Whale Island Resort, NhaTrang - Vietnam
We had a mini 4 day honeymoon after our wedding in Vietnam. We went to Whale Island Resort and Vinpearl in Nha Trang. It was very relaxing at Whale Island and we really liked it there, despite the bug issue (more on this later). We will not go back to Vinpearl, it’s totally over-rated.
WHALE ISLAND RESORT
Located on a private island, about 2-hr drive from Nha Trang airport and another 15 minutes boat ride from a pier in Dam Mon. The resort offers private transfer and twice-a-day shuttle bus from/to Nha Trang airport. We didn’t want to have to wait around for the bus when we got in, so we chose the private transfer. As soon as we exited the terminal, our drive swiftly handled our luggage, put them in the 12-passenger minivan, and off we went. He made a quick stop on the way for us to get some snacks because we hadn’t had breakfast. I slept most of the way there, so the 2-hr drive went by very quickly! A wooden boat along with 2 resort employees waited for us at Dam Mon pier. We were pretty impressed with the service thus far.
Upon our arrival, we were greeted at the dock by a concierge and 2 dogs. I was sold! Anyone who knows me knows what a sucker I am for animals. So to me a resort that uses their dogs as ambassadors is already awesome J We were then led to a bungalow on the beach. Now, the bungalow itself was VERY basic, it was more like a hut (check out the pictures). There was no AC, but it did have hot water. Being in a tropical country, we were concerned that we couldn’t stand it without the AC. Turned out it was not even an issue. The wind from the ocean was more than enough to keep the whole place cool. Actually, it turned out to be a great plus without AC. The hut was constructed so that you can feel the wind and hear the sounds of the ocean and wild life around it. We felt totally relaxed there.
However, the open gaps on the hut walls and ceilings also created insect problems. I almost fainted when I saw an army of fire ants marching right across the bathroom floor when we first checked in. They were huge! Each of them was at least half an inch! We also had problems with spiders. There was 1 humongous spider made the wall behind our toilet its home. I also saw many small flies that I didn’t quite know what they were during our stay. I’m sure those things wouldn’t bother some people, but insects were the biggest issue for us. The place would’ve been perfect if there hadn’t been for them. But I guess it did come with the territory, being so close to nature and all.
The food was good overall. We had probably the best shrimps out there. They have 2 menus, Western and Vietnamese. The Vietnamese one is tastier. There is no set menu, it’s changed every day, depends on the fresh ingredients they get each day. If you want something else besides what they offer, you can make special requests, and they will get them for you the next day. The service was exceptional. The first night, without knowing, we requested to sit near the water. They set up the table, ran back and forth to serve us. We felt so bad when we learned that they didn’t normally served dinner there. We offered to move inside, but they told us to stay put and enjoy the view! They could’ve told us no, but they accommodated our request instead. And they did it with big smiles and absolutely no complaints.
There’s absolutely no night life at Whale Island. And as mentioned above, the closest city is about 2 hrs away (by boat, then by car). But if you’re looking for a quiet relaxing retreat, Whale Island is a perfect place.
VINPEARL
We left Whale Island Resort 1 day earlier than planned, because Thuan wanted me to check out Vinpearl in Nha Trang. He loved it after his first visit a few years back. Vinpearl is a mega resort, with its own onsite amusement park, built on the biggest private island in Nha Trang. Vinpearl’s pool currently is the biggest pool in Vietnam. The resort offers 2 means of transportation to get from Nha Trang city to Vinpearl island, speed boats and cable carts. Both are complementary to hotel guests. I would not recommend the cable carts to people who are afraid of height!
As soon as we checked in and walked around Vinpearl property, we regretted our decision. I so wanted to go back to Whale
Island. The food wasn’t good, at all, and extremely over-priced. The beach was almost completely gone, we were amazed at the erosion. The whole place looked somewhat rundown. It’s sad. Vinpearl was nothing like it once had been.
Mang Den - Kontum, Vietnam
***Update: with the current financial crisis, a lot of developments in Mang Den were stopped. I was told things will resume back to business the end of 2009***
Mang Den, an area in Kontum, is about 60 km from Pleiku airport. Mang Den lies in the middle of Vietnam, about 600 km from Saigon, in the elevation of 1200 – 1600 m, with the average high temp around 21-22 Celsius degrees (about 69-72 Fahrenheit). The area is very under-developed; they only started to pave a few main roads in the past year! 80% of the area is untouched forests, with a huge variety of plants, trees, and animals. There are many natives living there, with unique cultures and believes. We call them “nguoi dong bao” or “nguoi dan toc” – the minority living in the mountains. With its perfect weather, unpolluted air, dense forests, unique cultures, and the upcoming airport, Mang Den can become a perfect tourism area with the appropriate investments. We were picked up at Pleiku airport and taken to Mang Den in a minivan. The 1 hr + ride was rough, with lots of turns as we made our way up the elevation. But once we got there, we were surrounded with a breath-taking-untouched beauty. The air was so pure and fresh, the atmosphere was so quiet that I could actually hear the birds and insects in the middle of the day. I instantly felt relaxed. But that relaxation was short-lived. You see, being a clean freak, I started to get a bit uncomfortable when I realized the hotel we were staying at (the only one in the area!) didn’t have AC, that meant I had to keep the windows opened at night, which in turn meant insects in my room, which meant I had to use their mosquito net…Alright, a bit uncomfortable was an understatement, I was freaking out! If you know me at all, you’ll know that I do not like my body touching any thing that’s provided by hotels without being able to sanitize it first. I won’t go into details of how I resolved that problem. After all, you’re reading this because you want to know about Mang Den, not my anal behaviors! Anyhow, after I got over that initial shock, I really enjoyed my time there.
I met and talked to quite a few natives, they were so nice and sincere. They even showed me how to do a fire dance. But boy, did I have the hardest time understanding their Vietnamese! I constantly had to ask them to repeat themselves, I felt completely out of place sometimes because I had no freaking idea what they were laughing about (probably at me!!) I learnt that over time, the natives got wiser with all the tricks used on them, and they became warier of us too. It’s kind of sad, but inevitable, I guess. They work very hard, but what makes perfect sense to us can be completely in-understandable to them. An example: the manager asked them to go water the plants. They went out and watered the evergreens in the forest! When they got pulled over by the police for having too many people (4) on a bike, they asked why it was wrong for all of them to be on the bike. They said they all had chipped in to buy that bike, they all had to use it, one of them couldn’t take it out by himself! Hilarious! But it shows that education about the law, about safety, about a lot of things is still much needed here. Life and death to them are still very much up to God, they don’t trust western medicines, at all.