Oh the buckets!

So we took off from Saigon in at 7ish.. Shuyi and I got on one bus while Anshu and Kshitij somehow ended up in a sleeper bus even though they didn't request for one. hahaha. The 4-5 hour bus journey was bearable (my pea bladder didn't act up, thankfully). Reached Mui Ne a little after noon, after which the 4 of us walked down the only stretch of road at Mui Ne, looking for a place to stay. What we didn't know was there was NOTHING at Mui Ne and most people usually stay at Phan Tiet (the town before Mui Ne). So we walked.. and walked in the hot sun, with our backpacks. And when we realized the distance to get to the "happening" side is not that walkable in such weather, we hopped on a cab and told him to bring us to Wax Bar. I've been told by Yuri (the Slovenian I met in Saigon) to stay within the Wax Bar area because things aren't so dead over there. We ended up sharing a 4 bed room at Wax Resort. Once we dumped our things in the room, we didn't waste any time and headed out to the beach.

So the place was cool.. Wax Bar is a pretty decent bar by the beach where you get quite a bit of kitesurfers doing their thang. I was VERY tempted to try it but the only course they had was a beginner 5 hour course which would cost me USD250! Now that wasn't part of my budget so I decided I'd try it elsewhere where it's cheaper, and the next time I go to Mui Ne to kitesurf (or Phan Tiet, if you wanna get technical), I'd hopefully be a pro.. ok fine, better than a beginner, and not make a fool of myself in front of all these experienced kitesurfers! hehehe. Anshu decided he wanted to try it so he signed up and the only slot available was 10am the next day. We were all convinced he wouldn't make it because it was his birthday that night and we had planned to get him drunk but he insisted he could. Whatever, dude. :P

So we spent a good part of the afternoon having beer by the beach and just chilling. At about 5pm, we decided to check out the only "touristic" thing in Mui Ne, which is the sand dunes. Apparently, the dunes were quite a distance away so I thought we could rent 2 bikes/scooters. Now, Shuyi and I don't quite know how to ride a bike, and I assumed both guys knew (Kshitij did mention he had a bike in India).. so I voiced my suggestion.

me: Shall we get 2 bikes so we can ride to the sand dunes??
Anshu: Okay, let's do that! (he said it so confidently I believed he knew how to ride one)

We found two Vietnamese with scooters outside the resort and told them what we wanted and got a decent deal for the scooters. Kshitij took one bike.. and Anshu stood beside the other.

Anshu: So how do you use this thing?
me: you don't know how to use one?!
Anshu: No, man.. but I can learn.

Okay, gangsta, whatever you say! I made a mental note to ride with Kshitij (I know, I bully Shuyi a lot, that poor girl). So Kshitij thought him the basics.. not that difficult since it was automatic. Anshu's bike did shoot off the first time round but a minute later, he stabilized and we were good to go! It was like a 20 min journey to the dunes. When we arrived, we were surrounded by adorable Vietnamese kids, who spoke almost perfect English. They asked if we wanted to use the "sledge" and when we asked how much it'd cost, they said "you can pay us whatever you want later". Nice.

So off we went.. sliding down the dunes.. and trudging up the dunes.. it was a P.I.T.A walking up, a mighty struggle, I swear! The children were very friendly, even offering to take photos for us. But later on, we'd find out why. Once it got dark, we decided to leave. We paid each kid about 10,000 dongs each and they all said the same thing: "No way, that's not enough."

Jeez! Devils, aren't they. We asked another foreigner (who looked like she's been living in Vietnam for a while) how much we should pay and she said nothing more than 10,000. So after much negotiation, i.e. "I'm giving you 10,000, if you want it you can have it, if not I'm going home" :P, they accepted the money and off we went. I decided to try the bike since there weren't that many vehicles around. So there I was riding the bike, with Kshitij as the pillion rider. I think he was a bit worried because I'm not the safest driver around.. and kept telling me to slow down... but hey, it was my "virgin ride", there's no way I'd go slow. :P

Back in the resort, Shuyi and I washed up. After my shower, I found Anshu and Kshitij scrutinizing the floors outside the resort using flashlights. Apparently, Anshu had lost his motorbike keys and for some strange, he couldn't remember how (later I found out he was high on crack, that's why he couldn't remember shit!). The bike owner said he had spare keys so all Anshu had to do was pay 200,000 dongs for the lost key. It was probably the most expensive set of keys ever.

We went off for dinner nearby and waited a millions years for our food. Thankfully, they were GOOD food. After dinner, we went to Wax Bar and partied the night away. We met some cool people at the bar.. and ordered buckets of mojito, celebrated Anshu's birthday at 12MN, it was awesome! I don't remember the exact incidents of the night other than the buckets that kept coming, the 12 shots of Jagermeister Kshitij had (after which he called it a night, hahaha), and my decision to swim in the freezing sea (in my birthday suit no less) with Anshu, 2 random dutch guys and 2 Finnish girls, during which I was convinced (in my not so sober state) that Anshu and one of the girls had drowned. In my defence, the waves were gigantic and the area was pitch black. So yeah it was a great night, first of the many to come!! :)