Beach Vibes

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Geo: 10.9331, 108.283

Wow, after three days in Mui Ne, it was enough to say that so far it is one of my favourite places on this trip so far. The area is beautiful, beaches, sand dunes and water-sports. A place where you could easily spend over a week relaxing and enjoying sights.
We took a four hour bus from Dalat and arrived at midday and settled in to a guesthouse for $8 per night which was great as we were expecting to pay at least $15 as Mui Ne has a lot of fancy hotels and resorts.
We settled in and went straight for the beach. Our accommodation walks out on to the beach. Mui Ne beach is where the tourists stay, Mui Ne town is about 5 km away. The beach has many places for accommodation and some up class resorts, popular for Russians on holidays. The beach also has lots of opportunities for some water-sports including jet skiing, surfing, wind and kite surfing. The temperature of the water is pretty warm but unfortunately not clear so diving and snorkeling are out of the question.
Within minutes on the beach Anna was already loving it.
We got some lunch at one of the beach side restaurants and walked up the beach. It was enough to get us quickly in to the ocean for a swim which was nice and refreshing, especially seeing as we had been sick and spent a bit of time indoors. I sat and watched kids and adults pick after tiny mussels within the breaking waves and crabs tentatively appearing out of their holes, only to scurry back a soon as anyone moved.
After merging in to relax mode we went back and got changed where we took a walk along the main drag looking for tours to the dunes but decided it would be better to do it ourselves on motorcycle. We then went to the beach to enjoy a beautiful sunset.

The following morning we grabbed breakfast and set about hiring a motorbike for $6 per day. It is probably a better idea to hire a bike and see the sand dunes and sights by yourself as opposed to a tour. The tours start at 2pm till 6 and cost $7, whereas if you do it yourself, and have the time, then you could easily spend the whole day seeing some amazing places and sights.
So we set off, the driving was great because the roads were in good condition and pretty empty along the way. We stopped at the red dunes first where you are immediately flanked by some kids trying to get you to hire a slide, but the red dunes aren't very big and there is no point.
The views were great also, over looking the sea.

To get the the bigger and more impressive white sand dunes we had to drive a further 20km along parts of the coast and almost arid dune landscape. We turned off the main road to the dunes and started walking. At the white dunes you can hire quad bikes and slides.
We had bought our shoes just in case the sand was too hot but it was fine even though it was the hottest part of the day. Another great thing was that we were almost the only ones there with exception of a few. Most people go to the dunes via jeep tour and all arrive the same time so it was nice and empty as we sat and had lunch while the wind blew sand at us and our bags.
We hired a slider but the ones they sell are pretty thin, so when we tried to slide down it would just sink because the sand was quite soft and even when we did manage to find our way down it was pretty slow, so not really worth hiring one in the end. Rolling down hill was more of a thrill.
We then headed back to Mui Ne beach, eager for a swim.

Our last full day in Mui Ne and we were keen on trying some windsurfing, but the wind wasn't strong enough. So we made the best out of the situation and went surfing instead!! such a hard life!. We hired a motorbike and headed back towards the white sand dunes and along the coast to Jibes, a water-sports company which also has villas.
We were greeted by a Dutch guy who runs the place and hired a surfboard for an hour at $10. The surf was pretty good for beginners but the frequency of the waves made it very difficult to go further out and set up, as soon as one wave was dodged, another was only meters away.
Anna went first and managed to ride three waves and I was very impressed. I had a go and got on a few, but it was so tiring and the waves got more choppier making it harder to swim back out. Anna went again but didn't manage to get any good waves as the conditions had changed within the hour. It was so much fun, the beach was empty as if we had it to ourselves, definitely a great day. We rested at Jibes, played a bit of pool, had a snack and a photo-shoot and jumped back on the bike to Mui Ne beach for a swim.
We had been having a few seafood dishes for dinner which were quite nice and a refreshing change to the diet as we sat at a beach-side restaurant for our final night in a great place.
It had been a great day and we wished we were able to stay longer but we had to leave for Saigon the following afternoon.

We set the alarm for 7am in the hope of having an early morning swim, but sleep and laziness got the better of me and by 9am we made it in to the water for a swim in smooth water. A nice refreshing start to the day. We went and got some breakfast as we watched locals and expats surf in front of us. It was warm and sunny and it felt so nice. We had to leave in a few hours though for Hoi Chi Minn, a huge contrast to what we had been enjoying the past three days.
Mui Ne was so amazing that it gets a huge recommendation from me, the amount of activities and sights can lure you in to staying longer and longer, but in Mui Ne that's not a bad thing!

We took the bus in to HCMC and grabbed some nicer accommodation for a couple of nights as a treat for our 1.5 year anniversary. We wished we could still be in Mui Ne for our anniversary but our visa was expiring in a few days so we had to push on. We spent the next day relaxing, doing a bit of Christmas and present shopping. Anna got me some great thoughtful gifts and I got her 23 dvd's which are a great thing to buy if you are in to movies because they cost 50 cents each.
So with that out time in Vietnam is pretty much over. We ended up spending 4 weeks here which is still not enough time to see it all, but we saw and experienced a lot and it has been a great country. I knew that I would enjoy it and the range of Landscapes and experiences only enhanced it further.

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