Doku (a simple numbers puzzle that has become an addictive game). The resort was very accommodating. Upon checking into our room we learned there was a "pillow menu" where we could each request a special pillow for turn down service. The menu had two pages of sizes, shapes, materials, and scents. Needless to say, we slept very well during our stay here. We also treated ourselves to a nice afternoon massage at the beachside spa. It was the first time both of us ha a Vietnamese massage which includes the use of glass jars that are suctioned to the back and quickly popped off.

On the third and final day we took an half day excursion to the many offshore islands. Our first stop was Mun Island, which has been declared a national marine park. Expecting pristine waters and abundant marine life, I jumped into the chilly China Sea for some snorkeling. Kimberly stayed on the board according to her strict requirement - the seabed must be visible & no one can talk about sharks :) I lasted for roughly only ten minutes before realizing that the "prime" snorkeling spot also acted as the main passage for all the tourist boats circling the small island's coastline. After having a glass bottom boat blare its sea horn in my direction, I had enough marine life for the day. Later we sped over to Hon Mieu Island where a fish hatchery pretends to be an aquarium. The entrance was a giant sized lion fish and the main fish tanks were housed in a pirate ship facade. At the end of the tour we did see some sea turtles in an outdoor pool. Finally, we went to Hon Tre, or Bamboo island for some relaxing and a seafood lunch (yum yum...luckily there was some tofu and pork floating in the soup.) The funny thing here was watching all the Vietnamese women who had come up from Saigon for the weekend...they were all dressed rather inappropriately, attempting to navigate the rocky shoreline to get to the pier in their high heels. It was a rather amusing sight.

After our three days here, we left feeling very well rested...and ready for some serious sightseeing and shopping in Hoi An!