SE Asia and China Cruise—Day 7 (Nha Trang)

March 20, 2012—Nha Trang

We had breakfast in Sabatini’s again this morning—we are enjoying this perk of staying in a suite.  Afterward, I went up to the Lido deck for an hour to catch up on my Facebook journal blog.  While I was up there, the Diamond dropped anchor off the coast of Nha Trang. 

We were scheduled to meet in the Wheelhouse Lounge at 9:45 for our excursion.  It was going to be a very hot day—projected to be 91 degrees and I think it got hotter than that.  In any case, the humidity was very high, which I really don’t like.

Nha Trang was a tender port, so once we were assigned to a bus, we proceeded to Deck 3 where the tender docks were located.  The seas were extremely calm and boarding the tender was easy. The harbor of Nha Trang has a tram that goes over the harbor from one side to the other—the longest tram I’ve ever seen—and the Diamond was anchored just outside of where the tram bisected the harbor.

As a beach resort, Nha Trang was very different from Ho Chi Minh City.  For one thing, it was very clean.  There was a beautiful beach with a beach front park that extended for miles.  The buildings were well maintained and modern.  There were some poorer areas of the city, but these areas also were free of trash.  Our bus toured the city while our guide pointed out points of interest and provided some information on Vietnam culture and the history of Nha Trang.  She even sang two songs, both lullabies—one in the style of North Vietnam and one in the style of South Vietnam.  The two styles were totally different reflecting the two different cultures in this country. 

Catholic Church in Nha Trang

Hillside Temple (taken from our tour van)

We stopped at Dom Market which had stall after stall of goods on sale, both inside the building and outside.  Our guide explained that we needed to bargain and not pay more than half of the asking price.  I bought a couple of souvenirs using the Vietnam Dong I had with me.

Inside the Dom Market just after opening--it got very crowded as everyone entered

Outside the Dom Market

It's easy to get lost wandering around the alleys of the Dom Market.

We also stopped at a silk embroidery factory which was absolutely incredible.  We watched some women embroidering beautiful pictures onto silk material.  The work was very intricate.  The completed product was available for sale, but they were well outside my price range, some of them costing several thousands of US dollars.  Considering the artistry and the amount of work that went into completing one item (which took several women months and sometimes years to complete), I have no doubt they were worth the price. 

Welcome to the Silk Embroidery Factory

Embroidering a tapestry

Threading a needle to add intricate details

Our next stop was the Villas of the last king of Vietnam who had abdicated when the communists took over Vietnam.  The villas were located on a high hill and the view overlooking both the city and the harbor was beautiful.

I enjoyed visiting Nha Trang so much more than I had visiting Ho Chi Minh City.  Most of the crew I had talked to on board the Diamond also liked this resort town even though it isn’t easy for the crew to come ashore since it was a tender port and priority for tendering always went to the passengers.

Unfortunately, the humidity was very high and by the time our bus dropped us back off at the port, we were sweaty and sticky.  We boarded the tender for the short ride back to our ship.  Once aboard, we surrendered the immigration card we had been issued when we first arrived in Vietnam.  By early evening, the Diamond hoisted the last tender, pulled anchor, and departed Nha Trang harbor.

I took a shower to wash off all the sweat, and dressed for dinner.  Before we went to the dining room, my mother and I stopped by the “Inch of Gold” table on Deck 7 above the atrium.  The “Inch of Gold” tables had reels of gold and silver chain which were sold by the inch.  Both my mother and I picked out a silver chain and a gold chain we liked and measured them out for necklaces.  Turns out we had both selected the exact same ones—like mother like daughter, I guess.  The jewelry store would attach a clasp and we could pick up our necklaces the next day.

Then it was off to the dining room for dinner.  The menu that night was Chinese and I had dim sum followed by the Peking Duck.  It was the first time I had actually eaten Peking Duck and it was very good.  Since dinner on board a ship is included in the prices of the cruise, I felt I could try food that I wouldn’t normally order for fear of paying for something I didn’t like.  My mother seems to feel the same way since she too is trying food she wouldn’t normally order.  My dad, on the other hand, sticks to the food he likes.

After dinner, I headed to my usual haunt.  I was back in the room by 11:30pm but since we had to change the clocks forward, it was really 12:30am.  Tomorrow was a sea day and I was looking forward to it.