June 10, 2024
Leaving Nha Trang on the Final Morning
It was my last day in Nha Trang, and I was taking a midday flight to Hanoi.
At breakfast, I said goodbye to the dining area that had taken care of me for days, and as always, I enjoyed plenty of fresh dragon fruit.
My friend wanted to visit the Dam Market (see on map), so we booked a Grab taxi and headed out. We arrived around 8:30 a.m., but many of the shops in the second-floor clothing area were still closed. My friend bought a T-shirt from a shop that was already open, and because he never negotiates prices, I stepped in again and bargained for him. This market seemed cheaper than the tourist-oriented night market in the center of Nha Trang (see on map).
A Last Swim and the Ride to the Airport
We returned to the hotel and took one last swim.
When checking out, the staff asked if we needed a taxi. I showed them the Grab app screen, which said the ride to Cam Ranh Airport would cost at least 500,000 VND. The staff offered to arrange one for 350,000 VND instead, so I asked them to book it.
While we were waiting, the staff asked where we were going. When I said “Hanoi,” he smiled and said, “Very romantic. Enjoy.”
My friend and I wondered aloud whether Hanoi was considered a romantic city—but most likely, he simply thought we were a couple.
The hotel we stayed at, Citadines Bayfront Nha Trang (see on map), was excellent in terms of location, price, breakfast, and service.
Chaos at Cam Ranh Airport
When we arrived at Cam Ranh International Airport, the domestic terminal was packed. The lines for baggage drop-off and security were unbelievably long.
In Vietnam, cutting in line happens naturally and constantly. After seeing local driving manners in Nha Trang, I wasn’t surprised—but it was still pretty rough. Any small gap—what I would consider personal space—invited someone to slip in. My friend even got annoyed and cut back in front of the people who had just cut us, but they didn’t seem to care at all.
It felt as if people cut whenever they felt they could, and also didn’t mind being cut. It was strange to me.
The gate area was also overcrowded, so I escaped to The Champ Lounge using my Priority Pass. This was exactly when Priority Pass proves its worth. There were light snacks, fruit, and even pho. The seats were comfortable, and I waited for boarding in peace.
I also realized something: I rarely saw Vietnamese men with thinning hair.
Flying to Hanoi
For the flight from Cam Ranh Airport to Hanoi’s Noi Bai Airport, I had booked VietJet Air. Two days before the flight, I received an email saying the departure time had changed. And the return flight from Hanoi to Narita was also rescheduled due to cancellation. VietJet seemed to do things very freely, but perhaps that’s just how low-cost carriers operate.
When we arrived at Noi Bai Airport, we called a Grab taxi, but since Grab cars cannot enter the arrival area pick-up zone, we had to walk to a designated area. When getting out of the taxi, the driver asked for an extra 30,000 VND, so I handed him 50,000 VND.
A Rough Start at the Budget Hotel
We had booked a very cheap hotel in Hanoi—1,500,000 VND for two nights without breakfast—but the room was extremely humid and hard to breathe in.
Inside the shower booth, I found a cockroach of a size rarely seen in Tokyo lying on its back. When I tried to pick it up with tissue to flush it down the toilet, it suddenly moved its legs, so I decided it was “not the moment” and left it there. My friend was horrified when I told him.
The air conditioner I turned on right away barely worked, blowing a slightly moldy, lukewarm breeze. My friend started looking visibly unwell. Then we spotted a mosquito flying in the room, and he finally went silent.
Online photos made the hotel look charming and colonial, but at 500,000 VND per night, I thought, “Well, this is what you get.”
An Incredible Chả Cá That Saved the Day
We needed mosquito coils anyway, so we headed out for dinner despite the heat. It began to rain, but even with the rain, the temperature didn’t drop—it felt like a steam bath. Exhausted by the humidity, my friend muttered, “This is basically a sauna löyly.”
We entered a restaurant that served chả cá, and the dish was unbelievably good.
Snakehead fish coated in turmeric, fried in oil, and filled with generous amounts of dill and green onions. You mix it with thin noodles and a special sauce—it was fantastic.
Two portions plus two juices cost 423,000 VND.
It was so delicious that my mood completely recovered.
My friend then suddenly said, “Let’s change hotels.”
I suggested staying one night first and deciding later, but he said, “I’ll pay. Let’s move.” Since he was covering the cost, I happily agreed.
Getting Caught in a Sudden Squall
As the rain turned into a violent squall, we took shelter in a café. For the first time in Vietnam, I drank coffee made with an espresso machine. In Ha Long and Nha Trang, most places served Vietnamese coffee made by dissolving powdered coffee, which had a strong burnt flavor.
When the rain finally stopped, the area around the lake in the Old Quarter was flooded. We walked back to check out from the budget hotel and moved to the new place my friend booked: Classy Chotel (see on map).
Finally, a Comfortable Hotel
At Classy Chotel, they welcomed us with butterfly pea tea, a cool towel, and small sweets. We both felt relieved.
“We’re not young anymore. We can’t stay in super cheap places. It’s too hard on the body,” we said to each other.
The room wasn’t large, but it was clean, and most importantly, the air conditioner worked beautifully.
It felt like paradise.
