The sail in this morning to Nha Trang was under the "longest overwater cable car ride", and then it got more touristy and modern. I'm afraid to say I don't know what was of the original city, but I suspect that B-52s did a number on he place in the 1960s. At any rate this is an apparently thriving city of 330,000, most of whom work in the very modern Western beach hotels--the largest hotel along the 5 km (3 mile, honest) long white sand beach is a brand new Sheraton. The biggest development is a Disney like resort/amusement park at the far end of the cable car across the bay.
The "Nha Trang City and Cham Towers" included very quick stops at the Po Nagar Towers, 7th to 12th Century Hindu shrines, and the Long Son Pagoda (sic), actually a seemingly brand new 9.2 meter high (30 ft, really) Buddha on top of a natural hill and overlooking a very big reclining brand new Buddha. The feeling is that this town is a joint venture (which in Vietnam seems to mean that some big company from the developed countries has gambled a fortune hoping that their bribes will pay off in investment returns) for amusing German tourists. I believe I saw a field where they actually grow tour guides among chrysanthemums. Besides some weird signs and what really seemed to be a breeding place for cock fighting roosters, this time has the appeal of Estes Park but without Rocky Mountain National Park.
Actually, the old Hindu and the new Buddhist sights were most interesting (with clean but weirdly signed mensrooms), and one of the gift shop embroidery workshops kind of fascinating.
Tonight is the last formal night of the cruise. We are invited to the Chief Engineer's table. I would have turned him down, but we want the air conditioning to continue to work. It's 98 F (39 C, correctly converted). All day excursion tomorrow to Hoi An, a place supposedly full of world heritage sites besides the gift shops. I'm looking forward to a real Vietnamese meal.
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