Yin Yang in Nha Trang (12 April 2008)

Like all those GI’s during the war, Nha Trang was a place of “R & R” for us, exercise and relaxation to balance our yin and yang. After getting off the train and an early breakfast, we removed to the Louisian Brewhouse Beach Club where we spent 2 days. For 20,000 dong (60p) we could spend our time resplendently reclining on day beds on Nha Trang’s broad, white , 10 kilometre sweep of beach and turquoise sea (it is after all one of the world’s top ten beaches), with green islands in the distance, the odd fishing boat and peace. It was a beach of two halves – in the morning for a 7 am swim (and yes, we were on the beach both days at that time!), it was all locals taking a dip, doing their exercises and Tai Chi and pensioners playing badminton on the beachside open courts. As the day progressed it was taken over by Westerners enjoying their holiday. We were waited on hand and foot by the smiling waiters, and sold to (food, postcards, paintings..) by people without hands and feet (the omnipresent landmine victims). On Day 2 we dragged ourselves from such decadence as we took out two bikes riding through the town and out into the winding, potholed country lanes for 12kms on our self organised “mud baths, minerals and bikes tour”. We passed the impressive 12th century Cham towers (same, same but not very different…) being avoided by lorries, cars, taxis, minibuses, coaches, screeching mopeds and cyclos. We cycle to the Thap Ba Hot Springs which are definitely one of the jewels of Nha Trang, located along the banks of the river. We start with a 15 minute communal mud bath, pouring buckets of mud over each other’s heads using brightly coloured pans. (see pic). From there we sit in the warm sun for another 15 minutes while the mud dries and soothes and cleans the skin. After showering clean with naturally hot water we jump into the mineral spring where we sit making sign language conversation with locals who seemed to enjoy pouring hot water over these strange farangs using a gourd. Then on to stand under the powerful waterfall (still hot - 38 degrees) and finally we swim in the hottest swimming pool ever. And the cost? Yes it's expensive - it cost us about £2.50 each. What an experience! But one tip - think about what you wear – Gill’s white swimmie top is now a nice Armani beige. Relaxed, we remount our trusty (or should that be rusty) bikes for the journey back. We take a rest in the middle of a rickety river bridge with traffic of all kinds passing by to take some shots of the brightly painted fleet of fishing boats which serve as both home and business for the families living aboard. We would see them in the distance later tonight as they were out there plying their trade, looking like a brightly lit village in the far distant sea. Shopping is also part of feeding the soul and balancing our chakras, so on our return cycle, we divert to the studio of Vietnam’s globally renowned, leading photographer Long Thanh. His gallery is full of evocative black and white photos of Vietnamese life – all done with film developed in his small kitchen with hand mixed chemicals - no digital stuff here. We were lucky enough to meet him and he even took a picture with Ant’s camera, and I have to say he was suitably impressed with Ant’s equipment… Ant indulged in this shopping opportunity - same, same and no different! As we cycled back, our cycling proficiency and confidence grew as we started to manage the roads and crazy traffic like locals. That means effectively think of yourself – everyone else will go around you. Keep your eyes closed going round busy roundabouts, don’t look as you join a road, go through red traffic lights (and how nice to do what we both hate London cyclists doing!), drive on the wrong side of the road or the pavement if the fancy takes you, or go down a one way street the wrong way. Ignore intersections completely, just blithely carry on through it all. It worked, our karma was obviously in balance. Sadly, our bum’s weren’t – by the end we needed to rest them back at the Louisiana Brewhouse Beach Club on their nice soft beds…. And after two much needed drinks and a spot of lunch, our drunken cycling style was not noticed by the local militia. Early evening, in the interest of balance, we decide to take a cyclo i.e. still wheels but someone else’s leg power to enjoy the most expensive drink in the city. We sip our excellent $6 US mojitos overlooking the early evening promenading by the local townsfolk at the Sunrise hotel, a beautiful Western 5* - but you know what? We would not have swapped it with the Ha Van for the world – our charming hotel really made our Nha Trang experience. We choose to dine at a Nha Trang institution, Dante’s Inferno, properly known as Lac Canh, a busy Vietnamese. Plates of marinated raw beef and chicken are delivered to your formica table that had been hastily wiped clean from the previous occupants. The child sized red plastic seats were surprisingly comfortable. And then the bucket of white hot smoking coals was placed centrally upon it – you cook your own tea here! The atmosphere in the restaurant with the buckets of flaming coals on every table was worse than any London pea souper – no non smoking tables here! Full of local families, it had a really buzzy atmosphere, and the bill was all of £8 for two – and over half of that was spent on our bottle of reasonable French wine. They give you wet towels, smelling faintly of Domestos here – not for cleaning your hands we decided, but removing the black soot from your face before getting a taxi home! Gill was especially amused by bowls full of dirty dishes continuously passing that had been outsourced to somewhere down road – perhaps the restaurant had no running water? At the end of our action packed day, with our yin and yang perfectly in balance, we make our bed time 11pm to be ready for our 5 am taxi to the station to pick up the Reunification Express for the next leg of our adventure into Central Vietnam.