What a delightful resort town! The various descriptions I’d heard hadn’t really prepared me for Nha Trang. I was expecting not much more than a beach, some low-rise hotels, a few old temples, hot humid weather, and a plenty of pickpockets. There is a beautiful, 10-meter long beach, several high-rise hotels and more on the way—all across the street from the beach—several delightful temples, hot humid weather, a plenty of very pushy street vendors, and some pretty good shopping (a sun hat or beer for a buck US, silk shirts for $US 5 or 10).
First stop on our excursion was the Po Nagar Cham Towers built in the 7th through 12th centuries by the Cham civilization before they were pushed further south by the arrival of the Vietnamese. Now both Chinese and Vietnamese Buddhists worship there.
One of the Remaining Po Nagar Cham Towers
Dancing at the Po Nagar Cham Towers
Second stop was the Long Son Pogoda founded in the early 19th century and home to a few remaining monks. 150 steps above is a 42 meter tall white seated Buddha built in 1963 to honor self-immolated monks. The base on which the Buddha sits is a temple and around the outside are images of a few of the monks being honored. The frames around the portraits are in the shape of flames.
The White Buddha
The third stop was the obligatory merchant/factory, this time an embroidery factory and store. The work was very good but not as fine as what we saw in Shanghai.
Hand Embroidery Factory Workers
The final stop was at a restaurant on the beach where they served coconut milk in the nut. We preferred the Saigon beer (1$US). Then Janice and I went for a walk on the beach and to get our toes wet in the South China Sea. The sand is coarse and the beach steep. The waves were so unpredictable that we got more wet than we had intended!
In the South China Sea
Beach Scene
Like most ports, there was a pier-side market. After lunch we explored it and returned with a couple cans of local beers and a folding hat for Janice. Also like most ports there was a shuttle bus into town. Because we sailed at 5pm, however we did not use it.