Mui Ne

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Mui Ne is a cool town. Less than 200km from HCMC, but might have well have been a different world. It grew from a humble fishing village into a resort town due to the discovery of a microclime that ensures nearly constant wind. There are large, separate sand dunes with either bright white or red sand, and the heat they absorb somehow helps this wind thing work.

And work it does. My first day kitsurfing it was blowing ~30 knots. That's a lot of power when you have an 11sq meter kite strapped to your chest. On land it's pretty much terrifying. But in the water it's a blast.

I was not a natural though, despite my boarding hobbies - not by a long shot. After a 5 hour lesson I managed to ride about 30 hard-fought meters. End Day 1.

As I practiced, I got dramatically better, my best run being a couple of kilometers and ending only because I couldn't yet tack back to my launch point and it was a long beach-walk home. The wind waned mid-week, too little to kite anymore, but the empty beach was still inviting.

The wind literally switched directions 180* over the course of the week as the monsoon winds came in. Besides the light wind the only real issue was that the jellyfish migrate with the switch to rainy season as well and plague the surf for about 2 weeks.

Wearing just board shorts and a rash guard Day 1, I got small zaps literally every time I launched my kite, say 10-12 times that day. After that, I wore my long synthetic travel pants as I was still spending much more time in the water than on it.

As I was swimming back for one of my last runs of Day 2, I got absolutely lit up. Right ankle, just below where the pants covered. Vinegar, apis, and some anti-sting ointment did help a bit, but it was a solid day before it really felt better.

I'm writing this about a week later, and can still see where the blisters were. No danger of poison in Vietnamese jellies, just hurt like bee stings that don't fade for hours.

But all in all kiting is pretty cool. I think I'd try it on Erie or Conesus in the snow next, at least the board would feel second nature.

I stayed at Mui Ne for a week. I upgraded to a nicer guesthouse with more room and WIFI after a coupla days. Upgraded from $12/night to $13. Still, being a resort town food was not cheap at least for Vietnam - 2-3x more expensive than the city.

Rolling blackouts affected power grids too. lost for about 13 hours mid-day and 7 hours two days later.

But I knocked out "Better", "Tipping Point", "Shutter Island" and Finance and Accounting online MBA summer pre-work modules so I think it was time well spent. Also got this mediocre publication going, so not a total waste. 😊

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Comments

[Laura]

YIKES
Hope your ankle is feeling ok!! Gotta look out for those jellies :)