Oh Dang, Nha Trang!

Another week gone in Vietnam and another adventure had. Nha Trang was a beautiful, calm (well, calmer than HCMC) beach town. Think Vietnamese Santa Monica. My friend Sara and I left early Friday morning and arrived to a cooler, less humid, less noisy, and more spacious Vietnamese city. It was such a refreshing change from the hustle and bustle of everyday life in HCMC. Another American girl, Elana, decided last minute to come along and arrived before we did. Our hotel was very quaint, comfortable and clean. But most importantly it had a gelato shop downstairs and rooftop bar.

Upon our arrival, we changed into our suits, got lunch and then headed straight for the beach. We arrived and rented a few chaise lounges and finally took a moment to look at what was in front of us. There were islands and boats in the distance and straw umbrellas above us. It was surreal.

After basking in the sun a little, and I really mean a little because a French woman came up to us and said "Learn zis frum mee, the sun, ees hawt." We quickly got under our umbrellas as we looked at her terrible sunburn. We ordered some smoothies (little tip in Vietnam: get nutrients wherever you can), read a little and I got antsy.

Sara and I decided that we would rent some motor scooters and ride ourselves to the nearest temple. We were very confident we would be just fine, until the manager at our hotel, Frederic, got this look in his eye when we told him neither of us had rode a scooter before. He laughed and said "Come wif me, I show you." Most of you are aware of my tendency to hurt myself, but I did not mention this to my new instructor. I wanted him to have the utmost confidence in me. Unfortunately, he did. He had me make a really sharp turn in an ally and I freaked out, over accelerated and crashed into a planter. I fell on my left side and thought that I had broken my elbow. As with most my falls, it was fine and I got up - perhaps a little shakier this time - and got right back on that scooter. For some reason my fall signaled to Frederic that I was ready for the streets and Sara and I followed him to the nearest Petrol station. We filled up, followed him back to the hotel and were ready to take on the streets of Nha Trang on our own. It actually ended up being just fine and we had so much fun! No pictures of the motorbikes yet but we are heading to DaLat this weekend and will be riding more there (we are practically professionals). I'll be sure to take photos then!

We rode along the beach and it was absolutely beautiful. As we went through a small part of town, we were unsure where the temple was exactly - and then we looked up. Right before us was a beautiful monstrosity of a temple.

We parked our bikes and walked up and onto the temple grounds. I'd never seen anything like it (The Japanese temples I had seen in Kyoto were on vast grounds, whereas here the city was built all around it, making it another building on the street).

Typical Americans, climbing up on ancient ruins just to get a picture - awesome though, right?!

The architecture was stunning and I could not stop snapping shots. Unfortunately Sara and I were dressed inappropriately for the temples, rookie mistake, and respectfully admired their splendor from afar.

                          

    

Peeking through one of the meditation rooms.

The architecture and the temples weren't the only breathtaking part of this experience. The landscaping was impeccable and the art and statutes, stunning.

                          
We wandered around a bit more until it was time to head back for a dinner with my work, VinaCapital, who were in town for a staff meeting.

The dinner was buffet style and was held at the swanky Sailing Club in Nha Trang. It was quite the event! There was dinner, drinks, a bar tending tricks show, and a Vietnamese cover band doing everything from the Cranberries to Rihanna (you can just imagine what that must have been like).

Afte the Sailing Club was the Seven Club, located right on the beach. VinaCapital had an open tab and a table on the sand. It was one of those surreal moments - how did I get here? There were belly dancers, flame throwers and bon fires. The weather was perfect because the sea breeze had really cooled down the temperature, making the evening very comfortable.

At about midnight, we dragged our full bellies and slightly tipsy selves back to the hotel, where we put our sandy feet up for a few hours before a long day of mud baths and spa'ing that we had before us. I know, rough life.

We woke up early the next morning and headed upstairs to the rooftop restaurant at our hotel for our free breakfast. When I think free breakfast, I think runny eggs and a pot of coffee. Boy, was I wrong. Vietnamese for free breakfast is "Eat whatever you want until you can't move because you are so full." (Yes, that is a literal translation ;) ). Breakfast was a mozzarella and spinach omelette, all different kinds of fruit from pineapple to dragon fruit, potatoes, and a baguette. Let me just take a moment and talk about the baguettes in this country. They are, hands down, the most phenomenal baguettes I've ever had. I know I haven't been everywhere yet, so I will refrain from saying they are the best ever, anywhere - however, in my life these are the best I've had.

Moving on. After breakfast we took a taxi up to the Mud Baths. Apparently mud baths followed by mineral baths are supposed to make you look ten years younger. So I planned on sitting there for at least an hour. Just like everything else in Nha Trang, the grounds at the mud bath were stunning.

When we got up to the actual baths we were put in an awkward section with lots of couples. When you really think about it, a mud bath is simply a tub of mud that you sit in, not much else and not very romantic. Ok, maybe you don't have to really think about it to know that but for some reason I was thinking something a little more luxurious. But for $12USD, what can you really expect? Well, I'll tell you. You can expect to sit awkwardly in a tub of mud. When we were ushered out of our dirty bath we went down to some lounge chairs and waited for the mud to harden and the promised anti-aging to begin. I fell asleep expecting to wake 16 years old, but I'm sure you know what really happened. I woke up caked in mud, and that was pretty much it. We washed off the mud and then went to the hot mineral baths. Now, that is something I could do every day. My wound from my motor bike accident the day before was instantly healed and it was unbelievably relaxing. We finally got out and found a place for some lunch. The brochure boasted a beautiful swimming pool with a waterfall upon finishing lunch. Well. Let me just tell you that my idea of relaxing is NOT laying in the sun listening to hundreds of children scream, run and throw water at each other. And the waterfall - well let's just say that everyone that could was packed under the waterfall "enjoying" it. I couldn't even get a good picture of it. So naturally we left and went to the spa.

The spa was so calming and serene and a nice break from the screaming children. I have never had a professional massage (besides you Auntie Sarah :) ) and I was looking forward to the experience. It was wonderful, and while I was at it I got a mani/pedi, too. I know, right?! Ridiculous.

As we lazily exited the spa, we were smacked in the face by dirt and traffic and literally everything we had just done to ourselves was erased. Ah, Vietnam.

Next stop was a Japanese restaurant, where we nourished ourselves, then had a drink at the bar near our hotel and went to bed. It was a rough day and we needed our sleep ;)

The next morning had all the promises of being an amazing day, but it failed...kind of. I know the pictures don't show it, but we we're tricked, and we we're tricked bad. It was your typical tourist trap. The brochure read "Come on our island tour! We go to three different islands! Lunch and drinks included! Snorkel and see the reef! Swim up to a free floating bar! Enjoy live music!" Ok, so it didn't outright lie to us, I mean we did do all those things - however, going to three different islands really meant sailing by them and looking from a distance,
snorkeling and seeing the reef really meant using gear that didn't work to see dead reef and a few fish (I was told all that as there was NO way I was putting on my mask to see what was down there). What does swim up to a floating bar sound like to you? To me I picture Cabo with a bar in the middle of a swimming pool and real bartenders making drinks, while I sit by leisurely enjoying the view. Vietnamese meaning for floating bar is best illustrated in a picture.

When I think live music, I think band on a beach where I can choose to listen or not, depending on my mood. Vietnamese for live music is again best illustrated in a picture.

Lunch was actually the highlight - there were veggies, tofu, rice, fruit. 

Alright, so after all the disappointments of not getting exactly what we expected we got more than what we paid for. The views were astonishing.

Not too shabby, huh?! Yeah so after all my complaining, in the end it was a beautiful trip and well worth the $7USD. Yeah, yeah I admit it - I may have expected a little too much.

So that was my Nha Trang trip! If I had brought my computer with me I would have just called my boss and told him that I was going to work from Nha Trang for the next week. But alas, I did not. Monday morning, bright and early we caught our flight and an hour later we were thrown into the bustling, dirty, crazy life of HCMC.

Jessie xo