The End of the Affair

Last time I went to Nha Trang, it looked a little like this:

And this time I went to Nha Trang, it looked a little like this:

So many of my students have raved about the beach resort of Nha Trang, and trust me, I’ve really tried to fight to love it as much as they clearly do. But after 2 bouts of flu, an infected blister and the ruin of 2 pairs of shoes and one (heartbreakingly) beautiful pair of trousers, I’ve resigned to the fact that Nha Trang and I were just never meant to be.

Nonetheless, here are some of the highs and lows of my most recent visit.

After a surprisingly comfortable 8 hour train journey, my friend from Blighty and I arrived into a warm and overcast (but dry!!) Nha Trang. At this point, we happily welcomed a lonely Australian backpacker onto our taxi bandwagon, a kindness which I instantly regretted; obviously, he had no cash on him – reason 1 why I hate backpackers. Obviously, he’d had to best time ever on his travels so far and couldn’t wait to share his “unique” experiences – reason 2 why I hate backpackers. Obviously, he was proud of not showering in days – reason 3 why I hate backpackers.

After the longest 5 minutes of my life, we finally arrived at our Premier Inn style hotel; a basic but very comfortable little 3 star number, just 100m from the beach front. Following a rather romantic dinner at Veranda (highly recommended!) we crashed hoping to be fully rested for an arduous next day at the beach. Thankfully this is exactly the way the following day turned out. I couldn’t have been happier when I opened the curtains to bright sunshine and a smiling Buddha glistening on the hill in the distance.

A dance show we stumbled across on our way back from ‘Veranda’

The view from our hotel – prizes for anyone who can spot the Buddha …

Perfection!

Once we’d soaked up enough rays for our English-Rose complexions, we headed out for a little bit of culture in the form of the Po Nagar Towers. At only 20,000vnd per ticket, we enjoyed a very relaxed walk around the old relics. (Even if we did break the rules a little by baring our shoulders, knees and ankles).

Breaking the rules

Some gargoyles (of sorts)

A very glamorous Buddha

A religious balancing act

That night we ended up in the infamous ‘Sailing Club’ – the less said about that the better. Yes, really.

And thus begins the typhoon. Saturday was a complete wash out; just venturing out to get a pizza was a life-threatening event.

The memory is too painful – RIP my beautiful, perfect fit skinny jeans

Determined not to let the rain get us down though, we spent our final day on a snorkelling tour, something I’ve always wanted to do. There was intermittent rain throughout the day, but luckily there was very little wind, making our boat trip chilly but calm. The coral was of no Great Barrier Reef standard, but the experience was nonetheless incredible. I’m no expert diver, by any stretch of the imagination, but I couldn’t have had a better time. I was in a real life Finding Nemo – what more could you want out of life? I’ve finally managed to achieve my lifelong ambition of swimming with Dory. Don’t judge! My burnt rear-end was an undesirable extra from the experience, but it was well worth the uncomfortable flight home for.

In retrospect, I think I may have been a little dramatic at the beginning of this post. While I do feel Nha Trang has a personal vendetta against me, I did really enjoy this most recent trip far more than my last one. But would I risk visiting again for the ol’ third time lucky? Honestly? Probably not.