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After a decent nights sleep we woke up to the sun coming through the gap in the curtains. Laura was still dozing and did not fancy any breakfast yet, I however was ravenous and decided to go on the hunt. I headed to a place We had spotted yesterday evening which specialised in meat and rice dishes.
After a five minute walk I arrived and asked for chicken and rice from which the nice lady told me to take a seat. Shortly after she brought me over a big plate of rice topped with seasoned cabbage and a very large chicken drumstick. From the size of it you may have thought it came from an ostrich! I brought out my caveman side and ripped the succulent meat from the bone, there was not one bit of gristle on it. All this came with a sour soup and free tea, amazing stuff... All for twenty five thousand dong. I thanked the lady and headed back to find what Laura was up to. On returning I found her preparing bread slices topped with laughing cow cheese spread and marmite. The breakfast of champions!
After blogging and generally being lazy we headed out to explore a little more of Nha Trang. The morning was very overcast so far with very brief, light showers. Obviously not quite beach weather yet. Our walk led us to a small cafe where we enjoyed a hot tea and iced coffee. The caffeine buzz sent us on our way and we headed through town spotting various local eateries and stalls. Laura was quite fond of the paintings in one shop but could not face the prospect of haggling at this point. We eventually stumbled across a vegetarian local eatery which had found its way into the lonely planet guide book. Basically you got a plate of rice and the lady piled a selection of vegetable sides including tofu and meat substitutes (like Quorn products at home). It was fifteen thousand dong so I couldn't really say no... Laura wasn't hungry so I devoured the plate myself... My appetite is definitely back with a vengeance.
By now the sun was trying to poke thought the clouds and it was time to hit the beach. It was already quite busy and we were soon hounded to purchase a sun lounger. They were quite expensive, but after some good haggling we got them for half price. The next few hours was relaxing in the sun, waving off various hawkers and taking a dip in the slightly murky water. We seemed to attract the food sellers who were barbecuing crabs and even lobsters right in front of us. It was pretty cool to start with but the seafood smell did become quite annoying. After being on the beach a while it was obvious there is a large Russian and Eastern European contingent here. The tight speedos everywhere you look was also a clear giveaway. This is confirmed by there being more Russian script on signs than English. After an hour or so we fancied a beer so I headed to the cafe from this morning about a km away to purchase a couple. There was beer sellers all over the beach and the front but they were charging twenty thousand for a small can while this cafe gave you a large bottle for eight thousand. It was a bit of a trek but well worth it for the dong saved... they opened the bottles for us and made the request that we bring the bottles back when done as they send them back to the brewery. We lounged a bit longer enjoying our beers before Laura offered to do the run dodging numerous characters on the way who wanted to take the bottles from her (guess its like a bottle bank and you get money for them) but she weaved and dodged and got back from the bar in record time. We enjoyed the beach for a while longer as the sun finally broke through the clouds and illuminated the beach before deciding to head back to the room for a shower and freshen up at about five ish.
Laura was quite peckish at this stage as she hadn't really eaten much all day and we soon found ourselves heading back out onto the streets at dusk. We firstly went in search of an Indian that we had received a flyer for on the beach and almost choked when we saw they were advertising their lunchtime thali at twelve dollars... Now I know this isn't India (where it cost about thirty pence) but come on... Twelve dollars?? I then recovered enough to guide Laura to the place I visited this morning for breakfast, where we were once again greeted by the very friendly lady. Laura ordered chicken rice and I opted for the fish steak. Both were very tasty and everything was soon devoured. On exiting we spotted the steamed dumpling filled with meat that are popular throughout South East Asia, especially Thailand. I was quite full but couldn't pass up the opportunity at such a cheap price (ten thousand dong). After tucking into the dumpling we found the filling of BBQ pork and egg delicious. Laura has some (or most... shes a right mighty mouth when she wants to be!!) and absolutely loved it... despite eating some of the paper stuck to the bottom. She said she may even get four or five tomorrow...
The neon lights were now lighting up the street and the ladies were congregating outside there respective bars. Tonight was really humid and I could feel the back of my shirt sticking to my back already. We headed to the Sinh cafe where we booked our bus for Saigon on the night of the 21st, we wanted to book early to ensure good seats after the last journey. We then started to search for coffee but soon aborted for the thought of air conditioning. We headed back on the idea we would cool down then head back out but instead feel asleep... We must have been tired.
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