Ra Ra Nha Trang

Feeling the need for some beach time after getting rained out at Cua Dai beach in Hoi An, we boarded the southbound train to Nha Trang. The ride was mostly uneventful, and I think the chicken who rode in the 1st class cabin we were in really enjoyed his trip!

We were a little confused when we awoke after our first night in the $10/night hotel (including breakfast) we'd booked in to. Was it possible that we had taken the train to Russia by accident? What is with all the portly Russians walking around in thongs and other wildly inappropriate beach attire? Turns out, Nha Trang is Russia's Mexico.

The beach itself was a little underwhelming, although we were spoiled on Maui's beaches back in November. The best part was being able to rent a lounger chair for $2.00/day at the poolside of the Louisiane Brewhouse.  Finally, a beer that isn't lager!

Some of the highlights from our time in and around Nha Trang included:

Whitewater Canoeing
Armed with inflatable canoes and instructions from our guide to "not go down the rapids at the same time and maybe hang on to the boat if you fall in", we set off on a paddle. Don't worry, we all had life jackets on, although mine may have been from 1940. The river itself ended up being tame (only Shawn fell in) and we had the best river side lunch on river water clean plates!

Ready to raft

High Fives

 
Vinpearl Amusement Park
Part water slide, part roller coaster and a whole lot of kitsch, this amusement park had us smiling all day long! Built in 2007 with the goal of attracting Japanese tourists, it is serviced via a gondola from Nha Trang. We immediately went for the Alpine Slide, which was just as fun as I remember slides being. The pirate boat, roller coaster and swings were nauseating, turns out we are not 10 years old anymore! After some time with our heads between our knees, we suited up for the water park. 4 hours later with wrinkly fingers and a few bruises from tube mishaps, we took our shit eating grins back to town for some Advil and Bia Saigons.

Shawn's dream of riding a tiger...achieved!

Alpine Slide

Surfing
The original plan was to become surf pros in Nha Trang, but we got so busy doing other things that we only had time for 1 day of surfing. We went to long beach for the day to hang out at the Surf Shack. The Bob Marley was jammin', the sun was hot and the waves were...scary! Lacking in the skill department, we boogie boarded in the whitewash first. By mid afternoon, we worked up enough courage to take the boards out. I will not embellish the facts, we got thrashed around big time! Dave got out further than the rest of us and took some spectacular crashes. Eventually we resigned to skimming along the whitewash and avoided falling head first into the foot of water that close in to shore. Surf pros we are not, but it was a lot of fun!

 

 

 

Mud Baths
Have you ever had a bath in mud with 3 of your friends? None of us had, so we went to this 'spa' to check it out. Having spent the day prior getting sun-burnt and beat up by surfboards, relaxing in a therapeutic sequence of mud bath-mineral soak-hot pool was divine. The mini golf down the road after the spa however was devilish, with coconuts falling on the concrete course. And that was the second time we avoided sustaining a head injury in Nha Trang!

 

 

Liz