Nha Trang is a port city at the mouth of the Cai River, in Khanh Hoa province - and Khanh Hoa has over 200 kms of coastline; white, sandy beaches and hundreds of islands of the coast. Although I've only been here for half a day I do think this is somewhere I could definitely hang out in for a while!
But let's back-track a little bit as there was some travelling involved in getting here.
The good news is it wasn't nearly as bad as getting from HCMC to Dalat was. It still took 4 hours to go 160 kms but the condition of the road was much better! The long travel time was a result of climbing down the mountains from nearly 2000 m (Dalat) to the sea (Nha Trang). So very twisty, turny, and windy roads but overall a good drive.
It's a good thing they have a road sign with such good advice as this:
We made one stop on the way near a Mnong village. The Mnong belong to an Austroasiatic group and are considered one of many ethnic minority groups that live within Vietnam. The Mnong is a matriarchal society and the little house you can see with the really steeply pitched roof belongs to the woman elder who is responsible for all community affairs.
But what I most loved was spending 10 minutes watching the kids - and they all knew the word "hello".
As I said, first impressions of Nha Trang are very favourable! This is the view from my hotel room - and the view from the beach which is one block away!
The afternoon was free time so I decided to go for a walk to the Po Nagar Cham Towers which were built between the 7th and 12th centuries. Only four of the original towers are still standing today, and each one is a shrine to a different deity.
It was a nice walk (about 5 kms) although a little hot (missing Dalat weather!!!) with some very beautiful scenery along the way and at the top of the hill the towers are built on.
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