Mui Ne, Vietnam 4th - 8th January 2008

Our journey to Mui Ne was probably our best yet in Vietnam. We booked through a tour company called Sinh Cafe which has offices everywhere we've been and they are definately the most honest and reliable we've come across. The bus was clean and almost new with reclining seats and fully working aircon which is always welcome. Not only that but we were given a goody bag with water, nuts and a handwipe in it. The journey took about four hours and once there we were actually dropped at the agreed place which also happened to be a Sinh cafe owned resort which at USD35 was a bit out of our price range. We decided to have lunch at their restaurant before begining the hunt for a room.

Mui Ne is a bay 10km long, with sandy beach stretching 10km or so from one end to the other.

There is a patch in the middle where a concrete sea wall has had to be built to prevent erosion of the palm lined road which runs behind the resorts that cover almost the entire 10km between the beach and the road. Some of the resorts are seriously high end and the fact that the beach is so long makes it very difficult to check out too many places because of the distances involved. After our lunch Steph guarded the bags while Adam did the legwork of room hunting. Having checked out a half dozen places we managed to find a really nice place with a large double room with aircon and a the best shower/bathroom we've had so far for USD20. It was called Minh Tam Resort and has it's own pool and restaurant with breakfast included in the room charge. There are six rabbits that roam freely around the resort grounds. We saw a couple of lizards as well as having our own personal gecko or two in our room (essential for killing the mossies).

It was much hotter here than in Nha Trang and the weather was kinder to us too, we woke up every morning to blue skies and calm waters and as the morning wore on the wind and therefore the waves picked up to give us a nice sea breeze every afternoon. The temperature dropped back most evenings and we were treated to some beautiful cloudless night skies, giving us the opportunity to gaze at the stars and try to spot constellations. One night there was a power cut for about 10 minutes and the stars without the light pollution from the resorts were even more amazing.

 Recent figures suggest that for the first time in human history the majority of humanity is living in cities. The light pollution cities give off makes the simple act of looking at the stars, as well as hammering home our utter insignificance, impossible for that majority. We can't help feeling the world would be a better place if everyone could see a clear night sky.

We found our new favourite bar on our first night. It's called Pogo and is beautifully set up. There are several hammocks and a couple of the round basket boats typical to Vietnam set up as swing chairs. They have mats out on a sandy area with bean bags and low tables as well as more traditional tables set up for eating and drinkers not yet ready to lounge around.

We ended up going several times and the food was excellent on every occassion. We made full use of the happy hour and the youngest looking barman we've ever seen made us some of the best Mojitos we've tasted. The only fly in the ointment was that one night they were having a 'party' and themusic was the most dated house and trance we've ever heard!!

Most mornings after our breakfast we took a stroll down the beach before the sun got too powerful, had a drink at a beach side bar or resort, a swim in the sea then a leisurely stroll back up the beach for a swim in our pool before escaping to the shade. Our afternoons were mostly spent reading and snoozing in the comfort of our air conditioned room before emerging for a beer and a couple of games of backgammon while we watched the sun set.

We're really not big fans of the mopeds that are the staple form of transport here and have steadfastly refused to use the Xe Oms (Motorbike taxis) so far as we've seen far too many westerners with lovely scars and cuts up their legs and arms for our liking. Here in Mui Ne it is so much quieter than the rest of Vietnam that we thought we'd rent a bike for the day and drive out to the sand dunes and Cham towers which are really the only attractions here other than the beach. We got a nice new looking motorbike and off we went feeling but definately not looking like Jack Nicholson and co in Easyrider. We had a really great time and it is something we would definately recommend trying as long as you take it easy.

We might have mentioned in our earlier blogs that a new law requiring the wearing of helmets came into force in Vietnam on 15th December.

It seems that the standard of helmet was omitted from the law as Adam's had a non adjustable strap that hung around his chest and Steph's was only just a little thicker than paper. You would have thought as well that they'd have looked at the common practice here of two parents and two kids travelling on the same moped!! Suprisingly or maybe luckily we've only seen a half dozen or so accidents here and no kids have been involved so far but you get the feeling its a matter of time.