We spent April 12-15 in Nha Trang, taking advantage of a Vietnamese holiday that fell on the 15th. It was a really fun time.
THE FLIGHT
We took Pacific Airlines - a "budget" airline - with all the frills of a budget airline, but with normal airline prices. It was a pretty eventful trip, since the flight was packed with what appeared to be folks flying for the first time. As soon as the plane tilted upwards and left the ground, there were a lot of excited cheers and laughter. Because it was a budget trip, the plane had the feel of a local bus, minus the chickens. As a matter of fact, on the way back, there was a distinct smell of dried squid that permeated not just the waiting room at the airport but in the airplane as well. Nothing but the best for us!
NHA TRANG
Nha Trang was great! The beach has a very local feel which reminded us a lot of the malecon in Puerto Vallarta and downtown Manzanillo. The sand, however, was rather gravelly. The unfortunate downsides were that there were vendors frequently coming to sell things. They were all friendly, but it was difficult to just sit and relax without someone else coming up trying to sell me Vietnamese history books.
On our second day there, we hired a boat and took a trip out to one of the islands, hanging out at this place known as "mini-beach." Powdery soft white-sand and a bit of snorkeling made it a great place to while away a few hours. Afterwards, we took the boat and had lunch on the other side of the island, where we chose a large fish and a fresh squid right out of huge nets sitting in the water.
In Nha Trang, we ate at both the "Sailing Club" and the "Louisiane Restaurant." Both places were beachfront and had excellent food. It was great just sitting there enjoying the breeze. At the Louisiane, it was even better since they had a swimming pool. We spent a good chunk of one day just hanging out by the pool, eating at the restaurant and enjoying the fresh sea breeze. It was awesome.
We spent a couple of nights at a local amusement park, where the kids really got a kick out of a small roller coaster. It was nice to be out walking at night with so many people out.
CAM RANH AIRPORT
When we landed at Cam Ranh airport, the plane slowed down then just kept on taxiing...and taxiing...and taxiing on the same runway for what seemed to be forever. As I was thinking about how long this runway seemed to be, I could see lots of concrete outside with overgrown weeds. It dawned on me that we had landed at the old US military base at Cam Ranh Bay. It was amazing to see that the runway built 40 years ago was still in use. The terminal itself may have also been US-built, since it had all the charm of a US government building - perhaps a warehouse. Solidly built, but strictly utilitarian.
We all came back with great tans. I asked Luna what she like the most, and she couldn't decide. When I asked Justo the same thing, he said he liked the TV the best. Twerp.
