The Delights of Traveling: Nha Trang/Ninhvana, Vietnam

After my friend left Saigon, I decided to take the night bus to Nha Trang which is a few hours north. I had booked Vietnam Backpackers Hostel Ninhvana which is supposed to be in the province of Nha Trang. However, when I arrived in Nha Trang, it was not what I was expecting because from the photo that I saw about the hostel was that it was right on the beach and I was dropped in the middle of a city. It was about 5 AM when I arrived, so I was a bit groggy and confused and when I googled where I needed to go it was about an hour and a half from where I was dropped off. As I mentioned before, I was not feeling the greatest and so, when a motorbike taxi man came up to me asking where I needed to go, I was a bit bitchy. I did tell him where I had to go and he was going to charge me about 600,000 Vietnamese Dong ($25) to get where I needed to go, which really doesn't seem that much but when everything else is super cheap that seems like a lot. So, rather than saying yes to the driver I decided to have a little walk around to figure out what I needed to do. I also didn't have that amount of money unless I went to an ATM so I kept saying no but he was very persistent, he even followed me throughout the entire time I was walking around. So, I decided to go sit at a coffee shop to figure it out. Ultimately, I decided to book 2 nights in Nha Trang because I really did not feel like spending that much money on a motorbike taxi. I booked into iHome hostel which was recommended to me by a friend in Saigon. It also looked pretty good from the photos when I booked it so I was quite interested. I arrived at the hostel and still had to wait to check-in, but I decided to go up to the rooftop to chill and see if I could meet people. The rooftop of the hostel was really nice because they had some comfy sitting areas and picnic tables. But, when I went upstairs there was a guy sleeping and there were 2 guys that were also waiting to check in.

I had actually met another person who was supposed to be staying at VBH as well, but he had the same idea I did and decided to book iHome for a few days before he moved to VBH and apparently he found out that there was a shuttle bus that takes people from Nha Trang to Ninhvana. So, we made a plan that we would stay in Nha Trang for a few days and then move to Ninhvana. Since we had quite a bit of time until we could check in, we decided to go on a wander around the city and what we figured out was very interesting. We realized that the city was filled with Russian stores and that made me very curious why, but from what I learned there is a direct flight from Moscow to Nha Trang which made sense then. From what I learned, they would come over to Vietnam because their money goes a lot further in Vietnam then in Europe. So, when we got back to the hostel, we were able to check in and they had a really good idea where they give free beer for 2 hours to their guests. So, we went up for our drinks and then we decided to go out and that was definitely very interesting. I went home after a few bars but apparently everyone else that we were partying with decided to go to the beach and drink some more. After 2 days in Nha Trang, we managed to convince quite a few people to come to VBH Ninhvana with us. So, we all decided to take the shuttle bus together to our new hostel and it was only 90,000 Vietnamese Dong ($4) versus the 600,000 Dong that the motorbike was trying to charge me a couple days before. So, 5 of us checked out of the hostel and made our way to the pickup point and then met 2 other girls so we became a group when we arrived.

I have to say that the hostel was way more than I expected because it looked like a resort that we only had to pay $4 a night, which was amazing.

I have to say that my experience at VBH Ninhvana was one of my favorites in the entire time that I have been traveling. The 5 of us got the shuttle bus from Nha Trang to Ninhvana and man was it a great view. Our driver was a bit of a psycho, but we got there eventually and the views coming in were absolutely beautiful. When we arrived at the hostel, I was absolutely shocked because it wasn't like any other hostel I had ever seen. It was almost like a resort when you walked in but at only about $4 a night. Not only was the hostel beautiful, but it had so many amenities. I mean just from the location alone, I understood why there were so many because there really was not much to do in the village. There was a full restaurant, spa, pool, exercise area, volleyball court, basketball court, and a soccer field. The beds were comfortable enough, but it was completely open policy so it was only fans in the rooms. Another great thing about this hostel was that every day was a different themed night. From pool parties to "bar crawls", the staff were there every step of the way and they became like family.