Day 20: Hoi An – Da Nang – Nha Trang

This morning BeeBee was awakened by the loa phuong, the government’s public address system used at strategic times during the day to provide information to the citizens. (The rooster, totally confused, had sounded off at 1:45 am.) Farmers and townspeople use the loa phuong as an alarm clock in the morning and a dinner bell in the evening. Music was played, also.

Finally arising at 5:30 am as usual, Pati and BeeBee prepared for the day’s travel by reorganizing their luggage contents to accommodate all of their new souvenirs. Since Hoi An was their designated souvenir-buying town, they are hoping that their current luggage will be sufficient for the rest of their trip. So far, their luggage weighs less than the 20 kg (44 lbs) per person that is allowed on Vietnam Airlines domestic flights.

They were ready for their guide and driver before 10 am, the agreed pickup time. They first went into Hoi An to pick up items that they had ordered, and then headed for the airport in Da Nang for their flight to Nha Trang. Their guide went into the terminal with them and, since they were too early to check their luggage, he took them to the cafe, bought them coffee, and sat talking with them until it was check-in time. Once they were checked in, he asked an airport person to take their picture together.  Then he took them to security, which was as far as he could go, and waved goodbye. (Thank you, Mr. Ha. You will be missed.).

The flight to Nha Trang was uneventful. They were met by their new guide and driver as they walked out of the terminal. The drive to their hotel seemed long, but the guide was very informative during the drive. Their hotel is across the road (divided road, two lanes each direction, crosswalks but no traffic lights) from a lovely beach.

The hotel check-in was chaotic, but finally they were in their room, which has a balcony and very good view of the beach and Cam Ranh Bay.

Venturing out again, they had a tasty Vietnamese meal at a restaurant (recommended by the guide) about 1 km from their hotel, located on the beach with a good view of the bay.

The major group of tourists in this area are Russians, and signs for shops are given in Russian as well as Vietnamese. This is the first time that they have seen Russian in Vietnam.  Previously on this trip, they have seen groups of Australians, Japanese, Chinese, and South Korean tourists, but they have only seen English signs along with the Vietnamese ones.