Nha Trang, Vietnam

After a few days exploring Ho Chi Minh City, we began our journey north, spending a week in the coastal town of Nha Trang.

We paid $24.41 for a nine-hour train ride that Jim booked online from Ho Chi Minh to Nha Trang. We arrived at the train station two hours before our 1330 departure, only to find that the train was running an hour late. Given our last train experience in Sri Lanka left us stranded for 11 hours, we wisely packed extra water, a PB&J, and some snacks. 

Conductors guided us to our carriage and seats, which Jim had also reserved. The train ride was comfortable, with space to stow our luggage above. No one checked our tickets during the journey. While food was offered from an unknown source on the train, we opted for our snacks instead. 



We took a Grab to our accommodation for $1.57, where we met our host who led us to our apartment on the 39th floor—complete with three slow elevators, one of which was out of service. The views from our apartment were spectacular, with large windows facing the ocean. The window seat provided the perfect spot to enjoy sunrise with our morning coffee. From above, we appreciated the beautifully landscaped promenade, a clear sign of the city's pride.


Our apartment was conveniently located near a couple of Mexican restaurants and a fantastic breakfast spot known for great coffee and delicious croissants. At the first Mexican restaurant, when Jim asked for hot sauce, the server brought out a small black bottle that resembled a doTERRA essential oil and warned us it was very, very hot. After trying just a few drops in our salsa, we quickly realized it was more than we could handle—the heat made it impossible to enjoy our meal.



While we didn’t come for the water, the long beach lined with palm trees provided the perfect shady spot for a relaxing afternoon. The promenade was ideal for walking and exploring. We visited the Long Son Pagoda Buddhist temple, enjoyed oysters with the locals, and spent the rest of our time at home, soaking in the views. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Mercado de Tlacolula

Image
Our time in Oaxaca has been mostly just typical days of living life: laundry, shopping, bills, learning Spanish, taking walks and just living. For me I am still trying to learn that this new life is not about cramming my days full of things to do, but more about learning the culture in which we are living.   Jim’s mom arrived in Oaxaca a couple of weeks ago and is staying across town; so we invited her to join us for our trip to Tlacolula Matamoros to visit the Mercado de Tlacolula. This is one of the oldest Sunday markets in Oaxaca. I reminded Jim and his mom that we needed to hail a colectivo that was empty so that we could all be in the back together, otherwise one of us would have to ride up front squished in the middle of the driver, a stick shift and another passenger. Jackpot, I hailed an empty colectivo that had Tlacolula on the window and after confirming with the driver, we all piled in the backseat. It was a pretty drive through the countryside and nice to get out o...
Read more

Mazatlán, again..

Image
The price of airfare is important when we are choosing our next spot, however Mazatlán had nothing to do with cheap airfare and everything to do with timeshare points. Actually airfare to Mazatlán was the most expensive cost to our travel budget in the last year and a half and it came with an entire day of travel! A positive though, was that we have never made it through Customs and Immigration so quickly on a trip.  Priority Pass lounge We had an hour and a half layover in Mexico City and because it was a short connecting flight we were escorted past the long Custom's lines and went straight to an "express" line. That gave us about 45 minutes before we left. It just so happened the airport had a Priority Pass lounge that was right next to our gate, worked out perfectly, as Jim stated. But, not so much for me, I like to be at our gate about 35-45 minutes before boarding, but because I could see our gate from inside the lounge, why not?  We ordered a drink and a quick bite...
Read more

Zipolite, Oaxaca, Mexico

Image
Zipolite is a small beach village nestled between the brilliant blues of the Pacific Ocean and the lush green canopy of the Sierra Madras. Highway 175 and the main roads near the beach are well maintained by Mexico standards. Taking these roads west will lead you to San Agustinillo and east to Puerto Angel, all within an hour or so of walking or ten minutes by taxi or collectivo.  Zipolite’s weather was unpredictable; storms of wind and rain, thunder and lightning, overcast days, beautiful sunny warm days and cooler nights. The temperatures and humidity stay consistent during the different times of the day. (Jim's Version):  Found this little gem, well... because it's a nude beach. It combines beach, sun and nada... What could be better? Inexpensive food and drinks you ask? Check. A killer view of the Pacific Ocean and the pounding waves beating down over the small sandy shore on unsuspecting tourists? Yep. But the sunsets will be what I take with me. Each and every one presen...
Read more