March 30 - April 1 - Mui Ne

We left Saigon around 8 in the morning for Mui Ne, a beach retreat 5 hrs or so out of the city. The bus was the same reclining bus that we had to Saigon, which is quite pleasant! I actually enjoy our bus rides of late - they've been relatively short, and I'm super into my book (Game of Thrones, book 5).

We arrived in the late afternoon. Outside Mui Ne is a charming little fishing village.



Mui Ne itself is definitely a resort town. The whole place is one long street parallel to the ocean. Resort after resort. We drove by some very fancy places before the bus dropped us off on the cheaper end of the strip.

What I hate most about travelling these days (after months and months!) is getting off the bus. We don't book accommodation ahead, so we have to wander the new city looking for a place to stay with our backpacks and everything. We stand out like sore thumbs, and the locals hassle us, trying to get us to stay at their hotels. We are generally so brain dead and discombobulated after getting off the bus that it gets really annoying. Mui Ne was particularly hard because of the heat! Eventually we found a really basic place for $10 a night, set our bags down and went to the beach. Finally!

We spent the late afternoon on the beach, until the sun set.


We grabbed some dinner at a nearby market, and then called it a night. Bus rides are exhausting, even when they are comfortable.

The next day, we rented a moto and drove out to some sand dunes. First, there were red sand dunes.



They were INCREDIBLY hot on the feet.



Next, we drove another 20 km out to find white sand dunes. The landscape was incredible - it's called the Sahara of SE Asia.




In the distance, we spotted giant white sand dunes. Almost there!


The white dunes were bigger than the red, and walkable in bare feet.



We went sand sledding, which is more fun that it sounds.... ice sledding is far superior.




We played around in the sand.









On the way back, THIS HAPPENED. SO RIDICULOUS! Hahaha.



Yeah, I rode an ostrich. It was SO MUCH FUN. I couldn't stop laughing the whole time. Actually it was far more comfortable than riding a horse. Like riding on a feather pillow.... Though the bird itself was a bit terrifying.

We got back to town just on time to catch the sunset.



We had a lovely dinner, and then spent the rest of the night relaxing, interneting, and planning our trip onwards.

Today we got on another bus, bound for Dalat. It was not a sleeper bus. It was not a tour bus. it was a tiny, tiny, inhumane hot little bus that took us on very winding roads through the mountains for 4.5 hrs.

But finally, we arrived in Dalat.



So far, i love it here. It's high enough in the mountains that the air is actually COOL. What a relief after a month of 30+ weather! I am wearing jeans right now for the first time in months, and it feels great.

This evening we wandered around a bit, had dinner, and booked an activity for tomorrow... We are going "canyoning". Basically, we are being taken to some cliffs, tied to some ropes, and told to climb down. I'm terrified. The last one of the day is not only a cliff.... But a WATERFALL. We will be repelling down waterfalls. I think it's pretty crazy, and booking this tour may have been a serious lapse in judgment. I guess we'll see tomorrow!

Wish me luck.

Jessica


Posted using BlogPress from my iPad