Nha Trang

After a slack day Sunday in Can Tho spending lots of time sitting in cafes drinking coffee and people watching, also updating the blog, we headed back up to Saigon on Monday (7 September) by bus (5 hours).They have an interesting concept here of busing everyone to the outskirts of the city and then cramming them into a minibus to drive into the central city area.There were 10 of us in our minibus - yes we could breathe but just not move - luckily we are now used to living in Asia and having to share our personal space!

This experience prepared us well for our overnight sleeper train from Saigon up to Nha Trang which is a beautiful seaside town some 450kms north.The train was the Reunification Express and the railway line extends from Saigon in the south all the way up to Hanoi over 1700kms north.The line was completed in 1936 and we swear that our train dated from the same era!!Fiona, if you are reading this, there is no way we travelled on a train which was anything like yours - the only similarity was the gymnastics required for the top bunk (Dave was good enough to allow me that priviledge!!!)Somehow we were not reminded of the Indian Pacific when we located our cabin....and as for marble bathrooms...well think stainless steel with a swimming pool effect by 5.30am the next morning!!!Great experience and it was fun sharing with a young guy from Leeds who had just completed a volunteering stint in Cambodia plus a local girl from Nha Trang who had obviously been to Saigon for her regular shopping fix - as David was lucky enough to find out when he kindly (?) offered to help her get her boxes and bags off the train at our destination!!So, on the train at 11pm then off at 5.30am to wander the streets of Nha Trang in a daze in search of a hot coffee and a bakery!!We were lucky enough to be able to check into our "Green Hotel" (again, yes Fiona, we were also reminded of crimpeline suits) at 6.30am and catch up on some sleep!!

Nha Trang is a pretty resort town with many tourists and quite a few cafes and bars where the travelling "I love me" set like to hang out!!We were also sure that many of the locals who work in this town double as pimps and brothel workers after dark!The town's main claim to fame was hosting the 2008 Miss Universe Contest so there are numerous signs still around as well as a number of new resorts and golf courses springing up along the road to the airport some 30kms south - all with magnificent views overlooking the South China Sea.

We took in a little culture here on our one day visit - to the Po Nga Cham Towers - which date back to between the 7th and 12th centuries AD.It is a very religious site and many local Cham, Chinese and Buddhists come here to pray and make offerings.David just had to have his picture taken inside one of the temple towers and despite my warnings, had to lean on part of the shrine.As soon as we got outside, when he was putting his shoes back on, he was stung by a wasp on the back of the leg!When he reached down to kill it, he got severe cramp in his shoulder and had to sit down for 10 minutes to recover!!!