Vietnam (Nha Trang) - 2005

We had a 4 hour drive from Dalat to Nha Trang, mainly down the 1000m decent from the hillside town that is Dalat. Possibly the scariest 4 hours of our lives. Our personal driver 'Toung' informed us that he was a very "careful" driver when he picked us up from the hotel. In a sense he was, and for the most part he drove quite well, it's just the whole Vietnam driving conditions that make it a little crazy, like the need for him to overtake buses on the hilside corners... with 100 foot drops to the ground below.

However, as scary as that sounds... the hill billy hoods that we passed really had us concerned. Just before the foot of the hills, we drove through a shanty town, and just on the outskirts was a group of beer swilling, shirtless early twenty odds... with a GUN!!! Obviously concerned... we asked Toung what the go was..... with a somewhat of a hesitation... to make something up... he suggested, "don't worry.. just shooting birds!" Funny, I haven't seen a bird since we got to Vietnam!!!

Anyway, reaching the foot of the hills we hit the "highway!"... a very narrow two lane 100km stretch of road with shanty town lining every meter... shanty town with cats, dogs, cows motorbikes and people just an outstretched arm away.

So.... try and picture travelling along a CBD street in peak hour at 100km per hour.... with elevator music blaring.... Toungs favourite... it was just a surreal experience!

We got to Nha Trang safe and sound... althought we felt like we had just done 4 hours on a show ride.. bit green around the gills!

Our first day in Nha Trang was spent on the beach. Our hotel owns a piece of it across the road. We hired day beds each. Jo had a massage by two ladies for 45 minutes. This sounds great... but when they pulled out what looked and smelt like a mixture of engine & fish oils for her massage... we were quickly back to the hotel for a shower!

Toung, the driver, who is actually a Nha Trang local, suggested a great cafe... the "Cyclo Cafe". We ate there 3 times! It has definately been a highlight of the whole trip. One of the dishes we ate was coconut chicken curry served in a fresh coconut, and when I say fresh, it was actually cut off the tree in front of the cafe while we waited.

On our second day we decided to risk our lives with Toung again and set off on a day tour of the Nha Trang countryside. We visited families, each with their own traditional trade. For example there was the clay pot oven makers, rice paper makers, conical hats, traditional mat makers, coffee bean roasters and bakery. We ended the day visiting a kindergarten where the kids were so excited to see us foreigners and even sung us a couple of songs, which was so cute. Then Toung took us to one of his favourite Vietnamese restaurants on the river where he ordered a feast, although we were not entirely sure of the contents of some of the dishes.