Nha Trang

Ahhh, the sleeper bus. Everyone has to experience it while traveling through Vietnam. For around $11, you can travel a 12 hour distance at night, in the comfort of a cramped pod in a bunkbed contraption, Vietnamese music videos blasting, and endless stops to pick up more Vietnamese people through the night who can then sleep in the aisle when the bunks are full. A rest stop a midnight really did the trick when we stopped there for what seemed like an eternity. One traveler was sick and sitting in the aisle next to us - she then got yelled at to go get in her bunk by the bus driver.

Shockingly, Brennan passed out for the whole trip and woke up in Nha Trang. He didn't have to deal with Vietnamese people on the phone at 3 am, the unbearable music, or the girl about the puke.

We arrived safely in Nha Trang - yay! We managed to find a guesthouse in our daze and grabbed breakfast and headed for the beach. The beach was pretty - surrounded by large mountains. A wide boulevard lines the ocean, almost like in the french riveria, and hotels are on the other side of the road. There is a lot of construction going on in Nha Trang - and it will host the Miss Universe pageant on July 14- something people are really excited about here!

After hanging out at the beach, we grabbed a german lunch - beers and brats - and took a long nap. We checked out some of the bars and restaurants at night - there are lots of cute trendy bars with a tropical vibe. Nha Trang is a party town in a Myrtle Beach kind of way (spring break 2008!), but we were too tired to party hard. Brennan is an old fart and made me go to bed early.

Brennan's grandfather was stationed in Nha Trang during the war. It is hard to believe that 30 years ago, this beach resort housed many soldiers preparing for battle. On our last morning, we saw Vietnamese soldiers getting ready for their morning workout on the beach - clearly times have changed.

Brennan wanted to go scuba diving, but they had problems looking up his certification - so we headed to Mui Ne the next day for a more laid back scene.