Vietnam: Day 7

This was actually a test shot that turned out to be pretty well-placed.

April 6, 2019
Today, we finally took a trip a bit north of Cam Ranh to Nha Trang, a major tourist spot on the coast of south Vietnam.

After eating more bánh xèo (apparently named after the sizzling sound that it makes when cooked) for breakfast, Phuc and I rode out on a bike while the rest of the family met up with us later on. We took the time to stop and take landscape shots on the coastline and around the city before making it to the central marketplace.

The Nha Trang beaches lined the entire coast of the city,
with spots filled with tourists from all over the world.

 

This was the main market square where we bought some souvenirs to bring back home.

]After shopping for a bit, we went across the bridge towards downtown to eat lunch at a seafood place. It's pretty fitting to be eating octopus while overlooking the fishing boats and trawlers.

After lunch, we went to a cafe that had beautiful views of Nha Trang and the islands off its coast.

 

Our next stop was the Tháp Bà Ponagar tower, historically used (and is still used) as a Buddhist place of worship, built between the seventh and ninth centuries: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Po_Nagar

 

 

 

Ganesha, considered the Hindu god of removing obstacles,
the arts and science, intellect and wisdom.

 

 

Finally, my favorite part of the day was at the Museum of Oceanography, essentially an aquarium with models and maps of Vietnam's unique marine ecology. I figured out the secret to good macro shots of fish in tanks, leading to some of my favorite shots to date.

It seemed fitting that they had some fishing holes in the back end of the property,
plus a view of the Vinpearl resort.

There also happened to be a group of chickens right next to the beach, just hanging out.

There was a mermaid statue just off the pier towards the hunting grounds.

 

I was excited to see my favorite quasi-arachnids too;
these are the Asian varieties that differ slightly from
the Atlantic species that we see in America.

Sea stars are weird because they move by controlling little suction cups
on the bottom of each of their legs.

Stonefish are cool because they look like stones

The best feeling is when you thought you didn't capture any good images,
but then you review them and they're perfect.

Outside was another one of those touch ponds, but with cute miniature houses.

Today was the longest day I've had and probably the most mileage out of my camera since I got it (I used up to 12 gigs of my 14 gig SD card!) I'm really satisfied with my shots, and I can't wait for another full week before going back to America.