Nha Trang is Vietnam’s most famous and developed seaside resort city. It’s sort of like the Miami beach of Vietnam. It’s a destination, with a nice beach and some other sites, so I planned to spend a day there.
Like Mui Ne, Nha Trang is full of Russians, and all the signs are in Russian. Unlike Mui Ne, Nha Trang is a big city. But it’s a city right on the beach, and the beach is very nice. Free of vendors, and free to access, not hidden away by resorts, like on Phu Quoc Island. There is a nice promenade along the beach.
Beaches are boring, so I spent a day seeing the sites. First I headed to the Cham towers, on a hill right in town. They were similar to the ones in Mui Ne. But unlike those towers, which I only shared with Vietnamese kids, these were mobbed by Chinese tourists.
Next I headed to the cathedral, which was also mobbed by Chinese tourists. There wasn’t a Russian in sight.
Another site was the temple, not surprisingly mobbed by Chinese tourists. I guess Russians are only interested in the beach. There was a ceremony going on in the temple and the hill gave nice views of the city and the beach.
I waited for sunset to visit the seaside rock garden. It was scenic, but it was difficult to get pictures without Chinese tourists in them.
With my sightseeing done I had to buy some toothpaste. That proved to be surprisingly difficult because I can’t read Russian so didn’t know what the stores were selling.
After my day of sightseeing I decided to spend a day working on photos. But I’ve been taking so many I didn’t finish. So I extended my stay by another day. With all my work done, I’ll be able to head to the Ho Chi Minh Highway with a clean slate.
