Wed 9 to Thur 10 Jan 2013- Nah Trang

Early the next morning while it was still dark the train arrived in Nah Trang - a coastal town 450km north of Ho Chi Minh. We were lucky to be able to check straight in to our hotel and after a welcome shower we were ready to set off and explore the beach area however the forecast rain had appeared.  We decided to lie down for a short while and go out a bit later. Five hours later we woke up and realised our missed nights sleep had caught up with us and we had slept half the day away!  We spent the afternoon walking down to the beach area and had a paddle in the sea.  We joined our tour leader late in the afternoon and he took us on a sight seeing walk around the town.  Nah Trang was refreshingly quieter after the chaos of the city so was pleasant to walk around.  The walk included going to see a buddhist temple with  a huge buddha statue sitting on top of a hill looking out over the city .  The climb up hundreds of steps to get to the top was well worth the sight of the buddha close up and the view out over the city.

Next day we joined a party boat tour for a day trip  visiting four different islands and snorkelling.   After sailing out of the harbour it was interesting to see the floating homes where fishermen live and work and watch them fishing and mending their nets, sometimes in traditional wooden boats.   The first island had a small aquarium and the second island had a coral reef where were jumped into the water and did some snorkelling.  There was some fish and coral to see but not particularly spectacular.   Lunch was served on the boat - an amazing buffet with dozens of small dishes of local food.  The boat crew then entertained us all with music, dancing and even a bit of karaoke which was great fun, especially once the beers and cocktails were flowing!  We then did some more swimming off the boat before being dropped off on another island for an hour or so to enjoy the sunshine from a deckchair or walk along the beach. 

 Later the boat returned to pick us up and return us to the harbour and our hotel. We had time for a shower and supper before leaving Nha Trang late that evening for the next of our overnight trains, this time taking us to Danang from where we would travel the short distance to Hoi An.