Mui Ne

Mui Ne is a laid back beach town with cute bungalows lining a golden strip of sand. There is a height restriction here, so the developments blend in with the palm trees creating a nice relaxing vibe. We rented a little bungalow on the beach and have been spending our time reading, discussing philosophy based on our books, and just lounging around.

The first day was cloudy so we went for a long bike ride to Phan Theit, a fishing village that we found out was 20 km away. The ride was an adventure, lots of hills and no gears on the bike, trucks and mopeds whizzing by. Sometimes a guy on a moped would slow down and ride next to us, and cheer us on up the hill.

We should have known that Phan Thiet would smell like fish, but nothing can prepare you for the overpowering smell once you get close to the village. It was a true Vietnamese town, unspoiled by tourists. We found a cafe, without an English menu, and it was refreshing to be treated with big smiles and great drinks. We communicated with a lot of pointing and body language - it's nice to see a local town and get a feel for how locals live, compared to the many vietnamese we meet in the tourist sites that are always out for a few bucks.

We raced a thunderstorm back to Mui Ne and chilled out at another cafe. We made it back and it rained the rest of the night.

The next day was gorgeous with sunshine and blue skies. We soaked up some sun and then ran into 2 guys that we met on the sleeper bus who will be at Wharton in August. One knew our friends Marcelo and Antonia - small world. We ended up having drinks and dinner with them later and going to a casino. The casino was hilarious - all e-games, and only foreigners allowed. They give you $20 just for walking in and free drinks. Ari, the Wharton guy, won almost $200 on the slots without spending a dime! Too bad we aren't that lucky, but it was still fun. I think we'll try our luck again tonight.

There are a lot of kite surfers here and the wind is strong every afternoon. We've seen a lot of european kite surfers around and one instructor told us he came here 3 years ago and never left. It has been great to relax for awhile before we head to Saigon.