We were struck as soon as we arrived in Nha Trang that many of the signs are in Russian as well as Vietnamese and English. These signs are at the entrance to an amusement park across the street from our hotel.
In the late 70's after the US left Vietnam, the USSR established a naval base at the site of the former US base at Cam Ranh Bay. This area must have made an impression on a generation of Russians, because now there are three direct flights a day from Russia and as many a 50,000 Russian tourists a month visit in the wintertime.
It's not surprising the area made such an impression - the beaches are beautiful, the seafood is unbelievable and the city's setting between the mountains and an island-filled bay is truly breathtaking.
We spent Sunday afternoon walking up the oceanside quay as far as the Vietnamese branch of the Institut Pasteur. A French physician, Alexandre Yersin, who was a protege of Louis Pasteur, and discoverer of the plague bacillus and its vaccine, established a branch of the pharmacological research institute here in the early 20th century. It turns out he also introduced the rubber tree and the quinine bush to Vietnam, and helped found the hill station at Da Lat (where we'll be tomorrow). Small wonder that after the French left Vietnam in 1954 and the Vietnamese changed most of the streets named for frenchmen, they kept Avenues Yersin all over the country.
snorkeled at the marine park and stopped at a seaside restaurant for a fabulous 8-course lunch.
We almost needed a winch to get back on the boat for the return trip. It was a wonderful excursion, made even more special by the fact that we had the boat to ourselves.
We'll try to catch the Royals' game in the morning and then leave for the drive into the mountains to Da Lat
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