Arrival in Nha Trang....

             The 11 hour overniter by "sleeper" bus from Hoa An to Nha Trang (530 kms) achieved more

Garishly illuminated 'sleeper' bus berths....

agreeably than I was expecting. Despite being wedged into my short 5ft. 6 " sleeping berth (why did the word coffin come into mind?), I slept solidly for about 5 hours after midnight. I was obviously on a bus of elite sleeper bus veterans, as everyone except for me appeared to be sound asleep after 9.00pm. Just past 11.00pm we halted at a popular roadside restaurant clearly favoured by sleeper bus drivers, just as the most amazing cloud-burst that I think I have been privy to in my young life, exploded overhead. Unbelievable amounts of water pounded on the corrugated tin roof of our eatery, and soon parts of the restaurant floor were awash in water. The locals hardly noticed --the majority of western bus  passengers being aghast at the fury of Mother Nature.

6 am view of Nha Trang beach front....

We rolled into  Nha Trang (pop: 359,000) my destination, at 5.00am (Vietnamese style, a full hour ahead of schedule) and twenty back-packers, myself included, pitched out into the darkness of a strange city. As sure as chickens lay eggs, the motor cycle taxi men materialised assuring one and all that they knew precisely where a named hotel would be. True to form, after a couple of kilometres tooling at high speed through mostly empty streets my pilot admitted that the "Green Peace" hotel was not where he thought it was. No problem, quick conversation with some rough looking street pals of his and we were on away again. The business model for street taxi men seems to be --- just get your target onto the pillion seat and worry about the destination later!
              Unwrapped myself & bags from the pillion seat, paid the pre-agreed fare ($2US) and at 5.15am, with dawn just breaking to light rain, spilled myself into the lobby of the Green Peace Hotel. Clerk stretched out fast asleep behind his counter, was clearly not too pleased to welcome his first

Communist beach decor.....

new check-in of the day. Bluntly told me to come back at 2.00pm!! At this, our intrepid traveller went into his well known "wobbly" mode as the Brits call it. A successful strategy, but one that must be used carefully (do NOT insult Vietnamese mothers)---can be frequently effective. I was informed that my room would be available at a more reasonable 7.30 am.
               Clearly my hotel is not located in one of the best areas of the city---The "Booze Cruise" is next door and customers, with girlfriends, were still sitting out-side at the tables drinking beer at 6.00am! Not to worry, I think they call this local colour and all part of the experience---Hilton packaged tour clients you do not know what you are missing!

            Finally allocated my room after hotel management cleared out a chaotic China bus tour party from the lobby, rested for a couple of hours, before setting off on my walk about the around beach and main shopping streets. Clearly evident is the major difference, the further south in this unified (since 1975) country that one travels. By appearances, it is much more prosperous in the south --- whereas the communist government in the north and Hanoi is omnipresent---- propaganda bill boards the national flag, police etc. The north, the winners in the 1968-1975 civil war seems to be adopting a benign /hands off approach to the south (the losers & supported unsuccessfully by the US). Let the south busy itself getting rich for the benefit of the whole nation, as long it remains non-political and does not challenge the right of the communists to rule. Very much the China formula for enriching the nation.
               I am struck by the very large number of Russian tourists in Nha Trang. Large numbers of shops sport banners and hoardings offering products & services in Cyrillic script.  There is widespread obesity among Russian visitors---clearly an epidemic well beyond W. Europe & North America. Interestingly, the Russians, especially the middle aged crowd, seem delighted to display their rolls of excess skin in skimpy bathing suits, on and off the beach.