The rain clouds came in low and slow, like a blanket over our heads, turning the beach town of Nha Trang into a subdued shade of gray. We took off on our motorbikes for Nam Son Quan, which local friends had told us serves incredible and authentic Nha Trang hometown cuisine. Just pulling on to the road leading to the restaurant lets you know that you're going somewhere special. The road was very bumpy, narrow and sometimes muddy with large puddles of water forcing us to veer this way and that. It was only 8pm, but local people were at home asleep early. The only noise that broke the darkness of village life was from our motorbikes. After around 20 minutes, we reached a coconut garden on the bank of Cai river. In the middle of orchard was Nam Son, nestled among the trees. Under the mysterious veil created by the rain and its fog, the river looked bigger and its sound endless. I was taken aback by the poetic landscape. In the darkness, the fog hid the village on the opposite … [Read more...] about A poetic retreat in Nha Trang
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Cop suspended for violent interrogation in Nha Trang
A police officer in the central province of Khanh Hoa has been suspended pending investigations into accusations that he beat up two residents during an interrogation. Lieutenant Lang Thanh Dung, a police officer in the anti-crime division of Nha Trang City Police Department, will be suspended for three months, local police said Saturday. The decision was made after Nguyen Truong Vu, 29, a xe om (motorbike taxi) driver in Nha Trang, lodged a complaint with local police saying Dung had beaten him and Truong Tri Binh, another xe om driver on July 26. According to the complaint, Vu and Binh had parked their motorbikes on the sidewalks at around 10 p.m. on July 26 when Dung and several men in plainclothes showed up and forced them to go with them to the police station. Dung and a another cop named Hien handcuffed the pair and beat them up with batons and stun guns, making them confess to stealing money from two Hanoian tourists. Vu said Dung repeatedly asked him if his name was … [Read more...] about Cop suspended for violent interrogation in Nha Trang
Swedish couple has their wedding on Nha Trang beach
A couple who came from Sweden, organized their wedding on the beach of Nha Trang, Vietnam, on March 17. Ms. Sandra Therese Fagerberg and Mr. Thomas Harald Gronvoll have lived together for years and have two children, but they decided to hold their wedding during their spring vacation in Vietnam. The wedding took place on the afternoon of March 17 on the beach of Nha Trang city, in central Vietnam. “We met the first time nine years ago during a skiing trip. We love traveling around the world and tours have helped tighten our relationship. For that reason, we planned to get married during a tour,” Gronvoll said. “My family loves tropical climate, blue sea and hospitality. We also want to taste delicious food and see friendly people with warm smiles and we always dreamt of a wedding on the sea. All of the wishes can become reality in Nha Trang,” Fagerberg added. They have been in Vietnam for five weeks. On March 17, at the beach in front of the Sunrise Hotel, … [Read more...] about Swedish couple has their wedding on Nha Trang beach
Int’l cruise ships call at Nha Trang coast
Four foreign cruise ships Wednesday unloaded about 4,800 international tourists at Nha Trang ports in the central province of Khanh Hoa. Among them, the Bahamas-flagged Legend of the Seas, the biggest one with 1,800 visitors, had to anchor far away from the coast to send her passengers on shore by using tenders, while the Malta-flagged Orion II with 40 visitors docked at the port of Bao Dai tourism site. Only the Bahamas-flagged Silver Shadow and the Holland-flagged Amsterdam with a combined number of 1,200 guests called at the largest commercial dock of the city since the port can only handle 2 such big ships at the same time. After visiting some famous sites in the cities, the ships have left the coastal city for other tourism locations. The central coastal city of Da Nang has witnessed a dramatic increase of foreign tourist arrivals by cruise ships during the first two months of 2012 with about 20,000 foreign visitors, a two-fold increase in the number of foreign tourists to … [Read more...] about Int’l cruise ships call at Nha Trang coast
Super cruise ship Queen Mary 2 visits Nha Trang
Super liner Queen Mary 2, one of the world’s two largest liners, carrying 2,430 passengers from 20 countries and territories along with its 1,230 sailors and staff made a visit to Nha Trang coastal city in the central province of Khanh Hoa today. Queen Mary is twice larger than the Titanic and 45m longer than the biggest aircraft carrier. Do Thanh Long, working at Nha Trang-based Hai Long Ltd. Company which is a shipping agency for Queen Mary, told the press that Nha Trang is the only port in Vietnam which the liner visits during its world-wide sea travel. Due to its huge size, it’s not able to land at Nha Trang wharf. At 5:00pm the same day, the liner will head towards Thailand. At the time of its construction in 2002 by Chantiers de l'Atlantique in France, Queen Mary 2 was the longest, widest and tallest passenger ship ever built, and with her gross tonnage (GT) of 151,400 tons, was also the largest. It entered service in 2004 on the Southampton to New York … [Read more...] about Super cruise ship Queen Mary 2 visits Nha Trang