Shrieking winds sheared the foaming tops from the high waves as the tropical typhoon off the Phillipines tracked toward the east cost of central Vietnam. In Nha Trang we heard from travellers about the flash floods in Da Nang and Hoi An as the outer edges of the Typhoon dumped huge amounts of water on the land.  Wet and bedraggled travellers told of rail links being cut off to the north of us and buses travelling on flooded roads, soaking rucksacks loaded in the luggage compartments under the buses. 

As the blue skies and turquoise waters of Nha Trang bay darkened and the wind picked up we decided to ride out the storm there. To the north a crocodile farm with 5000 animals was inundated allowing 500 crocodiles to swim free. So far only two have been recaptured allowing the rest to fan out into the flooded paddy fields and villages.  Then the news that the typhoon was turning south toward Nha Trang and Saigon. So we took a bus north, crossing under the storm front as we inched along the hairpin bends of coastal Highway One in lashing rain and strong winds. The railway line was still deep under brown muddy water.

All night we drove steadily north eventually reaching a flooded Hoi An in the grey light of dawn.  By then the worst of the storm had passed south. Speaking to fatigued shop owners they spoke of flood water two metres deep. They said this was the worst flooding in the town since 1988. The army were already shovelling up thick oozing mud and the fire department were hosing mud and debris back into the river. Slowly life was returning to normal in this picturesque town.

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Nha Trang nestles at the edge of the turquoise bay sheltered by vegetation clad island peaks creating a natural harbour.  The clear waters around the islands are the habitat for hundreds of different species of coral and the colourful fish that shelter there.  The many boat trips around the islands available are very worthwhile and provide a good day out.

Nha Trang boasts a very nice beach with great facilities for eating and relaxing in the sun.  

The city also boasts natural warm springs which produce mineral rich water and a greenish fluid mud with a slight sulphurous odour. Naturally these are reputed to have important therapeutic properties.  So we were persuaded to relax at the Thap Ba Hot Spring Centre. No, there are no photographs of us wallowing in the mud on the web site but we did enjoy the experience. If you are interested look at;

www.thapbahotspring.com.vn

Nha Trang was also the home of Alexander Yersin, a colleague and contemporary of Louis Pasteur. We found, in the very interesting Yersin museum, that he discovered the bacillus of the bubonic plague. This is just as well because at the colourful fishing village we saw colonies of rats taking morsels of food out of the ditches. Now this should not put people off visiting Nha Trang.  We found it an incredibly friendly place where we ate well.  The seafood was particularly good and not too dear.

On a tour of the outer islands the sky darkened and the rain was so heavy that the boat returned to harbour.  November and December is the rainy season in Nha Trang but there was also a Typhoon far out at sea, heading toward us.     

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On a long white sandy beach fringed by tall swaying coconut palms the fishing village of Mui Ne faces south into the turquoise blue of the South China Sea.  Small fat bellied wooden fishing boats and woven coracles nestle under the trees until they are hauled or carried into the surf by the local fishermen. Only recently discovered by local and international tourists the beach is still relatively unspoiled with few if any of the hawkers normally associated with tourist beaches. But already the development is underway. Resorts are being built and shops and restaurants are popping up along the coast road.  

Whilst this development seems a pity in one sense it also brings employment and income to the poor local fishing community.  The fishermen’s catches now command much higher prices in the resorts and restaurants. The Vietnamese people we met here were warm and friendly. There is often a smile and a wave from fishermen looking up whilst repairing their nets and the small beach restaurants excel in hospitality.

The area away from the idyllic beach is dominated by huge sand dunes, famous throughout Vietnam, for their picturesque beauty.  Trekking amid the white dunes gives spectacular views of these mountains of sand. Sunset in the red sand dunes was highly recommended.  Here we met Jim and Jean, a couple from Newcastle, sipping champagne on top of the highest dune, bathed in deep rosy light, whilst watching the last rays of the sun dipping into the South China Sea. 

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