I was dreading coming back to Nha Trang, Vietnam.
I’d just spent the last week hopping around the countryside outside Saigon where it was blue skies and sunshine all around. I wasn’t thrilled to be heading back to the rain and depressing gray skies I’d gotten used to in this town.
And things didn’t start off well. When I boarded my sleeper bus that would take me there from Saigon, I was berated by the luggage handler for not speaking better Vietnamese. And then when I found my seat on the bus, I was met by three screaming kids who wouldn’t shut up for like two hours. Which would be fine if this wasn’t a bumpy, nine-hour, overnight ride and I’d be diving immediately into a scheduled business project when I arrived!
But then things turned around. I magically fell into a deep comfortable sleep, and I was in Nha Trang before I knew it. And when I hopped into a taxi for my usual drive up the coast to my motel, my groggy, half-asleep gaze out the window was met by this beautiful sunrise!
I asked the taxi driver to stop immediately! I grabbed my bags and walked home instead.
This wasn’t the gray and dreary Nha Trang I’d grown to loathe over the last two months. This was BEAUTIFUL! I kicked off my flip flops and enjoyed a nice stroll on the beach.
I came across dozens of fishermen and women who’d just come in from overnight fishing trips. I watched as they spooled in their nets and collected their gear.
A few meters later, I nearly crashed a wedding photo shoot! (Which, if I had no heart, would be the ultimate prize for the photo-crashing album on my FB page!). Instead, I stepped aside and took a photo. Don’t they look perrrty?
Indeed, my return to Nha Trang has seen a delightful turn of events. Warm temperatures and sunshine are forecast for at least another week.
And I’m reminded that this is one heck of a beautiful beach town. As one of the most popular tourist destinations in Vietnam, Nha Trang offers scuba diving, island hopping, jet-skiing, kite-surfing. Backpackers particularly enjoy the booze cruises. You may also recall a certain ostrich-riding experience of mine.
Personally, I find the food to be the best draw. Nha Trang has some of the best fresh seafood I have ever tasted. The squid here in particular is outstanding. Nobody does squid like Nha Trang. NOBODY.
It took some time and a whole lotta self-improvement on the part of mother nature – but I finally appreciate being here in Nha Trang. I’ve got a short time left and I’m pretty sure it won’t be spent being addicted to How I Met Your Mother!