Posted August 11
Nha Trang
My introduction to Nha Trang was from the Grab driver who picked me up at the Airport. It’s about 30-40 minutes to travel from the Airport, technically in Cam Ranh, into the heart of Nha Trang.
Are you Korean? He asked, and not wanting to go into deep history, I just said, “Yes, I was born there.” An earnest young Vietnamese man with broken but perfectly understandable English skills, he then proceeded to tell me about all the things he loves about Korea. Korean music, Korean Television shows, Korean movies, Korean phones, Korean TVs, Korean food, Korean kickboxers, Korean Cars, and pretty much Korean everything, even Korean people.
My airplane in Hanoi taking me to Nha Trang, a 90 minute flight
By the time he was through extolling the virtues of my origin but not really homeland, we were approaching the neighborhood of my hotel. As he deftly navigated the traffic of downtown Nha Trang he left me with his opinion of others he’d encountered in his hometown.
“I don’t like Chinese or Russians. They come here and are angry. How come you come to Nha Trang and be angry?”
Well, that question has been ruminating in my mind for the last week.
Nha Trang is a city of about 500,000 people on the south-central coast of Vietnam. Its standout feature is a two-mile long sandy, tropical beach, which combined with the daily (even in the rainy season) sunny 90+ degree weather yields day after day of perfect beach environment.
How can you be angry?
The Nha Trang Beachfront
I have settled into a routine here. I wake up before sunrise and head to the beach promenade, about a block from my hotel. Why? Because it’s the most pleasant time of the day for weather. It’s in the low 80’s and before the sun comes up, it isn’t unbearably hot, although it is already quite humid.
I either walk or run along the promenade, which extends almost the full length the beach, and take in the grandeur of the sunrise. The colors at sunrise are saturated, warm, and almost let you forget how the same star, 93 million miles away, will be attempting to burn you to a crisp an hour later.
At such an early hour, I’m joined on the beach and promenade by thousands of people, mainly locals, who understand that this is the best time for exercise. For example, the countless Zumba groups. Like in Hanoi, Zumba is a serious thing here. There are many organized groups in parks and along the waterfront every morning.
Sunrise at Nha Trang
After breakfast, it’s time to head to the beach. The entire beach is public, with the wide promenade as the entry point. The two common ways to use the beach are to just bring a towel and lay claim to a spot, or to pay a small fee ($4-$8 per day) to a vendor for a beach chair and umbrella.
Technically the vendors can’t prevent you from putting a towel on any part of the beach, so the service they’re selling is the chair and umbrella.
Interestingly, there’s very little, almost non-existent, beach services other than that. If you’ve ever been to a tourist beach in Mexico with the countless vendors selling everything from food to jewelry, that doesn’t exist here. Neither do catamaran excursions, Jet Ski rentals, sunset booze cruises, or any of the other services you’d commonly find.
After settling in on your beach chair, would you like a beer? Walk to the convenience store across the street to get one. How about a snacK? Same. Want lunch? Leave your blanket on the chair and walk to a restaurant, then come back after you’ve eaten.
Stake your claim or rent a chair on the beach
At about noon, it’s now so hot that even the 10 foot walk between the beach blanket and water is a blister inducing ordeal. So you head indoors. To the hotel, to the movie theater (owned by the Korean corporation Lotte, which just coincidently shows Lotte produced K-Dramas in the theater) or to the fancy indoor malls.
Oh, and by the way, there are lots and lots of Russians and Chinese here. They all seem to be mad at something, anything. My observation is that they don’t smile, and they argue with the waiters and store clerks a lot.
Evening comes and Nha Trang Beach becomes one giant, lonely night club. It’s actually kind of sad. There are lots of bars and restaurants blasting inappropriate hip-hop or wordless EDM at full cacophonous volume until 2AM, but very few patrons.
Perhaps it’s because those nightclubs haven’t figured out that $10 cocktails in Vietnam isn’t an appealing fiscal choice? Especially if you’re here escaping conscription from an illegitimate war. (Sorry, snarky there)
Evenings on the Nha Trang Beach
That said, there are a few non-touristy but touristy things to do. This part of Vietnam used to be part of the Champa Empire, and there are still a few relics still standing. Po Nagar is in remarkably good shape, aided by some recovery efforts along the way.
The architecture of Po Nagar is reminiscent of some of the Cambodian ancient temples and rightly so, since they share historical background with the Chams who built those temples as well.
My visit to Po Nagar was pleasant and because the hillside that Po Nagar is built on is at the outlet of the Cai River into the South China Sea, the sea breeze yields a very nice cooling effect, even at mid-afternoon.
So how can you come to Nha Trang and be angry? I don’t really know, it’s been pleasant and enjoyable so far and now I understand why the hotel clerk in Hanoi, while I was checking out and telling her that I was headed to Nha Trang, said “Oh, I want to go too! That’s the best place in Vietnam!”
Lower Entry Towers of Po Nagar, an 8th Century CE Cham Temple