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The next stop was to be a welcome relief from the city with a trip to the beach town of Nha Trang about a 10 hour bus journey away. We arrived late afternoon and after fending off the numerous touts waiting to jump us as we disembarked we found our guest house and checked into what was a very comfortable and clean room. After a quick shower we headed out to explore and find somewhere nice for dinner. The pace in Nha Trang was much slower when compared to the chaos of Saigon however there were still lots of motorbikes and dozens of restaurants and bars to choose from. The centre was based around a square of 4 streets and our hotel was on one of them so we really didn't have far to walk to get to the action. We headed straight to the nearest bar for a couple of refreshments after our long journey. Feeling a little hungry we went off in search of somewhere to have dinner. The problem with having so many restaurants and bars is that it is really difficult to find anywhere that has any more than 2 tables of diners and without any music playing many of the places lack the atmosphere that would be generated from lots of customers so in spite of there being lots of restaurants it still took us some time to find somewhere to have dinner. Eventually we stumbled upon one busy restaurant and decided this was going to be our best option. After dinner feeling pretty tired from our travels we had another drink in a nearby bar before heading back to the hotel to relax.
The next day was lovely and sunny so we headed straight to the beach and with it having been some time since we had visited the beach we were both really looking forward to it. The beach itself was lovely with views to neighboring islands and with not many people there it was lovely and quiet. The peace was soon interrupted by the first of many sellers trying to peddle everything from hookie novels and sunglasses to fruit and baked goods. Some just had small baskets filled with a variety of crap and would plunk the basket down on your towel and say "buy something" I hadn't really thought about the sellers being at the beach which was probably pretty naïve as they are everywhere else so why not here? For the most part if you just said no they would leave you alone with only the odd one being a little more persistent and really laying on the guilt about how hungry and poor they were! I felt terrible for saying no fully appreciating that they are all very poor but if we bought from every Vietnamese with a sob story we would have no money left so we just had to be strong and decline to buy. We soon worked out that if we pretended to be sleeping they would just leave you alone so I though rather than pretend I would just sleep for the afternoon and with all the walking we had been doing over the previous 3 weeks it was a welcome chance to recharge the batteries. That evening we decided to treat ourselves to some of the happy hour deals on Vietnams famous lethal cocktails so after dinner we went to a couple of bars that were playing music and indulged in some "bucket cocktails" for about 1.50 and whilst what came wasn't exactly a bucket it was an old plastic jar holding a substantial amount of very strong cocktail! With alcohol having been expensive in Singapore and Malaysia it was our first night out in a while and so we made the most of it and consumed more than our fair share!
The next morning and the weather wasn't so nice and whilst it was still warm it was very overcast and rain didn't feel too far away. Feeling a little fragile from the night before we were more than happy to postpone the beach in favor of a cooked breakfast of omlette, bacon and toast. Whilst enjoying our breakfast the heavens opened and for the first time since arriving in Vietnam it rained heavily. Fortunately it was just a clearing shower that gave way to the sun just in time for us settling our bill so we were able to head straight to the beach to collapse and nurse our hangovers! We managed to get about 4 hours relaxing on the beach before the clouds rolled in and the sea breeze made it a little too chilly for sunbathing. We packed up our things and decided to take a walk along the front to have a look around the town so we could say we saw more than just the beach and the bars. Away from the beach and the centre Nha Trang doesn't really hold much appeal, there is no interesting architecture and apart from being the place where the American Soldiers used to come to relax it doesn't have a particularly interesting history so we decided not to bother getting a motorbike taxi further a field we just headed back to the guest house to make some skype calls home!
The next morning and our last day in Nha Trang was an early start as we were going diving and had to report to the dive shop at 7am. After a short bus ride to the harbour we boarded a lovely wooden boat with about 15 other divers. It only took about 40 minutes to get to our first dive site and on the way there we were introduced to our dive master who would be making sure we didn't get lost while out on our 2 dives. Once at the dive site the usual butterflies were there just before we jumped into the water but as soon as we descended and I knew everything was ok I soon relaxed and was able to enjoy the dive. As expected there was lots of different colored corals and whilst not as spectacular as some of our other experiences it was still great to be diving again as it had been a while since we had last been in the water. Due to the Vietnamese over fishing over the years in and around the area there were maybe not as many fish as we expected to encounter however it was still a successful dive and neither of us could believe it when the 45 minutes was up and it was time to get back into the boat. We had an hour out of the water to have some lunch and relax on the deck before getting our gear on for dive number 2. The second dive was a vast improvement on the first as it involved swimming through a cave which is something we had never done. In the build up to swimming through the cave we practiced swimming through some other shorter rock formations to get the hang of fitting ourselves and our tanks into a small space and having mastered that we were ready for the larger swim through. It was pretty scary swimming in as it was really dark at the entrance and with only our guides assurance that there was a way out at the other end it was definitely a leap of faith! Once inside the cave it was absolutely amazing as there were literally thousands of fish all around us. Whilst it was pretty tight inside I was so mesmerized by all the fish that I didn't have time to be scared. The second dive also delivered lots more fish including quite a few species that we had never seen before which was fantastic. Again the 45 minutes came and went however we had both thoroughly enjoyed the dive and despite our initial reservations we were pleased that we had chosen to dive at Nha Trang. Once back in the town we had to find some way to pass the rest of the day as we were catching a night bus to our next destination Hoi An and as such had no hotel to call home. We didn't want to go the beach and get covered in sand before going on the bus so having spotted a swimming pool complex close to the beach we paid our entrance fee and went in for a look around. As it would transpire the complex was filled entirely with Vietnamese families and so we drew quite a lot of unwanted attention as we walked around looking for somewhere to sit. Everyone was in the swimming pools with all their clothes on and there seemed to be nowhere to lie down with only a few tables and chairs dotted around! Blocking out all the strange looks we were getting we set up our things around one of the tables and changed into our swimming things and I kept a t-shirt on top of my bikini. It was the perfect place to pass the afternoon as it saved us walking around for hours or having to sit about at the foyer of the hotel and once everyone had had a good look and satisfied their curiosity we were soon ignored and able to chill out reading and cool down with the occasional swim. The afternoon passed quickly and it was soon time to get a shower, grab some dinner and then head to the bus station to catch our first ever night bus!
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