28th February: Nha Trang, Vietnam to Quy Nhon Vietnam

Keeping up the theme of maximising our 24 hours in Nha Trang, we were up before sunrise. We thought watching it over the sea would be a lovely, peaceful thing to do. None of that really panned out at it was cloudy and the seafront was also packed! It seems that, just as in the evening, locals use the coolest part of the day to exercise en masse on the beach and promenade area. Eventually, the sun did break through the dissipating clouds just as it rose over the island offshore. It was the perfect time to be chilling on the beach.

We popped back to the hotel for a tofu-heavy Chinese-style buffet breakfast, studiously ignoring the dishes with Sichuan pepper! Then, it was back to the beach. By mid-morning the sun is strong here (something many people forget), so we were careful to slap on the suncream and limit our exposure to a couple of hours. The waves were similar to yesterday’s and the sea looked so inviting. Kaja went in first, enjoying the temperate water lapping for half an hour. Afterwards, I paddled in, eventually stepping out on the gradually sloping seabed until the waves were invigoratingly crashing over my head. I broke through the surf and even swam in the sea, for the first time in over a decade. It was an amazing feeling. I could’ve stayed there all day!

However, worried about sunburn and conscious of our midday check-out, we headed back to the hotel via delicious mango smoothies to shower and get ready to head on. Before the train, we left our bags and had time for some tasty homemade vegetarian burgers with lime and ginger soda. It was the perfect morning.

Nha Trang station seemed a confusing place, with a full waiting room but very little information on departures and all of the entrances to the platforms closed. We didn’t need to worry, however, as 25 minutes before the SE8 was due to depart there was an announcement, a sudden influx of staff, and a queue formed to head out to track 2. We waited for it too clear before having our tickets checked and joining those on the platform. The long train chugged in, fronted by a diesel locomotive with two mail carriages before the long assortment of seated and sleeper wagons.

The train might’ve been on time, but it wasn’t the most comfortable, with a lack of aircon for the first half hour. I could feel the beads of sweat running down my legs as we pulled out northbound. Soon, we had to move seats as we’d misread the very confusing numbers. This, unfortunately, meant ending up in seats with barely any view. Having said that, the windows on this relief service were so dirty that we were only marginally worse off.

We were still able to make out mountains inland to our left and, occasionally, the blue sea to our right. The line hugged the coast for much of the journey. For me though, the relaxation of the morning had long faded. I found myself irritated to find out that the Vietnamese share the Chinese habits of closing curtains and reclining their chairs. I think both are socially unacceptable but need to learn to deal with these customs. Despite this, I still didn’t develop the headache I’ve had after all of our recent bus journeys so would take the train option every time. Through the sliver of remaining view from my very squashed personal space, I could see a wide estuary and endless rice fields before we passed inland for the final stretch towards Dieu Tri.

Clouds thickened as dusk fell and we arrived in the dark, but only slightly behind schedule. A few spots of rain hung in the air. Once again, similarly to when we boarded, we alighted on the ‘wrong’ side of the train onto another track rather than the platform. We pre-empted the expected taxi driver chaos out front and ordered a Grab to Quy Nhon before venturing out. Good job too as dozens of drivers descended on us but quickly retreated once they knew we had a ride.

I kind of wished we had taken one of the other drivers up, however, as ours was a maniac who beeped at everything which moved. In Vietnam, in an inversion of the usual pattern, it is those carrying out dangerous manoeuvres who beep at the safely driven vehicle to get out of their way! In 10 km, we reckon he used the horn over 300 times. For the first time, I found myself pondering if they ever wear out?! Anyway, we arrived in one piece and found a rough and ready local canteen for a dinner of pho and some meaty lions mane mushroom. It didn’t look like much, but it was very tasty, and we’ll be back!