Not Missing the Snow!

Planned to stay three nights in Nha Trang.  Three became four . . . four became six ☺ I think the weather more than anything impressed us.  Finally, we had some sun and hot weather to enjoy and no shortage of things to do as a family!!

Nha Trang - the beach capital of Vietnam was a big touristy center.  Hugging the shoreline for several kilometers is a full fledged international resort complete with high rise hotels, souvenir shops and restaurants.  This part of town could be anywhere in the world and yet, just venture a couple blocks off "the strip",  you'll see a bustling Vietnamese city.  We stayed a couple of blocks away from the beach in a hotel that served the best breakfast we have had on our travels so far.  It was AMAZING and hard to believe that it was included in our $35/night 'family' room (3 beds).  Breakfast was served at their rooftop restaurant and each morning, depending on where you sat, you looked out at the beautiful mountains or ocean . . .  definitely not hard to take!

before

after

One of the big attractions in Nha Trang, especially for families, is Vinpearl Land.  Some say it's Vietnam's version of Disneyland but I think that might be a stretch.  It had fun fair rides, an awesome aquarium and a huge waterpark.  To get to the island you must take either a ferry or tram - the world's longest over-the-sea cable car.

that's me in the front!!

Jeff just told Max that these teeth were from a REAL shark...!

The island was impressive - it was beautiful, clean and had lots of fun things to do throughout its huge expanse.  Stella and Max, well to be honest, we ALL  particularly loved the waterpark.  It had over 20 thrilling rides and an incredible kiddie play area complete with a half dozen mini slides.

the kids zone

wave pool

there goes Stella ... our little daredevil!

the lazy river - took about 45 min to float around the whole park and through a cave

our little mermaid having the time of her life!

We had so much fun there we went back a second day!  Some of these waterslides were 3 or 4 stories tall and would you believe that Stella went with me on the ones you could slide down in a 2 person tube?!!!  And maybe even more impressively, Max and Stella both climbed to the top of the family slide with us where we hopped into a raft and slid down an enormous slide all together.  Had the kids really absorbed how high they were I'm sure they would have returned down the stairs!  We didn't give them a chance to really think about what they were doing and once they were in the raft, they were hooting and squeeling and having tonnes of fun.  We went on this ride 3 times!!

a glimpse of the family raft ride

Another highlight from Nha Trang was our trip to Thap Ba Hot Spring.  We weren't sure what we were getting into as our taxi drove us through a maze of dodgy back roads and then pulled up to a parking lot full of buses and tourists.  To our surprise, the park was huge and set up in such a way, that it didn't feel busy at all.  The unique aspect of this Hot Spring was that they had therapeutic mud baths for people to soak in!  There were tubs of all shapes and sizes to soak in - we chose a small one for our family of 4. 

"seriously... I'm not going to get in trouble for playing in this mud?!!?"

Stella was a bit hesitant as she watched the guy fill up our tub with mud but once she stepped into the warm, goopy bath she was a believer!  She and Max were having a great time covering Jeff's hair with mud and painting each others faces.

After a 20 minute soak, we rinsed off and were led to a private mineral bath to enjoy for 45 minutes.  They brought us fresh fruit and came to give us each a foot massage .... it was heavenly!   Before we left, we also swam in the two warm, full-sized swimming pools.

When we weren't at the beach or Vinpearl Land or the mud baths, you could find us at a place called the Lousianne Brew House.  It was a restaurant right on the beach front that rented lounge chairs for $1.  You could sit on one by the beach or lay by their nice pool and order drinks or food as you desired.

Yesterday, we left Nha Trang and took a 4 hour bus ride to Mui Ne - a quiet little beach town in comparison to Nha Trang.  It's a little more rustic, laid back, and has a more untouched kinda feel to it.   As I sit and write this blog from the hammock on the porch of our bungalow, all I can hear is the sound of the surf and the distant hum of air conditioners. To my right is a pool overlooking the ocean and I am surrounded by a lovely garden complete with tropical flowers, shrubs and palm trees.   We REALLY like it here☺ In the next few days, we will explore the fishing village, sand dunes and "fairy spring".

The pool is calling me ... I really should stop ignoring it and give it the attention it deserves! xoxo