Vietnam: Nha Trang

Monday, June 5, 2023, Nha Trang, Vietnam

The ship got into port about 10:00 a.m.; the first free shuttle bus left about 10:30. We missed it, and the next one wasn’t for 45 minutes. I picked up a map at the visitor table and overheard a couple from New York who were discussing getting a taxi to the ancient Ponagar Cham towers located on the other side of the city. I asked if they wanted to share one as that is the #1 tourist destination in Nha Trang and a symbol of the city. It’s located on top of a pretty high hill just eight miles from the port.

The 4 of us walked off the pier and tried to deal with the 10 to 15 taxi drivers queued up. The first one wanted $50. We ended up paying $10 (Charlie doesn’t get the credit, we relied on the man from New York’s negotiating skills).  

The taxi driver dropped us off in a very busy parking lot. We made our way to the ticket booth, bought tickets, and climbed many curving stone stairs. Large trees provided welcome shade part way up. We spent some time enjoying it while photographing the towers from below, then resumed to the top.

Photo op from part-way up

The trees provided much appreciated shade

Lots of stairs to get up the hill

The Champa empire is the earliest human settlement in Nha Trang. The towers date to the 7th-12th centuraies, when the Champa Kingdom was flourishing and Hinduism was practiced here. They were bombed during the Vietnam war. The damage has been lovingly restored. All of the structures are made of brick, with many terra cotta statues and reliefs of gods, fairies, and animals.

Relief of deity riding an elephant, the trunk with darkened bricks

There are some structures you can enter, however we were not dressed properly for this. My arms were bare and Charlie was in shorts. However, they had free robes we could use. Despite the heat, we donned the robes. Visitors also had to remove shoes before entering these spaces. The temples are still actively used for worship, as we witnessed.

In our borrowed robes

Now we could enter the South Tower

There was also a museum on the site with some interesting history. Blessedly air conditioned and containing many photos and a few statues.

Deity statue in the museum

Monks preparing food outside near the museum building

By now we had lost track of our taxi-sharing acquaintances but thankfully they had waited for us in the parking lot and even had a taxi lined up. We agreed on our next destination - the ship’s shuttle pick-up and drop-off point at a hotel in downtown Nha Trang. From there we could get a free ride back to the ship.

We weren’t ready to go back yet. The Dam Market, Nha Trang’s largest market, was just a couple blocks away. It’s a huge round building, and they sell everything. There are many more vendors outside. Charlie bought a shirt inside the market. Outside, we bought dried mangos and cashews to snack on. 

Giant round market.

Shirt vendor

It was lunch time. The cashew/mango vendors recommended the very basic outdoor restaurants under tarps next door. It had started to rain & i was glad I had my umbrella. No one spoke English in these establishments. We picked one and somehow ordered noodles and vegetables. A man prepared a coconut for us, too. We sat at the low plastic chairs and tables under an ancient tarp and had a delicious lunch for almost nothing. We offered a dollar more because of the coconut, but they wouldn’t take it. We sensed that their pride wouldn’t allow that.

Some of the best food we had on the trip. 

You can see my knee sticking up above the low table. And fresh coconut water.

Our chef

Next we looked for a taxi to take us to the post office. We had postcards to write and mail. We found someone to take us and sat at tables, wrote our postcards, bought stamps, and mailed them. Our taxi driver was going to come back in 45 minutes and take us to the beach. He was a no-show, but Google Maps indicated we were just a few blocks from the beach anyway.

Our postcards on the post office table.

The beach had a nice palm-lined walkway. One of the first things we encountered was a group of men intently huddled around some activity. Gambling? I recognized it as Go (my brother Jack had played). There were swimmers in the water. We took turns getting our feet in and watching our stuff.

Beach walkway

Go players (and watchers) at the beach

Getting my feet wet. Charlie on guard duty

Our lack of local currency was an issue. We unsuccessfully tried to buy peanuts at the beach and then coffee near the shuttle pickup point. The shuttle arrived and saved us.

The shuttle bus waiting at the pickup point by a hotel

Back at the ship, we freshened up and decided to look for something to eat on shore. We love Vietnamese food, and this was our last port in Vietnam. It was dark. The neighborhood by the port was not that well lit and frankly looked a little sketchy. There was a coffee place, but no restaurant nearby. 

While I was using my phone to look for someplace to eat, Charlie was talking to a couple of young men on motorcycles. To my astonishment, Charlie accepted their plan to take us to a restaurant. I had serious doubts about this plan, the main one being I hate motorcycles. I reluctantly got on the back of one of them, put on the helmet he had for me, and off we went.  We had seen the haphazard way motorcycle traffic operates, with varying speeds, passing and being passed, but being part of the flow gave us a different perspective. There is a feeling of cooperation with the other drivers and we arrived safely at a well-lit, family-friendly restaurant. 

This restaurant had tubs of live sea-food—you could pick out your dinner, and they would prepare it for you. With the miracle of Google translate, we were advised of plant-based options (not a common thing here). We ordered every dish we could find and ate it all. It was excellent. 

Our restaurant

Our food

Our motorcycle escorts had chosen well, and were waiting to take us back to the ship. I realized on the way back I’d forgotten to ask for the helmet. I survived to live another day. 

Motorcycle ride back. I survived.

Back at the port, we walked across the port to the ship in semi darkness, taking our time and enjoying the cool air, at long last.