So I bought a bus ticket to Nha Trang, and I'd have to say, the drive over is stunning. The route goes along the new road, over a mountain pass. It reminded me a bit of Bolivia - except the road was paved, a lot wider, and the drop off the edge wasn't as steep. Here's a picture coming down the side of the mountain:
I really don't get the big deal about Nha Trang. And I've talked to quite a few people since I've been there who've said the same thing.
It's supposed to have this incredible beach, and is the beach resort of Vietnam - somewhere to rival the Thai Islands. But in the end, I found it disappointing.
The beach was nothing compared to the ones I went to in Oz, with clean water and fine clean sand. At Nha Trang, there were piles of rubbish on the beach, and at the north end, the water looked terrible. I'd been thinking of wind surfing but didn't fancy it after that. Although there wasn't enough wind when I was there to consider renting a board.
Sadly, I have to admit that I fell for a scam - only the second time ever :<( When I got off the bus, I headed off to find a place to stay, and a guy started telling me that there was this new hotel that had just opened, and was offering rooms for $8USD including: Sea View, Air Con, Cable TV, and Private Bathroom.
I've stayed in some really great new hotels offering these special opening deals in the past, so decided to have a look.
When I got there, the room didn't have any of the above, so I asked for another room, and they said they were full, but if I stayed one night, they'd let me have a great room for $8USD for the rest of my stay. I know...I should have walked away, but fell for it, and decided to stay.
That night, I was in the hotel lobby when someone walked in, asking for a room. The receptionist said no problem, they had lots of rooms, but they were $20USD per night. When the person walked away, the price dropped to $15USD but they wouldn't go any lower.
The room I ended up in had none of the features they advertise, and had a shared bathroom with cold water shower. Feeling rather frustrated, I decided to leave the next day, and just to make matters even worse - using their "standard exchange rate" the price of the $8USD room was actually $9.25. I know some places use a higher rate than the Visa rate, but this is the worst rate I've seen so far - by a long way. Luckily I had some spare dollars so didn't have to pay the extortionate rate for the room.
Not to worry - it was only for one night - so it wasn't really a problem - and I've stayed in far worse places on my trip. I know that the diving is supposed to be fantastic here, and I could imagine that this is one potential draw. But as I wasn't feeling that great I decided to pass on the diving, and having seen everything there was to see in one afternoon, bought a ticket on the night train to Hoi An. It turned out to be a good decision.
The cleanest section of beach I could find:
Fish drying on one of the beaches - the black line of "stuff" at the top of the pic is garbage:
Fishing Boat at Nha Trang:
A sculpture from the Cham towers:
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