Our bus to Mui Me was another sleeper bus, not quite as luxurious as the one we'd gotten to Saigon but quite comfortable and for once it only took the 5 hours we were told it would. It picked us up pretty much at the end of our alley and dropped us to the end of our alley in Mui Ne, the easiest journey so far, no tuk tuk drivers or taxis to contend with.
The hotel was up a fairly steep hill but was worth the climb. They upgraded our rooms a fairly standard thing I think when they're not full and they were lovely and included everything even a hairdryer and safe which we rarely get. Large double bed, aircon, ceiling fan and a mini bar which was reasonably priced. There were three hotels Mui Ne hills 1, 2 and 3 each with their own pool and a restaurant with a beautiful pool and Jacuzzi.
It was lunch time so we dropped our bags and headed to the restaurant for some lunch and our welcome drink where we met the owner Erik. Erik gave us the low down on the area, how to get to the beach without upsetting the Russian resorts, things to do, and where the night life was etc.
I couldn't wait to get in the pool and with the electricity just gone for the afternoon (not a regular thing we're told) I headed for the pool after lunch to cool down and chill out. The electricity finally came back around 5.30 but only long enough to have a shower which left us rummaging around in the dark trying to get dressed. I stayed in the dark for a nap and Linda and Shane went to scope out the area and find somewhere to eat.
An hour and half later with no hope of sleep without the aircon I went in search of the lads and we had dinner and a few beers which we hoped would make us sleep despite the heat. We arrived back to the hotel at about 10 as everywhere seemed to be closing in the hopes of a drink in the restaurant by the pool only to find in closed which left us back in our rooms to sweat the night away in the dark until the electricity finally returned around 2.
The next morning Erik was very apologetic about the power situation and provided breakfast free of charge for the inconvenience. After breakfast before the real heat we headed to the beach for an hour. The beach was nothing spectacular, Kep was much nicer and the water here was a bit cooler, only Linda braved it while myself and Shane looked on from a hotel bar.
With the heat rising we headed back to the hotel where we sat by the pool until 5.30 that evening reading, swimming, eating and drinking, you need some down time sometimes with all this traveling and we just couldn't resist the chilled atmosphere here. Once again we just had a chance to shower before the power went again! Very irritating, it doesn't happen very often my foot! That's why a lot of places had generators!
With no power we'd no option but to head for dinner and a few beers. The power had returned while we we're at dinner so we found a bar with some live music but the night once again was cut short with yet another power cut!
We made our way back to the hotel via the shop for some beer and sat on the balcony over looking the pool and waited for the power to return. Thankfully it returned about 11.30 when we promptly hit the sack in the hopes of being sleep if it went again.
After such a lazy day the day before we booked a tour for the afternoon so after a morning swim and an early lunch off we went in an open jeep with a driver who had no English but knew exactly where we were going. The first stop was the fairy stream and waterfall.
At the 'entrance' to the stream we were met by a group of entrepreneurs who couldn't speak English but were charging 5,000 dong (about 7 pence) for what we weren't sure but we paid it anyway figuring they needed it more than we did and off we went. Later we figured out they were charging to keep your shoes while you walked through the stream to the waterfall, we paid and kept our shoes doh!
It was a 1.5km walk through the stream to the waterfall. The waterfall I have to say at the end was a bit of a disappointment but the scenery through the stream was fantastic. The stream is only a couple of inches deep for the most part but gets about knee high near the waterfall and its quite warm.
Having completed what we thought was going to be the most strenuous part of the tour during the hottest part of the day we arrived back at the jeep grateful for its cover and on we went to our next stop the fishing village. This was a bit of a let down to be honest. We stopped at the side of the road and walked down the steps to a mass of fishing boats tied up and not a lot going on so we didn't stop long.
On we went to the white sand dunes, what Mui Ne is famous for along with the red sand dunes which we'll get to later. These were about half an hour away which gave us a rest from the sun to gather ourselves again. Thankfully after a bit of a bumpy ride we arrive and its cooler being 3.30 in the afternoon. Surprisingly the sand isn't too hot to walk on and we were glad we didn't opt to hire a quad to navigate the dunes, while is was very hard work walking up the dunes at least we hadn't paid for a quad to end up getting stuck and walking anyway. After some hard work we finally got to the top where yet another entrepreneur was offering a plastic sheet for you slide down the side but the catch was you had to bring it back up. Myself and Linda opted out cleverly thinking we still had the red sand dunes to go but Shane had a go and even made it back up, I think if it was me I would have left the sheet at the bottom! After a rest at the top we eventually walked back down, its no easier walking down a sand dunes than it is up!
Back in the jeep for the drive back to the last stop, the red sand dunes for sunset. These were about 40 minutes away which we were again grateful for. It had been a cloudy afternoon so we weren't expecting a great sunset but despite this Shane got some great photos of the colours in the sky. These were an even harder climb than the white dunes and no where near as rewarding, we had to climb up and down the dunes for a decent view.
Both the dunes would really give you a sense of the sheer torture it would be to be stuck in a desert, every time you think you're getting to the top there's just more dunes! Although a very beautiful sight and a treat to experience you could really see the novelty wearing off quick.
Suitably worn out and starving we got back to the hotel and headed straight to the restaurant enjoying a quick swim while waiting for dinner. Fed and water we'd a quick shower and headed to the same bar as the night before for some live music and a few drinks.
The next morning we'd time for a swim before checking out and heading for our bus. Next stop Dalat.
I couldn't wait to get in the pool and with the electricity just gone for the afternoon (not a regular thing we're told) I headed for the pool after lunch to cool down and chill out. The electricity finally came back around 5.30 but only long enough to have a shower which left us rummaging around in the dark trying to get dressed. I stayed in the dark for a nap and Linda and Shane went to scope out the area and find somewhere to eat.
An hour and half later with no hope of sleep without the aircon I went in search of the lads and we had dinner and a few beers which we hoped would make us sleep despite the heat. We arrived back to the hotel at about 10 as everywhere seemed to be closing in the hopes of a drink in the restaurant by the pool only to find in closed which left us back in our rooms to sweat the night away in the dark until the electricity finally returned around 2.
The next morning Erik was very apologetic about the power situation and provided breakfast free of charge for the inconvenience. After breakfast before the real heat we headed to the beach for an hour. The beach was nothing spectacular, Kep was much nicer and the water here was a bit cooler, only Linda braved it while myself and Shane looked on from a hotel bar.
With the heat rising we headed back to the hotel where we sat by the pool until 5.30 that evening reading, swimming, eating and drinking, you need some down time sometimes with all this traveling and we just couldn't resist the chilled atmosphere here. Once again we just had a chance to shower before the power went again! Very irritating, it doesn't happen very often my foot! That's why a lot of places had generators!
With no power we'd no option but to head for dinner and a few beers. The power had returned while we we're at dinner so we found a bar with some live music but the night once again was cut short with yet another power cut!
We made our way back to the hotel via the shop for some beer and sat on the balcony over looking the pool and waited for the power to return. Thankfully it returned about 11.30 when we promptly hit the sack in the hopes of being sleep if it went again.
After such a lazy day the day before we booked a tour for the afternoon so after a morning swim and an early lunch off we went in an open jeep with a driver who had no English but knew exactly where we were going. The first stop was the fairy stream and waterfall.
At the 'entrance' to the stream we were met by a group of entrepreneurs who couldn't speak English but were charging 5,000 dong (about 7 pence) for what we weren't sure but we paid it anyway figuring they needed it more than we did and off we went. Later we figured out they were charging to keep your shoes while you walked through the stream to the waterfall, we paid and kept our shoes doh!
It was a 1.5km walk through the stream to the waterfall. The waterfall I have to say at the end was a bit of a disappointment but the scenery through the stream was fantastic. The stream is only a couple of inches deep for the most part but gets about knee high near the waterfall and its quite warm.
Having completed what we thought was going to be the most strenuous part of the tour during the hottest part of the day we arrived back at the jeep grateful for its cover and on we went to our next stop the fishing village. This was a bit of a let down to be honest. We stopped at the side of the road and walked down the steps to a mass of fishing boats tied up and not a lot going on so we didn't stop long.
On we went to the white sand dunes, what Mui Ne is famous for along with the red sand dunes which we'll get to later. These were about half an hour away which gave us a rest from the sun to gather ourselves again. Thankfully after a bit of a bumpy ride we arrive and its cooler being 3.30 in the afternoon. Surprisingly the sand isn't too hot to walk on and we were glad we didn't opt to hire a quad to navigate the dunes, while is was very hard work walking up the dunes at least we hadn't paid for a quad to end up getting stuck and walking anyway. After some hard work we finally got to the top where yet another entrepreneur was offering a plastic sheet for you slide down the side but the catch was you had to bring it back up. Myself and Linda opted out cleverly thinking we still had the red sand dunes to go but Shane had a go and even made it back up, I think if it was me I would have left the sheet at the bottom! After a rest at the top we eventually walked back down, its no easier walking down a sand dunes than it is up!
Back in the jeep for the drive back to the last stop, the red sand dunes for sunset. These were about 40 minutes away which we were again grateful for. It had been a cloudy afternoon so we weren't expecting a great sunset but despite this Shane got some great photos of the colours in the sky. These were an even harder climb than the white dunes and no where near as rewarding, we had to climb up and down the dunes for a decent view.
Both the dunes would really give you a sense of the sheer torture it would be to be stuck in a desert, every time you think you're getting to the top there's just more dunes! Although a very beautiful sight and a treat to experience you could really see the novelty wearing off quick.
Suitably worn out and starving we got back to the hotel and headed straight to the restaurant enjoying a quick swim while waiting for dinner. Fed and water we'd a quick shower and headed to the same bar as the night before for some live music and a few drinks.
The next morning we'd time for a swim before checking out and heading for our bus. Next stop Dalat.
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