Yesterday was the first day we went out and did some activities here in Mui Ne. We got up at a lazy 10am, had a lovely lazy morning shag, and I wandered downstairs about 11:30 to rent a bike. It cost $6 for the day and none of the locks on it seemed to work properly. Not even the ignition worked well. I asked the guy about a bike lock because I’d read that you need one for the white sand dunes as bike theft is a real problem. He showed me the steering lock. I said “no no no”, and mimed someone picking up the whole bike and walking off. Ahhhh! He goes to a drawer and instead of pulling out a little bike lock like I thought he would, he pulls out a serious length of chain and a padlock. Nice.
We drive down the road toward some roadside seafood places that some guy told us about on our first day in Mui Ne, and stop for some breakfast. Scallops and mango shakes. Oh my god, that is the way to start the day!!! Nothing on the scallops I had at Mum & Dad’s 60ths, but pretty good nonetheless.
Continue heaading down the road to the dunes whcih are pretty easy to find thanks to brilliant pictorial internet directions. When we get there it’s exactly as expected – a thousand kids all trying to rent you a sled or take you for a guided tour to the White Dunes. We need neither but we buy a drink each to keep our bike safe at a cafe.
After the dunes and after a protracted argument with a hopeful tour guide about our lack of need for his services, we head down the road in the direction of the white dunes. We’re not heading there specifically, but just going for a ride in the beautiful sun. I ask Meka if she wants to drive. Holy hell yes she does!!! Quick change over, and I’m fearing for my life as this wild speed demon careens down the road at 100km/h on Vietnam’s least robust scooter. She’s absolutely loving this, and I’m sure we almost died a maximum of only two times. We’re kind of looking for a beach to chill out at / swim, and eventually I see a break in the coastal guard rail with a rocky path leading down to what appears to be a completely desrerted and absolutely gorgeous beach. We pull off the road and use the chain to lock the shit out of the bike. No way I’m losing that thing and having to fork over hundreds of dollars.
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| Meka doesn’t kill us |
The beach looks perfect. We find a little boat to put all our stuff in and jump in the water.
On the sand I notice a couple of the biggest jellyfish I’ve ever seen in my life. I am not kidding, these things were HUGE!! I’m talking 70cm diameter easy. Meeks hasn’t noticed and is diving through the surf like she’s finally back where nature intended. She’s beautiful, like a sea otter; like a dolphin that’s been trapped on land for too long. Suddenly things are not good. I noticed these little green things in the water as I was swimming around, turns out they’re little stingy things.
We get the hell out of the sea and head off home. We go to the bus office to buy a morning ticket for Dalat, then to dinner where we stop at a roadside stall and order Vietnamese soup. It’s amazing, and life is good. 🙂
