NhaTrang
Had a few enjoyable days in MuiNe as the weather improved and the resort a good place on the beach in a nice surroundings to relax. However the sea only suitable for watersports enthusiasts which Muine becoming famous for.
Yesterday took the bus to here, NhaTrang. Decided to opt for the tourist bus, what they call Open Buses, as they pass along the beach and pick you up from the hotel. They have become very popular in Vietnam as take away a lot of the hassles and language not a problem and cheap so a good reason for tourists to take them. The downside is that nothing comes for free and they rely on as commission system to get their profits. So a 3 hour trip took 7 hours with unnecessary stops and not helped by more than a few breakdown stops. Which for them conveniently leaves you arriving late at a hotel out of the way from the center, but hoping you are too tired to care and check in. As it was I took a taxi to the center, but being late on a Saturday night hard to find a room and prices severely inflated. So in future I will leave these buses for the backpackers and stick to the hassles and rip offs of the local buses and at least enjoy mixing with the locals.
Was here a few years ago but like elsewhere has exploded. The road along the beach you could stroll across with eyes drifting to the beautiful girls cycling along and all wearing their traditional white dresses. The white dresses long gone and now crossing the road, certainly on a Saturday night the usual life threating feat with a mass of motorbikes. It wasn’t many minutes before saw the first accident. However the place now much more buzzing with no shortage of bars and restaurants and the usual tourist stuff.
Went to the disco, full of the young and beautiful. All those young girls who were previously hassling me for chewing gum on my last visit now grown up into swans – actually these girls probably the rich daughters of cadres who told their daughters to follow Uncle Ho and be a good communist student and that there would never be a place in Vietnam for MTV watching, beautiful girls going to discos in very short skirts. How wrong they were.
Today hot and sunny and excellent swimming with clear, calm water.
Tomorrow hopefully head inland.
Tags: 1
petefurlepa