Pearl of Vietnam: Nha Trang
My first visit in the country is to this coastal city located at the south of Vietnam. This is a new destination which only comes to light in these recent few years. This is a healing trip for a friend and a short escapade for me as I, too have my own fair share of heartache to tend to.
However, this post is not to dwell on our sadness - but a compliment to ourselves for making the spontaneous decision to come, to brave through the scary traffic and hot weather, as well as facing those Chinese tourists 🤣
My first visit in the country is to this coastal city located at the south of Vietnam. This is a new destination which only comes to light in these recent few years. This is a healing trip for a friend and a short escapade for me as I, too have my own fair share of heartache to tend to.
However, this post is not to dwell on our sadness - but a compliment to ourselves for making the spontaneous decision to come, to brave through the scary traffic and hot weather, as well as facing those Chinese tourists 🤣
My eczema flared like mad over the course of 4 days 3 nights here. But, we managed to take somewhat satisfying photos. There’s not too much to explore here - so we took our time slowly to the must-visit places.
However, this post is not to dwell on our sadness - but a compliment to ourselves for making the spontaneous decision to come, to brave through the scary traffic and hot weather, as well as facing those Chinese tourists 🤣
My eczema flared like mad over the course of 4 days 3 nights here. But, we managed to take somewhat satisfying photos. There’s not too much to explore here - so we took our time slowly to the must-visit places.
Day 1
Checked into our stay at Citadines Bayfront Nha Trang. It’s located at the main beach along Tran Phu Street, where most of the hotels are. Our first place to go after the local lunch was Hon Chong "just rocks". The weather was unbelievably hot - but also because of this hot weather photos turned out really nice with the blue skies and white clouds. We spent a good 1.5 hours under the sun trying to get good photos, and to "fight" for photo-worthy spots with other tourists. By the end of first day, i was already exhausted.
Day 2
Today we woke up really early to catch the sunrise on our beachfront. As I thought we being really early at 5am, I saw that the beach was already packed with people, and some were even in the sea. That made me wonder where did all these people came from, and what time exactly they woke up to be swimming in the sea at 5am already. I guess, this trip is becoming a quite tiring one 😓
Lucky us, we made a spa booking for today (it is also for the birthday girl) hence we could stay in and just relax for the rest of the day.
We took a spa package from Galina Mudbath & Spa, and had a private bamboo room for ourselves. The spa didn't disappoint and the masseuse for whole body massage was so good I ended up falling asleep. Delicious lunch served in our private room after the spa experience was a plus point! Feeling all energized, we treated ourselves with an iced vietnam coffee at one of the famous coffee chains - Ice Coffee.
A birthday is not complete without a birthday cake I said. And hence, after dinner at The Lantern we decided to walk to this cafe where I googled sell cakes! Google map said it was just a 15mins walk, but what we didnt't realise a 15mins walk at Vietnam (w the busting traffic and hot weather) could become way more than that. As exhausted and dehydrated we were, we finally reached Brownie Homie. Happy birthday, girl!
Day 3
Me being in love with the sky - no matter it's sunrise, sunset, rainbows, mellow rains, I forced myself out of bed at 5am to catch the sunrise. Again, i was greeted by massive crowd at the beachfront but that didn't hinder me much. It was a cloudy day, and the sunrise wasn't a great one - but the sound of waves and sea breeze calmed me much. Today we prepped ourselves properly for crazy weather out there w hand-held fans (bought from Dam market last night), sunglasses, sunblock, and plenty of water before starting our tour of the day.
First stop was to Po Nagar Cham Towers. Built between the 7th and 12th centuries, these impressive towers are still actively used for worship. The towers serve as the Holy See, honoring Yang ino Po Nagar, the goddess of the Dua (Liu) clan, which ruled over the southern part of the Cham kingdom. By the end of this tour, we were already sweating profusely and knew that we couldn't move on the the next stop at this state. Instead, we went to An Cafe to grab an early lunch and iced drinks to quench our never-ending thirst.
Second stop was to King Cathedral. It is also know as the Nha Trang Stone Church as the church was made entirely out of stone. This cathedral remains one of the most important remnants of French architecture. Though this was just a small place to visit, we spent a good couple of hours here to get our seemingly perfect pictures. Ireally finally liked how the photos turned out.
Third and last stop of the day was to Long Son Pagoda. We had a tiring uphill hike to before reaching the top where the great white Buddha sits. However, we weren't impressed by this place and did a very brief visit. On the last night here, we decided to treat ourselves to a good Japanese restaurant, Sushi Kiwami - and that wrapped up our trip nicely.
Day 2
Today we woke up really early to catch the sunrise on our beachfront. As I thought we being really early at 5am, I saw that the beach was already packed with people, and some were even in the sea. That made me wonder where did all these people came from, and what time exactly they woke up to be swimming in the sea at 5am already. I guess, this trip is becoming a quite tiring one 😓
Lucky us, we made a spa booking for today (it is also for the birthday girl) hence we could stay in and just relax for the rest of the day.
We took a spa package from Galina Mudbath & Spa, and had a private bamboo room for ourselves. The spa didn't disappoint and the masseuse for whole body massage was so good I ended up falling asleep. Delicious lunch served in our private room after the spa experience was a plus point! Feeling all energized, we treated ourselves with an iced vietnam coffee at one of the famous coffee chains - Ice Coffee.
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| Happy Birthday my pc mate, my work companion, my best friend :) |
Day 3
Me being in love with the sky - no matter it's sunrise, sunset, rainbows, mellow rains, I forced myself out of bed at 5am to catch the sunrise. Again, i was greeted by massive crowd at the beachfront but that didn't hinder me much. It was a cloudy day, and the sunrise wasn't a great one - but the sound of waves and sea breeze calmed me much. Today we prepped ourselves properly for crazy weather out there w hand-held fans (bought from Dam market last night), sunglasses, sunblock, and plenty of water before starting our tour of the day.
 |
| Po Nagar Cham |
First stop was to Po Nagar Cham Towers. Built between the 7th and 12th centuries, these impressive towers are still actively used for worship. The towers serve as the Holy See, honoring Yang ino Po Nagar, the goddess of the Dua (Liu) clan, which ruled over the southern part of the Cham kingdom. By the end of this tour, we were already sweating profusely and knew that we couldn't move on the the next stop at this state. Instead, we went to An Cafe to grab an early lunch and iced drinks to quench our never-ending thirst.
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| Nha Trang Stone Church; King Cathedral |
Second stop was to King Cathedral. It is also know as the Nha Trang Stone Church as the church was made entirely out of stone. This cathedral remains one of the most important remnants of French architecture. Though this was just a small place to visit, we spent a good couple of hours here to get our seemingly perfect pictures. I
Third and last stop of the day was to Long Son Pagoda. We had a tiring uphill hike to before reaching the top where the great white Buddha sits. However, we weren't impressed by this place and did a very brief visit. On the last night here, we decided to treat ourselves to a good Japanese restaurant, Sushi Kiwami - and that wrapped up our trip nicely.
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