nha trang

Well, a little out of order here, but I was on a roll and wanted to show a few more of my favorite things. The photo above was taken at one of our all time best restaurant experiences in Nha Trang, at the beach. We flew there from Hoi An as it would have been a punishing bus trip, and arrived at this beautiful location (think Hawaii) to grey skies and drizzle. We tried a little walk along the beach, but the large waves made it less than enticing. Instead we went out to the nearby hotspring, and enjoyed a truly authentic experience with the locals. We did not opt for the mud bath treatment however, but spent out time in the mineral pool and warm waterfall.
But back to the restaurant, Lac Canh. It is another local spot, where everyone is having traditional Vietnamese barbecue cooked right at your table over a charcoal fire. We ordered beef. pork and tiger prawns and stayed busy cooking them, as that fire was hot! It was a fun and delicious meal that cost all of $10.
Can you tell from this photo how fresh looking all of the vegetables are? Every market is like this, and all the fruit and vegetables look as though they were picked or dug only moments before. I especially like the color combinations that come together in every market.
I like to think that someone bought these guys to take them home as pets. They seemed so calm-resigned to their fate?
In every part of Vietnam you see slightly different shrines. This one was right outside of the spa where I had a pedicure. They use the term spa loosely here, but most are very nice, if simple. If you look closely, you can see the little shade that can be pulled down in case of rain. Speaking of rain, we have been extremely fortunate to be here in the dry season, and any rain that we have encountered has usually been while we are traveling by bus. However we did have one evening when it started raining just as we were leaving dinner and I was wishing that I had a rain poncho like everyone seems to don as soon as it starts to rain. Seconds later, a young boy popped out in front of us saying "rain coat"? How could I resist, at any price? Of course I bought one ($1) and soon after, the rain stopped..