Knowing it would be hot, and with no public transport to speak of, we’d pre-booked a tour in Nha Trang, our only port of call in Vietnam.  We booked with “True Friends Easy Rider”, a local outfit that specialises in motorbike tours, but they also run a shore excursion in a private (and importantly, air conditioned) car.  Mr Benny had assured us he would be waiting just outside the port; true to his word, he was there with a sign.  We were joined by two other Australians from the Gold Coast, making up a group of just four – I was expecting to be in a minibus with a larger group, so this felt like luxury.  Our guides were Lee and his brother, who drove the brand new 6 seater car.

From the ship, Nha Trang looked like any other resort city – high rise apartments along the waterfront; obviously some money was being spent here.  From the car we could see that the beachside esplanade was wide and clean; a nice place to stroll.  The gardens were well cared for, with manicured hedges and small topiary trees decorating the median strip of what looked like a new road.

We left the town behind and continued north, following the curve of Nha Phu Bay on a well maintained highway.  The water was calm and smooth.  Behind us were low, green mountains, while the bay was dotted with small islands.  We stopped in a small town to look at the fleet of bright blue and red fishing boats, bobbing jauntily on their moorings.  Lobster is the main catch here.

Turning off the highway, we headed inland on a narrow road, which we shared with cyclists and a few wandering cows. Before long we arrived at the start of the walking trail to Ba Ho Waterfall.  The trail is well formed for most of the way, with some large boulders to scramble over as you near the waterholes and the falls themselves.  On the way we sampled some local fruit, called “sait” (not sure of spelling). About the size of a small grape, you peel off the outer layer, and eat the sweet flesh that surrounds a very hard nut.  I haven’t tasted anything like this before; we ate several of them, enjoying the new flavour.

The lush vegetation made conditions very humid, and I was glad when we stopped for a swim or paddle.  I only went as far as the first “lake” (a couple of small pools where you can submerge yourself, or sit on the rocks), while Ian and the others headed further up to the second “lake”; that one had a tiny gravel beach and another small pool.  I dangled my feet contentedly in the cool water flowing downstream from the falls; Ian came back and joined me while we waited for the rest of our group.  We were surprised at how few people were there, but I imagine it gets pretty busy on weekends.

A short drive brought us to a tiny beachside restaurant with a lovely view of the water, more boats, hills and islands.  We sat outside under some coconut trees, feeling very relaxed.  Next thing we knew, a large machete was produced; fresh coconuts were cut from the tree, and chopped up.  We were each served our own coconut, with a straw so that we could drink the milk.  Neither of us had tasted coconut milk or flesh before; the milk is very sweet. Ian enjoyed it more than I did; I have new respect for contestants on Survivor who live on it for days on end.

Lunch was steamed rice with vegetables, bbq pork (delicious) and sweet and sour sauce, followed by bananas.  I don’t know that too many tourists would find themselves here; we certainly enjoyed what seemed like a local, family-run enterprise.

We made our way back into Nha Trang via a different route, and started to see the ubiquitous motorcycle riders, who are absolutely everywhere.  It’s almost balletic watching the traffic interweaving in all directions; to our untrained eye, it looked somewhat chaotic, but it all seems to flow quite happily.  There is horn tooting, but more to serve as a reminder rather than an act of aggression.  Noe in the older part of Nha Trang, we were seeing small shops, narrow streets, local people, and a mess of electrical wires! Ian commented that if the signs were in Spanish rather than Vietnamese, we could be in Argentina; I guess their economies are similar. 

The main attraction of Nha Trang, besides the beach, are the Po Nagar, or Cham, Towers.  This 1400 year old temple complex dates from the time when Vietnam was divided into Cham (south), Khmer (central) and Viet (north).  There are many religions here – Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim, and still a strong Catholic influence, from the days when the French were here.  You climb a set of stairs to a series of striking, red brick towers, some of which contain shrines to Shiva.  If you cover your arms and legs, and remove your shoes, you can enter the shrines, where you might see people bringing offerings of fruit and flowers, or kneeling to pray.  Otherwise you can walk around outside, enjoying the tranquil gardens, water features, and statues.  We saw a group of women dressed in bright red, gracefully performing a ceremonial dance. I would have liked longer here to absorb it all, but it was time to move on.

We took a tiny winding road uphill, which made me very glad we’d opted for a tour rather than trying to walk between the sights.  Our next stop was the Long Son Pagoda, a giant white statue of Buddha.  This was built in 1963 – much more recent than the towers!  It is the first such Buddha statue in Vietnam.

Back in town, we were taken to see mat weaving, a dying craft these days.  We watched two sisters working skillfully together to painstakingly weave a colourful and sturdy grass mat.  There was no sales pitch for us, as we cannot take anything made of grass into Australia.

The final part of our adventure in Nha Trang was a walk part way across a small pedestrian bridge.  And adventure it was – this narrow, rickety bridge not only has nice views of the river, but it serves as a major short cut for the motorcyclists.  Privately owned, it was built by an enterprising man who charges 5000 VND (about 30 cents) to cross it.  It must be worth the fee, because there was a steady stream of riders clattering across, in both directions, not leaving much room for us!  It was certainly one way to get right in amongst the action.

The tour was excellent; we were plied with cold drinks, and well fed with fresh local food.  We saw a good mix of local life, and the attractions that bring tourists here.  We were very well looked after, and spent 7 hours instead of the advertised 4 or 5 – great value.  Did we see the “real” Vietnam?  It’s hard to tell; Nha Trang, as an up and coming resort with plenty of money being spent, may not be typical.  We felt we’d at least seen a small slice of the country, and not just a generic beach resort.

After a day full of new experiences, we were delivered back to the port, where we boarded tender boats.  This was the first time we’d seen the ship at sea, and we could see the North Star cabin extended up into the sky.  Tired, we skipped the after-dinner show and fell into bed.