Nha Trang - Day 2

Day two of our trip saw us get up bright and early in order to grab a bite of breakfast, before heading out to dive. Usually breakfast at Vietnamese hotels comprises of a Banh Mi (mini baguette) and an omelette, or fried eggs, so we were very pleasantly surprised when there was a menu with a variety of wonderful options to choose from at Green Peace Hotel. After gobbling our breakfasts down, we were picked up by the dive school to take us to the docks. We jumped on the boat and off we went out to the islands around Nha Trang.

There were two other divers in our party, as well as one snorkeler. One of the divers was also doing the 'discover diving' experience, but her instructor did not wake up (after a big night out) so she had to join in with Mel and her instructor. This girl was Russian with very limited English, which made things rather tricky. When we arrived at the dive site, we suited up and jumped in the water. Ross went diving with an Italian guy and an instructor. They went on their way while the beginners practiced some skills. Unfortunately the Russian girl was not very confident, so Mels' party had to come up to the surface twice! The instructor then told her to stay on the boat and try again later. Mel and the instructor then enjoyed a wonderful 20 minutes underwater!

On the boat, in the harbour.

Kitted-up and ready to go!

When everyone surfaced, we were given loads of fruit and pastries (some were great, others we knew not to touch!). After a short boat trip we arrived at our second dive spot. The break between dives was far too short, and Ross really didn't feel well after his first dive but he soldiered on and went for the second dive. The Russian girl decided to give up all hopes of becoming a diver and stayed on the boat, so it was just Mel and the instructor again. The parties went in two different directions and twenty minutes later everyone resurfaced to share tales of what we saw. Mel managed to find Nemo and Ross was attacked by some territorial clown fish, but other than that, just some pretty coral and little fish were seen. It was an incredible experience for Mel who has never dived before. The bug has definitely bitten and she'll definitely do a dive course at some point.

With everyone out of the water, we took off our wet suits and made our way back to shore. We were knackered after a morning of diving, so we walked back to our hotel and slept for a couple of hours! When we had a little bit of our energy back, we decided that we needed more energy and the best way to get it would be to eat waffles (which unfortunately weren't very good). We then decided to explore Nha Trang a little bit more and we wondered in the direction of where all of the fancy hotels in the city are. On the way, we passed some very interesting buildings that could only be Vietnamese! A friend of ours had told us that the Intercontinental Hotel has an all-you-can-eat sandwich and cake buffet, so we thought we would check it out. On arrival, we were greeted by a very snooty Russian man who very unwillingly told us that we were talking about the high-tea that they serve every day. We arrived at 4.30 and the tea finished at 5, so there was no way that we could maximize on the cakes and we thought we would leave it for Monday instead.

The waffles which definitely looked better than they tasted

A lotus building, maybe?

We made our way back to our side of town slowly, all the while looking out for a place to have dinner. We looked at all of the special boards and found a place that had alright food and cheap beers, so we went in for the beer but didn't end up ordering food. For dinner, we went to a lovely looking English style pub near our hotel, which was filled with old Australian men. It's always great hearing so much English!

That beer was bigger than we expected!