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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
