Last Tuesday I packed up and boarded a plane for Nha Trang, a coastal town quickly developing into a resort and tourist city. I could have stayed a bit longer in Ho Chi Minh City as there was plenty more to explore there however I am happy I’ll be staying in Nha Trang for most of my time in Vietnam. Nha Trang isn’t as chaotic as Ho Chi Minh City plus with the beach across the road from my hotel, it’s much more laid back. Nha Trang is very touristy however it still has a lot of authentic Vietnamese attractions as well. Many of the tourists here are Russians away on holiday. Everything here is written in Vietnamese and Russian, English, or all three. This makes for an interesting blend of cultures to explore and much of my time has been spent going for walks along the beach just people watching.
I have gotten out for a couple tours here and there. Thursday I boarded a dive boat with Rainbow Divers and we set out for a couple dives around the Island of Hon Mun, a marine park established in 2003. I wasn’t expecting the diving to be as good as what I had just experienced in Palau but I did expect slightly better visibility than what we ended up with. On our first descent, we had about 15 foot visibility. Turns out once the rain returns to Vietnam all the runoff from the dry season makes for some pretty murky waters. I was able to see some sea life here and there. The reef life here is pretty similar to what I had seen in Palau, there was just a lot less of it. Fishing certainly is a factor for this however the two biggest impacts on the reef here include a fresh hit from a hurricane last year and an abundance of crown-of-thorns starfish. I had first heard of crown-of-thorns in Palau where they are also a problem. This starfish is pretty nasty; they feed on coral and due to their increased numbers have been damaging reefs across the Indo-Pacific. Their spines are also poisonous and can ruin a trip if you’re poked by one.
The crew from Rainbow Divers were a lot of fun and I had a great time chatting with them on the trip. A number of them were getting ready to head to Phu Quoc where their dive season is just getting started. Apparently the season for diving in Nha Trang was just ending. If I had arrived a couple weeks earlier I would have had much better visibility. That said, I had been in Palau a couple weeks earlier and had much better diving there anyway so I guess in the end I can’t complain.
Friday, I met up with my Aussie friends Steph and Maddy again for their Nha Trang stop as they headed north. I had a great time with them as we lounged around at a beach-side pool most of the day then ventured into the city for dinner, drinks, and some karaoke. It was a blast hanging out with them and I’m sad they’re already off to their next destination in Vietnam.
Today I lounged around a bit more and in the afternoon made my way to Po Nagar, an old Hindu temple here in Nha Trang. The temple, founded sometime before 781 C.E., has gone through many changes and restorations over the years. Currently it enjoys a healthy flow of tourists and worshipers stopping by for a visit. I’ll likely go back for another visit later this week since I found out my camera battery was dead when I got there. I still enjoyed my time at the temple and apart from the intricate shrines I got to see a group of Vietnamese women perform some kind of dance with fans and ceramic pots balanced on their heads; a feat I am certain I would not be able to pull off myself.
I have five more days in Nha Trang before I take off for Chiang Mai, Thailand. I’m enjoying my time here; the food is great and life by the beach is pretty relaxed. I plan to venture out to Vinpearl Land at some point. It’s a huge theme park I’ve been looking at located on an island across from the hotel I’m staying at. Should be a fun trip; to get out there you take a gondola over Nha Trang Bay. More on that in the next post!