Riviera of the South China Sea – February 2019
Nha Trang, with a population of about 400,000 people, is a very popular tourist destination for international travelers, especially Russian tourists. In addition to tourism, the city’s main industries are fishing and shipbuilding. During our four days in Nha Trang we walked many kilometers, mostly on the 6 kilometers of beach. We also went to a couple of other interesting sites that are not as popular with tourists.
Beach – This city is nicknamed the Riviera of the South China Sea because of its fine white sand, clear ocean water, and mild temperatures all year round. During our daily beach walks we saw numerous tourists enjoying the sun while lounging on chairs, swimming in the warmish water, and relaxing in the shade of the many beach umbrellas and palm trees. We noticed several unusual beach features: an older model van parked in the sand and a large wooden swing. Tran Phu Street, the wide road that parallels the seaside, is sometimes referred to as the Pacific Coast Highway of Vietnam because of its beautiful ocean views and well-manicured landscaping.
Flower Tower – Nha Trong’s most well known landmark is the Tram Huon Tower. Like many local residents, we referred to this building as the Flower Tower because of it lotus shape. We used the orange painted structure as a reference point for the beginning and end spots for most of our beach walks. The building houses tourist information and displays about the local province. Unfortunately we were not able to see any of this because the tower was never open during our visit.
Hilltop Cathedral – The Nha Trang Cathedral is one of the most simple, yet beautiful Catholic cathedrals that we saw in Vietnam. Before construction was started in the early 1900’s, the large, flat building site was created with the use of 500 mines to blow off the mountain top. The French-style cathedral is made entirely of stone and during our visit we admired the many beautiful stained glass windows plus the highly visible tall square clock tower. The surrounding courtyard includes not only many statues of saints, but also 4,000 tombstones mounted on the lower side walls. After our visit we learned that the tombstones were placed at the church in 1988 when the nearby cemetery was leveled in order to extend the city train station. This hilltop cathedral is the largest church in Nha Trang. Despite the fact that the cathedral is surrounded by very busy streets, the interior is very peaceful. It was wonderful to just sit in a pew in the quietness and look around at the beautiful windows and impressive architecture.
