NHA TRANG
v Introduction
Nha Trang is a coastal
city and centre of politic, economy, culture, technical science and tourist of
Khanh Hoa province, on the South Central Coast of Vietnam. It is considered as
one of Vietnam’s most famous seaside resort-town; therefore, Nha Trang attracts
domestic and foreign tourists for not only its stunningly pristine beaches but
also the urban atmosphere of a young tourist city. Moreover, it is known as the
pearl of the South China sea.
v Geography
Nha Trang has natural area
of 251 km². This town is about 450km north of Ho Chi Minh city and 1200km south
of Hanoi. It borders with Ninh Hoa town by the north, Cam Ranh city by the
south, Dien Khanh town by the west and the South China Sea to the east. Nha
Trang is surrounded on three sides by mountains and a large island on the
fourth side, blocking major storms from potentially damaging the city.
v History
According to many researchers,
the name Nha Trang was formed by the reading of the Vietnamese adapted from a
geographical name in the Cham language (Ya Trang or Ea Trang). This is the name
of Cai river which flows through Nha Trang. From the name of this river, gradually
it was used to calling a region – Nha Trang that was officially appeared on Vietnam's
territory in 1653.
v Population
According to the result
of population and housing census in 2009, Nha Trang’s population is about
392.000 inhabitants in which the urban population accounts for 74.6% and 25.4% is of the rural one .The population
density is 4.887 person/ km2.
v Sightseeing
Nha Trang bay covers an area of 57 km2
including 19 islands in which Hon Tre is the largest island (3.250 hectares)
and the smallest island is Hon Noc (only 4 hectares). It has great climate, sunny
all year round and the annual average temperature is about 26⁰C. Thus it
becomes the houses of rare animal species which has high economic value
specially is coral (350/ 800 species in the world). Additionally, Nha Trang bay
also has many beautiful islands that attract a large amount of domestic and
international travelers. This bay is ranked by Travel & Leisure Magazine as
one of the world most beautiful bay. Nha Trang bay is Vietnam most popular
destination.
Po Nagar Cham Towers is commonly known as
Tháp Bà which are a complex of temples erected approximately before 781 A.D.
They are now situated on a hill named Cu Lao that is far from 2 km downtown Nha
Trang to the north and next to Cai River. The structure of this tower contains
3 floors: low floor, middle floor and high floor. In the high floor, there are
many towers which were built the same as Cham styles. The main tower is in 23
meters in height and calling the Ponagar. The central image of this temple is a
1.2m tall stone statue - the goddess Yan Po Nagar sitting cross-legged, dressed
only in a skirt, with ten hands holding various symbolic items. Particularly, if
you visit Nha Trang in Mar of lunar calendar, you will be joined in the annual
Thap Ba Festival held from 21st to 23rd .
When you want to know
more about Nha Trang, Nha Trang
information center is the best option. Located in the main business area of
this city, the center supports the most useful information for businesses and
visitors from accommodation to economy. Each piece of information is provided
by the local residents and the professional business so that they are valid and
believable. Besides, this center also provides accommodation that visitors can
take a rest and enjoy cold drinks and coffee anytime. Certainly, they still use
free wireless internet. Specially, in the Saturday night, you also taste the Vietnamese
traditional free wine and dessert as well as communicate with other people who
need to discover Nha Trang like you. This is also the place where tourist can
find the biggest collection of local paintings. Additionally, you may hire a
bicycle or even a motorbike to explore this dynamic and energetic city.
Oceanographic Museum of Vietnam is situated at 1 Cau Da street, about 5km from Nha Trang city. Opened officially
to the public on September 14th 1922, it is an aquarium that shows
the exact image about Nha Trang marine environment. This place collects many
species living in the South China Sea, Thailand bay, Hoang Sa and Truong Sa
archipelagoes, as well as the shore regions of Vietnam. This museum has 2
floors: the ground floor places lots of different size aquariums that you would
find almost kinds of fish such as reef sharks, turtles, living coral, anemones,
puffers, lionfish, clownfish, sea horses, and a whole array of colorful reef
species, especially, some of them can be found in no other place in the world. All
types of fish are noted their name, origin and characteristics in Vietnamese
and in English. On the other hand, the upstairs floor exhibits the local boats
and the fishing artifacts, plus an 18 meters long whale skeleton. Moreover,
there are many rooms used to research
like ‘From Light to Life’, ‘Life in a Drop of Water’. Oceanographic museum
is really a center of valuable maritime cultural heritage should be preserved
and developed.
Built in 1908, this
market was called Dam because it lies on a 7 hectare pond. Dam market is about 5.270 square meters and can hold up to 3,000
people at a time. This three-floor building consists of many local goods: different
types of dried sea foods, souvenirs…Coming here in the early morning ( at about
4 am), this vibrant market is not only a place to meet the demand of local
people and tourists doing their morning shopping but also an interesting place
to wander and explore the daily life of Nha Trang inhabitants. Dam market is
really a beautiful and unique architecture. This is the biggest market as well
as a trade symbol of this coastal city and a destination for tourist.
v Gastronomy
Nha Trang is a very
famous beach of Vietnam and all over the world. Besides its romantic scenes,
interesting games, you may enjoy lots of special foods of this seaside
resort-town. Two of local culinary specialties which attract people are ‘bánh
canh chả cá and bún cá sứa’. These dishes are not similar to other region’s ones
so you will never forget.
v Climate
Nha Trang has a tropical
savanna climate influenced by ocean climate. Nha Trang’s climate is relatively
mild, the annual average temperature is 26,3⁰C. It has 2 seasons: lengthy dry
season from January to August and a shorter wet season from September to
December. The total annual rainfall is1,361millimeters mostly received from the
northeast monsoon. In particular, it has less the impact of the storm.
v Get it
By
plane
Nha
Trang has Cam Ranh airport which is located 30 km from the city and serves many
flights per day. It takes one hour if you are from Ho Chi Minh City and from Hanoi is 1,5 hours so it is very
convenient for us to get there.
By
coach
Another
popular transit is coach. It is spacious and the service is of high standard containing
air-conditioner, reclinate seat... Ticket price is quite reasonable and lasts 9
hours when you go from Ho Chi Minh city or Da Lat.
By
train
Nha Trang is a stop on the main railway-line
connecting Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. The train station is about 1 km away
from the city centre, so you can easily walk. You should chose an overnight train
in order to have a good sleep. Or you don’t like, you can go daytime to enjoy
landscapes of many regions. The journey from Ho Chi Minh city to Nha Trang takes
between 6-8 hours. Trains departing from Hanoi are lengthy and make many stops
along the way - each one way trip can take as long as 12-20 hours.
