Friday 06 November 2015

Dalat departure……..I’ve set the alarm for 6am but there’s no need. I’m awake before that. The bus to Nha Trang leaves at 7.30 so there’s just time for coffee and the usual bread and fried egg. I’m not expecting any drama today. Everything is arranged. There’s the usual delay while all the passengers are checked in and luggage loaded. Initially I thought this would be a shuttle bus to the bus station but of course TheSinh Tourist Company owns the hotel so they have their own fleet of busses. When all is ready the bus departs about 15 minutes late. If the route is anything like the one coming up to Dalat then I may as well take a sleeping pill for the four hour journey.
Feeling elevated……..Sure for the first hour on the plateau there are the usual polytunnels in the valleys but on the pine covered slopes they also grow coffee beans. I manage to get some sleep but when I wake up the scenery has changed somewhat and there are no more polytunnels and no more houses. I haven’t checked Google Map for the route so I don’t know what’s ahead. (PS. This is the southern end of the Central Highlands) But from here the road starts to climb. By 9am the usual cloud cover just hits the deck. Heads are in the clouds for the next half hour. At the summit the bus stops to somebody’s relief. A few tourist buses discharge passengers who want to confirm where their heads really are. Then the bus begins its decent. Little can be seen except for cascading waterfalls falling off an almost vertical rock face. Yes! I can confirm this section of road does remind me of Alpine passes. The bus continues it’s decent for over an hour more. As we return below cloud level the spectacular scenery comes into view. Amazing! This reminds me of the highlands of central Laos except that it is more verdant. Mountain peaks and valleys stretch as far as the eye can see. All this, I think , for less than the price of the cable car ride yesterday. This is much much more like it. Before 10.30am there is a rest stop for 20 minutes. When I get out of the bus there is warm sunshine. The temperature has risen at least 10 deg C. Continuing the journey the road continues to fall until at last there is enough room on the valley floor to grow some rice but the mountains don’t disappear. Soon I pick up signs to Nha Trang: It isn’t far away. First we cross the main north-south National Route 1A, Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi. That’s followed by crossing the Reunification Railway Line and it so happens a train is passing through this crossing. Now it’s a straight run into the city of about 10 km.

Nha Trang……..Nha Trang lies on Vietnam’s coastline with the South China Sea. It is well known as a holiday destination with its beautiful sandy beach. I read somewhere that it appears on a list of the world’s best beaches. The fact that it’s on a list at all is a credit to the area. The former fishing port was developed first by the French and then by the Americans but today it seems to be the Russians who are the dominant visitors.
The service bus arrives in the city and parks up at the company’s office but I know I cannot reach my hotel by foot and on this occasion there is no free connection included. That means I need to take a taxi. The distance turns out to be about 5 km. The taxi heads north along the seafront and my first impression is the bay is not crystal blue but a dirty brown. The taxi continues over the Song Cai Nha Trang River Bridge. That takes us around a rocky outcrop known as Hon Chong which divides the bay. Here the water really does look blue and the bay quieter. It is a bay along the lines of many in the Mediterranean with a number of high rise hotels but I certainly wouldn’t call it overkill. It is just about right for most holidaymakers. If I thought I would continue with my touring around Vietnam that idea stops here. This is a tourist town and for once I’m determined to relax for the few days I’m here.

La Mer Hotel……..When the taxi pulls up outside La Mer Hotel I see it’s one of the modern tower block hotels but not too obtrusive. This nine-story hotel is of a type that is not at all in my inventory. It’s been a long time since I stayed in one of these. So how was it that it drew my attention in the first place? I’ve no idea but when I check out the room on the 6th floor it’s no Fawlty Towers. This one is modern right on the beach with a sea view. Its luxury I wouldn’t even consider most anywhere else. I’ve booked for the first night and soon make that three despite taking me over budget but I should be able to make savings from my tour budget.
My choice of Nha Trang was a late call as I considered my original plan too ambitious. What I have here is the complete opposite. My check-in time was exactly midday, earlier than I thought but its fine to look for lunch. Unfortunately this area is too far from the best dining options back in the city. There appears to be only a few seafood restaurants open nearby. OK, wasn’t expecting shellfish for lunch but never mind. I head back to the room for a siesta. That costs nothing. Before dark I head out along the beach for a stroll with the intension of looking for a place to eat dinner. There’s little choice but I’m told that if I can eat local food I could try looking up some of the side alleys. Initially that doesn’t work as nobody speaks English and Katoon is incredibly fussy taken out of her comfort zone. I give up and head back to the hotel insisting that she decides what she can eat so the hotel staff can write it down. That works and we head back for a seafood hotpot. That seems to calm things down and I order two Saigon beers for my troubles. The beer is incredibly cheap, just 50 cents US for a bottle. OK problem sorted. I can hand the menu to Katoon in future while I order the beers. Back at the hotel I write up my blog but I'm reminded there is some nightlife here when loud music filters across the bay. I start to wonder if this is part of the reason why I normally don't choose this type of holiday destination but by 10pm things go quiet. I'm pretty sure there are regulations covering nightlife in Vietnam which is fine by me. Next Page.