Nha Trang

Nha Trang is a beach resort for foreigners it appears… a beach destination for Russians on holiday, judging from the amount of Cyrillic writing everywhere. This fact may make the night life a bit livelier than some other parts of Vietnam. Nha Trang feels a bit like Can Cun or Key West on a small scale.
We are sitting on the beach under a palm leaf palapa, reading and drinking hot tea. It has been raining lightly, but we hope it will clear up some.
We have three nights in Nha Trang.
Hopefully, we can leave our colds here (caught on the long bus ride to Ha Long Bay)… before we head back to HCMC and fly home.
I know from my blogs and pictures, it seems we’ve done nothing but eat… But the truth is, there has been so much more taken in, the food experience is just easiest to convey.
We had our best overall Vietnam dinner here in Nha Trang. Lanterns Vietnamese Restaurant was super good food, great service and a lovely setting.
Three dishes and a bottle of nice wine ended up being about $21 US. Crazy good!
Lanterns also has cooking classes, and does community work for less fortunate kids in the Nha Trang area. What is not to like about that?
Marie and I have noted a (well documented) divide in food preparation from north to south in Vietnam. Perhaps it comes from classic hotter climate/colder climate herb/spice and produce growing distinctions.
The north prides itself on salty and subtlety. The center of Vietnam on hotter (chiles) and aromatic (herbs) like Thailand. The south on hot and sweeter creations. Each area feels their food is the best.
I prefer the central and southern Vietnamese cooking… because of it’s intensity. Perhaps being brought up in San Diego (with lots of Mexican food influence) has a lot to do with that.
We are lucky to get a sunny day on day number two.
We park ourselves at the beach palapa for the whole day.
Reading, swimming, and walking on the beach is about as rough as it gets…
Did I mention we ate fresh scallops from a beach vendor, grilled right there on the beach? Living large!
Nha Trang, judging from the amount of dive shops around town, must be a hopping scuba diving/snorkling destination.

We found another great restaurant this evening (next door to our hotel!) Nha Hang Yen’s Restaurant.
We wholly swear by Trip Advisor if you take a tablet or laptop on vacation with you.
We have had such great luck with cool “finds” using Marie’s iPad during our stay in Vietnam.
Well… it’s off on a airplane again… back to Ho Chi Minh City, where it all started for us.
PS… I included a photo of our bill for dinner at Lantern’s. 460,000 Vietnamese Dong is $21.60 US.