Nha Trang and Final Days in Vietnam

MONDAY

Our trip to Nha Trang nearly didn’t happen when we were told at the check in counter that our flight was cancelled due to bad weather. The enquiries counter didn’t help much; they just told us to ring the Vietnam Airlines hotline, which was of course engaged since everyone else was trying to ring the same number. We went to the bookings counter to see if we could get a later flight, the deadpan response? ‘Sorry, flights are booked out until the 2^nd, try the bus or train’.

Sleeper bus to Nha Trang, 9 hours!

I didn’t let it affect me too much, I was on holiday and there was no real rush to get to Nha Trang, they always say its the journey there that’s the most adventurous. Apart from the time wasted and taxi fares, we managed to get to Nha Trang smoothly via the Sinh Cafe night sleeper bus. We went to their booking office in the backpacking district and got bus fares for 160,000D. Billy and I met up with Rowena in the evening and the bus departed the backpacking district at 8.30pm. The nine hour journey wasn’t as bad as I had anticipated, sure, the road was rocky but at least you could fully recline and get some sleep on the way there. When we reached Nha Trang in the morning, there was heavy rain and as we swerved back and forth along the mountainous coast line, I was sure we were going way too fast for safety’s sake. Nonetheless, we made it in one piece and arrived in Nha Trang central at 6.00am.

TUESDAY

We checked into Nha Trang Beach Hotel at 6.00am with no problems and crashed into bed, travelling by bus is so tiring! It was good that we didn’t have an itinerary to follow; we could do whatever we pleased. When we finally got out of bed, it was midday and we went in search for some good pho. The weather was worse than I had anticipated, I didn’t realise it would be so cold and wet in December, but Hanoi has been experiencing unseasonably cold weather which must have affected the central region as well. With our rain ponchos on, it certainly didn’t seem like a beach resort town, sunbaking was the farthest thing from my mind.

me enjoying pho

lots of rain in Nha Trang

At Po Nagar

the road to Thap Ba was interesting 2.5km walk, the journey was riddled with pot holes and flood water

Billy and I took a taxi out of town to visit the Po Nagar Cham Towers, which were quite a sight. From there, we walked the 2.5km to the Thap Ba Mud Baths, which was a mini adventure in itself as the road was filled with pot holes and with the recent rainfall, the distance seemed longer than usual; my feet were covered in mud by the time we arrived! Definitely not a journey for a germaphobe! Thap Ba was certainly a highlight of the Nha Trang trip. The mud bath was certainly interesting; it certainly had good exfoliating properties! Sitting in the mineral bath for 40 minutes was so relaxing, every ache and pain seemed to disappear and it brought back memories of Hakkone in Japan. There was a cute Vietnamese guy named Toc (?) who had a hot body, I couldn’t resist chatting him up at the waterfalls!

At Thap Ba enjoying the mineral waterfalls...

Enjoying tex mex food...the nachos were delicious!

In the evening, we went to have Mexican food at El Coyote Tex Mex Restaurant. Considering the fact that there are no authentic Mexican restaurants in Melbourne, it was certainly a surprise to see what real nachos look and tasted like. My fajita was very filling and tasty, how funny that the best tasting Mexican food I’ve tasted is in Vietnam! I was feeling uber tired from all the walking, so after a round of 6000D (60c) beers, I headed back to the hotel for some shut eye.

WEDNESDAY

I’m glad I got a chance to explore the beach front and have a bit of reflection time during the morning because the weather was terrible all other mornings. Spent the afternoon firmly rooted at Louisiane Brew house, where Rowena, Billy and I played card games, who would have thought the card game ‘Shithead’ would so addictive? (I never grew up playing cards...) The place was packed with tourists, also stranded with nothing to do except read books, eat and drink and watch the ferocious waves crash onto the shoreline.

glad to be able to walk along the beach in decent weather

Billy and I took advantage of the 100,000D 60 minute massage opposite our hotel, but left sorely disappointed. It was a dodgy massage parlour in that the masseur wore a skimpy negligee and gave crap massages, in the hopes you’d be too dazzled by their female charms to care. The girl who massaged me kept sniffling and didn’t apply enough pressure, the worst kind of massage! She just kept focusing on my limbs; it sucks to not be able to speak Vietnamese at this point because I wanted her to concentrate on my back and neck. I didn’t know where to look...so I just closed my eyes and feigned being asleep! No surprise ending for me, thanks! I think she was a bit offended when I tipped her 40,000D, but she was just terrible!

really good food at Louisiane Brewhouse

major case of hat hair!

Playing cards at Louisiane Brewhouse

Good 200g tenderloin steak for only 80,000D ($8)

Drinking a bucket of alcohol for 35,000D ($3.50)

Pre drinks at Why Not Bar

After a quick nap, we headed to Buffalo Steak House to have dinner. I don’t think I’ve had a meal cheaper than this one, 80,000D ($8) for 200g tenderloin steak with authentic mushroom sauce and chips, very yummy! We headed to ‘Why Not Bar’ for their cheap 35,000D buckets, consisting of vodka, rum, pineapple, orange, lemon and red bull, the perfect precursor to a new years eve celebration by the beach.

NYE Beach Party at Sailing Club

The Sailing Club was jam packed with people, both local and tourist. We arrived just in time for the dance party to ignite, the atmosphere was great. I’ve never been to a beach dance party before so it was a lot of fun; I definitely want to check out the Thailand full moon parties now! I was really glad that the bad weather held off until 2.30am because at least we had a few hours to dance under the tent and do countdown together with a bunch of strangers. As the clock struck 12.00, Abba’s ‘Happy New Year’ song came on, an anthem that must be particular to Vietnam because I’ve never heard it in other countries.

THURSDAY

Today was a total write off, not only because most people were recovering from NYE celebrations, but because the weather was terrible; cold and wet. Billy and I headed to Sailing Club to chill out for the afternoon but with such gloomy weather, it didn’t feel relaxing. I was feeling over Nha Trang and wanted to head back to HCM, where at least there was warmer weather. Testament to how little there was to do in Nha Trang, I managed to finish from cover to cover ‘The Tipping Point’, which was an interesting read.

The morning after...Nha Trang Sailing Club

In the evening, Billy and I went to have dinner at Nha Trang Seafood and we ordered some garlic prawns, sautéed vegetables, clams with spring onion and oil and fried fish, but it wasn’t all that amazing, he said you could get better at Ben Thanh Market.

FRIDAY

Went shopping on the last day at Nha Trang, bought two silk scarves for 240,000D and a pair of board shorts for 70,000D, score! I was really ready to leave Nha Trang and return to the city, we had done all the sites weather permitting and sitting around Louisiane Brew House drinking coffee and playing cards was more a waste of time rather than relaxing. I got a call from Vietnam Airlines saying that my flight was now scheduled for an earlier departure time of 6.00pm, could this be an ominous sign of things to come?

Enjoying Japanese cuisine at Louisiane Brewhouse

I was so anxious during the taxi ride to the airport, the weather looked like was going to take a turn for the worst and I kept on thinking, they can’t cancel a flight because of rain! We arrived and checked in, receiving our boarding passes. We even got past security check and sat in the departure lounge waiting to be called. The place was jam packed, ready to go back to Saigon to start the weekend. Things seemed pear shaped when 5.30 passed and there was no announcement to board the plane. By 5.50pm, things really seemed strange when there was no plane to pick us up. Then the dreaded announcement came: our flight was cancelled and a replacement flight would be arranged for 8.45am.

Replacement accomodation when flight back to HCM was cancelled, at least it was 3 star and had a bath!

I was so tempted to say to Billy that ‘I’m so glad that things went well because I couldn’t stand another night in Nha Trang’...you don't know how many times I touched wood! But alas, we returned to Nha Trang city, where Vietnam Airlines set us up in a 3 star hotel, with dinner and breakfast provided. With the amenities provided, it wasn’t too bitter a pill to swallow, especially since I got to take a nice warm bath and fall asleep watching cable TV, but I wanted to at least have the option of going out in Saigon on Friday night. Oh well...

SATURDAY

A bus came to pick us all up at the hotel at 6.45 to take us to the airport. This time, there were no problems with our flight, everything went perfectly and we arrived in Saigon at 9.30am. It was good to get back to Auntie’s place, unload all the dirty clothes, upload the photos and throw away all the trash picked up along the way, it’s like a save point in an adventure game.

Windows Cafe, been there way too many times for a tourist

Gave Hai a ring to see if he was free for dinner, I was giddy like a school girl, not only fearful of rejection but the prospect of having nothing to say since we don’t have a common language. Somehow, using the few mutual words we knew, we managed to plan and meet at Diamond Plaza at 7.00.

Hai and I

He looked as cute I remembered, he was wearing a white tee and jeans. He brought some of his friends, one of which could speak Mandarin so she acted as a translator for us throughout the evening. We walked around Diamond, then headed to Dong Khoi Street to explore Parkson before going to Windows Café 3 to have dinner and drinks. I love this city, you can spend a few hours at a café and not be pressured into drinking alcohol as you would in a bar, we were sipping ice coffees and fruit smoothies and perving at all the gay clientele, what a great way to pass time before going clubbing!

Hai and I outside Apocalypse

Went to Apocalypse with Hai and Chanh, Chanh and I were stopped at the door and told to pay an entrance fee whilst anyone Caucasian looking was explicitly let in for free; it was so infuriating to be singled out for your race, especially in an Asian country. Eventually, I convinced them that I was an Australian here on holiday and they let me and Chanh in for free…so that was lucky. My last weekend at Apocalypse was really fun, great songs and nice people; we went upstairs to dance because it was too hot downstairs.

SUNDAY

Hai drove me to Phuong Cac café to have breakfast, apparently the place for cute gays to hang out on a Sunday morning. His friends from last night were there and we spent the morning chatting and admiring the crowd, I enjoyed my com tam and ice coffee.

Hai taking me to have Sunday morning coffee at Phuong Cac Cafe

wedding photos are often done at Binh Quoi

Hai and me and his friends mucking around at Binh Quoi

Spent the afternoon at Binh Quoi, 30 minutes from Saigon, the equivalent of the Botanical Gardens in Melbourne and where all wedding couples go to get photos done. We had a fun time walking around the place; it was a refreshing change from the hustle and bustle of District 1. It was so hot so we stopped to have lunch at the park, enjoying a plate of fried fish with rice paper and prawn salad.

In the evening, I went to a football stadium in district 10 with Duc to have a massage with a blind masseuse. I was looking for a proper massage and Duc recommended this place because it was cheap and the masseuse did a really good job, no dirty business either! Massage costs only 40,000D ($4) but 70,000 ($7) gives you access to the steam room and sauna. The steam rooms in Vietnam all have herbal elements to them, so you stink of Chinese medicine afterwards but it does wonders for exfoliating your skin and making you breathe better. My masseuse was a man of about 40 and he did an excellent job in relieving stress. I was naked with my towel hanging on the nearby hook, but I didn’t feel self conscious with the knowledge that he couldn’t see me. He was definitely the best masseuse I had this time in Vietnam and was happy to give him a 60,000D tip.

MONDAY

My final proper day in Saigon, was quite sad in the morning at the prospect of going home and returning to normality but at the same time, wanting to see my family and sleep in my own bed. After having lunch with Auntie, I got a call from Hai asking if I was free to meet him and his friends at Windows Café. It must be the 6^th time I’ve been to that café, a sign that it’s probably time to go home!

Hai's a good singer!

With Chi Linh and Hai singing karaoke

Chanh preparing chicken for dinner

It was a fun and totally unplanned afternoon. After drinks, we went to Mai’s in Continental Hotel on Dong Khoi Street to visit Khoi, but unfortunately, he was out for lunch. Hai had a gift voucher to use at Citimart so we drove to Nguyen Trai Street to shop in the supermarket; he was such a sweetie and bought me a few gifts for me. We then spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing and singing karaoke at his friend’s place in Tan Binh. Her house was amazing; very big and luxurious for Vietnam standards. Karaoke is serious business in Vietnam, you take turns in singing and clap when they finish, I just hugged Hai as he sang romantic old school Vietnamese songs, his chest vibrations as he sang felt ticklish!

With my family at Parkson Department Store

Alas, it was goodbye and Hai drove me to the main road to catch a taxi, a quick goodbye and hug and that was it, short and sweet like my time with him in the past few days. Went to Saigon to do some last minute shopping, a 2GB memory card for Dad and an iPod armband for my sister. Went home to have dinner with my Auntie, Duc and Minh at the braised chicken restaurant behind our house, the meal was so delicious and even though they ran out of crispy pork skin, the chicken alone was enough of a winner. We walked down the street to explore Parkson department store, Auntie hadn’t been before and was so shocked that something so high end would be built in District 11. Perhaps it’s a marketing strategy, because it certainly wasn’t a sound business decision since most of the people who live here can’t afford the wares within the department store, that’s why it was so dead.

TUESDAY

I’m glad I packed the night before because the power went out at 7.00am and wouldn’t be back on till late in the afternoon, similar to the circumstances on my first full day in Vietnam. Duc bought me some chicken and cha sieu rice for lunch, which was a tasty last meal. Sieu was kind enough to offer me a lift to the airport in his car and since I was down to my last 50,000D, I graciously accepted. It was sad to bid farewell to the family, I noticed Auntie was holding back tears and clenching her fists, I gave her a big hug and told her I’d be back soon…

The gay couple across the street that I kept making eye contact at...finally snapped them together!

I was so worried about the fake DVDs and getting past Vietnam customs but there were no problems. My combined luggage was around 26kgs but they didn’t even look before tagging them and sending them on their merry way. Flight to Singapore was 1.5 hours, transit was for 4 hours so I did some duty free shopping, ate some dim sum and checked my mail. Having had an emergency exit aisle seat throughout this trip, I was dismayed to have to sit in a normal seat for the 9 hour flight; it was so cramped and getting to the bathroom proved a difficult feat. To make matters worse, I made a lady behind me who kept on kicking my laptop located beneath my seat, when I confronted her and asked her if there was a problem, she just said ‘laptop’, I didn’t know how to react, luckily, there was only 30 minutes left.

Getting through Australian customs normally is a nightmare, but I didn’t have anything to declare this time and was out the door by 7.45am, a speedy 30 minute process. Problem was, my sister didn’t come and pick me up until 8.15am because I told her to anticipate lengthy lines. I didn’t think that Melbourne would be so cold on a summer morning, but it was actually drizzling!

It was nice to see my family again after a month away from home. Coming home was like a breath of fresh air and seeing my room brought a tear to my eye; my books, my computer and my comfortable bed, oh how I’ve missed you! I took a nice hot shower, unpacked my suitcase, threw all my dirty clothes in the laundry and was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief….I’m finally home!