Although the weather in Colorado is still quite nice right now (what month IS this, Colorado??), I found myself pining for the simple beach life today. Whenever I imagine this life, one little beach town in Vietnam comes to mind: Mui Ne. Mui Ne, which happens to be one of the top kite-surfing destinations in the world (although after several months touring Southeast Asia, I was a little too broke for this…next time!), was a sleepy little town in December. We started with a ride on the best bus of Asia: empty, upper bed-seats, and a clean bathroom! The lap of luxury.

This luxury continued when we arrived in Mui Ne. We found a little bungalow to stay in, right on the beach, and spent several days swimming in the glorious water, watching the kite surfers crash, walking around in the beachy rain, eating Indian food, and shopping for beachy jewelry. Mui Ne is also famous for their sand dunes, which we couldn’t miss, so we rented a motorbike and rode to the dunes and a little waterfall called “Fairy Springs.” The motorbike, which we arranged through our hostel, was about five dollars for the day; upon arriving at the dunes, you can also rent “sand boards” and try your hand at surfing the dunes. I mostly crashed into the sand, but even if you are as athletically challenged as me, you must try it!

After the dunes, we also took our motorbike over to the hike/waterfall, which is fairly difficult to find. Two nice little boys offered to show us…however, I must warn you: adorable little Vietnamese boys will often decide they’re your “tour guides” and get a little annoyed when you, thinking you are just making friends, refuse to pay them handsomely for their “service.”     We fell into this trap a lot, as young naive girls eager to make friends…which is a common occurrence in any touristy area. Don’t worry, we did pay them!…but just a warning.

{photos: watching the kite surfers / the nicest bus / beach living / local flowers / a flower in my hair / the streets of Mui Ne / a flower in the river / our “tour guides” / the hike to the waterfall / Fairy Springs / a local along the coast / the famous sand dunes and little “Johnny” / dune surfing}

all photos courtesy of me, or my lovely cousin Courtney!

The post This Is The Life…Mui Ne {Vietnam} appeared first on Amy and the Great World.