Making tracks in the sand for Nha Trang
Named by travel website Expedia as a top 10 pick of winter beach destinations, and host to Miss Universe in 2008 and Miss Earth in 2010, Vietnam's premier seaside resort, Nha Trang is on the up.
Tempted by numerous recommendations, I broke from a long assignment in Ho Chi Minh to spend a week at "one of the world's most beautiful bays".
The new international airport is modern and sparse, a good indicator of what was to come. The 40-minute taxi ride from the airport into town is pleasant, taking in sweeping views of a forested coastline as it winds its way into the old fishing port.
The town, which is quickly developing into a mid-sized city, can broadly be divided into two sections. To the south is the bay with a long golden sand beach where most of the hotels, restaurants and travel agents are based. To the north is the old fishing port with a stronger feel for central Vietnamese life.
My hotel, the Yasaka, was well placed at the north end of the bay with easy access to both.
Walking the length of the bay along a paved path that follows the beach takes around an hour and there are plenty of places to stop for refreshments.
As a tourist, people selling sunglasses and secondhand books bothered me occasionally, but not relentlessly as on other Asian beaches.
Returning to the hotel, through the streets that run parallel to the seafront, there are more options for food and coffee as well as a few small clothing and souvenir shops.
The old port to the north with the Dam market at its center makes an interesting place to wander. With a winter temperature averaging around 25 C, I was happy to lose myself in the back streets, seeking out local fruits and small noodle shops any time of the day. This is also the best area to find good deals of fresh seafood in one of the many restaurants that overlook the port.
Surrounded on three sides by mountains and acting as a gateway to numerous smaller islands, the resort has other attractions beyond the bay.
Mud baths and historic tours are popular, but I signed up for a four-island boat trip that included a scuba dive amongst what was advertised as "spectacular fish and coral reef".
The trip was well organized with a pickup from the hotel at 8 am and after a short bus ride we set sail at 9 am. The guide was humorous as he danced and sang, explaining how much each of the attractions would cost to visit.
We made our way from an aquarium, to a pontoon where the dive took place, then to another pontoon with more water sports and finished at a small beach. Possibly due to the wind that day, the diving was pretty disappointing in comparison to similar trips in Indonesia and the Philippines.
I did not count, but was assured at the end of what was a pleasant but not awe-inspiring day that we had visited all four islands as they had promised.
Driving back along the bay to the airport, I looked one more time at the skyline littered with new hotels under construction and questioned whether it would have been better to have waited a year to visit when all the buildings were finished.
Either way, it appears the town is set to grow into an important tourist resort for the region and, as long as the weather and beach remain, will always make an enjoyable retreat from the stresses of city life.
China Daily
(China Daily 02/10/2011 page19)
