Becpowell's travel blogs:
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Mmm Lovely Beachiness
Entry 11 of 13 | show all | print this entry |
Day 81 - We had arranged for Nhan to meet me at my hotel for 7am before the bus picked us up, but when he wasn't there at 7:20, I started to think he had stood me up. It all worked out fine as we got going to Mui Ne - him with a massive grin on his face (which remained the whole time we were there) and also two baguettes filled with some Vietnamese concoction for breakfast! The bus journey was bumpy but gave amazing views of the Central Highlands with the clouds resting amongst the hills.
We arrived in Mui Ne but relying on Nhan to make the arrangments we drove straight through and ened up in the next city, Phan Thiet! Nhan explained that the accommodation was cheaper there, but I wanted to stay by the beach, not in a city, and as it turned out the prices were comparable. I started to get crabby so we got some lunch of rice and yummy fresh tuna and caught the public bus back to Mui Ne! It was worth dropping in a Phan Thiet just for all the looks and comments I got!
It took a little while to find an affordable hotel on the beachfront as many were expensive, four star resorts but found a very basic room for $10. Having Nhan cost me no extra as the room was $10 for one or two people, and he actually paid to rent a motorbike, so I got a motorbike driver for free! We went for a walk on the beach - it was still raining but as the sea was warm I suggested we go for a swim! The beach was deserted bar a few surfers and remained so for the rest of our stay. We then made a sand hotel (they don't have castles in Vietnam!).
Later in the evening we drove along the long road running parallel to the beach to find a good, cheap seafood restaurant and found Lam Tong, a place recommended to us by the local petrol man (its worth having someone Vietnamese with you!). We sat right next to the ocean drinking beer and eating crab soup - something new to me - and a sweet and sour hotpot featuring generous portions of tuna, shrimp and squid. It must have been one of the nicest things I have eaten and of course there was a certain method of consuming it (dipping in sauce with chopsticks) - so far Nhan has been worth the little, added expense for all the new experiences I'm having - albeit mostly food orientated!
Day 82 - This morning we went for a walk on the beach which was lovely as the weather was glorious and the horizon filled with fishing boats. We saw lots of crabs and a weird globular fish on the way back. We went for breakfast at a little local place where the owners and old man also eating were discussing me - all I can ever get from my 'translators' is "they think you're beautiful" but I'm quite sure they're saying more than that, I just don't know what! The pho was especially good, with good meat, homemade noodles and a chilli and soy flavour broth. We then had to find a new hotel - the last one threw us out after a night as, unbeknown to me, the police don't like Vietnamese people staying with Westerners unless they're married - even if it is a twin bed room! Turns out to our advantage as the new hotel, Hai Yen has much nicer rooms, including air con and Tv, for just $2 extra.
The first sight of the day was the Fairy Stream which runs from the Sanddunes to the ocean. As it's ankle deep and has a sand bed, we walked along the river channel itself for 2km to reach the waterfall. The walk was really nice and the scenery unlike any I've seen before - really amazing sand formations. I was glad of walking in the stream as it was a really hot day (but at least it wasn't raining!). To walk back we walked along the top of the vegetated dunes, and then ran down the steep bank back to the river - which I think is one of the most fun things ever because you don't have to worry about falling and hurting yourself!
We drove out of town to the Red Sanddunes, where we got a seafood lunch, and walked up onto the sanddunes whilst being seriously harassed by little kids, who only went away when we rented two sledges off them. My sledge was particularly fast compared to Nhan's and he suggested we try a particularly steep hill - I shot off at high speed and hit the dip at the bottom hard, before flying through the air and landing on my back after a somersault! I heard people laughing and looked up to see Nhan still at the top of the bank and some Vietnamese men working on the sanddunes behind me in absolute histerics! It was fun, but tiring and I was really glad to have Nhan there as it is something I wouldn't have done on my own! By the end I had to wash sand off my entire body as I spent as much time on the floor as on the sledge!
We drover further away from Mui Ne to the White Sanddunes, which are located down a sandy track near a picturesque lake. We walked to the highest point and with noone else there it felt a bit like conquering a mountain - having all the beautiful dunes to ourselves. We headed back to Mui Ne, stopping in the busy little town for some noodle soup and got back to the hotel as it started to rain.
In the evening we went to Hong Vinh restaurant, again recommended by the petrol man and had a dish of raw squid and lotus root in a peanut and chilli sauce, as well as spinach fried in garlic. Something new and delicious for me again! We drove the motorbike back and booked bus tickets for tommorrow: one to Saigon and one to Dalat, before commencing the 2 kilometre walk back to the hotel, stopping on the way for some jackfruit crisps. Nhan spent the evening giggling to Vietnamese television - I will miss him when he's gone!
Day 83 - We had fried eggs and bread for breakfast followed by Vietnamese ice coffee (which is amazing) and iced tea whilst sat under a coconut tree on the beach. We stayed there for over an hour having a chat and enjoying the view. We walked a couple of kilometres along the main road and stopped at a cafe with a pool table for some juice. We had a game of pool but was a bit of a disaster as were both playing different rules and I struggled miserably with the larger table!
We went to Lam Tong for a final seafood lunch - fresh shrimp in ginger, chilli and lemongrass barbecued squid and fish cooked in onion and garlic - so damn good! We strided to the hotel very fast and arrived just as Nhans' bus was pulling up! We said goodbye and I sat at the hotel for another hour before my bus to Saigon arrived, feeling very sad and lonely all of a sudden - I know I will probably never see him again.
The bus was a sleeper bus, despite the journey being in the daytime and I was given the one in the corner in the back, which was actually very cosy. Saigon is very big and the traffic horrendous, therefore taking us an hour and a half longer than planned to get to Pham Ngu Lao area. On the way we drove through the centre of the city and it was an impressive sight of motorcycles, expensive shops and fancy restaurants, all lit up by neon and christmassy lights. A large group of touts were waiting for us at the end, but I decided to walk around the area a bit and founf myself down 'minihotel alley' where Hong Vinh hotel offered me a nice room for $10. I nipped out for a bowl of street pho from an old lady and felt it not the same without my Vietnamese friend showing me how to make it taste better!
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