Day 24: Nha Trang – Ho Chi Minh

This morning Pati and BeeBee watched dawn over Cam Ranh Bay again; and again, it was a muted view.

After breakfast and packing, trying to balance suitcase contents to meet aircraft weight limits, they decided to take advantage of the beach coupon that came with their room: two lounge chairs, two towels, and a large umbrella on the beach across the road.

Beach umbrellas, Nha Trang, Vietnam

They spent about two hours on the beach, shaded with a good breeze, and took lots of interesting pictures of sand, waves, and umbrellas.

(Some pictures will be posted here later. The internet has been troublesome for two days now. Posting was not possible for most of this time, and now adding pictures is the problem.)

Returning to their room before noon, they checked out, leaving their luggage in hotel storage.

Then they enjoyed their last lunch in Nha Trang at their favorite restaurant, Ponagar.

Returning to the hotel, they were picked up for their ride to the airport. (Thank you, Mr. Tue.) The flight left on time, but was about a half hour late in landing, spending that extra time in a holding pattern. Sitting on the taxiway after landing, they observed five more flights land, each about two minutes behind the one ahead of it.

Exiting the airport with their luggage, they were met by their new guide and driver. The normally 5 minute short drive took more than a half hour in the crawling rush hour traffic.

After check-in, they immediately walked out to the night market nearby for dinner in the recommended local restaurant, Pho2000. The curry chicken with banh mia was delicious. Prominently displayed on one wall were two large pictures of the restaurant staff with Bill Clinton and Chelsea Clinton. Several other tourists stopped to look at these pictures and photograph them.

Successfully navigating (both ways) the many road crossings in just 200 meters between their hotel and the night market, they were back to their room by 8 pm.

Here they bought a Kindle book, Last Night I Dreamed of Peace,  that was recommended by their guide and read much of the long introduction before going to bed.

Tomorrow they have a 7:45 am start.