Nha Trang First Look
November 11th, 2005 @ 9:39 pmNha Trang really does have some nice beaches. However, I had the impression that there would be white sand. That has been a gross exaggeration. The sand itself is an unimpressive tan color, meaning it is the color of the stereotypical beach sand. The waves are calm, and though you can rent boogie boards, I find them quite pointless. On the other hand, you can rent a boat. Then, you can throw out some inflatable inner tubes and chill and drink alcohol- in the middle of the ocean! We are doing that tomorrow.
Interestingly enough, the hotel that we are staying at, the SeaView Hotel, has no view of the sea. It is mere meters from the beach, but sheer coincidence or horrible architectural planning has prevented the vast majority of balconies from seeing anything but the beach. Right outside the hotel is the only Book Exchange store I’ve ever seen in Vietnam. I have plenty of books to trade, but I rather not part with them. Instead, I rather cheaply bought two random books from some street venders, and then proceeded to this book exchange for two books that I actually want.
Unfortunately for me, the woman demanded that I pay an extra 25,000 dong for every book I exchange. Or, I can exchange my two books for any one book of theirs, provided that it is a photcopied book AND not a thick book. I wanted to say, “What do you mean I have to pay money to exchange a book? This is a Communist country! You can’t charge money if I am exchanging one book for one book!” Of course, I lack both the vocabulary and audacity to say such things. And to my embarrassment, my friends also pointed out that the procedure is the same in America. “Obviously,” they concluded, “you have never exchanged video games before at Blockbuster.
The beauty of Nha Trang has not been ignored by the tourism sector here. In fact, there are just as many Western people roaming the streets as Vietnamese. Nearly all of the street venders, xe om riders, and restaurant owners along the beach speak English. People here instinctively talk to foreigners and overseas Vietnamese in English. Only when I respond in Vietnamese do they revert back to their native language. It is a testament to how popular the beach is with foreigners. It is quite normal for foreigners to get jobs here. They normally work in higher end clubs like The Sailor’s Club, usually passing out flyers during the day and then making the club look popular (ie, party it up) at night.
On the other hand, if you walk merely two blocks inland, the signs abruptly change into Vietnamese, and Nha Trang suddenly becomes the normal Vietnamese town. Westerners apparently do not stray far from the ocean. Like any other city, Nha Trang has its own crowded marketplace, this one almost 4 blocks from the ocean. After Saigon, however, I found the selection to be quite unimpressive, and I did not stay long. Well, I stayed long enough to buy a 70,000 dong pair of sunglasses for 45,000 dong. I wish I could say that they were for protection against the UV rays. But these sunglasses have a blue tint to them, and I seriously doubt they protect me against anything. 45,000 dong was not spent in vain though: I now look sexy.
November 12th, 2005 at 12:28 am
your boooooks from amazon came in! they are sitting in my room [okay, YOUR room]. i got free shipping and handling on them. yeA! lets have a boook exchange! haha so do those sunglasses beat my swapmeet brown ones? blue tint? uhh..okayy.
November 12th, 2005 at 6:17 pm
http://mijeje.com
everyone knows that NOTHING beats your swapmeet brown sunglasses. When the lady tried to sell the sunglasses for 70,000, I said, “What, you think this is swapmeet brown? It’s blue!” Then she said ok 50,000.
Then I said, “Do you know who my sista is?” And then she said ok 45,000.
Bargaining in VN is sweet.
November 12th, 2005 at 10:54 pm
hahahaha i loooVe IT! thats right, you tell them whats up. hows that bike of yourS?
November 13th, 2005 at 8:20 am
Actually, Nha Trang beach is a pretty good beach. Especially for a South-Vietnamese born. Other beaches in Southern Viet Nam are not that great (or developed) for swimming.
Nha Trang also has many large rocks that have interesting natural forms. I chiseled my children’s initials into Hòn Chồng (Piling Rock or Husband Rock) when I was there 12 yrs ago. It may be gone by now.
Enjoy Nha Trang - your maternal grandmother hometown.
July 18th, 2008 at 6:34 pm
i think you should shut your mouth your obviously a mardy cow and cant be entertained for long…Nha Trang is amazing and i think your comments are snobby and over the top…go and take your money somewhere else cause Nha Trang dont want your filthy talking mouth here
July 20th, 2008 at 4:09 am
http://mijeje.com
Sazzle, if your comments refer to the Responses between “Administrator” and “your sista” in this blog entry, then I feel obliged to explain that the story of the sunglasses bargaining is completely fiction. The Responses between “Administrator” and “your sista” was written at a time when this blog was known only to a select group of friends and family and did not have the international readership it does now. But you are correct- I do sound snobby and over the top, and I regret any offense I may have given.
If your comments refer to my actual blog entry and first impression impression of Nha Trang, then I take it as a humbling reminder that I cannot please everyone. I am not exactly the same person that I was when I wrote that entry on November 11, 2005, but I do not regret anything I wrote in the actual entry itself.
But either way, this “mardy cow” and his “filthy talking mouth” has not been back to Nha Trang since that blog entry.
July 2nd, 2009 at 12:27 am
http://www.princessannam.com/
Bargain is sweet. I bet 45,000 VND is still expensive. My uncle sells sun glasses so i know its real price is around 20,000 VND