Sand dunes and so much more...

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Hey dudes!

I've been in Mui Ne (a little beach 'town' 3 hours from Saigon) for the past few days, so I thought I'd throw up a few pictures.

Spent the last few days on a rented motorbike, zipping up and down the 22km stretch of beach checking out the sights. The main "must see" things around Mui Ne are the red, yellow and white sand dunes, the red canyon, a fishing village which is really more of a little piece of beach where all the fishing boats drop off their haul each morning, and a fairy stream (which is a tiny stream that starts in the sand dunes and runs down to the ocean - you can walk the length of the stream up into the dunes / canyon).

I ended up running pretty low on cash one day, so I went for a stroll to find the nearest ATM. It turned what should have been a 15 minute walk into a 7 hour, near death disaster that kicked so much ass I might do it again just for fun. On the 22km stretch of beach, there's 2 Vietcom Bank ATMs which service overseas bank cards. Unfortunately, both of these ATMs were out of order, and the next closest one was a 20 minute walk down the road at a resort called the "Swiss Village". It wasn't the 30 min + walk in 37 degree heat that I minded, it was the fact that nobody metioned to me that the ATM in Swiss Village was for Vietnamese bank cards only, thus being completely useless to me. After the return 30 minute walk in the aforementioned heat, we decided to rent motorbikes and make the trip into Phan Thiet, the nearest town, which was 17 kms away.

So, we grabbed some bikes and started off down the road to Phan Thiet. I got used to riding a motorbike again in no time and was having great fun until we actually entered Phan Thiet and I realized that it was just like a small-scale Saigon, complete with insane amounts of motorbike traffic and absolutely NO road rules. Now, trying to cross the street without dying in this kind of mayhem is no small feat in itself, but let me assure you that trying to ride a motorcycle through it is nothing short of a miracle. It took a good 3 hours to find the Vietcom Bank in Phan Thiet and take out money, and another 45 mins to find my way back out of the town and into Mui Ne. When I look back at it, it was a hell of a good time (mainly because I managed to stay alive), but I took out way more money than I'd need, just to ensure that I wouldn't need to make the journey again.

Anyways, besides the sand dunes and the cash-run, the rest of the days have been spent soaking up the sun on the beach and taking some World Cup matches in the evenings. I've accpeted that fact that I'd be shot in the face if I even mentioned switching the TV from a World Cup game to a Stanley Cup Playoffs game, so I've given up completely. I'll just keep my fingers crossed and curse Bergeron under my breath.


Anyways, starting to ramble. I'll let the pictures do the rest of the talking.


Cheers,



Mark

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Photos

Mui Ne beach
Massive lightning storms provide the entertainment in the evenings.

Hiep Hoa
The bungalows that we've snagged for a few days. Nice digs with a sweet, quiet beach for less thatn $10/night.

Yellow Sand Dunes
It was before the sun came up, hence the dark, shitty quality.

Sand Dune Sledding!
Little kids come running up to tour busses and jeeps before they even stop to try and sell you a ride on their 'sleds', which are just sheets of plastic. I bet these kids make more money in a day than I do.

White Sand Dunes
The pictures don't do it justice, but the white sand dunes were huge and pretty impressive.

Oasis!
smack dab in the middle of the white dunes

White Sand Dunes
...again

Red Canyon
'Canyon' is a bit of an exaggeration.

Fishing Village
Hard to tell, but that in the mound and all the bags are tons of small crabs.

Fishing Village
Fields upon fields of fish drying in the sun. Oh if only you could smell it...

Fairy Stream
You can follow the stream from where it enters the ocean to where it springs in the middle of the red sand dunes / canyon. The little Vietnamese dudes offer to 'guide' you up the stream, but expect some cash at the end for the favour.

Rice Paddy
Mmmm, rice.

Microclimate, what!
Mui Ne's unique microclimate allows jungle AND desert-like climates to coexist.

What, you thought I'd forget?
And to think they used to call ME the problem child.
Happy Father's Day, Dad!
(ps: those are shells, not rocks..)

Comments

[Oiler fan]

Hockey
Enjoyed your pictures. You missed one heck of a game yesterday. Next best thing to watching will be listening to the final game online at http://www.630ched.com/ Cheers

[Raylene]

Crazy
Looks good... hope you are having fun. Miss you lots! Love, Raylene

[Paul]

Sand Dunes
Gidday, I'm an Aussie who just got here. We've been to Phan Thiet before but want to go to the white sand dunes next time. How many km would you say they are from the Mui Ne Resorts (Sailing Club) and are they worth it. BTW my wife was so relaxed driving around Ho Chi Minh City on the back of the motorbike with me, that she fell asleep. Have you seen that great book of what the Vietnamese carry on the back of bikes. Really cool present for someone at home. Happy Travels

[Susan]

Wish I was there
Wow, this trip looks like it's more fun than last year. Those sand dunes look so cool - I seriously want to fly out there right now. And now that there is no more hockey, you really arent missing out on much over here. Have fun and keep us posted.

[Jamie]

Beach!
That was my absolute favourite place in Vietnam. I hope you are enjoying the fresh crab at every restaurant all along the shoreline!