I arrived around 6.30AM to Nha Trang, they pulled my bike out from under the bus put the front wheel back on and off I went in search of the "True Friends Inn" somewhere in the city, it was bloody freezing and took me ages to find I have on offline GPS but its quite basic and couldn't get me exactly there after about an hour I found it. I wasnt able to check in until 11AM so I dropped my bag off and went for a scout about. The first thing I encountered was that everything is written in Russian, I had heard from many, in fact all, that Nha Trang was Russian Russian Russian and many people were boycotting the seaside destination because of this. I have had several personal bad impressions of Rusians and was hoping that I might perhaps meet one who would change my mind but I didnt. I sat down at a table one night to say hello to some and instantly one stood up and started touching my face. Ermm what?!. That aside, the fact that 90% of the tourists were from Russia it didnt really affect me I had a great time in Nha Trang.
I didnt do a great deal in Nha Trang, in fact i didnt even go to the beach, my time here was spent a lot on my bike and I liked to just get lost in the city and venture further out to explore. I would buy a baguette each day from Tung who was a kid with his family who had a small shop set up on the street they greeted me happily each time. Perhaps the best day I had in Nha Trang was when we went snorkeling in a very random place of some rocks far out of the city. A girl I met at the hostel knew a vietnamese guy who was a diving master who she had worked with before, his name was Son and he was a very friendly guy although his English was not perfect. We had actually asked him to take us to the waterfall but this got lost in translation to snorkeling, he was very apologetic but he needn't have been it was a great day, the water was quite choppy so visibility wasnt great but it was still fun, we stocked up on some beer before we left too which always helps. When we were done with snorkeling we headed to a cool little bar where we spent a few hours playing cards, it was a really decent spot. Our evenings in Nha Trang we spent mostly at the "Why Not Bar" as this is latest open. We also spent some time the ozzy bar "Booze Cruise" it was Australia day when I arrived and around 3PM the place was already packed with plenty of drunken people dancing on the street with thier wizard sticks, it was pretty funny. One evening I went for a another scout around just out of the main city where I sat down with some Vietnamese guys who kindly offered me to sit with them and gave me beer free at thier restaurant.
It was now time for me to make a move further south to Dalat I had met an Australian in my dorm who was driving too so it worked out well. Before departing I went to say goodbye to Tung and his family and donated a hoody to him. I had lost my thin one in Hanoi at a club but had been given another by a vietnamese guy which was much bulkier and as I travel with just a 45L backpack I needed to get rid of it. I figured its getting warmer the further south and I wouldnt need it anymore, plus I still had my jacket with me. He was happy with it although it was a little big for him. We were now on the start of our epic journey through the mountains, this was the most incredible motorbike journey I had ever been on ever, the roads were in great condition and we, for some time, were riding high up in the clouds. Words cannot describe how beautiful the scenery was, I was in total awe. This was the reason I had come to Vietnam.
Nha Trang is definitely worth a visit, yes its heavily geared for Russian tourists but it is still a very beautiful place.
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