Last Night in Nha Trang

We were going to go to Hoi An tonight on the sleeper coach, but my shirts needed some adjustment so we thought we would stay an extra night in case they were not finished. I have collected them now and both the shirts and the suit look great! I asked what material the suit is made from, and it is a wool/cashmere blend, with pure silk inner lining.

Thap Ba Ponagar, Nha Trang

Tomorrow we are planning on getting a sleeper coach north to Hoi An, so we thought we should stop lazing on the beach and see the rest of Nha Trang that we hadn't yet explored. We went for another top breakfast, both me and Izzy had banana pancakes and a Lipton tea with condensed milk (which makes it really sweet). They serve tea in a tumbler! Time to get the fisheye lens out, it's been a while.

Happy Christmas from Nha Trang

Happy Christmas 2010! What a nice Christmas we've had so far... last night was really nice, we went out for dinner at Da Fernando's Italian Restaurant. Fernando, the guy that owns it, is an Italian. It's not the cheapest place in Nha Trang to eat, but it is so tasty. I had some bruschetta to start with carbonara for main, not forgetting the Saigon Beer, while Izzy had gnocchi for main and a Coke. Then we took a walk down to the beach, where masses of locals were all sat in groups having BBQ's. It was like a huge beach party.

Christmas Eve, Nha Trang Beach

Another Beach Day in Nha Trang

Nha Trang doesn't have a massive amount going on, but we like it, so we're staying until after Christmas. Another beach day today for us it is! The weather is still a bit overcast but the sun does break through occasionally. I have been loving the sea, while Izzy has been engrossed in her books. I did try and get some more photos today of the waves but still not quite getting the hang of it, although this one made the waves look huge...

Nha Trang

Nha Trang Beach

The weather started off a lot nicer this morning... blazing sunshine! So we got up, showered and went to our favourite cafe in Nha Trang for some breakfast where I had a ham and pepper omelette and Izzy had a french stick with jam. I'm addicted to the juice in this country because every restaurant/cafe make it in a blender with the fruit, no crap out of a carton.

After breakfast we went down to the beach to soak up the rays, and I decided to take a dip in the sea because I haven't been in it yet this whole trip. There is nearly no tide in Nha Trang, the waves are huge but they break right on the shore so when walking into the water it goes from ankle depth to crazy waves that wipe you off your feet in the space of a few metres.

I took my little fuji camera in the water with me to try and get some photos of the waves... I now have a massive respect for photographers that photograph surfers and the sea as it is so hard! Trying to concentrate on taking a photo, setting up the composition and pushing the button while the sea sucks you in and spits you out in the waves is nigh on impossible. I edited the photos a bit to try and make them look a bit more interesting because by the time I got some photos that you could actually make out the waves, the cloud came over so they all looked quite dull. Enjoy!

Nha Trang Beach

Mud Baths of Nha Trang

The weather still isn't scorching sunshine, so me and Isabella decided to visit the Mud Baths of Nha Trang. We read some reviews online that they were quite nice on an overcast weekday (apparently they can be too hot on a sunny day and too busy at the weekend). We jumped in a taxi as it's about 4 or 5 miles away. There are various options to choose from with various prices, we decided to treat ourselves and go for the top package which included a private mud bath, private mineral bath, massage, watermelon and bottled water, jacuzzi, and the swimming pool. The first stop is the mud baths which are deep wooden baths which they fill with warm muddy water for you. (Just before we came on our travels I bought a little Fuji water proof point-and-shoot camera which I took to the baths and managed to get some photos).

In the mud baths

6th Day in Nha Trang

We've been taking it pretty easy the last week really... eating, sleeping and chilling out! Over the last two days the weather hasn't been fantastic, quite overcast, but still warm enough to sit on the beach. Nha Trang has a few other bits we would like to do before we leave, like the Mud Baths and maybe visit some local islands, but we're thinking we might spend Christmas here so we have plenty of time.

There are a lot of people trying to sell you things on the street in Nha Trang, similar to other places we have already visited, but they try so much harder here! Yesterday we spent the day on the beach and were accosted every two minutes on average and they sit down next to you, get you talking and then try and sell you something. If you say no, they try and make you feel guilty about how they have no money and have kids to bring up. Although we're getting pretty good at ignoring them now and they start to recognise us and give up sooner. One lady yesterday had some tasty looking fresh fruit so we did buy a pineapple from her, and it definitely wasn't because she told us she had a big knife that she would use it to cut our toes off. She saw us again today and wouldn't give up, so I made a deal with her, I'd buy some bananas from her if I could take a photo of her!

Crazy fruit lady lent Izzy her hat...

Nha Trang

Me and Isabella have been in Nha Trang for 4 days now, so this morning we thought we would move and try out another hotel. Tide Hotel, where we had spent the last 3 nights was nice and clean and the staff were really pleasant people but its just a bit far out of town. We thought that the hotel being 4km's out of the tourist area might be quite nice as the beach would be empty, but there just isn't enough around. There wasn't many options for food, and I can only handle so much beef noodle soup for breakfast (a tradition here!). So we checked out and got a taxi to the tourist area which has a nicer beach with more amenities.

Nha Trang Beach

We've had some pretty good weather so far in Nha Trang, and some bad too! It was some of the worst rain I have ever seen when we arrived, but the last few days has been blazing sunshine. So hot in fact I got a little burnt, but then last night the heavens opened again. All the restaurants are open-fronted so we were sat eating dinner pretty much in the wind and rain, which was strangely quite fun. They parked the restaurant's van across the front to try and block some of the wind. Today is a bit grey but at least the rain has stopped, and it's still warm out.

817,000 Vietnamese Dong, or about £25 to you and me.

If you go back to my post about Patara Elephant Farm, I have added a video of the elephants playing the in the river! Click the link below to jump to the post.

Patara Elephant Farm

Arrived in Nha Trang

Yesterday afternoon/evening we had a fair amount of time to kill while waiting for our 9pm sleeper coach so we chilled out in the park, when three locals came up to speak to us as they wanted to practise their English. It was really good to have a chat with Lan, Coung and Ha and learn some of the culture in Vietnam.

Me and Isabella arrived in Nha Trang this morning after getting the sleeper coach last night which took ten hours and only cost about £4.25. This woman sat in front of me decided to completely recline her seat as soon as she got on the coach though, which meant her seat was right in my face, I couldn't even lean forward to reach into my bag her seat was so far back. After we got got going and the lights were dimmed so I reclined mine too! As usual I didn't sleep too well, so I caught up on that this morning once we checked into the hotel.

The beach outside our hotel in Nha Trang

Our hotel is good value and it's right on the beach... literally just walk across the road. It was raining this morning but had cleared up this afternoon, the next few days are meant to be good so hopefully we can chill out on the beach. I checked the weather everywhere in Thailand and Vietnam and it's raining everywhere so I don't think we can avoid it! This evening we went to a tradtional Vietnamese restaurant that Owen (the owner of our hotel) recommended, and both had beef noodle soup. Two drinks and two mains came to £1.80! I'm still amazed at how cheap some things are out here.