Ponagar Cham Towers, Nha Trang

This morning we explored Ponagar Cham Towers in Nha Trang, a very old trio of Hindu temples. Not too much to see but pretty amazing considering they were built over 1300 years ago. Lastly we stopped off at a central shopping mall to top up on toiletries. Certain toiletries such as moisturisers and face cream are proving difficult to find as nearly all of them have skin whitening agents. This is certainly one thing we noticed whilst travelling in SE Asia; people go to extreme measures to ensure their skin colour is as light as possible. For example, using skin whitening or brightening products, 100+ spf sun cream, as well as covering up from head to toe whilst riding motorbikes or when walking the streets. It's strange that in the UK and other western countries, people strive for that ‘sun kissed,’ tanned look, whilst in Asia, locals will do whatever they can to have whiter skin. Based on what we've read, their perception of skin colour is linked to social class, where dark skin has long been associated with working on fields and rural poverty, whilst paler skin indicates a wealthier, more comfortable lifestyle indoors. Also, interestingly we found genuine motorcycle helmets being sold right beside children’s toys. Not only that but the helmets cost less than a bottle of non-whitening body lotion we eventually managed to find.

A short stop but Nha Trang was worth seeing if only for a couple of days. We now head to Dalat, a mountainous region 1500m above sea level making it cooler than any place we’ve been so far. In fact, we are currently on our first sleeper bus travelling though the central Vietnamese mountain range. We each have our own compartment with a curtain for privacy and a bed where you can lie flat quite comfortably. One hour down, three to go!Read more