Travelling through Vietnam - Nha Trang

After our travelling in Hanoi, Ninh Binh, Hué and Hoi An, we were looking forward to going somewhere a bit different, a break from visiting cultural and historical buildings! However, the 11-hour journey to get there was not very pleasant. We were the only foreigners on a bus packed full of Vietnamese people. It seemed they had put an extra bus on for the Tet festival as it was starting very soon. 

The main issue with the bus was that it didn't have a working toilet and that the driver didn't like to stop. In fact, it was like this on all the buses we travelled on after Ninh Binh. A perfectly acceptable toilet stop seemed to be stopping on the side of the road somewhere, which may have been fine for any males desperately needing to go but not for the ladies! There was one actual toilet stop in the whole 11 hours. On the way to Hoi An, I tried to get off the bus at a station in Da Nang to use the loo but there was a queue and I turned around to see the bus doors closing. I went back to the bus and banged on the door. I told the driver what I wanted to do but he refused to wait and said that I would have to wait until Nha Trang. A similar thing happened when ladies wanted to go to the toilet on the way to Ho Chi Minh later on in the journey and tried to get off at Mui Ne. There were also no stops for food on the Hoi An - Nha Trang journey like there had been on previous buses we'd taken.

It was a relief to finally arrive in Nha Trang and find our hotel. We dumped our stuff in our rooms and quickly went out to get some food as we were really hungry from not eating during the journey. We grabbed a banh mi each from a street seller. This became our favourite street food in Vietnam. It is basically a sandwich made with French-style bread. Vietnam was a French colony, the French introduced the baguette in the country.The filling can be various different kinds of meat with salad such as cucumber. Usually very tasty and cheap! Living in China, we didn't get very much bread, so it was nice to be able to get bread so easily. We then went to a Western-style bar to eat pizza. We thought we deserved a treat! We then went to a travel agent to book a tour. During the festival all tours stopped running so we decided to book one for the next day, the last day before the holiday. We chose to do the 4 island tour which began early the next morning.

So, the next day we were up bright and early waiting outside the travel agent for the bus to take us to the tour. The 4 island tour is a boat trip that goes to "4 islands" off the coast of Nha Trang. What they don't tell you is that you actually only visit 2, one of which you have to pay to enter, and the other you have to pay to visit the aquarium on it. Despite this, we had a really enjoyable day. It was a "party boat" and our guide was great. He was a man probably in his late 50s - early 60s but who thought he was still 21! Such a character. He made sure that everyone was having a good time as he handed out the beers (at a price, of course). 

Alex and Chloe with their life jackets on, ready to go

The first island was the aquarium island. Some of the group paid an entrance fee and had a look around while the rest of us stayed on the boat. We had decided that we weren't that interested in going to see some fish and pay yet more money! The second island was where we went snorkelling. I had never been snorkelling before and enjoyed it once we got into it. Unfortunately there weren't very many fish to see though.

Chloe and I on the roof of the boat at the first island

Snorkelling at island no. 2

The third island was where we stopped for lunch. We all moved to the sides of the boat and the benches, where many of us had been sitting, were transferred into one long table which was covered by a table cloth. The food was then dished out, a feast of Vietnamese delicacies including spring rolls and rice. It was one of the best meals we received as part of a tour package. This was then followed by entertainment. "Vietnam's best boyband" performed, consisting of the tour company workers, one of them dressed as a lady boy. They also got people from different countries to go up to the front a sing a typical song from where they were from. All a bit of a laugh! The last activity at island 3 was a floating bar. A barman with some disgusting orange liquid containing alcohol went out into the water and we were provided rubber rings to go out as well and drink. Probably not great health and safety...

Lunch

"The best boyband in Vietnam"

Lady boy of Nha Trang

Floating bar (minus the bar, that's to the right somewhere)

The 4th island was as uneventful as the first as you had to pay to enter the island. It looked like what you were paying for was to sit in a sun lounger by the beach so, again, we decided to stay on the boat. When the others came back, it was time for the boat to return to Nha Trang. There were lots of nice views along the way. 

Floating village

On the way back to Nha Trang

That evening we went to find the travel office and book our bus to Mui Ne. We also booked to go to the mud spa the next day but we found out, after much confusion with the non-English-speaking hotel receptionist, that the our day trip had been cancelled. We went out that morning anyway to see if we could go with another tour operator and thankfully found somewhere who could do it. The mud spas are famous in Nha Trang and it was nice to have a day of relaxation for a change. We had a really enjoyable day showering in mineral water, bathing in the mud (which is supposed to be good for your skin), bathing in mineral water and swimming in the mineral water pools. 

Bath time!

The mud made you float

Mineral water shower

Waterfall

That evening was the start of the Tet festival so we went out for a few drinks to celebrate. There were fireworks down by the beach to celebrate the occasion. 

After much thinking, we decided that we neither had the time nor the money to justify going to Mui Ne. We had originally planned to spend 12 hours there but when we looked to find somewhere to stay, it was all out of our budget. We asked the bus company if we could change our journey to go all the way through to Ho Chi Minh instead. They agreed but made us pay a fee which seemed strange as it was the same bus doing the whole journey! 

On our last day we hired scooters and went out to a beach an expat lady had told us about. It is called Long Beach in English and is about 20km south of Nha Trang. I have to say, I wasn't very keen on the idea of the scooters, it just seemed that we were too exposed to the other traffic. Clearly not a biker girl! It was a good way to get around and see the area though and Alex and Chloe enjoyed it! Long Beach was definitely worth going to. It was quiet with few people but probably won't be 20 years or so down the line once it's been developed. It's beautiful. We had some lunch at the only western restaurant (so that we could use their toilets!) and relaxed in the deck chairs and hammocks. It was a lovely day and great end to our time in Nha Trang. That evening we took our final bus ride to Ho Chi Minh.

Chloe on her bike

Just some passing traffic

Beautiful view

It's a hard life

Enjoying the deck chair!

Long Beach

Long Beach