September 28, Da Lat to Nha Trang, Vietnam
We had another travel day going to the beach town of Nha Trang, making a few stops along the way. Once in Nha Trang, we walked near the beach to the Po nagar Cham towers.
We were heading out relatively late, so the morning was quite leisurely. I would guess that Bao had to stretch things out so we wouldn’t arrive at our next hotel before check-in time.
Since we were staying in the mountains and heading to the beach, it trip was windy as we lost elevation. Melody saw a huge waterfall out the window but it was passed by the time I could look.
Our first stop was at a coffee shop. Melody looked up on the wall and there was a poster of the waterfall she saw, so at least I got an idea of what it looked like. After drinking our hot chocolates we walked around the grounds a bit. In the back was a pond with koi and in the front was a small wood shop. We also saw some statues of dancing bears.
We hit the road again and this time there were plenty of waterfalls on both sides. As we lost more elevation we came to a view of a valley so the bus pulled over for us to get a better look.
Throughout the trip, one member of our group has been having us take photos of her doing headstands in scenic places, and this was one. There was a large rock overlooking the valet so she had Bao take a picture of her doing a headstand there.
The next stop was for lunch. Instead of a large family-style lunch, we each got our own this time. After eating, we wandered around the grounds and saw statues of a gorilla, an alligator, and a large banana.
As we got closer to Nha Trang there was construction which diverted us over a gravel section to a side road then back at the end of the construction. What I found amusing is the construction signs had a mannequin standing next to them. Presumably, it’s to make drivers think there’s a real person there.
Po nagar Cham towers
After checking into our hotel in Nha Trang, Melody and I walked towards the beach and then followed the shoreline on the sidewalk. We then crossed the Cai River on the Tran Phu Bridge, turned inland, and arrived at the Po nagar Cham towers. These temples were built between the 7th and 12th centuries and some of them have been restored, as well as some of the pillars down the hill in front of the towers.
We walked up the path and worked out our strategy for looking at the towers. As it ended, for the first three of the four towers, we waited for the same woman who was praying. The first temple had an extremely narrow entrance, so we waited for her to exist since it would have been too difficult to pass each other. The next one was only a little bit wider, but the third one was the largest tower and we could walk around the altar.
The towers are a very popular tourist site. We saw many groups of people who would set up their phones on a tripod, and then go pose for the shot. In other groups, they would take turns doing poses while the rest of the group all but cheered them on.
At one point Melody and I split up for a few minutes, so she found a seat on a bench. When I got back, I saw that she was surrounded by dozens of schoolchildren and their teachers. The kids were very curious and said hello, and were impressed when Melody said, “Xin chào” in return. They also asked her name and then seemed satisfied with that. When they were about to take a group photo, Melody started to stand up but they insisted she stay seated. They were gathered to watch music and dance, so when that was about to start, Melody started to get up again, and this time was able to convince the teacher that she did need to go.
The dancers started with bowls (either held in front or on their heads) and then some of them switched to fans.
After the performance, Melody and I walked around a bit more in the garden, then looked at the exhibit which showed photos before and after each tower was restored.
Rest of the day
Once we were done at the towers, we decided to walk across the street to have bahn xeo for dinner, which is kind of like a taco. We only ordered one with mixed seafood; it wasn’t very large, but considering how much we had eaten during the day, it was fine. Although, we did stop at a café for a little dessert.
Back at the hotel, we did a bit of computing, then went down to see if we could play on the piano that was in the lobby. The receptionist said that we could, so we began playing. When we finished, we heard some clapping, turned around, and saw a couple of people from our group there. We then followed them up to the floor with the swimming pool which extends out to be partially open to the sky. We said goodnight to the other group members and went up to our room.
