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Published: June 14th 2010
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view @ lunch of windsurfers
It was awesome watching these guys get some air of the waves. Really motivated me to try hard at windsurfing and continue practicing whenever possible. So I'm in Mui Ne now, and after half a day have succeeded in burning the crap out of my shoulders and back.
I got in last night with my new found friends, newly earned I should say.
See, I have this problem sometimes where I'm a little self-sabotaging in my attempts to meet people, especially when travelling alone. Normally, when someone nice-looking smiles at you, you should smile back if you're interested in talking to them, which I usually am when I'm alone. However, I don't know how many smiles I've responded to by quickly looking down or away and hurriedly going on about my way. I'm screaming inside, "Please! Talk to me!" but sending the message that I'm too busy, not interested, or just a weirdo. No more!
I boarded the bus yesterday afternoon and saw three young white guys in the back of the bus. There were also two Chinese girls, but otherwise the bus was empty. And what did I do, after making eye contact and the standard guy head-nod of a hello? I sat at the front of the bus, alone. I wanted to move, but then my head started going. What if they
don't even speak English? (until I heard their British accents) and what if this or that... all in my head until I finally said, "enough!". I stood up at the next stop (it was turning out to be more locals than foreign tourists on the bus) and moved to the back while I had the chance for company. I said something that might or might not have been clever and sat in the seat in front of them. They welcomed my presence and we were getting along famously in no time.
They were all about 22, recent college grads I believe, from Birmingham. They had come from a few weeks in Thai, Laos, and Cambodia. One of them was quite funny and reminded me a bit of Mathew Lillard.
Anyways, by the time we got into the resort area, we had decided to first check out a place from our LP's called Wave Champ Resort, which was cheap and right on the beach (as almost all hotels here are). They had a four bed room for $25 USD a night, which I thought quite nice for the location. We later realized the attached Wax Beach Bar is one of
the biggest party spots in town (still rather quite, being as it's the off-season). Since we were on the far end of the building, it was quite convenient and not disturbing when we were ready to call it a night.
We checked in, and found the room quite hot, smelling a little moldy, and the bathroom faucets and shower (all in one, no shower curtain) constantly dripping. But for $7, I didn't really care. My standards drop as the price does.
We dropped our bags and went off to find dinner and drinks. We tried our hotel bar first, but found it a little pricey, so we decided to walk along the beach and check out the other hotel bars. And bam! there it was... I found myself on the beach, neck craned skyward, in slack-jawed awe of the view. I hadn't seen so many stars since I was a kid living in the countryside. I was amazed they weren't more blocked by the light and air pollution, but there they were. It was wonderful. Waves crashing in, little boat lights out so far on the horizon, the seas looked more like a bay, and a glorious view
of the stars. I found it sad to realize how rarely I even notice I can't see the stars, and how much I've missed them.
Anyways, we went on down the beach, and after finding the prices only rising, crossed the road to the cheaper restaurant side. We found a little place called Mellow Bar and Restaurant where the guys all got wonderful burgers and I had the best tuna steak of my life.
The rest of the evening consisted of a few beers at various venues before calling it a night... nothing to exciting, but we did get to enjoy some good live music at Joe's, a pretty popular place with the tourists and few expats around.
I spent today being blown by the breeze or bashed by the waves to smithereens, then recovering on the white, sandy beaches. I first went in search of wind or kite-surfing lessons, but was told it was too windy today for beginners, as the wind had blown all night and the waves were now quite strong, but to return the next morning. So I went on another mission. While Wave Champ seemed alright enough, and I was certainly enjoying
the company of the boys, it just wasn't meeting my ideal for my relaxing beach break. I was in the last few days of my trip, and found I could afford to upgrade to a nicer place or room. So I checked out another place from the mid-range price section of the Lonely Planet called Full Moon Beach Resort. I spent my late morning there, sipping mojitos (they make them amazing but a little expensive- around $4 each) lounging on their cushioned chaises, some with tikki umbrellas in the garden area coolness, others right on the beach for tanning. I then tried their Vietnamese soup for lunch. I noticed it was pretty much all couples staying there, so no good for meeting new people, but I was OK with continuing to hang out with the guys at night and having my days to just lounge. I went ahead and changed hotels, and am quite happy with the upgrade 😊
The guys like the beach setup here too, so while they're staying at Wave Champ, they're coming back here to hang out with me on the beach 😉
More to come...
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