The Deserts of Mui Ne, Vietnam

On Monday morning we took a bus further South to Mui Ne, a quiet fishing village on the coast.  We booked 3 days at a beachfront guesthouse.  I'm not sure what we expected, but the shores have eroded back to the steps of the properties along the beach.  There was a nice strip of sand with loungers and palapas and during the day the ocean was out far enough to wade in the water.  The temperatures were in the 30's, so we were happy to have the ocean at our front door!

Courtyard Restaurant at our guesthouse

Ocean View!

Narrow beaches

Our lounge area just above the ocean

We booked a private Jeep tour of Fairy Stream, the fishing village, the Red Canyon and sand dunes Mui Ne is famous for.  There are 3 types of sand in Mui Ne, red, yellow and white.  Fairy Stream is actually fresh water through the sand, and looks really muddy, but is actually the red sand.

Fairy Stream

Mui Ne Fishing Village

A Vietnamese woman repairing fishing nets on shore

An Ice Deliver "truck"

Red Canyon

Andre carving our legacy in the canyon

Voila!!

Our guide locking the wheels before heading to the dunes

White Sand Dunes

My National Geographic photography moment...we found ourselves in the middle of a cattle run

:-)

Lastly, Yellow Sand Dunes

There isn't much more to do in Mui Ne, unless you are a kite surfer.  It is very windy year round and that is the primary reason most visit.  We did, however, find a Phat Hamburger joint that had the best burgers and fries!  A little western treat!

And after 3 days, we hopped on another bus for a 5 hour ride back to Saigon.  Our plan for Saigon was to arrange our 90 day Thai Visas and fly out to Koh Lanta, where we have booked an apartment for 1 month.

A week in the sun

The past week has slipped by at the mercy of sun, sand and plain laziness.

Not a lot has happened since our last post.  We met some new friends from Brisbane on our way home after dinner one evening.  We stopped for a drink with them..and one thing led to another.  We played pool and did a bit of bar-hopping, landing at "Why Not Bar".  Well, I'll tell you Why Not!!  After ordering drinks and beginning a new game of pool, Andre was drawn to a sign on the wall for the Why Not Bucket.  This so called "bucket" was comprised of a large cooler (you know the big Gatorade cooler jugs that are always dumped on football coaches when they win??  That was our "bucket"), a bottle of vodka, 2 bottles of rum, half a bottle of gin, pineapple juice, 7-up, some ice, and a ladle...  This may have been a brilliant idea at the beginning of the night (which Andre mentioned the next day), but after midnight, and many drinks, perhaps not so much.  So, we all chipped in for an 800,000 VND (around $40) Why Not Bucket...this might not seem like that much, but if you equate it to Vietnamese valuation, one beer is usually around 16,000 VND...  Anyway, I'm not certain I even had a full glass before disappearing to make my contribution to the Why Not Bar.  Shortly thereafter, and a total of about 6 drinks out of the bucket, the 4 of us made our way out of the bar...Andre, very conspicuously, carrying the bucket.  I'm not sure what we would have done with it if we had made it past the doorman.  If I remember right, he took it from "us" and said he would "make it to go".  We didn't wait around for it...it was time to go home.  We made it safely home and both passed out (Andre on the bathroom floor, me tucked in bed), and didn't rise until Valentine's Day afternoon.  A very unromantic, but memorable Valentine's eve and day!

With our friends, Jo and Pete (note the glass of Why Not Bucket Drink in Pete's hand)

The last few days spent in Nha Trang were more quietly spent on the beach.  We also took a day boat trip to see 3 surrounding islands and enjoy some snorkeling.  Obviously the details of these days are far less interesting than the last!  The snorkeling was not bad.  The water was quite murky in places, but we did see one vibrant reef with numerous fish and a very large, blue starfish.  An underwater camera may be a worthwhile investment at some point.  We also saw 2 larger fishing villages with homes on land and in the water.  We also boated past Vinpearl Island.  Vinpearl is home to a very luxurious resort, water park and amusement park.  There is a large gondola from mainland Nha Trang to Vinpearl Island..a very cool sight.

A fisherman's home built in the side of a cliff

Snorkeling Mot Island

That's Andre with the white shorts/black snorkel

Fishing Village

Fishing shack and sections of nets

One of the larger fishing boats, with massive lights that surely assist with night fishing....??

The gondola to Vinpearl Island

The best $4 haircut ever!!

We left Nha Trang, by bus, en route to Mui Ne.  We are making our way back further south and plan to be back in next week. 

Toes in the water, asses in the sand...

Finally!  Beach and sun!!

We have been in Nha Trang for 4 days now.  We are about 500km north up the coast from Ho Chi Minh City.  It a little less hot, but the sun is shining and it is warm enough to spend hours on the beach.  There are a number of other "backpackers" here, and living here is quite a bit less expensive than both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

View from our balcony

The view the other direction

Andre had been sick for a day or two and we found a pharmacy that hooked him up with some day/night cold pills for about $1.75....they seemed to do the trick.  So, we haven't been up to much other than getting to know the local restaurants and bars and things to fill our days with.  The next few days will be filled with more site-seeing than the past few..but it has been great just taking in the landscape and the relaxed pace of Nha Trang.

The local food has been quite good and neither of us has been sick.  We have come to enjoy Vietnamese coffee; their version of a press served with hot water and a side of sweet milk (sweetened condensed milk).  I guess it's their version of the Spanish Latte's we have at home...but no steaming or frothing.  But still, quite delicious!  There are also numerous fresh seafood bbq restaurants.  They set up a makeshift bbq with coals and a grate out on the street and market fresh seafood.  You pick what you would like, it is weighed, and bbq-d for you.  From what I hear, it is very fresh and delicious (I have to take Andre's word on that one).  The mussels are about 50 cents/100 grams, and $1/100 grams for king prawns...a bit less than Vancouver!

Vietnamese "Milk Coffee", Mini-Presses and Sweet Milk

Fresh Seafood at restaurant

Fresh Shellfish

Andre's BBQ Mussels

The street front BBQ

We have also found that a good amount of alcohol is manageable on a budget. :-)  Most spots have happy hour until 8 or 9 with beer anywhere from 75 cents - $1 and vodka for $1.50.  I found a great Bellini at Guava for $1.50 all night! The best find so far.  Many places offer a free drink with your meal, just to get you in the door in hopes you will stay for a while.

Live music at Guava: Harmonica guy from Australia, Singer/Bass from Canada, Drummer from San Francisco, and local Guitarist/Blues singer from Vietnam

A few beer and glasses of wine over friendly games of Spite and Malice (of course Dre wins 3 in a row his first time playing)

A book he just couldn't put down

So, aside from beach and food and drink, not much to report right now...

So Long Saigon...

Well, it's officially time for us to leave Saigon.  After spending over $1Million Dong yesterday, it was time to find something to do other than shopping and entertaining ourselves in the city.  Okay -- that is actually only $50, and there were some necessities purchased...

Replacing 2 tanks ruined in the laundry, this girl had everything!

Clothing section of the Market

Packed aisles of the Market

Who Needs a Truck?

Yes, you can even take your family of 4 out on your scooter

Times Square, Ho Chi Minh City

Today we took the train to Nha Trang.  It is around 7 hours by train, with only 2 stops along the way.  Sure, we could have booked a flight, but why spend $60 when you can spend $15 and experience something like a Vietnamese sleeper train?!  Luckily we had our 4-bed berth to ourselves, and being that we were up before 5am, we both slept, watched a few movies and played cards.

Saigon Train Station, SE8 from Saigon to Hanoi

Our quarters for the trip

We are now checked in to our little hotel by the beach.  Our $10 upgrade landed us a beautiful ocean view room with a balcony!  We might be staying for a while....