Beach Blanket Bingo in Nha Trang

So after torrential downpours in Hoi An (and a over-inflated backpack full of clothes) we set off on the train for Nha Trang, the beach resort city of Vietnam. Nha Trang (means "white house" - apparently some cartographer pointed at the town of Nha Trang and asked - which place is that? - and his Viet guide thought he was talking about a house on the shore... ah the foibles of history)

Anyway, we all got up early in the morning for a boat trip around the white sand beaches of the Nha Trang Harbour. First up - the Island of Mieu - and a walk through a fishing village and the local aquarium. To get us to the harbour, we were picked up from our boat in gigantic baskets (not kidding) we looked like little fruit baskets of humans heading for a big feed. And next... boy do I wish I could put up pictures of the Aquarium.

A $10 Billion Dong monstrosity that is testiment to government mis-spending, nepotism and bad taste, the Mieu Aquarium is a hulking nightmare of concrete and day-glo paint. The gobsmacking structure is supposed to be a Junk ship, sails unfurled, riding into the harbour. Instead, it is the scariest building I have ever seen up close. Inside, ugly fish-like mouths are supposed to entice you into the passages of the aquarium, and I especially liked the Aquafina bottle being used as an aerorator for the tanks (Zoe - you would not believe this - so I got a picture for you).

Leaving the Aquarium for our boat, we passed through the mouth of a gigantic concrete lion fish. I especially was impressed by the fake knots in the concrete "wood" that made up the railings around the site. Disaster.

We hoped on the boat for a swim in the reefs off Nha Trang, and traveling with a fewAussies with visions of the Barrrier Reef in our heads, we were quite excited. We pulled up to the reef, dropped anchor (first bad sign) and jumped in the water with our snorkle gear. I dipped my head in the water only to find... the coral was mostly dead, and everything was covered with that dusty sea floor mud. A few muted fish swam around what was left of the coral, but it was a sad, sad sight. After I got stung by a few unattached jellyfish tenticles (or something, I couldn't see it) ... it was right out of the water for me.

The guys running the boat could see we weren't over the moon, and told us they would take us swimming on a white sand beach. So, a bit of a chugging sail later, we moored the boat up near an abandonded Mafia resort. It looks beautiful in the photos... but unfortunately the amount of trash washing up on the shoreline discouraged any of us from heading out into the surf. It is really tragic to be in such a beautiful place, so marred by pollution and waste. And they are doing it all for tourists....