We arrived in Nha Trang after a ten hour bus ride called an “overnight” bus. Basically this meant that we got to lay down at the back of the bus in a row of five seats. It was the ultimate slumber party! Especially since the fifth seat was occupied by a 60ish year old lady who snored the entire way. The first day we arrived was mainly spent on the beach. You can rent beach chairs for the equivalent of about a dollar for the entire day, and servers will bring you coconuts to sip on. I was still trying to get the hang of crossing the road, and got smoked by a motorized bicycle as we walked home from the beach. It was bound to happen.
We went out to a bar called “Why Not” a few times during our stay. Again, we mainly kept to drinks made in coconuts, and cheap, cheap beer. Kayleigh and I took a moped taxi ride home, and we’re bombarded with a group of women telling us that we were “So pretty! So pretty!” Not as flattering as it sounds… As they were trying to steal our bags. After talking to other tourists, many of them had similar experiences. One guy said he had been robbed 5 times since arriving in Vietnam. Unfortunately, our last night there a guy jumped out of nowhere and tried to grab Alexa’s bag off of her shoulder! Luckily she had it across her body, so he wasn’t successful.
One day we took a boat cruise called “Funky Monkey”, where a lively crew took us snorkelling, played us live music as a boy band, and set up a floating bar that you held onto with your feet, while lounging in a tube. Since we were from Canada, Kirsten and Kayleigh got pulled on stage to sing “My Heart Will Go On”, as the boy band acted out the “I’m flying!” scene from Titanic.
The next day we went to an amusement park called “Vin Pearl”, that required you to take a gondola. It is apparently the longest gondola in the world, and gave a beautiful view of the beaches. The park had sketchy rides, and a great water park – my favourite part being the wave pool that had bigger and better waves than I’ve ever been in!
Our last day was spent at a spa where we were treated like kings. Facials, massages, pedicures, food and drink, all for next to nothing. Who did we think we were getting all of this fancy schmancy treatment? The girls have had several massages thus far, all for about $5/hour.
On the whole, we’ve been eating a lot of pho (some very sketchy), noodles, curry and spring rolls. We’ve been drinking a lot of dirt cheap drinks. We’ve been getting a lot of beach time and sunburns – which makes us appreciate the air conditioning in our hotel more than ever. Finally we have been taking in all the sights and sounds, and enjoying the Vietnamese culture and people. They are wonderful.
20somethingcollegelife 