Day 10 - Nha Trang

It is considerably warmer here than the other places we have visited.

There are problems with the hotel.  Everything looked good last night when we arrived but we have all had problems.  There has been no hot water so we had to have cold showers.  The water flows ok for a short period and then just stops.  I had just shampooed my hair when the water went off and I couldnt rinse it.  After about 15 minutes it started to trickle through again.  The TV seems to come on now and again without us touching the remote control and then it is difficult to turn off.  The safe, which is not secured to anything, is very light and easy to pick up.  Paul tried it out before putting anything in and when he entered the code to unlock it started emitting an alarm signal which we couldnt stop so had to get maintenance to sort it out.  We found that all the others have had similar problems and at least 3 couples have had to move rooms today.

We were offered the choice of a free day or a half day tour.  We chose the tour and were taken firstly to the Institute of Oceanography where they had many aquariums with fish, coral and other sea creatures.  They also had crocodiles and sea turtles.  It was a huge complex and very well laid out.  One of the pools had live coral.  There were coral reefs off the islands close to the town but they have been destroyed by tourists from Russia and China who have ignored requests to not touch the coral and have taken it as souvenirs.


Shark


Hawkshead Sea Turtle

Moray Eel




We then went to Long Son Pagoda where we climbed endless steps to see a sleeping buddha and then a 78' Buddha at the top of the hill.

Long Son Pagoda

Pagoda Bell


Sleeping Buddha

Buddha at top of hill

Beautiful Magnolia type flowers

View over Nha Trang and mountains from Long Son Pagoda


Our second visit was to Po Nagar towers and temples.  These are from the Cham civilisation that lived in this area hundreds of years ago.  Again it involved climbing a lot of steps.

Po Nagar Towers

One of several temples at Po Nagar

One of several temples at Po Nagar

The gardens at Po Nagar


One of several temples at Po Nagar

One of a very small number of birds seen here.


We were told the last visit was to "Hot Springs" so we expected to see hot water coming up from the ground but it turned out to be a spa complex with hot tubs, mud baths and many different types of treatment and it was very expensive to get in.  We all decided not to bother as it was all man made and not natural.


We had a rest at the hotel before going out again late afternoon when it was getting a little cooler.  We walked a little way along the promenade and had a drink at a beach bar before going back to the hotel to get ready for the evening.

The beach and islands in the background

The promenade

Beach Bar selfie


We had dinner and then headed for the night market but it was mainly tourist souvenir stalls.  It was very crowded so we walked to central square where the local people were enjoying Sunday evening by roller skating, kite flying, paddling in the sea and eating.  The town is lit up well at night and looks lovely.


Tonights menu

Night Market

Central Square

Illuminations

Illuminated lamp-posts

Pavements are not for pedestrians

Night time in Nha Trang






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