Beachside Nha Trang

A Typical Open Tour Bus
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February 7, 2006

Another travel day.  This ride from Saigon to Nha Trang, via Mui Ne, was fairly comfortable, and one nice feature was the lack of a deafening television playing video karaoke.  The stop over in Mui Ne was a nice, breezy lunch, and we had time to snap a couple quick shots of the beautiful beach.  From Mui Ne to Nha Trang the roadside views were just stunning, with dunes and mountains on our left and seascape vistas to our right, as we meandered up the coast.  We arrived in Nha Trang around 5:30pm and followed a tout to his hotel down a quiet alley, where we bargained for $4 per night for our best accommodations so far.

Urbanized Beachfront and Beautiful Islands

Coming into Mui Ne
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February 10, 2006

Our first gray day in Nha Trang we spent wandering around town, strolling along the beachfront walkway, and updating the blog.  The ongoing development here is quite astounding as even more mega-hotels are added to the giant ones already in place.  In fact, the city is mostly made up of such monsters, along with the bright lights and karaoke bars that line the streets.  The beach itself is more for looking at than using, in the style of many urban beaches.

Mui Ne Beach Resort: Lunch Stop
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Day two in Nha Trang we took a party boat tour of the four nearest islands.  Rising early, it started out as another gray day and quickly got worse.  The wind started blowing and the rain came pouring down just after boarding the boat, drenching us all.  Everyone managed to maintain good spirits, the few foreigners and the many Vietnamese tourists alike, including young children and elderly grandmothers.  It soon stopped raining and many of the passengers took a nice swim or snorkel.  Lunch was a family style affair with good food and some lighthearted entertainment afterwards.  The islands afforded some beautiful views at times in spite of the enshrouding fog, and we were able to catch a glimpse of some of the local island living.

Mui Ne Beach
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Our final day in Nha Trang, we split up for the morning.  Loren headed back out to sea, while Caroline spent a lazy morning wandering around town.  The weather was again sour, but the scuba diving was sweet, despite very low visibility and chilly waters.  Nha Trang is Vietnam's premier dive destination with good reason, and it would be wonderful to return someday during the peak season, when the water is warmer and crystal clear.  Life abounds underwater in the nationally preserved marine park, with amazing soft and hard coral formations along with other animal species unlike any Loren had seen before.   Some highlights for you divers out there included many morays, giant crabs, colorful nidibranchs and juvenile fishes, puffers, and oddly shaped sea stars and cucumbers.

Dunes Around Mui Ne
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Now off on a night bus to Hoi An.