Category: Vietnam

Travelling to Nha Trang

In January 2018 we flew to Nha Trang from Ho Chi Minh City.  We had arranged a transfer into the centre of the city, which took about 40 minutes or so to our hotel.  The driver was waiting at the airport with a sign with our name on. We had booked the transfer via Hoppa.

Accommodation

We had booked to stay at the Rosaka Nha Trang Hotel. The hotel was a modern, mid-sized 4 star hotel situated in the centre of the city, with just a 5 minute walk to the sea-front.  It had a lovely infinite Rooftop Pool. It was only a small pool but we were the only people ever in it. There were plenty of shops, bars and restaurants in the surrounding streets and access to public transport all within a short walking distance.  We would really recommend a walk around the streets as there were many fascinating shops to visit. 

We stayed at the hotel on a bed and breakfast basis. The breakfast was lovely with a wide range of food and lovely fruit especially the dragon fruit. The hotel supplied all the toiletries you would need. Not a big a hotel but not too small either. It had a roof top infinite pool which was small but as it was January they were not many people wanting to go in it. All the members of staff spoke very good English and were very helpful should you need them to do anything for you. It was my (Debbie) birthday whilst I was there and they made me some little cup cakes with happy birthday on them which was a nice touch.

Mopeds and Bikes

Most people get around Nha Trang on motor bikes or Mopeds. How there are not more accidents in Nha Trang we do not know but we did see a few not too serious accidents. There are so many on the roads and any one time with no clear road using rules. There are also no set ways to cross the road with no zebra crossings or pelican crossings. It felt like taking your life in your hands every time you crossed a road. The advice we were given was to just walk out and walk at the same pace but not to stop. It was said that the motor bikes and mopeds would drive round you. Fortunately this was the case but it did feel quiet dangerous.

Food and Drink

Some of the restaurants in Nha Trang were very interesting from seafood restaurants with the seafood jumping around in bowls outside the restaurant to all you can eat buffets which served many different dishes including crocodile , snake and ostrich. We are quite adventurous when it comes to food but we did not go in these restaurant we stuck to the ones that served more of what we would say is traditional food Pho (noodles and broth), Banh Xeo (Crepe with pork, shrimp and bean sprouts), Goi Cuon (Spring rolls with fish sauce), Bun bo nam bo (noodles with mice beef, peanuts, beansprouts and fiery chilli) just to name a few.

There were lots of bars in Nha Trang also but as we went in January which is not a very warm month for Vietnam they were not that busy. A lot of the people visiting Nha Trang were of Russian nationality. Some of the locals we spoke to stated that Russians prefer to drink in the hotels as apposed to the bars but we did meet some lovely people from Russia in one of the bars.

Street Bar

There was a little bar very close to our hotel. Which looked like a small take away stand when first going to the bar. As more people came to the bar more chairs and tables were placed in the street. Not sure if this is good or bad we don’t think this bar had any particular time to close just when the last person went.

Skylight

We went to the Skylight roof top bar which had amazing views. We had to book a table although not sure why as there was only us and another couple there at 7.30 in the evening. The staff there were wonderful and very attentive. The cocktails were amazing . We had to try a few to make sure we had not missed a good one lol. This bar is more expensive than other places in Nha Trang but still reasonable compared to places in England.

Crazy Monkey Boat

On my(Debbie) birthday my daughter had booked a trip to Monkey Island . We got picked up at our hotel and taking to where the boats leave from. It turned out that our boat to Monkey Island had left over 1 hour ago and all the people on our mini bus were going on a party boat called the Crazy Monkey. They allowed us to go on this boat free of charge and would arrange for us to go to Monkey Island the next day.

Not sure why it was called a Party Boat as the majority of people on there were of a certain age and did not look like they wanted to party. However we spoke to someone who lived in Nha Trang who was from England and he was with a group of friends. He had told us that he loved this boat and had taken the trip on it 45 times.

At 9.30 in the morning they were buying cans of larger and as it was my birthday insisted we drank with them. Not to be rude we of course joined in. We sailed to a destination where we could jump off the boat and swim.

Cocktail Float

A large circular float was then thrown in to the sea. One of the guides on the boat sat in the middle of the float with a jug of cocktail. There was a metal bar going round the float. When in the water we were asked by the guide to hook our feet under the bar so our bodies were floating in the sea whilst he poured the cocktail directly in to our mouths. After this we then got back on the boat and where we had lunch and some people did karaoke. We gave that a miss as we are not the best singers. The drinking and singing lasted until we went back to shore where the mini bus took us back to the hotel. We had an a brilliant fun time on this boat and would recommend anyone visiting Nha Trang to do it.

Monkey Island

Birds

The mini bus picked us up from our hotel to take us to catch the boat to Monkey Island. They first took us to a place which had birds in captivity and flying free. There were deers you could feed and also an Ostrich that you could ride. We questioned if the Ostrich was happy with this the guide stated that the Ostrich is well cared for. Not sure if this was the right thing to do but I (Debbie ) did ride the Ostrich.

Bear show

There was then a small show with performing bears which we did not watch as we thought it was cruel. This part of the trip was not what we wanted to see. Not sure what this entailed as we didn’t want to watch if but the stories of performing bears put us off.

Monkey’s

We had wanted to go Monkey Island as there are thousands of Monkey’s that roam free and most of them are very friendly. You can buy dried bananas there to feed the monkey’s. Once they know you have food they will climb up you, sit on your head etc.

The Monkey’s will do what ever they can to get the food. But they are very gentle and don’t snatch out of your hand. They will try and peel your fingers back very gently if they know you have got food clenched in your hand event the larger monkeys were quite gently. Apart from one monkey who seemed very protective over the smaller monkey’s. Monkey’s see showing your teeth as a sign of aggression. I (Mike) smiled at one of the larger monkey’s which jumped up and bit my arm breaking the skin. We were told that I might have to have an injection due to Rabies but this was not the case. We were advised by the pharmacy and the hotel to just clean it with antiseptic wipes and put antiseptic cream on it. Well I lived to tell the tale.

Sightseeing Tour

On one day we got a taxi to take us to some of the famous sites in Nha Trang. The taxi’s are very reasonably priced. We visited Po Nagar which is a cham temple tower which was built between the 8th and 11th century by the Cham people in honour of the goddess Po Nager which means “mother of the country”. There is an entrance fee to get in but only a small fee.

There are a lot of tourists here taking photo’s and we were no exception. Long son Pagoda a Buddhist Temple which was built in 1886 but was destroyed in 1990 by a cyclone. They tried to build the exact replicate but not in its original location but further down the hill. It is the largest Pagoda in Nha Trang. Thousands of tourists are attracted to see and praise the 79ft tall Buddha statue. The architecture of the pagoda is breath taking with beautiful lush grounds and statues of mythical animals.

Rikshaw Ride

Two older men asked if we wanted a Rikshaw ride which we agreed to do. This was quite a hair raising experience as they were weaving in and out of traffic. Although it was a bit scary the two riders were grateful for us doing this as it was pretty quiet in Nha Trang. We did feel a bit guilty that they were of a certain age and riding us around in a Rikshaw.

Summary

We will definitely go back to Vietnam and visit other destinations. We will probably go back to Vietnam when the weather is a bit better.

Images

Things to do

• Visit the Buddha
• Take a boat trip on the Cheeky Monkey.
• Go to Monkey Island
• Visit Long Son Pagoda
• Go to Nha Trang Beach
• Visit Po Nagar Cham Towers
• Visit Nha Trang Cathedral
• Sample some of the local cuisine
• Take a Rikshaw ride.

Top tips

• Check out temperatures for visiting Nha Trang as it was a bit chilly on occasions when we visited (Please see chart below).
• Be careful when crossing the roads as there appears to be no rules.
• Use taxi’s to visit places of interest as they are cheap and convenient.
• A visit to monkey island is a must which can be booked online prior to going to Nha Trang.
• The party boat the Cheeky Monkey was also great fun and worth it.
• Skylounge roof top bar is great for a cocktail and to admire the views.
• Check out other destination we have visited in Vietnam Ho Chi Minh City
• Check government advice on safety when visiting Vietnam https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/vietnam/safety-and-security

Weather

Temp – Celsius Rain – mm	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
High Temp	26	27	28	29	32	30	31	31	30	28	27	26
Low Temp	21	21	22	23	25	24	25	25	24	24	22	21
Rainfall	40	10	20	40	50	50	30	40	150	240	240	170
Number of days	6	3	3	4	6	4	5	7	11	14	15	13