Shirley was leaving for Da Lat this morning, so it was goodbye to the last member of my G Adventures family. For the rest of the day, I wanted to soak up as much of the relaxed atmosphere in Nha Trang as possible, as it was my last day in Vietnam.
I enjoyed a stroll around the little town and people watching in a cafe. A last bit of sea breeze and pampering and it was evening before I knew it! I had a night sleeper train to take me back to Ho Chi Minh City, ready to fly to Singapore.
The sleeper train was fine and I shared my cabin with a sweet little toddler and her mother. I managed to get some sleep so that was helpful as I would now be spending a lot of time waiting at the airport! The train got into Ho Chi Minh City at around 4am, but my flight to Singapore wasn't until 1.30pm so I had a long time to kill. Chatting to family and friends back home and reading a good book thankfully got me through the 9 hours of waiting rather easily .
I was all checked in and ready to explore the final country of my trip. Singapore impressed me right from the start. Sweets at the immigration counters with sweet wrapper pots also, what tidiness! The airport was pristine and it was lovely to be greeted by Sophie.
There were beautiful buildings all around, as well as greenery. Sophie settled me into her place and I rested for a couple of hours before we went out for dinner. We met up with my family friends, Mehul and Urvi at a famous dumpling chain. It was great to all catch up together. We all share the love of scuba diving so exchanged stories of our scuba dives and talked a lot of travel in general.
Showing posts with label #nhatrang. Show all posts
Showing posts with label #nhatrang. Show all posts
Friday, 25 April 2014
Sunday, 20 April 2014
Scuba diving in Nha Trang - Sunday 20th April
Dive day was here! I was very excited and went to the dive centre to meet the other divers and set off for the sea. There were quite a few of us and we all had experience in diving at different places. We were taken to the sea and then got onto our boats. The views were stunning and the breeze was wonderful. While on the boat, we were told our dive teams and met with our dive masters. I was diving with a Chinese couple and a German guy. Our dive master had done over a thousand dives! He briefed us on the dive site and we got equipped and changed into our wetsuits.
We jumped off the boats and descended below the sea. It was very cold to begin with but then we had warm water. The water was very different to any I had dived in before - turning from hot to cold very quicly. We saw a very cool jellyfish and made sure to stay at distance length from it. We also saw many snake fish and different types of shell fish. However, the best part of the first dive was swimming through a very narrow cave. There were fish everywhere that we swam through and it was increduble to see deep into sea cave! What an adrenaline rush! After the first dive, we rehydrated and fuelled up while excitedly comparing notes on what we saw. There was some fruit and cakes laid out for us and it was good to get some rest before the next dive.
For the second dive, the boat took us further to sea and again, our divemasters briefed us on the dive site. BCGs, flippers and masks on, we jumped off boat and descended once again. I thought that there were extremes in temperature of sea on the last dive, but these currents were even more hot and cold! We saw some beautiful bright coloured fish and more unusual snake and shell fish. The visibility was not as clear as the first dive but it was good neevrtheless. We were all flowing through the water with more ease, having warmed up a bit from the first dive. Before I knew it, 45 minutes had passed and it was the end of the dive. Again, we excitedly swapped notes and then relaxed on the sun deck at the top of the boat whilst exchanging travel stories.
I'd had a fabulous day so far with my two dives and now it was time to rest off. Diving was exhausting and I wanted to have enough energy for the evening. Shirely and I went for our last meal together and then walked around. We found a cute little night market and although I was all shopped out, I still managed to buy something for my dear mother! Just behind the market, we came across some traditional dancing and role play that was being performed. Perhaps it was for Easter Sunday? There were many children sat there watching and we stood and admired the traditional costumes. What a wonderful day.
We jumped off the boats and descended below the sea. It was very cold to begin with but then we had warm water. The water was very different to any I had dived in before - turning from hot to cold very quicly. We saw a very cool jellyfish and made sure to stay at distance length from it. We also saw many snake fish and different types of shell fish. However, the best part of the first dive was swimming through a very narrow cave. There were fish everywhere that we swam through and it was increduble to see deep into sea cave! What an adrenaline rush! After the first dive, we rehydrated and fuelled up while excitedly comparing notes on what we saw. There was some fruit and cakes laid out for us and it was good to get some rest before the next dive.
For the second dive, the boat took us further to sea and again, our divemasters briefed us on the dive site. BCGs, flippers and masks on, we jumped off boat and descended once again. I thought that there were extremes in temperature of sea on the last dive, but these currents were even more hot and cold! We saw some beautiful bright coloured fish and more unusual snake and shell fish. The visibility was not as clear as the first dive but it was good neevrtheless. We were all flowing through the water with more ease, having warmed up a bit from the first dive. Before I knew it, 45 minutes had passed and it was the end of the dive. Again, we excitedly swapped notes and then relaxed on the sun deck at the top of the boat whilst exchanging travel stories.
I'd had a fabulous day so far with my two dives and now it was time to rest off. Diving was exhausting and I wanted to have enough energy for the evening. Shirely and I went for our last meal together and then walked around. We found a cute little night market and although I was all shopped out, I still managed to buy something for my dear mother! Just behind the market, we came across some traditional dancing and role play that was being performed. Perhaps it was for Easter Sunday? There were many children sat there watching and we stood and admired the traditional costumes. What a wonderful day.
Nha Trang - what a beautiful place! Saturday 19th April
We had reached Nha Trang very early in the morning at 5am. The hotel let us leave our bags safe until we could check into our rooms later at 8am. When the sun rose, Shirley and I headed to the beach. We walked along the shore and we saw so many local families swimming in the sea and playing with their children. It was 6am! It would seem that the Vietnamese prefer to head to the beach early morning when the sun rays are not so strong. They do not like to tan either so are well covered when the sun is out. We then got a couple of sun loungers and napped in the shade until we could go back to the hotel.
After checking in and refreshing ourselves, we set off in search for some breakfast and wander around the lovely little town. When we went back to the beach around noon, all the locals had gone and the beach was full of tourists. Many Russians come to Nha Trang for their holidays as Russia has a special relationship with Vietnam since the war. Russians need not buy any visa and are able to fly direct from Moscow to Nha Trang, meaning they can avoid their harsh Russian winters. There were many restaurants and shops catering just for Russians and most even had separate Russian menus.
Late afternoon, I went to find my dive centre. It was good to meet with the dive masters ahead of tomorrow morning's dives. I was very much looking forward to getting back into the sea with full dive gear! After a brief run alongside the beach, Shirley and I enjoyed a lovely meal together and a walk around before an early night ready for early start again.
After checking in and refreshing ourselves, we set off in search for some breakfast and wander around the lovely little town. When we went back to the beach around noon, all the locals had gone and the beach was full of tourists. Many Russians come to Nha Trang for their holidays as Russia has a special relationship with Vietnam since the war. Russians need not buy any visa and are able to fly direct from Moscow to Nha Trang, meaning they can avoid their harsh Russian winters. There were many restaurants and shops catering just for Russians and most even had separate Russian menus.
Late afternoon, I went to find my dive centre. It was good to meet with the dive masters ahead of tomorrow morning's dives. I was very much looking forward to getting back into the sea with full dive gear! After a brief run alongside the beach, Shirley and I enjoyed a lovely meal together and a walk around before an early night ready for early start again.
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