Beach time

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Since our last blog entry, we have been relaxing on beaches, lying in hammocks, eating like kings and soaking up the rays. Life is great!
We met a lovely Danish couple in Hoi An and have been travelling with them since. Deciding to head off to a little secluded resort for some chill out time, we found the perfect location - Jungle Beach! Although the taxi ride there was a little terrifying, down dirt roads that were barely passable and through some of the poorest villages we've experienced, we landed in what can only be described as paradise; our own bungalow facing the beach with hammocks on our doorstep. It's hard to describe Jungle Beach; it's like nowhere we've been. The place consists of a big garden with all sorts of exotic trees and plants and little pathways leading to different bungalows. Everybody eats together at one big table so we spent a lot of time getting to know some really great people. One of the guys we met there, Toby, was starting out on a five year adventure. He hopes to go to Alaska via Russia by foot over the ice!
Every night a bonfire was lit on the beach and we all sat around chatting, listening to music, and of course did a bit of swimming! It was amazing. The water was full of plankton, so when we moved around it lit up and the water sparkled around us!
We were a little wary of going into our huts at night though, we always brought our torch to do a ‘cobra check’ before getting into bed because a cobra had been found in one of the bungalows just two nights before we arrived!
During the day we went exploring around outside the resort and after climbing up (and slipping down) quite a few rocks we found a waterfall to swim under. Table tennis was another thing we did a lot of - everyone took part and we played little tournaments! Needless to say I didn't win a single match but it wasn't all bad, Paulo excelled and won most of his matches! It was good fun; we were like one big family for the few days! It was a really special atmosphere.
From Jungle Beach we headed further south to Nha Trang and definitely the highlight here was the boat trip. The four of us set out for the port at eight in the morning, Ida and Matius, (the Danish couple), Paulo and myself; not really knowing what to expect We had only paid four euro for the whole tour so our expectations weren't too high. The day was dull and wet and the boat was completely over packed but thankfully things changed once we got out onto the water. We were brought to a snorkelling site and given time to swim around. It was gorgeous, the coral was beautiful and we saw some great fish. By the time we got back onto the boat, the skies had cleared and the sun was shining!
Lunch was served up to us on the top deck under the heat of the sun. Like all the food we've had here, it was yummy. After lunch entertainment came in the form of a live band! So while they played we jumped, dived and somersaulted from the roof of the boat! It was so much fun, we felt like little kids. Just when we thought our day couldn’t get any better, along came 'The Floating Bar'. A lovely jolly old man jumped into the water with bottles of wine stacked up onto polystyrene blocks. We followed him in floats and were served glasses of wine in the water. It was just nuts!
We were enjoying the beach life so much that we decided to continue on to another coastal town, Mui Ne. We booked ourselves into a nice hotel with a swimming pool. The following day we rented a private driver to pick us in his jeep at 4.30am to show us the sights around the area. Our first destination was the white sand dunes of Mui Ne to watch the sun rise. It was spectacular. We've never seen so many different colours in the sky. And the sun came up so fast; within two minutes the whole sky was bright. We sand boarded down the dunes a few times before heading back to our jeep.
Next we headed to the red sand dunes and spent a bit of time here, just messing around and taking pictures. Unfortunately when we got back to the jeep I discovered that I'd lost a flip-flop in the dunes and Paulo took it upon himself to search till he found it! I didn't hold up much hope as I sat and waited but some time later a rather tired figure emerged from the dunes......with my flip flop in hand. I was very impressed.
We drove down to a small fishing village to see how the fishermen gather and sort the fish. It was really amazing. There were so many people there, shouting and screaming orders. It was chaotic; everybody was always on the move, working really hard. It was an extraordinary sight.
Paulo was a little fed up of being chauffeured around and wanted a go of the jeep so sat into the driver’s seat after we left the fishing village. But he was only allowed stay in for a photo - apparently in Vietnam foreigners aren't allowed to drive! He was none too impressed.
Our final destination with our driver and jeep was the canyon. We went on a beautiful walk through it, looking at all the flowers and plants. But when we got to the end the surface started getting very soft and before we realised, our feet were sinking right down into the ground! It was quite funny but our feet were disgustingly dirty by the end of it!
We rented a bike for the rest of our time in Mui Ne and drove around visiting the villages in the area. It was just the nicest feeling, having the freedom to go wherever we wanted.
After realising that are visas for Vietnam would soon be up, we thought it best to head to Saigon. We stayed with a lovely Vietnamese couple - up on the top floor of their house. Not really sure how we ended up here but we were tired and they had a bed. Saigon is another big city, a bit like Hanoi but people seem to be a lot friendlier and we have been chatting with the locals, which is nice.
We visited the War Remnants Museum, saw photos and read about the torture methods used on the prisoners. It was really horrific, and what makes it worse is to think that this happened only 35 years ago. There were heartbreaking stories from women who had lost their husbands and all their children to the war; letters from children that have been born since the war, describing the awful way in which their bodies have been mutilated by the gases used by the Americans during the war.
The Cu Chi tunnels were amazing. Actually being in the place where the war took place and seeing the methods used by the Vietnamese to fight the Americans was brilliant. We really had a great day, which was helped by our very knowledgeable and entertaining tour guide. Paulo shot the AK47's, (hitting the target), which made for a great ending to our day.
So we head off to the Mekong Delta tomorrow, on a three-day boat trip making our way to Cambodia. We have had such great experiences in Vietnam and are looking forward to crossing our next border.

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Comments

[Violet Ui Dhulaing]

Failte Vietnam
Kathryn Thomas , you have competition reporting in Vietnam!!!!! Great photos and blog.

[Nicola McGlade]

Sounds like you guys are having an amazing time. Love the pointed toes on the dune/sand surfing!! No mistaking your gymnastic background. Looking forward to the next installment! Nic x

[Miguel]

Nice!
Awesome isn't it? Puddles, looking good with the face fur. Good practice for Movember. Mebs, I would have loved to have seen your face when you were told about the cobra. Keep it real guys.

[orlaith]

sounds fab.....might bring the kids over and we could all tag along with you for a while LOL xxx

[Davey G]

Saigon Beer Green Label
Sexy and Very cheap, much like meself!