Established as a port town in the 1920s, Nha Trang now has a population of 280,000, and serves as the capital of Khanh Hoa province. Fishing is the major industry. It is one of the nicest cities in southern Vietnam, blessed with lovely beaches, 19 beautiful surrounding islands and great ice cream! To meet the increasing number of local and foreign tourists, different kinds of hotels and guests houses have been built along the beachfront, intermingled with old French villas. It's pleasant to  cycling in Nha Trang and the surroundings, since the city has wide boulevards and little traffic. On days where it is too warm to cycle, you should take a boat out to the islands for a day of snorkeling in turquoise water and coral reefs, have a fantastic seafood banquet for lunch, and return to town just in time to wander down to the beach for a late afternoon beer of fruit shake. A number of remarkable sights is in the suburb, of which we would recommend:

Po Nagar Cham Tower
On the north side of Nha Trang, across Xom Bong Bridge excited with red-blue fishing boats are the best-preserved Cham Towers in Central Vietnam, a sanctuary of Po Nagar, a mythical goddess. Among the 8 towers constructed between the 7 th and 12 th centuries, only 4 left and they are still used as places of worship. There is a group of nuns that may show you around with their best sign language and smiles and there is a small interesting museum to the right of the north tower displaying photographs and ancient statues. The hillock upon which the Cham Towers sit offers a great panorama of the surrounds and a view over the entrance to the river with Nha Trang as a background. The entrance to the site is at street level followed by a staircase uphill to the top. You will notice on the right of you way up the remains of the meditation hall, which was the original entrance for Cham worshippers. The north tower is the largest and main one situated on a higher level directly in front of the meditation hall. The other smaller towers are only metres away from this and all of them are facing due east. Remember to take off your shoes before entering any of the temples.

 My Lai

One of the war vestiges left after the Vietnam War. The destruction of an entire village by Lieutenant Calley's men is probably the best documented military atrocity on record. The massacre occurred on 16 April 1968, and 504 women, old men, children and babies were mindlessly slaughtered by Company C with almost no resistance. There is a museum here, with photos depicting the series of events on this horrific day. The atrocities occurred over different sites within a two or three square kilometers area. Walking among the fields, you occasionally come across a memorial plaque indicating the number of people that died on that spot. Lieutenant Calley was later court martialled and sentenced to life, but only served three of those years. Following the US Supreme Court's refusal to hear his case, Calley was paroled. My Lai is about 15 km North of Quang Ngai.

 Hill tribe villages

If you have some spare time it is worthwhile visiting the hill tribes. To get to the villages, take the road heading to Dalat and the Cham Towers. Before you reach the Cham Towers there is a gas station on the right hand side, turn right onto the dirt road before the gas station. The private road leads to different villages. The irrigation system used by the hill tribe people is interesting and can be seen when you explore the area.