Nha Trang... Nah Man

Nha Trang:
Nha Trang is located on the coast, it is a beach town and many people go there to relax or to dive. We have to admit that we were a little disappointed with Nha Trang. The beach was dirty and the food in town was mostly Western.
One day we took a taxi to see the towers of Po Nagar, which is an archaeological site located just outside the main city. They were built by Champa people between the 7th-12th centuries for religious purposes. After the hot and humid morning of exploring Po Nagar we decided it would be nice to treat ourselves to a day at a mud spa that was located nearby. Actually the spa turned out to be one of our favourite days in Nha Trang. There were a bunch of small bathtubs and we picked one turned on a facet which filled the tub with mud. We were told to soak in it for about 20 minutes… it brought back memories of a few months ago in the mud volcano in Colombia only the mud wasn’t nearly as thick. Apparently the mud has many minerals in it, which is great for your skin. After the mud bath we sat in the sun for 10 mins and waited for the mud to dry. We then went in the mineral water shower to clean off all the mud. After showering we headed to the hot mineral baths where we sat for about 5 mins. (It was a little uncomfortable to sit there as the weather and the water was so hot) The last step was to go to the swimming pools and relaxed for a while until it was time for our 1 hr massages. It was a great massage, even if the masseuse held onto a bar suspended from the roof while walking on my back. Thank goodness, she was tiny!!!!
We were frustrated with the lack of Vietnamese food, so we consulted our guide book and found a restaurant that was recommended for both Western and Vietnamese food. As I sat at the table looking at the menu, Andrew looks at me with wide eyes and says, “Whatever you do, don’t turn around.” Anyone who knows me knows that I am a jumpy person and that critters really freak me out!!! So naturally I get really freaked out by the seriousness of his face and jump up and run to the other side of the table. It turns out that there is a RAT the size of a small cat climbing up the wall behind me. Hearing the commotion the owner of the restaurant came over, laughs and tries to shoo the “creature” out of the restaurant. The rat drops to the floor and scurries across the restaurant… like a moth to a flame it runs for me and touches my foot in its escape! Teetering on the verge of insanity/breakdown I scream on the top of my lungs and stand on a chair. I’m embarrassed to say, that the situation wasn’t pretty and that I did actually start crying… the whole time listening to the owner of the restaurant explain some crap about us all being one of God’s creatures!

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Nha Trang, Vietnam

~Nicola