CAITA Day 8 HoChiMinh-Nha Trang: 'From Madness to happiness'

Day8. Saturday, 21 Oct.

Today, our journey is from HCM City to Nha Trang, 447km.

We started our journey at 8am and we are greeted with a million motorcycles on the streets. It was a nightmare at such an early hour and especially difficult for RH Drive car in a Left Hand Drive country. The traffic was so chaotic, that it's difficult for me to describe. We had bikes competiting for space on the road. Picture the m/cycle jam on the woodlands viaduct except that it was moving and you will see what I mean. Absolute madness for us foreigners. Our tour guide advised us to keep to the outer lane as the motorbikes will converged on the second and inner lanes.

The traffic speed was 30 to 40km per hour. Again, we had to be very careful not to bum into anyone. Overtaking was difficult and was stressful to drive. Our progress out of the city was on an average of 40km per hour. Once out of the city, the road condition was good and the run was smooth. We passed through small towns, with shops displaying their wares on the sidewalk, constantly peppered with dust from the road. We also noticed there are quite a few Catholic churches in this part of Vietnam. By 12noon, we stopped at a petrol station to take a break and enjoyed our typical fried rice paradise. However, this time we had french loaves with sausages and some fruits as well.

The road leading to Nha Trang is by heading eastwards the coast. Once we reached coastal area, we were rewarded with spectacular views -- the rolling mountains with blue waters. Beautiful. (some pics taken by Ernest Chua) Some of the hills were quite botak -bald of trees, probably from Orange bomb during the war. There was a stretch of road so straight and flat for several km with low flat land on both sides and a mountain view directly ahead. We could easily imagine that we are in some highway in U.S.

Nha Trang is a lovely /restful seaside resort town with several 5 star hotels: sea- facing. We arrived at 430pm and had time to explore the town. Tomorrow, we will be heading for Hue -- perfume city. We are expected to leave at 6am.
Cheers
William & Harold at Nha Trang