Beaches of 'Nam - a laid-back experience...
Trip Start
Jul 13, 2009
1
49
83
Trip End
Jul 20, 2010
Mui Ne, Vietnam
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Mui Ne takes it a step down, a notch lower, to the laid back vibe of a real beach scene. There's no bar hopping as all the bars are split up by big drifts of sand - one needs to park it for the night at their chosen place or zip along on a motorbike taxi to make it anywhere. By day we relaxed at a nice bungalow operation and got shades darker on our little stretch of white sand beach. In hindsight, maybe we should've forked the dough for a kite-surfing lesson and day rental. The wind was constantly blowing and kitesurfers could be seen as far as the eye could stretch. Dozens of tour operators around the beach front did jeep tours to some outlying attactions, which, knowing us, we opted for the DIY (Do-it-yourself) kind of trip - meaning : rent our own motorbike and hit up all those spots on our own, at our own pace. And with the two of us on a scooter, its either slow or out of control....
I don't have the best sense of control when it comes to motorbikes. I wanted a motorcycle every day from when I was around the age of 12 until I was 16 and able to drive and actually developed a conscience enough to realize that Me + Motorcycle = Death Trap.
From the 1st time I rented one in Europe to various other times overseas I have come away from small slides unscathed. I told Caroline these stories, and yet she still jumped on the back.
We ventured out to the 1st area, amidst sand dunes and untouched beachfront property - headed for resort renovation in the years to come - and found our own little tranquil spot to park the bike. We ventured down to the sand with our helmets and enjoyed a virgin strip of sand that will be serving cold daquiris to foreign tourists in the year 2020 for sure. We then saw the afternoon jeeps heading out of town for their tours and got on their scent. We followed them to each spot on our motorbike, unable to keep up, but still had a sense of where to go. We hit up the yellow sand dunes amongst lotus flower ponds, the red sand dunes (where little kids wanted to sell rides on their strip of plastic) and finally made it back to the Fairy Spring. The last spot we had all to ourselves as we waded through the middle of a fish sauce-making operation into a strange otherworldly planet of sandstone formations and lush greenery. A stream ran up through these formations and was the perfect walking spot in ankle-deep water to head up through and check out the formations. It was something out of high-desert Utah transplanted to Vietnam - completely random but beautiful.
We got the motorbike back just in time......but without any cuts or bruises ????? That's another story....
We're fine though.....all limbs in tact..
