Nha Trang

I’ve been here twice now and still love it – good, fresh food, warm ocean, mountains nearby. I always rent a motorbike, mask and snorkle and just take off for the day. Up or down the coast, inland, whatever. Stop where you want and buy a coke and become the center of attention. Pull off anywhere for some snorkeling, etc. Of course no one speaks english but you’ll get fed somehow. :)
One caveat – don’t assume ANY road rules or right-of-way. You’re smaller than everything else on the road and will be flattened without a thought.

This is such a great place to relax in the sun and take a break from the bus traveling.

As a Viet Kieu that has lived in the states my entire life, it was the most incredible experience going to Vietnam. My family is there..nuff said!

People are so caring and friendly, food is excellent and weather and water is beautiful in the summer. Don’t drink the water and bring extra meds for your tummy just in case, you won’t regret it. :-) Lunch for two costs us under 2 bucks. Can’t beat that!

The water is such a beautiful clear blue color.

It’s kind of touristy. That can be either good or bad depending on your point of view. After spending five days in the Central Highlands, it was nice to spend a couple of days in a place where you could find restaurants that serve Western food. Not that Vietnamese food isn’t good, it’s just nice to have something a little bit more familiar now and then.

We rented a boat and visited one of the nearby islands, strolled through the market, and walked along the beach.

The coastline is beautiful. We saw a number of fishing boats and fisherman’s houses around the islands.

One one of the islands you’ll find what appears to be a gigantic sailing ship made of out concrete. It is an aquarium. They charge a minimal admission to go in. The displays inside are nice, but nothing spectacular. The one thing that I did enjoy there was the view from the top of the “ship.” You could see out in many directions. The attached photo is one of the pictures that I took from there.

It’s very hot there. You need to protect yourself from the intense sun. Take lots of water.

Not only worth visiting but I want to move there when I retire. An American could live quite comfortably on social security in Vietnam. Your monthly check would still be more than most make in a year in Vietnam. It has been reported that American actor Don Johnson had been involved in a deal to build a resort there. I hope not but that’s the kind of potential this special China Sea bay area holds. I never did any scuba diving before and tried it for the first time in Nha Trang while with my Vietnamese wife. The water is crystal clear and I saw some colorful fish down about thirthy feet below. You can book a tour boat for scuba diving with lessons if needed like me or book a tour with a boat that just spends the day traveling around the giant bay. Our Vietnamese tour boat guides were full of good info and exciting entertainment. They served a wonderful feast for lunch. We were able to stop at several locations for swimming and at one point they had their floating bar stocked with none other than Vietnamese’s infamous “rice wine”. You’ll see many stills making this potent white lightning all over the countryside. We just bobbed, floated and swam around in the water while they served us all the rice wine we wanted. The sounds of sloshed tourists can be heard all over the bay as well as American “classic” rock and roll from the boats’ stereos. There are plenty of quiet places to visit as well for those not wanting to “party”. We stayed at the Rainbow hotel for $10-15 USD per night in 2000 and the room would have gone easily for $75 per night in the US. I had the fortune of being with my wife and she knew all the good places to eat. If you want more info, write and I’ll ask her where to go.

Sooo not worth it. . . unless you like seeing pagados and temples.