Fri 17 Mar
9 .30 pick up from the GH for the 11 Futa bus to Nha Trang. Was an older sleeper bus this time so the same seats #’s booked actually weren’t so good and had to share with 2 others.. recliner part of chair broken so luckily bus not full and I moved to another seat – right by the window so I could look out at the scenery. We travelled through the Ngoan Muc Pass which is about 50km SE of Dalat. Ended up sitting next to a Canadian guy, Robert from Calgary. Retired schoolteacher who used to mainly teach outward bound and outdoor courses, and now travelling around Vietnam mainly staying in Air B & B homestays to get to know locals. Chatted most of the way to him – took my mind off the twisty road – kept munching to keep nausea at bay! He switched seats with his girlfriend, Pat, who was a nurse but now working in an admin role and so chatted with her too. Arrived mid afternoon and amid confusion at not knowing if we got the hotel transfer this time – and taxi driver trying to persuade Pat to go with him – we managed to work out the locals were all getting into a minibus so we insisted we get in too – it was the minibus transfer service but they weren’t going to tell us – dragged Robert & Pat along even though no seats and had to sit on bags – it worked out fine and we got dropped at our hotel first! One street back from the beach – perfect location . Thien Truc Guest House CA$45 for 2 nts. Yuen welcomed us – so friendly and accommodating and making sure we are happy! Dumped bags – up 5 flights of stairs – oh well think positive – good exercise! Changed into cool clothes and went for a walk to see a bit of the beach front area. Nha Trang is on a wide sweeping crescent shaped beach, reminiscent of Durban’s beachfront area 20 years ago! There are groups of islands dotted around in the bay and you look over and see an island with Vinpearl written on the hillside, with a cable car connecting to the mainland (theme park!). Perfect place to walk along the promenade and luckily a breeze coming off the ocean as very hot! Later learnt that the mornings are calm but winds pick up after lunch! We noticed many Russians around and by the end of the stay we had heard that about 14 direct flights come in from various regions of Russia and the whole beach front area is monopolised by them. Menus are all in English & Russian! Found a café to sit and have a bite to eat in, parked ourselves under a fan and watched the world revolve around us! Lovely to walk along promenade . For dinner tried to get into “Lanterns” recommended by LP but by the time we got there was a huge line-up! Amazing…so found a random street food place called “Cheap Eats” and had a pretty non descript meal!

Sat 18 Mar
Day for getting some exercise so set off to firstly search for breakfast place. Took forever to find somewhere with fruit & yoghurt on menu as I had a craving for a more healthy option. Found a mall with coffee shop outside and bulldozed Alan to forgo his usual eggs for breakfast! When the order arrived it came in a fancy glass with a straw and loads of ice on top. Queried it, but was what we ordered – so picked out all the ice and ended up being fine underneath this icy blanket! Set off north on the promenade to find our way, over bridges to get to the Po Nagar Cham Towers. Very pretty scenery around the bridges with boats and islands and the ancient Cham Towers peeping through the trees on the hillside. These 4 towers were built between 7th – 12th C and still actively used by Cham, Chinese & Vietnamese Buddhists . The central tower was built from recycled bricks from the 7th C and is more finely constructed. Very attractive sight to visit and wander around – with great views from the knoll over the river to the sea – some stunning hotels built on islands in the river delta. So hot but decided to walk back along a different route – much more local – also found the market and had a look there for a replacement for one of my t-shirts that was looking very grubby by now! Leisurely rest of the day, mosing around – too hot for the beach – managed to get into the “Lantern” restaurant for dinner as we set out early and had a great set menu! Very tasty – no wonder there were such long lines and it is a fairly big place too! Also popular with many Chinese groups!