It was nice to have sort of a sea day today. We were scheduled to arrive around noon into Nha Trang, so we didn't have get up early. After a late breakfast we enjoyed a BBC Earth Trivia Game and we played with a travel agent from the Netherlands that we sailed with last year on the Volendam and on the the Inaugural sailing of the Koningsdam.
After the game show, we were invited to go out on the bow of the ship to watch the sail in. It was warm and sunny and we sailed under the cable car that serves the Vin Pearl amusement park. They shut off the cable car as there is little clearance for the Volendam to sail under it.
In this port, we had a short walk off the pier and into the port side area to reach our van and guide. The van was a high top Ford van in very nice condition and the tour company was Pham Tours. Our guide's name was An and he was excellent and eager to share any info we had questions about.
This port area was bustling with all sorts of commercial activity, and once again there were thousands of scooters darting here and there. We visited a very old (8th Century) temple (PO Nagar Cham Towers). We made our way to the river and through a boat yard and sailed up the river to a "rustic" dock which was part of single lane bridge crossing the river. That bridge would certainly be a thrilling ride on a scooter and apparently it is rebuilt / replaced every year because it's so rickety.
We visited a noodle making business, an orphanage run by Buddhist nuns (the kids were adorable and full of energy), a mat weaving business, a rice paper business (actually a food), a traditional hat making business, a nice dinner on the river at a business owned by the tour operator, and the large white standing Buddha at the Long Son Pagoda. We ended the tour in town at an embroidery workshop that produces amazing embroidered pictures. They are a trifle expensive for the larger ones. In this last area we saw lots of evidence of Chinese and Russian tourist activity.
Back at the ship in the dark (we don't leave until 11pm), we took some nice night pictures of the aerial tram that serves the Vin Pearl amusement park. By the way, one can't just buy a round trip ticket on the tram, the entrance fee to the amusement park is included in the fee which is around $42US.
Back on the ship, we enjoyed some ice cream and then enjoyed what was probably the best magic show we've ever seen on a HAL ship. Kristian Grey was the artist and he's really good.
Tomorrow is a sea day before we reach Da Nang. It should be a low key day, but you'll have to stay tuned to find out if it was.
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