It's Good to Be Free

Despite the unfortunate events with our easy rider tour we where in good spirits when we reached Mui Ne and ready to have some chill out time by the beach.

As soon as we realised that where we were dropped off wasn't by a beach we quickly decided we needed to find somewhere else. It took a lot longer than anticipated because we didn't realise just how long the strip of beach is at Mui Ne. Fortunately having walked a short while from the backpacker hotel which was fully booked we found a nice hotel by the beach and got a room for three.

Looking out from our hotel onto the beach and down the coast we could see why this place was called the kitesurfing capital of Vietnam. It was an incredible sight.

Because we were going to go to the sand dunes with the Easy Riders we decided we had to make our way there after settling in. It's recommended that you go the for sunrise or sunset and seeing as it was the afternoon we decided on the sunset at the red sand dunes. Our hostel organised a trip using a jeep as transportation and we were off. It was great to be in the breeze as the jeep had no side or back windows. Sam and I were planning to slide down the slopes and were kitted up , however from this picture we look as if we were ready to rob a bank, haha!

We bypassed the local fishing bay which lended itself to a photo opportunity.

The red sand dunes themselves are pretty small but good enough to have a view over the surrounding area. When we reached the dune we were met by a group of kids selling the plastic mats used for sliding down the dunes. They were conniving little buggars especially when Sam asked for change and got refused despite the fact that I had just given them split bills to pay him back.

Once we reached the the top of the dunes we managed to get some decent photos just before the sand swept up and started to get in the cracks of the camera. Sarah managed to grab a video of me sliding down the bank. Due to the size and type of sand and perhaps our technique we didn't go very fast.

After the sun went down we headed back to the hotel to grab a bite to eat and Sam suggested we go try out the mini golf up the road. The course was a labyrinth of 18 holes set within a hotel backyard it was great fun and it got a little competitive towards the (from my side admittedly) so much so that the last ball on the 18th won me the match.

After the golf we bypassed the 19th hole and headed back to the hotel to wind down and catch a glimpse of the moon which was shining bright with the stars.

The next day was a leisurely one, Sam decided he wanted to try out the kitesurfing and Sarah and I decided we wanted to to get the tan on.

I joined Sam for a little while to see what was involved as I was tempted to try it out but was glad to be chilling rather than taking a mouthful of sea water for a hour as Sam described it.

Upon seeing him return on the shore he walked back and I managed to take a photo of him looking like a bat, while I was waiting to see if I could catch a glimpse of him in action in the sea I marvelled at the technique of some of the pros and caught some action photos.

The rest of day consisted of three things ....

Doing This......

Viewing or walking up this .......

And this.......

We said our farewells to Sam that evening as he had little time left on his Visa, and we had be going back and forth as to whether we should stay a little longer. In the end we managed to come to our senses and get a couple more days in to relax and figure out the next leg of the adventure which would be Cambodia and Sarah took on the mammoth task of writing the Easy Rider blogs and at the same time perfecting her tan lines.

I did decide the next day upon having a chat with a Thomas, a guy we met in Nha Trang and subsequently in Mui Ne a few days later, that the white sand dunes were worth visiting in order to have a go at quad biking. He told us that his tour also consisted of riding an ostrich which would have been quite fun but questionable as to whether it would be fair on the ostrich.

The route to the white sand dunes showed off the best of Vietnams coast.

It was a relaxing period of time to say the least and even meant we began to question whether we should leave at all. The beach life is an enviable one and I for one began to get use to it. However, the prospect of journeying on to the next country is to good a thrill and I think we were ready to say goodbye to Vietnam after this leg.

That being said we still have Saigon and the Cho Chi tunnels to tick off the list .

Stay tuned for more tales.....