Day 74 - 77 Nha Trang

Our winding bus ride from Dalat to the costal city of Nha Trang was hideous to say the least. Send me on a boat on rough sea any day and I will just fall asleep but put me on a bus with 40 other people, smelly food, loud vietnamese music and a crazy horn honking erratic driver contending with narrow, winding roads....my tolerance and the state of my stomach decreases rapidly!!!! We were so happy when we arrived in sunny Nha Trang, welcomed by the sudden increase of heat, and tropical white sand that wrapped around the coast. Even though this beach paradise was a busy tourist hub it hadn't developed one ounce of tackiness, it was beautiful. We stayed in the night life area, down the end of a small alleyway which was shared by hundreds of locals. At night all the children  would spill out onto the street and play soccer, while their mothers and grandmothers sat on small chairs outside crusing garlic, and drying seafood. Many of the homes that joined the family run restaurants were rooms with fold up beds, and most of the food preparation was done on the street or in the restuarant kitchen, with meal time huddled on the floor. This communal living is typical of South East Asia, they basically live on top of each other and i get the feeling that even if they had more space they wouldn't have it any other way. We were spoilt by so many choices of food, and bars. To our surprise we found a superb Indian restaurant named Ganesh (Mike had one taste of the meaty lamb tika masala and it was our dinner for 2 nights in a row). One night before our Ganesh indulgence we also discovered a rowdy bar (as well as all the other tourists). Mike settled down and watched the Warriors as I managed to somehow stumble upon an opportunity to get unbelievably cheap music on my iPod. I watched in fascination as one of the owners downloaded 100 new albums for me for $20! As I was happily scrolling through my new music Mike got chatting to a two brothers from New Zealand and suddenly the world became a very small place. Mike basically had a job interview and I was grilled about PR & Marketing and what kind of career direction I will go in when we return home. One of the brothers owned a construction company and the other brother was a very experienced marketing director. It just proves you never know who you going to run into and what opportunities await...even in a seedy bar in Vietnam. With an exchange of emails and promise to contact them upon our return we left that night feeling slightly elated and more hopeful about our job prospects in New Zealand. However the elation was short lived as we prepared for what turned out to be a very unique experience both unforgettable and painful on our night train to Danang.