Relaxing in Nha Trang

We took the night train to Nha Tran which was quite a pleasant experience.  I had been a little apprehensive about this journey given everything I had heard about train travel in Vietnam but we had 5 star accommodation which was quite comfortable and we all rather enjoyed the train journey. Nha Tran had once been voted one of the world’s most beautiful cities (they came 29th) by UNESCO and I can see why.  It is a pretty fishing village and port city located at the mouth of the Cai River, where beautiful coloured houses line the waters edge and compete for your attention with the colourful red and blue boats which dot the landscape.  The blue signifies hope – hope that the fisherman will come back  home and the red signifies love.

White sandy beaches and beautiful islands in the ocean add to this picturesque place. The area is quite mountainous and green hills envelope the city.  The scenery takes my breath away..and I feel really happy to be here. 

We have arrived in Nha Tran in the early hours of the  morning after a long overnight train journey.  It is too early to check in hence we leave our bags in the hotel and go looking for breakfast.  Phuoc informs us that we could go look at an ancient Hindu temple and spend the day at the local mud bath resort!

The temple was quite interesting and so were the men and women performing in the garden.  Vietnamese dancing is so elegant and graceful. 

Jane and I opted for the mud bath and it was a very good decision.  I think this was the first time I had actually experienced a mud bath and if you have never tried one, it is like lying in a bath full of melted chocolate!  Your skin feels brilliant after this..and I wish I had taken a pic in the mudbath for the blog :).  

 

The resort is quite extensive and you can move from the mud baths to mineral showers to the hot pools and finally to a warm swimming pool.  We ended up spending most of the day there and having lunch in the restaurant it was so relaxing. 

We finished off a perfect day by having a seafood BBQ for dinner.  I think I might be repeating myself but the food is absolutely amazing in Vietnam ?!!  Check out the prawn risotto..mm

Our guide hired a boat for us on day 2 so we could spend the day exploring a couple of the islands around Nha Trang and do a bit of snorkelling to get a glimpse of the famous blue coral around here. We had another brilliant day.  The boat came with a lady who doubled up as our own private masseuse, manicurist and pedicurists!  If you are wondering how much this costs…well a manicure or pedicure in Vietnam is about $2.50 and this is what you get…

 

Exploring the islands was an experience.  There are no cars or motor bikes and life happens at a much slower pace.  Women sit on the front porches and chat and kids play on the street.  We met the oldest lady on the island..she was 94!    We were paddled back to our boat in these little bamboo tubs, while sipping on coconuts along the way…all in a days play in Nha Tranhg!      “Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go”.  T.S. Elliot