8/4
At 18:00 a taxi, paid by the company, brings me to the night bus stop .
A lot of Northern European backpackers, travelling with the coupons system, are waiting.
The bus, as mentioned before, is not comfortable at all, and it is crowded to capacity. Every now and then it stops at the roadside. The bathrooms are unwatchable.. Among other things, getting on and off the bus is a real enterprise, as the corridors are filled with luggage and people, and, to complicate things, everybody is required to take off shoes on board. Despite everything, I sleep like a log.
8/5
We arrive at 5.00. With 68 thousand dong I reach by taxi the Tide Hotel, 12 USD for a room at the back of the building.
The front ones face the beach, but they are also noisy. The hotel is about 4 km from the city, in an area frequented only by Vietnamese tourists. I made this choice because I wanted to try to get out for a moment from the usual average Western ghettos. The beach is so crowded. I’m amazed, due to the hour. The Vietnamese wake up very early, and go to beach at dawn and dusk, perhaps because of the heat. Women swim dressed.
I am welcomed by Owen, the hotel owner, and after a very bad and poor breakfast (25 thousand dong), I purchase, with departure at 8.00, at the cost of 16 USD the so called “amazing snorkeling trip” at the Hon Mun Marine Protected Area . The amazing snorkeling trip is the restful excursion, the alternative is the “party snorkeling tour”, where you can drink and dance on board (the most famous agency for this one is Mama Ly)
Along with other tourists I am taken to the port, and assigned to my boat. The tour is not bad. In the first place we snorkel in very deep water, dark blue, and can not see anything, except for a few big fish every now and then.
In the second place, instead, there will be a maximum of 3 mt, and minimum of 1 mt of water, the bottom is full of colorful corals, and lots of fishes. It is not Redang, but we can be satisfied, definitely more fun than being at the beach in the city. Lunch, then, is very abundant, they also serve us a lot of fruit as a snack, before landing! In short, a pleasant day.
I return to my hotel at 17.00, this time with the public bus (4 thousand dong) and my intention would be to go to the beach to take another swim… however … I do not dare to stay in bikini! Owen has reassured me that there is no problem, the Vietnamese know our habits, and will just watch, and maybe take pictures, but then, when I get there, I don’t dare to take off my dress, and then, I sit with all my clothes on, among a lot of people …playing football, volleyball, tennis, actually a shocking mess. They have no sense of private space like us. I put myself in a corner and after five minutes two boys begin to play volleyball with me in the middle, after a while they are at least 20, with me always in the middle, eventually I go away…..
Owen for dinner recommends me the Chi Hang New Restaurant, which can be recognized because at the entrance two huge bottles of Coke have been placed. There are only local people, sit at low plastic tables, like those at the primary school. They bring me a menu in English, but I can’t recognize many things listed, so I order at random. I’m lucky, I get a huge plate of delicious grilled squid and vegetables for 100 thousand dong price !!
In the area I find the least expensive water, 7 thousand dong for large 1.5 lts bottle
8/6
I drink a tea at the Caphe Bo Bien, near my hotel, 17 thousand dong. Shaded and crowded, the Cafés are a real institution among the Vietnamese people. The typical served tea is the green one, my favorite variety is flavored with jasmine, they bring it cold or hot. It’s made with mineral water (I always see the big cans in the back of the counters), then safe. Perfect relief from the heat.
If someone would ask me now what I miss the most from Vietnam, which is the flavor that mostly reminds me of Vietnam, my answer would be “the green jasmine tea”
I catch running a public bus to downtown. The Lonely Planet says that there are some famous photographers galleries in Nha Trang, and I want to see at least one.
I reach the Long Thanh Gallery at around 9.30, admission is free. The photos are beautiful, all in black and white, taken with an old manual reflex. Some have won international awards. The subjects are people and local landscapes. After a while, Long Thanh himself arrives on an old Vespa. He asks me if I come from Lecco. At the moment I do not understand, later I will learn that this town has hosted his only exhibition in Italy.
http://www.longthanhart.com/gallery.htm
I spend there a beautiful hour. Then, still trudging, I head to the Cathedral, but first stop to buy pastries and various sweets, 24 thousand dong. The pastries are European type, surely a legacy left by the French. The sweet cream does not inspire me a lot, so I always head for the dry, and then for the “flan” (puddings).
The cathedral is nothing special for Italians standards, but I take this opportunity to sit down in the shade, and enjoy watching the Vietnamese climbing anywhere on the altar, and shoot pictures in dramatic poses under the cross like in the Renaissance religious pictures. Next stop is the Long Son Pagoda
Here the monks are celebrating a rite, gongs are resounding, people are prostrate on the floor, and prey. I wait till the end, then climb up to the statue of the Buddha, dribbling a lot of pests. The temple is open to all religions, admission is free, there are no guides and they are not mandatory, so stay away from anyone, because then you will have to fight if you do not want to tip, or buy useless trinkets
I walk to the central beach, in the tourist area, bordered by gardens and the most luxurious hotels
Here the Westerners are the majority, and bikinis are normal. There are umbrellas and deck chairs to hire, but I prefer the shade of palm trees. After a while, I get tired, and tour around, there are several shops, restaurants, bars, photo galleries
I return to the hotel in late afternoon, I pack up and shower (for an extra charge of 125 thousand dong I keep the room until 21), then go back to Chi Hang New Restaurant, this time 41 thousand dong for a huge portion of fried rice with chicken and vegetables.
My train to Saigon leaves at 22.40, but it’s late. Fortunately the Nha Trang railway station is decent. The convoy is coming from Hanoi, but although I have booked days ago, no one bothered to change the sheets, and pillow is full of hair. The soft sleeper, however, are quiet, and frequented by middle class people. My neighbours are a family from Saigon, both husband and wife speak English better than me, and particularly appreciate, profusing in several bows, when I give my lower berth to their little girls, and move to the children’s place on the more dangerous upper one. They would even give me money because it is less expensive, but for me is not a problem, in fact I prefer it, because there is more privacy.