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Mui Ne was so hot! We opted for a fan room the first two nights to save money but after getting little sleep moved to the Hong Di and Air con right on the beach. Unfortunatly the power went out during the days so we could only cool down at night. But we spent the days exploring the beach and watching the kite and wind surfers show there stuff so we had a great time. The town is along a long narrow strip of land and without a motorbike its hard to get around. We got one and explored the sand dunes.
We attemped to sand sled down the White Dunes. Is it even possible? I don't think so. We spent one hour that seemed like 4 making fun of eachother scooting down huge dunes and then having to climb back up. After giving up the area restaurant gave us water that was so cold it was almost freezing. It tasted sooooooooo good. After some lunch they shared their green mango with fish sauce with us. They were thrilled that we ate it and kept feeding us until we finally had to get up and walk away. We were totally covered in sand but had a great time. There is a lake right next to the dunes we wanted to swim in, but the muck was so thick that we had to wait until getting back to town. We must'be been a sight!
While swimming one day I felt some stinging on my leg and figured it must be a scratch. As I felt it with my hand I felt a sting on my hand and knew I had been stung. I didn't think much of it and continued swimming with Alex. When we got to the shore we checked it out and the stings were bright red and raised. Alex was worried but I thought it was ok so we sat and read for a bit. Ofcourse my female mind started freaking out and we asked the Aussie next to us what he thought. He told us a frightening story and said to find a doc. We set out right away...but to go where. There was no clinic or pharmacy we could find, and the local shop girls didn't know what we were talking about.
We finally decided our best bet would be to find a kiteboarder as they must get stings and know what to do. Back to the beach we went and at the Wax Bar the Dj helped us right away. Vinegar was all we needed. I soaked the stings for 15 minutes and after that we were told to get in the ocean and the salt would help. (Its now been over 3 weeks and it still itches sometimes).
One evening while turning into a restaurant a Vietnamese kid riding a motorbike with no light on tryed to pass us on the left as we were turning left with our flashers on. They tapped us and shortly thereafter they fell over. Everyone was ok, their bike only slightly damaged but people flocked. We gave the kids some money and an elderly english speaking man said we were free to go. It was a scary experience but turned out well all considered. We are even more careful now than before and didn't rent motorbikes the rest of our time in Vietnam.
We spent a lovely sunset at the Red Sun Dunes and took great photos. Alex did some great jumps into massive pits of sand as I attempted to get the whole thing on camera.
We met a lovely couple from Holland-Loes(Lucy) and Sander and spent an evening on the beach sharing travel stories and lounging. We made plans to spend my birthday together in Saigon. Sander's father lives there so he knows a lot of great clubs to hit up. They headed to Saigon the next day.
After spending several days watching everyone out on the water Alex rented a Windsurf after getting some tips from one of the many travelling windsurfers. The day he chose had rough surf and I spent the day watching Alex and many others fall time and time again. Throughout the day the wind kept picking up and many people gave up. I got some shots of Alex gliding on the water, and also of the expert kiteboarders flying 20 feet in the air. Eventually the spray from the sea brought me into our room where I spent the afternoon doing laundry. Fun! But in the heat it dryed fast which made me happy. I must be becoming an old woman.
The next day we headed out on the last leg of our open tour. But instead of a nice comfortable bus, we were packed into a minivan with a total of 19 people stopping all along the way to pick up and drop of locals. Ackkk.
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John Lowry
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Take care...Keep having fun
“ while Alex biked all over the city and played "hop over the kid" on his bike.” “They tapped us and shortly thereafter they fell over.” (Motorbike collision) I can believe your parents are holding their breath, proud of your intrepidation, wondering if you’ll survive to bear them grandchildren! So what kind of expats settle in Vietnam? I expect our tourism is a huge plus for the economy, but have you noticed residual anger, given the death and destruction of the war? (For me, it’s hard to believe it’s been over more than 3 decades. I passed my pre-induction physical in 1967 before escaping with a Peace Corps deferment). So, Julija, be careful with those ageist remarks“ I must be becoming an old woman.” At almost 63, I still consider myself a backpacker, disowning those images in plate glass windows of a stooped, wrinkled guy with thinning white hair. I’m looking forward to some other culture jaunts with Juliet (my 8-month old granddaughter). In years to come, it’ll be tough to have such a relaxed traveling pace. Keep enjoying it now! john-at-large.blogspot.com/