Vietnam - the summary

OK guys let's try and make a short summary here. What were my likes and dislikes. Where would I come back if I could. Where not? What will I remember best from all Vietnam?

But first a short foreword :).
Vietnam is not for everyone. If you are used to travelling in comfort, if you are a control freak always in a hurry, if you want to see fancy places and have fancy people around you... Vietnam is NOT FOR YOU.
Going to Vietnam should be well thought of. If you are not comfortable with basic standards in service, with occasional rip-offs, with indifference to tourists' needs... better choose another place. No point in complaining or shedding tears in a hotel room over a lost pair of clothing that never came back from a laundry... You will not change the Vietnamese people and you will not warm up to the place. Better leave and spend your time somewhere more..."western".

On the other hand,
If you are a free spirit and want to experience something different... if you don't mind unexpected things happening and people behaving unexpectedly. If you are curious of foreign customs and culture, so different to our dear European/Western comfort. Finally if you are up for an adventure and want to step out of your comfort zone... Vietnam IS THE PLACE for you.

I felt safe, never threaten by anyone or anything. Even with unexpected situations, I was always lucky and smart enough to come out with a smile on my face. Keep smiling yourself and people in Vietnam will smile back. This is a general rule that seems to be running in this country. People are happy and smiling to everyone. I have not come across a single child crying or adult not smiling. Funny, isn't it? You could think that they will be miserable at times and generally unhappy with the way they get to live their lives. But it is quite the opposite. Even with life being tough on them they find a new angle and keep going with a big smile on their faces. And this is what I will remember most...

Here we go, my places in Vietnam. Read on :)

Diving in Nha Trang

What can I say, it was spectacular!
I used Vietdive local compny, not one of the fancy western onces which were a bit overpriced. Ok they were using newer gears and native English speakers. After all being in Vietnam is all about experiencing everything what's local.

And the local waters give amazing views! See for yourself, I was amazed...
Pictures were taken by a buddy diver though :)

Sand LizardFish

LionFish

OrangeSpiked SeaCucumber

LongNose ButterflyFish

TubeCoral

FireCoral



FalseClown AnemonFish

JellyFish

Happy Marta :D

Black Diadema and TrumpetFish



 The first two dives were not fortunate maybe, the visibility was not great and you could not really enjoy the views. I also lost my weight bell when jumping from the boat so we lost some time trying to reorgnize. This is why I decided to book in for another day, to see if I can get more luck. And it was the right decision.

The second day was marvelous.

Nha Trang in the rain

As lucky as I usually am with the weather and generally, now was the time for rain to come.
The monsoon was making quite a mess in the North Vietnam and it was coming down South. I knew we would meet at some stage, half way in the country. So it was in Nha Trang.

Never mind the weather. It was warm, friendly, with a good company to hand around in the evenings. And making some observations. Check out the wet city and the beach!

City Beach at Nha Trang

City Beach at Nha Trang

It is quite entertaining to be watching all the motorbikes putting on rain jackets while driving. It is like one minute everyone is driving normally and next minute you see a city full of weird shapes and colours under foil. You cannot even tell how many people are there on one bike anymore. Normally 3 persons are OK. My personal record was spotting 4 men on one bike. If not 5. I am not sure anymore as it was really very amusing observing them getting on the bike and driving away. All of them on one bike I mean! But it was in the North, and I did not capture that ;(.

What an amazing Vietnam! Nha Trang.

The reason why I was getting so excited about the day was that not only I managed to do everything as planned. Surprisingly as for the level of my experience, the language and the bad publicity Vietnam has got for being not user friendly..Within one day I got so many nice things happening to me that I was overwhelmed and almost drunk with happiness.

Window view today - Nha Trang

The morning in Mui Ne with relaxing beach and the sand dunes, then travel to Nha Trang with some adventures on the road, but nothing really bad just a flat tire and the delay.
Arriving in Nha Trang, I needed a taxi-motor and he accepted my price without arguing (very uncommon!) - VND 20K. Of course he took me to the hotel he had deal with first.  Instead of taking me to the hotel I wanted :). I just refused the offer and insisted on taking me to my hotel ("but why lady, this is cheaper, you want to see a room? really nice").
 Now to my Summer Hotel here. At first I thought I could not afford it. 3 star hotel in the most popular beach resort in Vietnam, must be outside of me reach. But I was at this hotel for a reason. I promised the lady from Can Tho Spring Hotel that I would use their hotel chain when in Nha Trang. It is owned by the same family and she recommended it to me. Not wanting to disappoint her for my budget and for not even trying, I went there thinking I would try negotiation, they will refuse and I will go to a cheap sh*ty hotel as usual :)
The economy room price starts from 600K per night which is 28.5 $ a night. No way I saw them agreeing tto my 15$ per night...

But they did (!).

Window view Nha Trang

as you can see they love funny-shape buildings...