We arrived in Nha Trang after a 10-hour bus ride through rural Vietnam—rice paddies, salt mines, coastal villages, and roaming livestock. The Lonely Planet let us down here. We picked a hotel and dive shop—one that had been closed and the other that had moved 3 years ago (so much for an up-to-date guidebook). We opted to take the advice of a tout whose $8 room with pretty pictures was appealing. In order to check it out, we took our first motorbike ride, propping our giant body bags (read: backpacks in black airport covers) over the handlebars and clutching to the back. We met two Aussie girls at the trendy, but budget bar Guava. Over a delicious frozen bellini, they advised us to sign up for the famous Mama Linh’s boat trip the following day. Mama Linh is the successor to Mama Hanh whose tremendous success (thanks to some free substances onboard) put her on house arrest in the late 1990s by the communist government. The boat was full of 30 people from all over the world: Russia, America, Canada, Israel, Ireland, Germany, and Asia. We left the marina at 8 am and headed to Mun Island first where we jumped off the boat’s roof and watched others snorkel since the tiny jellyfish were itchy and irritating. 
The second stop was Mot Island where we had a huge lunch spread out for us banquet style in the middle of the boat. Afterwards the house band, Pots n’ Pans, played international music to get everyone singing and dancing. Turns out, they should have done this after the floating bar. We hopped in the water and they gave everyone inner tubes and a small glass that never seemed to be empty thanks to the bartender that floated around with us. He would suction tiny cups to his pecks and chant the Vietnamese version of bottoms up: “Yo! (Vietnamese for Cheers) Up your bum...don’t tell your mum...no babies!” He was hilarious and kept all of us laughing since the local red wine he was pouring made us grimace; we only swallowed it because it was free. Tam Island was our third stop for the day. We passed up water sports for a cold Tiger Beer to keep the mid-afternoon buzz going. We opened up a second, makeshift floating bar instead of visiting the aquarium. Several other people thought it was a better idea and joined us as well. We rejoined our group at Guava that evening to top off a really fun day.
We were up early again for our second boat trip in two days, this time with Rainbow Divers—Vietnam’s most well-known diver operator. On our first dive we spotted a moray eel, but the other reef life was familiar from previous dives. It was nice, however, to be able to recognize and identify fish and coral underwater. The second dive included a swim-through cave with a current that pushed you back and then forcing you out, shooting you through a wall of small fish. Both dives struggled with visibility since a typhoon had recently passed through the area, but it was great to add a couple more to our log. That afternoon we took a motorbike ride out of town to soak in the mud baths and hot springs. We even added a massage to the mix for a total of less than $10. The massage was perfect; however, halfway through you could tell she was using her elbows and knees to knead particular muscles. Then she started walking on our backs with the help of a bar on the ceiling. It was quite relaxing, but we’re sure that we wouldn’t be able to keep a straight face if we had actually seen her do this. The following day we continued to pamper ourselves with a French pedicure and foot scrub (they needed it!). This was necessary since we needed to kill time before our overnight bus left for Hoi An.
We got ripped off by a couple of motorbike drivers while trying to get a quick bite to eat before our bus left. They said the ride was 15,000; but when handed a 50 they quickly changed the price and refused to give change since the two numbers sound conveniently similar in a Vietnamese accent. From speaking with other travelers, we learned that this tactic is more than common and it’s pointless to argue with them. We’ve come to the realization that for every good deal here, there is also a rip-off. Fortunately, it was not a large sum of money, but for a $22/day budget, it was dinner. We were rushed to catch the bus and dine on bread, cheese, and moon pies that we picked up at our gas station stop. An Ambien and a nice reclining chair passed the 12-hour bus ride perfectly. The only time we woke up was when we had already arrived.
The second stop was Mot Island where we had a huge lunch spread out for us banquet style in the middle of the boat. Afterwards the house band, Pots n’ Pans, played international music to get everyone singing and dancing. Turns out, they should have done this after the floating bar. We hopped in the water and they gave everyone inner tubes and a small glass that never seemed to be empty thanks to the bartender that floated around with us. He would suction tiny cups to his pecks and chant the Vietnamese version of bottoms up: “Yo! (Vietnamese for Cheers) Up your bum...don’t tell your mum...no babies!” He was hilarious and kept all of us laughing since the local red wine he was pouring made us grimace; we only swallowed it because it was free. Tam Island was our third stop for the day. We passed up water sports for a cold Tiger Beer to keep the mid-afternoon buzz going. We opened up a second, makeshift floating bar instead of visiting the aquarium. Several other people thought it was a better idea and joined us as well. We rejoined our group at Guava that evening to top off a really fun day.We were up early again for our second boat trip in two days, this time with Rainbow Divers—Vietnam’s most well-known diver operator. On our first dive we spotted a moray eel, but the other reef life was familiar from previous dives. It was nice, however, to be able to recognize and identify fish and coral underwater. The second dive included a swim-through cave with a current that pushed you back and then forcing you out, shooting you through a wall of small fish. Both dives struggled with visibility since a typhoon had recently passed through the area, but it was great to add a couple more to our log. That afternoon we took a motorbike ride out of town to soak in the mud baths and hot springs. We even added a massage to the mix for a total of less than $10. The massage was perfect; however, halfway through you could tell she was using her elbows and knees to knead particular muscles. Then she started walking on our backs with the help of a bar on the ceiling. It was quite relaxing, but we’re sure that we wouldn’t be able to keep a straight face if we had actually seen her do this. The following day we continued to pamper ourselves with a French pedicure and foot scrub (they needed it!). This was necessary since we needed to kill time before our overnight bus left for Hoi An.
We got ripped off by a couple of motorbike drivers while trying to get a quick bite to eat before our bus left. They said the ride was 15,000; but when handed a 50 they quickly changed the price and refused to give change since the two numbers sound conveniently similar in a Vietnamese accent. From speaking with other travelers, we learned that this tactic is more than common and it’s pointless to argue with them. We’ve come to the realization that for every good deal here, there is also a rip-off. Fortunately, it was not a large sum of money, but for a $22/day budget, it was dinner. We were rushed to catch the bus and dine on bread, cheese, and moon pies that we picked up at our gas station stop. An Ambien and a nice reclining chair passed the 12-hour bus ride perfectly. The only time we woke up was when we had already arrived.
1 comment:
hahahaha.... i did warn you about this one! Dont say i didnt tell you so!
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