Mui Ne

Dmitriy and I arrived in the beach town of Mui Ne on Monday afternoon. It was a 5 hour bus ride. They have these tourist buses that run along the country, making it easy to get from one spot to the next. The interesting thing about Vietnam being a narrow vertical country is that the traveler route is relatively similar, just heading north or south. The downside of the buses, potentially, is that its all tourists and depending on which cities you choose or what hotels you book, you could end up on a rather touristy trip. Something many people may not expect from Vietnam.

The last two days have been heavenly, relaxing at the beach, eating delicious, freshly caught seafood, and hanging out. I am getting a tan and have read a lot of my book, two sure signs I am relaxed and happy :) Today I rented a bike and biked along the town (just one road, with beach-facing hotels on one side and restaurants, other buildings on the other). The beach is nice, there is an erosion problem here, as its extremely windy starting around noon.

We met a cool guy, Allen, from San Fran and had dinner and drinks with him last night. The bar was really cool, right on the rocks with the waves seeming like they would crash in. The bar (Pogo) was having movie night, playing Little Miss Sunshine. By far the most "cool" western scene we have seen, still only about 10-15 people there. Must be owned by an ex-pat. After bikes today I did a really beautiful hike along "Fairy Stream" to see red sand dunes. Lovely pics.

Dmitriy and I are sticking together for the next leg of the journey, which is definitely comforting considering our wild plan...we are taking a motorbike "taxi" (a guy driving a motorbike with you on the back...so we will each be on a bike) to Dalat which is about 5 hours away, and the next day taking another ride (same drivers) to Nha Trang, another beach town. So one night in Dalat and one in Nha Trang. It's a package deal, so hotels in both towns are included, food as well, and he has planned stops to see different local towns and industries. 85 bucks a person. More expensive than if you are paying for everything yourself (we figured the same may cost 60 a person) but you get the cool experience of seeing Vietnam with a local, on a motorbike. Lonely Planet wrote good things about the company and they guy had a dossier of positive recs written by customers with their emails, etc. I think it will be a good adventure - lets hope so!