Day 10 – Sunday 3rd January – Nha Trang

After a late breakfast on the 12th floor, where you got a really good idea of the amount of building taking place in Nha Trang, we got in the bus to take you us to the port for a day on a boat. There port was bustling with all sorts of boats taking, mainly, day trippers! 

We were asked to wear life jackets. Although as it turns out this must be mainly for show when entering and leaving the port! 

There was a short ride to an island about 1 km off shore. We got off our boat and the local guide took us in a walking tour through the village. It was very hot and humid and the streets were narrow and we often had to make way for the ubiquitous motor bike. The town is malt a fishing port, with some local fishermen and other boats which can be away for up to a month!

The lights in the boat are used to attract fish when it’s dark! The fishermen use coracles both to fish locally and also as a way of getting to their boats. This was our next stop!  The walk had taken us to the other side of the island and we now got into a coracle to take us to our boat which had come around the bay to meet us.

Once at the boat et had a look at some of the ‘tanks’ that the fishermen use to store their catches!

From here it was another short ride to a bay where we were able to snorkel (although Ed didn’t partake!), have a drink, and relax. The corals and fish that I could see were amazing, although not that colourful.  Meanwhile, over if the crew was cooking our lunch which was served on the benchs which converted into a takes!

It really was amazing what he could produce from a make shift kitchen, and it is one if the best means we have had so far. After lunch, I had a massage from a lady who was also aboard and giving massages, pedicures and manicures, while some of the others were swimming again.  It was very relaxing, and cost about £4 For half an hour!  It was a bit odd though having it done in the middle of the boat, on what had been our table! 

Finally, we headed back to the port and disembarked at about 2 pm. 

At this point Ed and I decided to take the cable car, the longest over water in the world at 3.3 km, to vinpearl, a resort/theme park. It seems to have been built mainly to cater for the huge numbers of Russian tourist that there seem to be in Nah Trang, although there were locals and other tourists there too.

It was a bit incongruous walking around in shorts in the baking heat, with Christmas carols and songs playing!  We went on a couple of rides, including another ‘toboggan’ run, which was pretty good, and then headed back to the mainland to catch a taxi back to our hotel. 

We’d planned to meet some of our group for dinner at 7, so has a quick shower and change before heading to the lobby bar for cards and a beer. At 7, we walked to the sailing club and has another expensive meal (by Vietnamese standards) before coming back to our hotel. As it was only 9 pm, Ed and I had a game of cards before calling it a night at 10.30.  Early start tomorrow for a long drive up the coast!