13/01/2012 6:19 PM
So I'm an hour and 19 minutes into my flight. We should be preparing to land relatively soon. The flight itself is relatively empty perhaps on 50% full so ive got three seats to myself which is nice. I wish I was flying in during the day, but the sun has already set so any chance of seeing some views will have to be if and when I fly out. Other than that not much is new. I’m looking forward to my arrival.
Like a lot of other things in this country, Vietnam Airlines is a pleasure to fly with. Now, I know I was flying a domestic flight, but from my drop-off at the airport to being checked in and through security took less than ten minutes. Fast an efficient.
13/01/2012 9:32 PM
So I’ve pretty much just arrived in Nha Trang and my trip in from the airport was awesome. I got picked up in a 10 year old Toyota Landcruiser and drove along this coastal road for about 45 minutes. Wish it had been day to see it, but none the less it was pretty cool.
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| View of the Sea from my room |
At first glance I'm not entirely impressed. However, I am pretty tired and grumpy so much judgement is somewhat impaired. We will see what tomorrow brings. This place has turned and is in the processing of further turning into a serious tourist resort. Theres a Marriot hotel opening up on the mainstreet. I sampled the Sailclub for a beer tonight; its a really nice place, super relaxing and literally on the beach. But at 65k for a beer, its not for me. It weird, food is relatively cheap but alcohol seems to be expensive with cocktails at 120k. Its got a great view, but I do not think its going to be regular affair. I guess that is the price you pay for literally being on the beach. Tomorrow night I'm going to try a place called Guava Bar which is a few streets inland that seems to be more my style.
No much else to say. I will leave exploring the city until tomorrow.
14/01/2012 5:03 PM
Things sometimes just seem to fall into place and work out so well. I’ve just come back from spending the afternoon on the beach with Sarah and Polina and all I can say is that this place is quite special... however lucrative it may be.
So I got up this morning around 6:30 and left my hotel around 7 AM in search for something to eat. One needs to be careful in this town as there are two types of places, cheap or really expensive, and walking into the latter cause lead to some serious damage to the pocket. I finally found a place and spent 35k on an omelette, fresh bread, and some good iced coffee. Was pretty good for the cost! On my walk back to my hotel I was approached by a guide on a Vietnamese-styled Harley bike. He is a tour operated and I spent a few minutes talking to him. He gave me his card and we went our separate ways.
I later went out around 8:30 to head down to the beach and explore the rest of the town. However, I ran into him again and we ended up talking somemore and I was actually very interested in what he had to offer. We spoke for about 20 minutes about planning a tour inland by motorbike. This is something that I’ve wanted to do while in Vietnam but didn’t end up doing it up north because of the weather. However, the weather here is fantastic.
Our conversation ended in me getting on my first motor bike. Now, I must point out that I was happy doing this with him because it provided me with somewhat of a coach who taught me to ride. So I ended getting a Suzuki motorbike, top speed about 120km/h, for about 50k for the morning, plus the cost of petrol which was another 40k. These bikes are easy to ride as they are all automatic. All you have to do is press start.
As he was trying to solicit me into taking a tour with him, he spent about 3 hours this morning taking me on a private tour of Nha Trang – this was really cool. Now, I was a bit hesitant about signing on for anything serious with him as I am always somewhat skeptical about these guys, but I took the chance which was well worth it.
So I spent the morning with him touring the town, riding the coastal roads and seeing some pretty cool temples. Around 11:30 we stopped for coffee to talk about something more serious. I really wanted to do Mai Chau up north and the best way to do it is by motorbike, but I never got around to planning it as I had seen nearly enough of the north... at least for now.
So we ended up planning a two nights and three day tour inland which involve home stays, some beautiful coast roads and some really awesome sites and stop to see. I am spending the night of the 16th in a small village in a long-house (a traditional stay bamboo house) and the second night in Dalat. I had originally planned on staying in Dalat, but after doing a bit of research, I don’t think there is most there that warrants more than a day or twos stay. The whole trip is about 600km that we will do over two days. Now, as I was planning on doing a tour up north I had previously done some research into what something like this should cost which meant I ended up getting a pretty good deal. Now, I must point out that I am not going with a group. I am going with my own personal guide who is to arrange everything for me. I am incredibly excited and am seriously looking forward to it. As for the next two days, well I finally met up with Sarah and Polina.
So after my motorbike ride around Nha Trang I got back around noon and walked to A-mart, a western style grocery store with Vietnamese prices. I picked up some cheese, which is not so common in Asia, and some bread for 20k which sufficed as my lunch. When I got back to my hotel room I had an email waiting for me from the girls letting me know they have arrived. So I met up with them and we have spent most of the afternoon drinking and chilling at the beach. It really pays to start off a new city with a guided tour as it shows you all the local places. I am used to paying about 25k for my coffee in Hanoi, but I’ve found a local cafe that has it for 10k. Good coffee.
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| Day on the Beach - Fresh Crab Lunch |
So now I'm back in my hotel room. I think I will spend another two nights here, the two nights inland then perhaps head to Mui Be beach where all the surfing is. From there, I will head to Saigon for Tet as hotels fill up and transportation gets expensive.
So the sun just setting, and I'm watching a giant Cruise Ship go by in the South China Sea. This really is a beautiful place. That’s all for now.
15/01/2012 2:12 AM
So its 2 AM which makes it officially the latest I have stayed up since arriving in Vietnam. We had dinner at a pretty crappy place, probably the worst meal since arriving. It seems as though go food is very expensive in this town, so tomorrow I will opt to do what I did for lunch today – go to the local market and buy some food. I picked up a knife today so that I can buy some fresh fruit.
So we spent pretty much the entire evening on the beach. I actually spent most of the time in the water. Yes, I was swimming in the ocean. The water is warm and relatively clean. This place is beautiful and I am not looking forward to leaving but to be entirely honest there is not much purpose in being here for any other reason than what we did tonight. Was a fantastic, warm, and spectacular evening. Probably the most fun I have had since arriving.
Things are working out very well in Nha Trang and I like it here a lot!
Gnight!
16/01/2012 8:25 AM
So another morning in Nha Trang. I have cancelled my motorbike tour inland to save money and will be heading to Mui Be tomorrow morning for even more beaches. I am having slight issues finding a cheap place to stay in Mui Ne as it is Tet and this is a beach resort. So I'm hoping to have something figured out by the end of today before I leave tomorrow morning.
I have not been writing much in the last day, I'm still getting used to this heat and humidity and havnt been feeling all that great.
So I’ve pretty much spent the last two days on a beach. The water is so warm here and the waves are big and fun to swim in. My hotel room is kind of crummy but its clean at least and has a nice view of the ocean. There is not all that much to do in this place and I think four nights will have been plenty. Its a beach town with pretty much zero historical significance. So aside from sitting on the beach, there's not much to do here.
Mui Ne, my next stop a few hundred kilometres south will probably be much the same except their is surfing there. So I will be heading down south with Sarah and Polina and perhaps spend Tet there depending on the price and availability of hotels. Tet starts on the 23rd, so if we cant find anything in Mui Be we will go to Saigon where there is more an abundance of hotels.
So not much else new, have a few pictures of the beach, but nothing more spectacular that one would expect of this place. Gonna head to the beach pretty soon and cool off in the water
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