Nha Trang

This is a a little bit of a super post as it covers the entire several days in Nha Tran, VN.

  

  


The sleeper bus from HCMC to Nha Trang.  They said it would take 9 hours, but it was closer to 12.  It cost only 171,000VND ($9) each and it is available as an open tour, where you buy one ticket that allows you to move south to north or visa-versa and get off along the way at certain cities.  DO NOT sit in the back.  We thought we were all sly getting the last row of seats, but the back is where you feel every bump in the road and the road is BUMPY.  

A short walk to the beach from the hotel

We got to our hotel that was listed in Lonely Plant and was of described condition, but here they experienced the same power outages as in the south.  Not the hotels fault, but annoying non-the-less.  475,000 VND/night ($25) for two beds, bathtub, and small balcony.  

 

View from the roof.  

A real treat was the Louisiane brewhouse located right on the beach.  They craft their own beers and offer pool, showers, toilets, and beach chairs for a low 30,000VND ($2) fee per day, per person.  We spent most of our time in front of this place as it offered all the comforts we needed to enjoy the beach (read: cold beer).  

The view from a beach chair at the Louisiane

As an added bonus we noticed that around 6pm everynight, local vendors would walk along the beach selling fresh seafood.  They served whatever you ordered cooked on a charcoal grill that they carried over their shoulders from one spot on the beach to the next.  They were not allowed to cross into the Louisiane's part of the beach, but anyone that wanted to enjoy the food just stepped over the property line towards the beach.  We paid 200,000VND (~$10) for a lobster, crab, and clams.  Probably some of the freshest seafood I've ever had.  

You can see the woman with the hot coals cooking the food, while the young man cuts the crab for us.  

We are definitely enjoying this.  You can see the property marker and security guard in the background by the flag.  We brought our beers with us.  

Vung Tau

 OK, this is what I know everyone is interested in. . . the classic beach scene.  We made it to Vung Tau, which was 3+ hrs from HCMC by minibus for 120,000VND ($6.25).  The road was bumpy from construction and a child threw up from motion sickness; the minibus is NOT recommended when mostly locals use it.  

  Once we got to our hotel via taxi from the bus station we were doing much better.  So far we have been using online bookings for our rooms and provided transportation to get from A to B.  This was the first time we had arrived in an area without knowing where we were staying or even for how long.  We told a tuk-tuk driver that we wanted a taxi to the Back Beach area (longer stretch of beach) and he proceeded to get into the taxi with us to see if we would go to a place he would get commission.  Luckily the taxi driver was not in on the commission plan and we were able to pay him the metered fare.  The "chauffeur" wasn't to eager to let us walk away from his choice in hotels, but he didn't fight us too hard.  We ended up finding a place for 250,000 VND/night ($15) for a double bed with a/c, TV, and across the street from the beach.  This sounded great until we were introduced to communist rationing and rolling power outages.  The woman working behind the reception desk didn't seem too shocked when we were surprised to be woken up to the sun coming in through our windows and no a/c the next morning.  We later figured out that the rivers were running pretty dry from the drought and the hydroelectric plant comes in second after rice irrigation; everywhere in our budget and below was without power or only had generators for the lights.  The power would return sometime after 7pm but before 11pm.   

Our hotel was just to the left of the tall, bluish building.

  Beyond the power outages, the location was fine for relaxing.  This town is popular with the locals because it is so close the HCMC.  For the most part, we were the majority of the foreigners we saw.  We saw a few oil rig workers in restaurants and we met a Australian teacher on holiday, but it was most just us and Vietnamese.  Now the price of the room did double for the one weekend night we were there, but that was fine because the room rates were posted in the lobby and we didn't feel like we were being ripped off by being foreign.  

  The water wasn't too clear, but it was warm and not very dirty.  It was also inhabited by locals who wear their street clothes when swimming.  Also, for 20,000VND ($1.20) we were able to rent a lounge chair for the day.

The chair guardian was moving the seats closer for low tide with a cig lit 

The last three pictures are of the Front Beach.  There was a tiny beach near a sea wall and port, but all the non-Vietnamese restaurants and bars were located there.  It was only about 60,000VND ($3) to get there by taxi from our hotel.  

HCMC or Siagon: Same same, not different

  Renee and I flew into Ho Chi Minh City from Siem Reap, which took a little over one hour from takeoff to landing. We flew Cambodia Angkor Air, which seemed safe enough and they gave us a sandwich box for our effort. We flew to HCMC on June 20, instead of taking a bus or boat because we wanted to meet a friend in Vietnam and the $220 seemed like a good idea at the time.

Brother Nam, Renee, Brother Hi

  We were lucky enough to stay with one of Renee's friends from college who was visiting family in Vietnam.  Therefore, we got to stay rent free with an in-house tour guide.  The kicker: 5am mass because it was in a seminary.  The brothers were very friendly and more than kind to us as we tried to learn their daily schedule so that we wouldn't interfere with them while we were on a vacation.  The head priest was our friend's great uncle and he tried to be as joking as possible whenever he could.  On an interesting note, he was also anti-communist and was more than happy to share his misgivings about the Party with us and any other visitors to the compound.

Extended family with us

  Beyond the brothers, we were also able to spend a fair amount of time with Renee's friend's closer, non-ordained family members.  He has several aunts and uncles that were also very friendly and more than happy to entertain us with a dinner or sight seeing trip.

  Those 3 days spent in HCMC were some of the cheapest days we have had so far.  Not only was room covered, board was provided if we asked or were invited to a dinner.  Now, we did try to pay for what we could, and were always refused.  So we bought breakfast one day, beer another, or side dishes for a meal whenever we could/were permitted to.

HCMC: The Sights

For the most part we were being shuffled between family members, meals, and a few sights.  The few sights we did get to see were enhanced with some family members tagging along as guides.  We only really saw the War Remnants Museum (not just American atrocities) and the old presidential palace because it started to rain and we grew tired of seeing everything though the Party's eyes.  

The War Remnants Museum was very interesting because I didn't really know what was going to be there and had only assumed it was going to be just anti-American.  

Next we walked over to the Presidential Palace that is not a reunification museum because the southern part no longer has its president.  

  Some other sights we say from the outsider were the cathedral and old opera house.  The rain was starting to really poor and after the first two sights, we had an idea for how the others would look.  

Good morning Vietnam

So we are safely in 'Nam, but Internet has been spotty at best. I'll have Cambodia and Vietnam -so-far pictures up soon.

Wat beauty!

Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom, Banteay Srei and others were all accessible with a $20/day park pass that becomes discounted when purchased for more than one day (we paid $40 each for a three day pass).  There are two popular "cuiriuts" that tours follow: mini - Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom complexes with minor temples along the way (including the Laura Croft, Tomb Raider, temple); grand - Banteay Srei with other minor temples along the way.  The cost of the tuk-tuk can vary, though a fair price is around $12 for the mini circuit and $28 for the grand circuit (which will take about an hour just to get to the first temple).  Jim, the driver, was very friendly and would try to explain what he could with his broken English.  The tuk-tuks are rented for the day, so the fee you pay includes a driver that will wait for you outside while you sight see and then shuttle you to the next sight or back to the hotel if you are finished wandering around.  Generally, we took 6+ hours to see everything we wanted, though we definitely put more time and effort into the first few sights of the day and skimmed over the last few.  Going during the summer may have been a bad idea as it was extremely humid and hot and we were not ready for the climate.

Phnom Pehn

(The view from the shared balcony.)

Our first home away from home, Indochine 2 Hotel.  We were brought here near midnight and after we had found out that they will not pick you up from the airport even when they say they will and confirm it with you.  Instead we took a $7 tuk-tuk that seemed super sketchy at the time, but worked out perfectly in end.  The room was nice enough and the staff were more than friendly for the $22/night for a double bed and en suite.  We later found out that this price, while cheap in the US, was not as inexpensive as other places; though you get what you pay for and this was worth it for the location alone.                            

Walking down to Sisowath Quay, we could see the Tonle Sap River that flows between Phenom Penh and Siem Reap.  This is where most of the western bars, restaurants, and tourist shops are.  As you can see a "happy" pizza is a popular menu item.  Food is cheap-ish, though it is completely possible to pay western prices for a meal if you really want to.  The use of USD makes it easy to carry the money, though it seems everything gets rounded up to the nearest dollar for simplicity and profit.  The nicest thing to see were the draught beer prices in the $0.50 range at most bars.  There was a wide variety of food options from Khmer, Asian, and Western to mixes of the three.  

The Royal Palace of Phnom Penh is generally a nice place to visit, however, the queen's birthday was the next day and the throne room was closed to visitors.  The 25000r (~$6) admission fee was way to lofty for the limited access.

(below) Within the Place grounds is the Silver Pagoda that has a tile floor made of, you guessed it, silver.  Most of the floor is covered to protect it and you can feel the tiles separating from the floor.  Most of the room houses old Buddhist artifacts and gifts to the royal family.  

Restoration projects are ongoing at the palace as workers maintain the grounds

The National Museum was skipped, though it looked nice from the outside.

Wat Phenom was within walking distance of our hotel and it was more worth it to see than the Palace.  The monkeys were docile and free to see.  The elephant ride was a skipped because at $15 as the poor beast does the same 50 yard circuit over and over again.  

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Get your own

Siem Reap

To get to Siem Reap from Phnom Penh, we took mini bus for $10 each.  It promised to deliver us in under 5 hours and it made true with that promise at 4.5 hours including a bathroom/snack break.  The road was narrow and dirt, but that did not stop the horn-leaning driver from ducking in and out of oncoming or passing traffic.  We would have been more fearful for our lives, but coming off of a two year stint with Korean taxi driver has eased our opinion of "safe."

Cam Beer Showdown: Results

So this was a competitive set that does not include other popular beers originating outside of Cambodia. These were ranked based on their initial flavor and how that can equate into quantity of beers consumed. Now, terrible beer can be okay when there are limited option and good beer can be limited in how many you can stomach at once, so this comparison is about which local beers taste the best while not being too "heavy" where you want to stop after one or two.

The Winner: Gold Crown Beer

This beer was crisp, while maintaining a smooth flavor. This had the highest "drinkability" ranking as it did not leave a bitter taste and wasn't too heavy. This beer would be more Bud Light than Busche Light; not that it was over advertised and super popular, but that it was refreshing on a hot day, and could play well with a drinking game.

The rest are listed from second place to worst.

Klang Beer

This beer is special in that it has a 6%ABV, but it tastes like it. You know that sweet flavor that seems to be necessary in a malt beverage? This has it and it is not the most desirable flavor when you need to punish you liver. It was smooth for its ABV, though once the novelty of that wears off, you are left with a just okay beer. This one would be the Busche Light of the group.

Angkor Beer

This is another beer with a higher ABV at 5%. This should help it as it tastes less like a high alcohol content beer while getting the job done quicker, but its flat overall flavor ruined its chances. Its lack of flavor limits it ability to be pounded with the best, though it is better than Cass and Hite.

Bayon Pilsner

This was the first beer I tried in the study, so maybe I wasn't in the right mindset to give it a good ranking or I just needed a primer, but it was a little disappointing. Bayon had the smooth pilsner taste that should help its ranking, but lacked the crispness that makes it easy to knock back.

Angkor Extra Stout

I enjoy drinking stouts, but I will admit that the heaviness of most stouts limits most to just a few until they are too full to carry on. Angkor Extra Stout did not fail to follow in those footsteps. It was too heavy to knock back too many and its flavor was lacking. This tasted more like a stout beet cut this a light beer. Its chocolate aftertaste made it seem like I had added chocolate syrup to a light beer with a milk foam topper. I had high hopes and it disappointed.

So here is a "scientific" evaluation to help anyone who ventures into Cambodia looking for a local brew. The one kicker is that most places have only Angkor Beer on tap or an import.