Vietnam Blog Part 2 - Nha Trang
Despite only spending 2 days in Nha Trang we did so much here that I felt it deserved it's own post. So here we are in Nha Trang...
Nha Trang.
Sleeping on the train was a lot easier than expected, the beds were relatively comfortable and the air-con meant that I slept cold instead of hot (which suited me fine). We were up at 4am to get off the train at Nha Trang at 5am, our wake up call was some Vietnamese music which initially terrified me!
We got to Nha Trang, had breakfast and went for a day of snorkelling. This was an incredible trip! The boat stopped at Hon Mieu island (a fishing island) before snorkelling.
(Above: Hon Mieu Island)
(Above: The fruit stalls at the landing port in Hon Mieu)
(Above: Dried fish are a big thing in Vietnam, this is the drying process happening in Hon Mieu)
We got to understand their day to day lives, visit some of the fishing families and spent time with some children at a local day care center.
(Above: One of the fishing families we visited. The right-hand picture shows the wives making the nets by hand for their husbands to take fishing)
(Above Left: A local shop keeper we met; Above Right: People going about their daily lives)
(Above Left: The local children eating our treats)
(Above Left: Showing one of the children the photo's I had taken of them - below left)
This was beyond amazing and was one of my highlights for sure!! I loved exploring the local area and meeting the local people. The children were extremely genuine, cute and so excited and interested to speak with us.
We then got a bamboo boat to a fishing float where our guides had just collected the seafood for lunch to get back on our boat.
Once on the boat we went for our first snorkeling session, before lunch accompanied with cocktails made by our instructor.
(Above Left: The snorkeling squad; Above Right: Snorkeling)
(Above: The food on the boat)
The food and drink was amazing and the instructor was taking us to some amazing spots for sea life spotting. After returning on the mainland in Nha Trang, with a slight case of sea legs, we went back to freshen up and then went for dinner at the street market and then drinks at an amazingly fun bar called "Why Not Bar".
(Above: The past midnight group)
We got buckets of cocktails and danced all night, it was such amazing fun and the first night we stayed out past midnight. We did get super lost on our way back to the hotel which was an ordeal, but after an hour of going the wrong way we eventually found it and rolled into bed.
The next morning we were up bright and early to get a visit to Thap Bar Temple in before a trip to the mud baths.
(Above: Being a typical tourist)
(Above: Thap Bar Temple and the view)
(Above: Rocking my temple cover-up)
We continued our busy day with a trip to the mud baths, which was so much fun! Being so pasty and pale, our group drew a lot of attention and photo opportunities.
(Above: The mud baths and my travel group)
After this we explored Long Son Pagoda & The White Buddha to add a cultural element to our day. The Long Son Pagoda was tranquil even though it was under-development.
(Above: The Long Son Pagoda)
From the Long Son Pagoda, we climbed some stairs up the side of the pagoda to the Reclining Buddha and up some further steps to the White Buddha.
(Above: The reclining buddha)
(Above: The White Buddha)
(Above: Inside the White Buddha)
(Above: The view of Nha Trang from the White Buddha)
From the White Buddha you can see over Nha Trang, which is a glorious view and the buddha itself. There are just over 150 steps to get to the 24 meter tall White Buddha, that is sat atop a lotus pad. We had dinner at a restaurant across from our hotel called Tasty, which did some amazing Vietnamese food with the additional western dish, which we were coming to need. We then went straight to the station to get the overnight train to our next stop...Hoi An.