Nha Trang

As the bus arrives in Nha Trang the sun is rising over the sea. What a welcome! We stop to view rooms in a hotel the bus stops at, feel sure we can get somewhere better, pick up our bags and head off around town. Guys on bikes keep showing us leaflets of guesthouses/ hotels that they're pushing. Each look the same with photoshopped views. Eventually we settle at the Nice hotel, a dorm room at $2 a night each. Its the poshest dorm I've ever been in with its own cable TV and as there's only 4 beds we have it to ourselves. Shared bathroom with the rest of the floor though and the not-very-frosted glass panel in the door means there's not much left to the imagination when the light's on. We head to the beach for the rest of the day. The sand is coarser than it was in Hoi An. That night we head out for some "research" before Christmas day. Ending up in Bar Why Not? several bucketfuls of cocktail later we stagger home via a roadside restaurant that did an amazing steak and egg sandwich for 60p and its fun sitting on tiny plastic stools. Tinsy bit hungover the next day. The beach and bars formula is repeated the next day which is Christmas Eve, its a big day for Jasper as Christmas Eve is the biggest celebration in Denmark. We meet up with the gang and hit the Sailing Club, as its full moon so should be spent on a beach. Jasper starts feeling worse for wear & when he starts falling asleep Mark & I decide to take him back. Slight problem is he can't walk so we have to carry him across the dancefloor & out the front, dumping him in a strategically placed cyclo, perfect vehicle for drunk people. The hotel staff move very quickly when we arrive, throwing our key over the reception desk as we carry him up the stairs. Mark wins the prize for Jasper not losing his flip flops that night. We dump him on his bed & he throws up. A lot. Yuk! There's obviously no justice as the next morning he wolfs down some breakfast and opens a can of beer as soon as we arrive on the boat for our "booze cruise". Mama Lyn's crewe take us to 3 islands for some swimming, snorkling, sitting in rubber rings drinking free shot glasses of wine, sunbathing & parasailing. For the latter I tandem with Neil & they dunk our legs in the water twice, before speeding off and giving us more height. Bit scarry as I didn't realise they did that (you can't see it from the beach) and a few people before us the couple ended up being rescued by jetski and the sail being dried on the beach. The view was amazing, but it was over way too quickly. Mark & Innes lived out their topgun volleyball fantasy with half the people on the beach. We also had a seafood lunch on the boat, a fruit party (?!?) and some musical entertainment from the enthusiastic crewe, normal guitars and bass but a v improvised drum-kit- various plastic containers and an old symbol, it had a good sound though! They played a few songs, including we wish you a merry christmas, of course! Then they started asking where people were from, calling them up on stage and getting them to sing along to a song of their nationality. Neil was first, then Jasper with another Danish guy, then me. They ask where I'm from I say "Wales", they say "Ah sex bomb!" but when I get up there start playing yellow submarine! Mark & Innes escaped this embarressment as there were too many English people on the boat- not interesting enough. Back on dry land we all meet up after some dinner for a few drinks in the Why Not? Bar. Neil's up for a bender but we're really tired so head back around 1, missing out the club. Boxing day is spent in a mud spa, as recommended by Rach. Its 2 quid and we're there for around 4 hours, there's various stages of washing after the mud bath and a huge pool, all is heated geothermally. The next day us 3 musketeers catch an early morning bus to Mui Ne, leaving Jasper to start a diving course in Nha Trang.