Part 2: Nha Trang Beach at Vietnam

Moving on to another yet exhilarating experience at Vietnam - Nha Trang!

1st day at Nha Trang

We reached Nha Trang, very early in the morning and got ripped off right away. Was so tired to look out for Mai Linh taxi (a trusted taxi company in Vietnam compared to Vinasun) and settled for a private taxi for 100,000vnd! The normal taxi fare from the station to the hotel is typically about 35,000vnd only!

Nonetheless, both of us just need to have a good sleep...at our hotel, the Galaxy Hotel.

what more can you ask for less than US$30 per night? This is a great deal!

Staff at the hotel couldn't speak basic English. Most of the times, communication was through hand signals. haahaha..

Knock knock..... (silence)

At the hotel, you can order breakfast for a decent 40,000vnd. But we decided to explore other eating places instead. On our first day, we ate at Ngan Han Yen Restaurant, recommended by Tripadvisor but didn't meet our standards. The spicy beef noodle was bland and the fried rice was way too dry.

Spicy Beef Noodle which was BLAH....

The only saviour was the rice crepe filled with seafood.

The waitress showed us the right way to eat the crepe which was very interesting..similar like popiah or spring rolls.

Rice Crepe with Seafood

The way to eat it!

After our brunch, we headed for Thap Ba Hot Spring where we had the best skin rejuvenation session - the mud bath! For 100,000vnd, it was very well worth it! You'll get to soak in the mud bath, enjoy the mineral water spray jets, warm mineral bath and finally the swimming pool. All within US$5! Nice!

Me and dear having the "dirtiest splash" of our lives! ;p

dear at the mineral water spray jet!

Our night was spent at the Night Market.

Rows of shophouses line the street.. quite a small night market actually..selling limited varieties of items

We also stopped at one of the street restaurants for dinner ..

Deep fried squid!

Crispy on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside! Finger licking good indeed!

Steamed fish in herbs! Tasted so good and fresh!

2nd day in Nha Trang

Wakey Wakey! It was 10am at Nha Trang and again, we headed to a much recommended restaurant by Tripadvisor for breakfast - Ha Van Rooftop Lounge.

And we didn't regret it a single bit!

Morning Nha Trang! Now let's have some nice breakfast!

Chicken Pho! Delicious!

Banana Pancake with Maple Syrup! Sweet deal, only $3!

We then proceeded to Vinpearl Amusement Park where we enjoyed a day of going back to our childhood days - playing games at the indoor arcade, enjoying the beach, eating cheap burger and panoramic views of the sea on the cable car ride to Hon Tre Island where Vinpearl sits.

Cable Car Ride to Vinpearl

Hello Vinpearl, we are reaching soon!!

Outdoor Theme Park - great for families

Our fav spot - the indoor arcade

Fun playing the bumper car

Underwater World at Vinpearl

Waterpark at Vinpearl - we didn't try any of the water play areas, most were closed

Hon Tre Beach

Love this photo!

After Vinpearl, we went back to Nha Trang, to have dinner. We found Cam Ngon Lanh by sheer luck. But along the way, we bought corn along the streets..and it was unedible! Not even ripe and dearest couldn't even bite into it!

Cam Ngon Lanh proves to be the best cheap eat we ever had! Friendly staff (who can speak English), wide varieties of food, and yummylicious! We ordered veg, fish and prawn with rice and drinks for less than US$10! :)

Grilled catfish

Mixed veg

Deep fried prawns

Finally we headed to Nha Trang Shopping Centre for window shopping. :)

There goes our first 2 nights at Nha Trang!

Part 3 will tell you more about my remaining 5 days in Vietnam!

Keep a look out for it!

Hello Vietnam!

Both partner and myself were excited for our virgin trip to the country of 5 million motorbikes..hahaah..thats what we called it at least. Will break my story into 3 parts because there's so much to share about Vietnam! :)

Part 1: Experience at Ho Chi Minh City

We reached Vietnam on 27 December noon. Impressed with the airport, from the cleanliness to the security..everything was smooth. Our destination for the trip is Nha Trang, the famous beach location in Vietnam for seafood and widely acclaimed as the next emerging 'Bali".

You can get to Nha Trang by bus, train or plane. Both of us don't think we enjoy long bus rides, plane rides seems abit pricey for us. So we decided to try the train!

We headed to Saigon Train Station from the airport. Cost about 130,000vnd. Initially we wanted to get the soft sleepers..but they were all sold out! Panic mode strikes. Nonetheless,

we managed to get the soft seaters at 286,000vnd per pax. Phew! :)

Saigon Train Station

Ticket Counter

After settling our train tickets, we decided to explore Ben Thanh Market. Thought the market is nearby and asked the security guard for directions. He pointed us back to the train station. Thinking that the market could be sitting behind the station, we decided to ask another bunch of security guards. And he simply said "Taxi!". We asked the counter lady in the station, and she said bus number 4. We asked where to take the bus..and she repeated "4". Hahahaah...by now, we realise that communication would be very challenging throughout our stay here in Vietnam. So we decided to take the taxi to Ben Thanh Market.

Ben Thanh Market is located in District 3. It is not big as Chatuchak Market. Pretty small actually and I am not sure why it is even considered an attraction because there's nothing much. There's a wet and dry market; food stalls, clothes, accessories, souvenirs and not forgetting Vietnam traditional costume - the Áo Dài. The apparel consists of pants and a tight-fitting silk tunic. The tunic has long slits at the sides, and quite sheer. Didn't shop alot but I managed to get some dried mango and plums as my night snacks for the train ride later.

Ben Thanh Market

Heaps of stuff...

After that we stopped by Pho 24 for our first lunch at Vietnam. Both of us had Pho..it was yummy! Perhaps the best Pho we had throughout the vacation. It cost about 70,000vnd. We also ordered Spring Rolls, only to realise the we can't eat it (it has pork). We ordered the traditional Vietnamese coffee, which tasted really strong and bitter.

I like the way the coffee is presented - very traditional. Classic!

Having his Pho

After our meal, we wanted to go to Golden Dragon Water Puppet Show but didn't manage to overcome the language barriers and ended up very lost. But then it was already 5pm. So  we decided to head back to the station and wait for our train. We chilled out at this eating place, that is called "Canteen". I tried ordering ice lemon tea. But the server came back with an extra glass of ice. hahahaha...ok seems that they don't have one. :)

At 11pm, we boarded our train to Nha Trang. And the long journey to Nha Trang begin..

Soft seaters on the train to Nha Trang

The way to travel, the Vietnamese style

They check train tickets and also sell food!

(Refer to Part 2 for Our Experience at Nha Trang)

On 3 Jan, we were back at Ho Chi Minh from Nha Trang. We managed to get the hard sleepers after failing to obtain our plane tickets at Nha Trang (sold out!). The sleepers were really uncomfortable. In fact, someone else were sleeping on my sleeper when I boarded at 9pm. Pfffttttttt!

Sleeping on the 2nd deck of the hard sleeper..there's another one above me!

We reached the city very early, around 4.30am. Hang around at the train station till about 6am before leaving for District 1 but none of the shops was opened. So we headed to Ben Thanh Market for breakfast at Pho 2000. Pho here is much cheaper by 20,000vnd but not as yummy as Pho 24.

Bill Clinton was here at Pho 2000!

hahaaha the classic look on the face..what's in the spring rolls again dear??

We did our last min shopping at Ben Thanh Market and then decided to explore the War Remnants Museum which is located about 4 streets away. :)

The story unfolds at the War Remnants Museum

Entrance fee was only 15,000vnd and it is very worth it. You'll get to discover many interesting exhibits related to the Vietnam War. The museum comprises a series of eight themed rooms in several buildings, with period military equipment located within a walled yard. We also get to feel and touch the military equipments used by the Americans during the war. One building reproduces the "tiger cages" in which the South Vietnamese government housed political prisoners.

Painful reminder of being caged up in these tiny dungeons

Me at one of the exhibiting military equipments

Other exhibits include graphic photographs, accompanied by short copy in English, Vietnamese and Japanese, covering the effects of Agent Orange and other chemical sprays, the use of napalm and phosphorus bombs and many more! The visit to the museum made me even more curious to understand what really happened in the Vietnam War..and also caused me to realise how much the Vietnamese have gone through to have what they have today..Freedom.

looking at this photo..how the Vienamese struggled and pleaded to live..triggered my emotions..

That sums up my short time in the city of Ho Chi Minh.

Check out Part 2 of my experience in Nha Trang!