Mui Ne and My Arrival in Saigon

18/01/2012 7:36 PM

Our Resort Pool - Even though it was on the ocean

So Evening of day two in Mui Ne and I’ve finally got some time to myself. I enjoy traveling with Sarah and Polina, but going solo really does have its benefits. So today has been a pretty intense day. I'm finally over my sunburn, and we decided to spend the day out on motorbikes. Work up around 7:15 and went for a swim in the pool at our resort. Had a breakfast consisting of boiled greens with garlic and a Vietnamese pancake with pork and two coffees; it was nice. I miss having unlimited coffee at my hotel, like I did in Hanoi, but il deal with it.

Pit Stop

So we got on our bikes around 10AM and headed north about 30km along an incredibly beautiful road. After getting lost a few times we got to our destination: a small fresh water lake that is surrounded by giant white sand dunes the size of mountains. It was spectacular. The road there was a bit rough and the scooters we rented were definitely not meant to go off-road... but whatever. It was worth it. For some reason, the micro-climate in this part of Vietnam makes this land incredibly different from the rest of SE Asia. Its dry, arid, sandy and rocky. If you didn’t know you were here you would think you were in Utah or Colorado. It hugely different! Around 11:30 AM we decided to stop for an hour or so in a little shaded bar/cafe. This is probably one of the most relaxing places I have been since my trip began. It was a really simply construction of a few polls and a thatched room with hammock underneath. The view from it was spectacular; about 500 meters of dry and barren landscape which meets with a clear blue ocean. 

Pit Stop Owner - Did not speak a word of English, but gave us watermelon

Cow Crossing - On our way to the White Sand Dunes

  So we spent about an hour there waiting for the heat of the day to subside. At this point is was probably in the low thirties and the only thing keeping us cool was the breeze coming off the ocean. So after this we slowly drove back to our hotel where we spent a little while cooling off by the pool. I was covered in dust at this point so a shower and pool was well received. After this we headed to the travel agency to book our bus to Saigon on the 20^th. We then headed out for a bit more biking. I ended up speeding off and lost Sarah and Polina. I wasn’t worried as we were scheduled to meet back at the hotel at 7pm. 

Mui Be - Highway I

So I arrived back just before 7pm. However Sarah and Polina were nowhere to be seen. So I spent from 7pm to 9pm chilling in the resort and talking to John who’s an Israeli Jew in his mid sixties who loves to talk.

At this point its 8:55 and Sarah and Polina have not yet retuned to the hotel. So I'm sitting in the front lobby and a taxi pulls up and they get out. OK its 12:15 AM right now and I don’t feel like writing this. Il give it in brief. Sarah crashed on her motorbike and broke her foot. She was in the hospital for two hours and had a plastic cast put on. She cant walk for the next four weeks. They left the bikes at the place where she crashed and when they got back here couldn’t remember where they left them. So John, Polina and I spent an hour or so looking for them. Finally found them. Sarah is all right aside from her foot, but seems decently happy given everything what’s happened. I may or may not write more about this tomorrow. For now, I'm going to bed.

Gnight

20/01/2012 7:07 AM

Last day in Mui Be - Sunset

So its the morning of our final day in Mui Be. I havnt had much time to write in the last few days; Sarah and Polina have been keeping me pretty busy. So we are heading to Saigon today by bus and should be arriving early in the afternoon. They are intending to stay at a hostel but I'm not sure if I will join them or book my own hotel as I miss having my own room. As much as I like travelling with them, travelling alone has its ups.

20/01/2012 8:45 AM

So had breakfast, I had an omelet and spring rolls and a few coffees. We are on the bus now, first time in air conditioning in a while. It’s a nice change. The bus should be about 5 hours after stops and what not, but who really knows with these buses.

20/01/2012 7:30 PM

So I wasn’t able to write much on the bus. It ended up taking about 7 hours all together. The busses are decent and relatively comfortable so I guess it could be worse. But still, 7 hours for a 240km trip?

So anyways, the hotel that I booked while in Mui Ne has turned out well. It’s $16 a night for a big room with AC and a window, so I'm not complaining. Saigon is insane. I thought Hanoi was crazy but this place is just ridiculous. There’s close to 10 million motorbikes in this city. That is nearly one for every person.

Mui Ne was incredibly relaxing and was really enjoyable. I have not had much time alone recently so I have not gotten much writing done. I plan to pick it back up over the next few days as I’ve got some peace and quiet in my own room. Sarah and Polina are staying in a hostel, but that’s not really my thing. No disrespect to those who enjoy staying in hostels, I just like my space. Besides, for an extra $5 I get my own room, equipped with AC and even a window. It’s almost as nice as my place in Hanoi, and it’s about half the price. So this is my home for the next two weeks.

Why two weeks? Well I plan to apply for my Visa to Myanmar at the Canadian Embassy in HCMC and it should take about two weeks to process. I’m not, however, sure if I will fly to Myanmar next, or do Cambodia. It doesn’t really matter where I leave from, as long as it is a major city. Because of its closed borders, I need to fly in either way. Flights are as cheap from HCMC as they are from Bangkok, so I'm not quite sure yet. Cambodia and Angkor Watt sound pretty appealing right now, so I may do Cambodia next and Burma in March or April. Either way, I want to arrange my Visa now, just in case by some small chance I get turned down. 

I have also decided that I am going to add East Timor as a country I want to visit while I'm here. I can fly return from Bali for relatively cheap and it would be a cool trip for a week or so.

Traveling is awesome. My new home is on the road!