One Week in Nha Trang, Vietnam

It was a grey morning as my sleeper bus from Saigon rolled into a station in the far western extremities of Nha Trang. I hadn’t seen weather like this yet on my trip. Rain seemed imminent, but it held off. (This time of the year is typically quite clear in the south, but here approaching central Vietnam there is increased chance of rain). At the station a separate shuttle bus arrived to take us the rest of the way into the city. Like Vung Tàu, Nha Trang was brand new to me. All I knew was that it was a resort city, popular especially with Russians.

Walking along the promenade north to my hotel I was impressed by the beachfront park, with its cute and well-trimmed pine trees spread alongside palms. The skyline was concise and generally modern. I looked up at each tower and wondered what it would be like to inhabit the highest room (I’d had similar thoughts back in the day in Miami). The promenade gave the illusion of being infinitely long – but only because it wasn’t interrupted by beach-front restaurants or clubs.

Checking into my hotel, where I’d reserved seven nights, the receptionist gave me what sounded like a proposition: “you stay one night, and if you are satisfied, you can pay for the entire week in the morning”. It was almost as if they expected me to be unsatisfied. And as it turned out, after some wandering that day I decided I didn’t love being in the north end of the city, below the Cai River. It was a very “locally” Vietnamese area, but it also felt detached. (The hotel itself was fine). So, I stayed the night, and then decided to move to a large hostel in the central part of town for the remainder of the week.

The central zone of Nha Trang is also known as “little Moscow”. Vietnam had Soviet-era ties with Russia, which were centered here in Nha Trang. In recent decades the city has exploded in popularity with Russian tourists of all ages. There’s even a long-haul flight direct from Moscow. The Russian language could thus be heard all around, and even to a small extent by local business owners. Restaurant menus and signs were also written in Russian, as well as English. I was keen to see if I could find any Russian pastry shops, seeing as how there were, for example, several Russian-operated tourism agencies—but sadly I found only Vietnamese bakeries.

What really struck me about Nha Trang was that there seemed to be as many Korean tourists as Russian ones. While the Russians traveled in small groups, the Koreans could be seen filing on and off of large tour buses. Due west of the center of town is a neighborhood centered around Bạch Đằng Street that is popular with the Koreans, and nearby are hotels with Korean speaking staff. This was my favorite part of the city to cafe-hop and eat. It felt quite separate from Little Moscow and the beach high-rises, possessing a more residential vibe. Trees lined the streets and buildings stood only 2-3 stories high. The Bahn Mi sandwiches were particularly good here. One spot always had a line of Korean tourists, as if it were a specific “must-try” on their tour itineraries (it probably was). I was too impatient to wait in line there, but I found two other spots that I went to everyday. There was also a smoothie stand I’d visit at a large outdoor market nearby. I enduringly associate Vietnam with mango smoothies!

Considering the very “particular” tourist demographic in Nha Trang, I knew early on this wasn’t a place I could call home. Aside from the Russians, there didn’t seem to be a visible expat presence. It bothered me that I could walk around all day and not have a single serendipitous social interaction (except for the couple instances people assumed I was Russian). Because of this, it was easy to feel as if my days were spent going through the motions of coffee-eat-exercise-eat-sleep. I knew I needed to find an activity to occupy me otherwise—that of course, was cycling.

On my third day I rented a bicycle from a fully-remote rental service. I contacted the owners via WhatsApp and then received a key code to a property with the bicycles inside to select from. I communicated my choice with the owners and placed the payment into a box. There was an unusual amount of trust involved with this, and people were constantly coming in and out of the property without first contacting the owner.

On the first day with the bike I took it along the coast going north. While taking self-timer shots along the cliffs the bicycle fell over once in the wind—it wasn’t until I was ready to continue riding that I realized the chain was stuck. I’ve always loved riding bicycles, but I didn’t have a clue how to fix them (same goes for cars). I turned it upside down and began fiddling around with the chain and gears, getting my hands mucked up with black sludge that hadn’t been cleaned off. Not able to figure it out myself, I briefly consulted ChatGPT—uploading photos of the chain and gears, but this only confused me more. Feeling distressed and being far out of the city, I sent a video to the owner. He was able to tell me specifically how to fix it. Voila!

Just across the road from where my bike fell was a cliffside smoothie truck and a dozen or so folding tables. I celebrated my fix with a Durian smoothie. Along the rails were some peculiar animals tied up by their owners—these included what was either an eagle or a hawk; one of those small furry dogs that always appear to be smiling; and a young brown husky. The small fluffy dogs are quite common from what I’ve seen, but huskies not so much. A Vietnamese/American man stood beside me, also starring at the bird. We both couldn’t make out what it was. Between the bike, the animals, and the turquoise waters of the bay I’d say it was pretty memorable smoothie stop!

Nearing the end of the week I returned my bicycle and embraced the beach. It was a glorious beach—possibly the nicest I’ve sat on since Rio de Janeiro’s Ipanema Beach in 2024. Waking up one morning for sunrise I expected to find a quiet scene, but the beach was already crowded with locals and tourists out for morning runs or photo ops.

Ultimately my favorite moments in Nha Trang were those I spent after dark walking along the city promenade, looking up at the colorful lights on the sides of hotel towers, and vibing out to the energy of the city. Like in Vung Tàu, I’d sit and watch local guys do their calisthenics workouts in the park—there was some serious gymnast-type stuff going on here and it was inspiring. Nha Trang could well be a solid holiday escape if I were to live elsewhere in Vietnam. I was happy to have given it a try.