Advertisement
Published: August 19th 2007
Mui Ne
Big smile after sliding down the dune. Felt like a little kid afterward.Back on the blog. Left Saigon after dating my head off. Met lots of really cool and interesting and well-spoken single ladies during my stay in Saigon. Good times but I had to move on. Bought an open bus ticket that allows me to get off at any of several stops and stay for as long as I like. Moved first to Mui Ne where I stayed for two nights. In case you weren't already aware of my passion for motorbiking you will be by the end of this blog. No better way to see the countryside. Totally independent to move when and where you want to and you are on your own time schedule. Only drawback is that I don't know my way around. Easy to get lost, but finding your way back to where you were can actually be a lot of fun!
Hit the road on a motorbike rented from my hotel in Mui Ne and drove north to see the white sand dunes. The coastline along the way is spectacular. Really beautiful stuff. Made my way up along a smooth highway, not new but no potholes either. Made for good riding. Saw a family hauling their
Da Lat
Mist sweeping across a hill. belongings in an ox-drawn cart that looked like something one could have seen hundreds of years ago. Many cattle grazing in sparsely vegetated fields along the coast. All were tended by adolescent children. What responsibility! Cattle are quite valuable to the families who own them. After about 45 minutes of biking I came around a bend and over a hill top to be greeted by the white dunes. Man do they shine bright in the sun! Just below the dunes is a freshwater lake full of lotus plants. Hired a couple of "guides" on the way in, adolescent boys, and paid them to take me dune sliding. On the hike in I noticed how the surface of the dunes really isn't smooth. They're covered with little peaks and valleys that snake unbroken up and down the dune. Quite windy there and when the wind gusts you get hit pretty hard with sand. Gets in your mouth and eyes and ears. Small price to pay to see nature's beauty. Clambered to the top of a steep dune, mounted my plastic sled on my belly, and slid down with a huge grin on my face. Tons of fun! Did this a few
Mui Ne
Open road leading north toward the white sand dunes. times before heading back to get some water at a family-run rest area on the edge of the dunes. The sun was really hot then and the white sand reflected all of the heat back up at you. Settled the bill with my guide and hit the road to see the red canyon. Really difficult to find. The entrance is quite small and sits unmarked halfway down the road back to Mui Ne. Red earth that has eroded to form really cool grooves and holes in the hillside. The view looking back out toward the Pacific wasn't bad either. Headed south again to find the yellow dunes. Just as I arrived the sun was obscured by big fat rain clouds. The weather changes really quickly here. Hiked the dunes for a bit but elected not to go dune sliding again on account of the impending storm. Made the right choice too since I would have had to hike in quite a way to get to a slide-able dune. Walked back off of the dunes and just as I did one of the rain storms so typical to Southeast Asia this time of year did its thing. Waited out the rain
Mui Ne
Me sitting on my motorbike without a front brake. When you've got one bad brake you're putting all your eggs in one basket. If that basket drops all your eggs will get smashed against the pavement at 60 km/hr. Switched to a bike with two good brakes after I got back from the dunes. storm by swinging in a hammock and sipping a coke. Passed back through Mui Ne on my way south, switched to a better motorbike, and headed out for the local Cham tower. The Cham were an ancient people who populated southern Vietnam about the same time as the ancient Khmer. Eventually were conquered by the Viets from the north. They built a bunch of towers along the southern coast of Vietnam. Not nearly as impressive as the temples of Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom, but still worth seeing. The tower just south of Mui Ne was extremely hard for me to find. All of the signs along the road were in Vietnamese and none of them read "Cham Tower" or even "Cham." Stopped by a local hotel and a hotel employee who's shift was over showed me the way. Parked my bike, paid the entrance fee, and hiked up the short brick-laid path to the tower. Hiked past the crumbling tower and found a monument and a bunker. The sign before the monument dated 1950 something and I assume it was used during the French War since the Americans hadn't yet arrived to save the Vietnamese from themselves and their
Mui Ne
Buddhist and Christian graves north of Mui Ne. Not sure if you can see them but there are swastikas all over the Buddhist graves. politics by that time. Found another crumbling tower just beyond the bunker. Probably built by the French to watch the coast during their occupation of Vietnam. The interior of the tower was likely constructed of wood that has since been removed as there are no existing steps to the top of the tower. Arrived back at the hotel after a long and tiring day on the bike and popped a movie in the dvd player. Heat starring Al Pacino and Val Kilmer and voiced-over by one guy in Vietnamese. The voice-over was done on top of the original sound so that I was able to ignore the monotone guy and hear what was going on in the movie. The guy actually dropped out for a good portion of the film. What a fight scene! The three crooks had a killer firefight with LAPD as they exited the bank. Slept good in my air-con room that night and caught the bus to Da Lat the next morning.
Da Lat sits high up in the mountains and the weather here is very rainy and COLD!! It feels good to take a break from the hot weather of the lowlands. First time
Mui Ne
White sand dunes from a distance. Below the dunes is a fresh water lake full of loti? Not one lotus flower but many of them : ) I've been truly cold since leaving home. Arrived very tired from busing that day. HCMC was extremely noisy at night and I was still feeling the effects of a week of bad sleep. Committed the cardinal sin of backpacking and stayed in the hotel where the bus stopped. Actually got a good deal with a big room with two beds. Could comfortably sleep four people and it costs only six bucks a night. And it has a hot shower!! Vietnam is spoiling me with all of these hot showers! A cold shower in Da Lat would be a quick shower, so you really need a hot shower here. Showered twice that night, slept early and long and awoke feeling very well rested the next morning. Explored the central market, bought a wool beanie and set out in search of a wool cardigan. Searched high and low but couldn't find any better than the one across the street from my hotel and next to the motorbike rental shop. Sweet deal too! Cost less than ten bucks and it's a perfect fit. Donned my new cold combating garb and strode up to the motorbikes next door. Was immediately smitten with an orange
Mui Ne
About to slide down a dune. and blue Honda Repsol. Disc brake sitting on a black wheel up front and a clutch-less manual transmission in back. Signed the contract and paid in advance when they handed me the key to a gutless Honda Wave. "Oh no," I told them. "I want the Honda racer." After a brief conversation in Vietnamese between the mechanic and sales rep they agreed to let me have the bike.
Spent the first day getting to know the bike and exploring the sights close to the city center. Visited the Flower Garden, rode a gondola, and drove around the city at night. The next day was big fun. Rented the same bike, with a gas tank that was still 3/4 full, bought a map. After about 20 minutes of trying to read the all Vietnamese map I threw it in the glove compartment under the seat and decided that I would just drive away from town and get lost. Probably put 200km on the bike that day. Had good fun pacing the bike through the hills and valleys surrounding the city. Smooth and powerful and nimble with excellent suspension. Made a few stops as I rode to check out a Buddhist
Mui Ne
Sliding down the dune. cemetary, some of the many farms and greenhouses, and have lunch in Da Sa. Met this sweet lady and her mother just after I turned around to head back to Da Lat. Bought some deliciously sweet and ripe dragon fruit and some water. Sat down to eat the fruit and they invited me in to have lunch with them. White noodle soup with chicken and a ton of vegetables. Equally delicious to the fruit, but quite salty. Sat and chatted with the lady when her dog came out. Politely asked the dog's name and if she would eat it someday. She said she wasn't sure if she would eat it yet and pointed to a nasty wound on the dog's left hind quarter. She couldn't explain how the dog had been hurt but I got the idea that if the wound got worse they would put him down and have him for dinner. Can't understand how you could eat your pet, but it's not a part of my culture. Think I wrote in a previous blog that it's a short step below cannibalism for me. Back to the ride. Found my way home to Da Lat and an internet cafe
Mui Ne
Red canyon south of the white dunes. Very cool how these have formed. Found in several places around town, these are the best of them. to post some photos and compose this blog. Noticed a pretty lady noticing me. As she got up to go she waved and motioned for me to come outside. Invited me to coffee right then and there and then we had dinner together with a friend of hers. Toured more of the city together today. Had tea in a secluded restaurant in a quiet part of town and shared some laughs about the tree bark flavoring the tea. Looked like there were mushrooms and other weird things in there too. But it tasted delicious! It was served with some little brown fruitcake and dried and sugar-coated ginger. Man that stuff can burn your tongue! Hard if not impossible to have experiences like these if you don't mix with the locals. Da Lat is spectacular! Would recommend a stop here for anyone travelling Vietnam. Geared mainly toward Vietnamese tourists and little English is spoken around town but that will only slow the determined traveller, not stop him/her. Long day of busing to Nha Trang and then Hoi An tomorrow. Don't arrive until the day after tomorrow. Happy trails!
Ciao,
Vlasic
Advertisement
Tot: 0.144s; Tpl: 0.013s; cc: 7; qc: 45; dbt: 0.0879s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
Janine
non-member comment
What a wonderful blog, really describes what a fabulous experience you are having! sounds like the ladies can't keep their eyes off of you!! what Fun!!