Day 6 – Thursday Dec 12, 2013 – Mui Ne

Time for R&R in Mui Ne! Mui Ne is a beach town in the Phan Thiet area. Phan Thiet  that is also home to impressive sand dunes. I really wanted to see the sand dunes and after juggling our itinerary, I managed to make it work. And now, after the stress of planning the hotel, I can’t wait to see the beach and resort. We had a 5-hour bus ride ahead of us from Ho Chi Minh City but that gives me time to sleep and blog.

My hotel, Lotus Mui Ne Resort & Spa was very well maintained, serviced and decorated but it was deserted and a little too quiet. I think I only saw two other groups of guests that afternoon. Well, that’s what we get for booking so last minute without proper research –another reason for me to preplan and book everything in advance. Oh well, it was still nice!

We ate at the resort restaurant, Orchid but found that it was overpriced for subpar food. We need to venture out for dinner. But first, the pool and beach. Another disappointing part of the hotel was that the beach was very rocky. We decided to hit the pool instead and then just lie on the sunbeds to soak up the sun, listen to the waves and watch the sunset.

After the sun went down, we changed and took a taxi into town. Each time we take a taxi, I get nervous because of all the scams I’ve read. Nothing happened… maybe because my uncle was with us and he spoke Vietnamese. We ended up in the lively beach street lined with shops, restaurants and resorts. Dang, the resort I originally wanted was in this happening area. There were lots of tourist walking around but some restaurants were dead. We walked and shopped until we found a good place for dinner and hoped for the best. Luckily, it decent and their Bánh xèo  (Vietnamese crepe) was pretty good. We called the same taxi driver and returned to our resort. It was just as empty as it was earlier… kinda sad actually but it’s probably because it’s so far from the central tourist spots.

Day 7 – Friday Dec 13, 2013 – Mui Ne

I had booked a private jeep tour with Mr. Binh to see the sunrise at the yellow sand dunes, followed by a couple of other popular Mui Ne sightseeing stops. The half day tour was great value, costing about $10USD per person.  We left the hotel at 4:30am and then drove for about an hour to the yellow sand dunes. The drive up was very dark into the outskirts of town. I didn’t google where the sand dunes were and the drive was taking so long that I started getting slightly worried –in case these guys were total scammers or thieves. We finally made it to the yellow sand dunes and it was reassuring to see other tourists. The sunrise started around 5:45am.

Oh crap… I forgot my SD card in my laptop and I deliberately removed my spare point and shoot camera to lighten my bag. Nooooooo! I was so disappointed because this tour had so many great photo opportunities. Gah, at least I had my Samsung S2 phone that had decent quality… better than nothing.

The yellow sand dunes are one of a kind in Vietnam. The sunrise slowly lit up the dunes from a pinkish orangey blue to a golden yellow. It was breathtaking and beautiful. I’ve never seen any sand dunes during my travels before so it was unique and special. I walked around barefoot and enjoyed the sand flowing between my toes.

Our next stop was the Red Canyon. Mr. Binh told me that this area used to be all forest and this canyon was formed from a trench made during the Vietnam war for water transportation. Through the years, the erosion from the rain made the canyon deeper and larger. The canyon continues all the way to the sea. This canyon wasn’t like any of the other canyons I’ve seen in the US… this one was made from sand and I could easily engrave letters into the walls.

Next, we drove to the “red” sand dunes. This wasn’t nearly as tall or impressive as the yellow dunes but still neat to see and feel all the soft reddish sand.

Our second last stop was a small fishing harbour where lots of coracle boats would park. It was a nice panoramic view of the sea filled with these colourful boats. We saw fishing men and women at work. Mr. Binh explained that there are too many boats and too little fish. In order to catch a large fish like tuna, a boat must go really far to find. The smaller boats near the beach mostly catch snails and clams.

Our final stop was Fairy stream. I’ve seen some photos and knew what to expect. However it exceeded my expectations as the short hike in the stream was very cooling in the heat. Mr. Binh took us up this hill for a spectacular view of the stream and the canyon. The climb was a little tough because it was climbing up a steep hill on soft sand. However, the view was worth it and challenge added to the experience. LOVED IT! We walked back down and took some more photos before we were driven back to the hotel.

We finished the tour around 9:00am and decided to rest, shower and pack for checkout. We took a taxi to the bus station and found a beachfront restaurant for lunch. It was a great choice. Food was good but the view was perfect. Nothing beats sitting by the sea drinking a cold iced Vietnamese coffee.

There was this Vietnamese lady on the beach selling fruits in a basket over her shoulders. I wanted to take her photo. I secretly took some and she approached me trying to sell me some fruit. I was thinking… I could buy something from her and ask for a photo. She told me the small bananas were 40,000đ ($2) so I said no and walked away, she came back with 20,000đ ($1). I still said no but she showed me one finger so I thought 10,000đ ($0.50) and decide to get them. She actually meant $1US… my mom was like “oh just be nice and help her out” Alrite, fine but made sure to ask her for a photo and she was more than happy to pose for me.

We boarded our bus after lunch and headed back to Ho Chi Minh City. Although, there were some minor planning issues with the hotel and my forgotten SD memory card, I had a great time. The sand dunes, fishing village and fairy stream was a highlight. I only wish we stayed at a more central resort with a great beach and maybe an extra day to relax. Nonetheless, I’m so glad we were able to make it to Mui Ne. I would be interested in coming back but I’ll see how Nha Trang (another beach city) compares.