Paradise Huts Chez Nina Phan Thiet

... the bus helped me check into Hiep Hoa Resort, one of the budget places but really pretty, very clean and it had everything I needed for $25 - aircon, hot shower and tv, plus amazing pineapple pancakes!

I was only staying one night before heading back to HCM (going with the family to Can Tho on Friday). I just wanted to see what this place is like as it's not far to ...

... it's pretty nice and has a swimming pool (something I find stupid, considering we're on the beach as well..). We spend our time here relaxing really and only leave the hotel once to go for a walk up a stream (actually walking in the water) to a waterfall - which is very cool, as Mui Ne is famous for it's sand dunes and these line the stream. it's quite strange to be honest, as I'm climbing up to the ...

... I'll write about that later, but I think we may be peacing out here in the morning, or maybe even on a night bus. Okay, so today wasnt nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be! I found some time to updatemy photos, but still havent had a chance to upload any of Sean's, which are basically most of the ones with me in them. I opted out of renting motorbikes today thankfully, as we had a huge thunderstorm come through, but Ill get to that. Sean and I took an ...

... Dave, 'pay it, before it goes up'. So we paid and up we went to our HUGE room with 2 double beds, A/C, TV and DVD player, balcony but no fridge. Once there, I got the eeby jeebies, and thought that something wasn't right, so we went downstairs, dragged out the phrase book and showed him the Vietnamese for one night and lo and behold, it was 50,000 for one HOUR! Yes, you've guessed it, a knocking shop. Anyway, we decided to stay on the basis that ...

... on it and lean back and then it was finally possible to slide down!! something we would NEVER have worked out had we not paid!! It was all a bit complicated and not really worth it to be honest, but nevertheless, we had a bit of a slide, and then climbed back onto our bikes to find the white dunes. They were about another 20kms ride away from the first dunes and also pretty spectacular, but by this stage we were feeling pretty duned out and on the way back, about 1km ...

... children which were among some of the cutest children we have seen in Vietnam. From his home, we had to walk about 5 minutes through the scrub to access the dunes. These dunes were a beautiful shade of white which quickly took on the color of the golden setting sun. The wind was quite strong on these dunes, which left very unique patterns in the sand. Our footprints were quickly covered over by the wind, making it appear as if we were once again in a ...

... but i think nursing has given me an immune system of an ox. So i have been Giles private nurse, i made him stay in the room out of the sun while i brought him water and plain rice (the only thing he could stomach) poor monkey. In a strange way it made me miss my job... just a little. Toad boy is now officially on the mend after lots of rest. He is still really pale though while im getting there on a bronzed glow. Only got ...

Having left Saigon behind we were hoping for some good beach action as we loved the city and didn't really want to leave. We arrived in Mui Ne, a strip of sand 10km long with one road. On one side beachside resorts and guest houses and on the other seafood restaurants galore. We picked a place out of the book once again as is our way now but when we arrived we decided just to follow the moto drivers advice insdead. We ended up in a ...

... indigenous to the local area. I had Tiger beer served by a Tiger girl from the company as we had a gastronomical orgasm of Goi Ca ___? (fish salad), Cua Ghe (Crab from Phan Thiet), dried/baked squid (delicious!) and some other items. I will need to go on a diet when I get back to America. Lang was especially attentive to our needs and prepped food for all of us. She even footed the bill! Who is this woman? Why has ...

... downtown chaos, touristy reorts then finally our desolate guesthouse. Far from the madding crowd of Saigon but only 3hours/11ks away, this once out-of-the-way coastline has truly now evolved into a popular resort strip which despite having seen a boom in construction, it has retinaed its slow pace and charm. It is for these reasons it was a must must on my travel agenda and true to its word it was. Simultaneously wishing to vegetate for a prolonged period of ...