Nha Trang: Where White People Go to Burn

Nha Trang is a bustling beach town on the mid-coast of Vietnam. On our first day we decided to take a boat tour to a couple of the small islands off the coast of the city. It was only seven bucks, and we stopped at Hon Mieu, Hun Mot and Hun Mun.  Snorkling was first on our stop, and though Alex was a bit (*understatement*) leery of putting his whole head under the water, we both managed to spot some beautiful tropical fish through the clear blue sea. The rest of the day was mainly spent sitting on the various beaches sunbathing and drinking fiddy-cent beers. No complaints here! Though there was some serious douchbaggery happening aboard, the seven dollars was well worth our first day of beachlife. Our second day was kind of up in the air for us since the previous day's sunbathing left some painful memories (I know what you're going to say Mom). Finally, after a typically loooong deliberation from Brosif Johanssen (aka Al), we decided to take the world's longest cable car over to Bamboo Island. This wasn't a totally random odyssey because upon Bamboo Island there sat a huge, Vietnamese water-slash-amusement park...Vinpearland! Yes, we were already burnt, and yes we were semi hungover from the booze-cruise, but we just couldn't resist the slippery plastic gold on the other side of that cable car. I must say the rides were less than memorable but the waterslides more than made up for the rest as our inner children emerged after the first go-round on our two-person innertube. Topping the list of slides (for those who are taking notes) were the classic black hole and the never-before-seen tube halfpipe.

Floating Bar During our Boat Tour

Alex the Apsara

"Jump for me, Monkey! Jump for me!"

Monkey Island Sans Monkeys

The day after Vinpearland was spent hanging out on the beach, applying copious amounts of sunscreen, and eating ice cream. By our fourth day in Nha Trang, we decided that we had experienced enough of the beach, so we looked into other activities. Scott Wild, a family friend, suggested that we rent scooters and head 15km north to Monkey Island, an island that hosts a large colony of...you guessed it...primates! In the morning, we rented a scooter, hopped on the long seat designed for two people, and then quickly discovered that a) we did not know how to drive a scooter and b) were not comfortable with driving in SEA. We bailed on the moto idea and decided to hire two dudes to drive us there on their scooters. While the island is most definitely a tourist trap, it was memorable. Unlike the cute little monkeys that we fed at Angkor Wat, these monkeys were spoiled and demanding. They were expecting food, and they bared their tiny sharp teeth if they weren't happy with the food you were offering. Fortunately, we brought ripe bananas for them, so we avoided their viscious little mouths. As an added bonus, the island also had a go-kart track!

Nha Trang is essentially a beach resort. People go there for the stunning beach and the island-hopping lifestyle. As a result of this it attracts a huge number of tools, douchbags, rude tourists and solicitors. This is not to say that we disliked Nha Trang - it really is impossible to dislike - but we feel that Hoi An will have more culture and history to counterbalance the beach-based hedonism that dominates the coast.