Mui Ne

Our journey from the busy streets of Saigon to the beautiful beach town of Mui Ne was as smooth as the smooth jazz versions of early Nineties love songs that serenaded us on repeat for the entire length of the four hour drive. Bryan Adams, Celine Dione and that sultry number from Top Gun never sounded so soothing. To this languid soundtrack we watched the landscape transform from the sprawling industrial outskirts of Ho CHi Minh City to the dense jungle and rocky green mountains of rural Vietnam. The crowded, exhaust choked streets gave way to sleepy towns of oxen carts and hammocks draped out front of houses and store fronts. Our first views of the coast came in the port city of Phan Thiet where we caught glimpses of the brightly colored wooden fishing boats that dotted the horizon of the South China Sea.

Upon arrival at the Full Moon Beach resort, we felt immediately in paradise. Our beach front bungalow was a mixture of rustic and refined with a thatch roof, woven bamboo walls and a tile Jacuzzi style bathtub. The porch cantilevered out over the breaking waves and provided views of the palm lined, crescent shaped beach and the rolling red sand dunes that towered over Mui Ne. With Tara fully recovered from her tummy troubles, we were ready to enjoy some of the local cuisine and lucked out on our first try, discovering a small, family run beach front restaurant where a delicious meal of whole fried fish with lemon grass and chile, fried noodles with vegetables, spring rolls and a couple of beers could be had for about four dollars. We were, needless to say, quite pleased with this discovery and so began a bit of an obsession that resulted in each consecutive meal being declared "the greatest meal we've had yet in Vietnam!"

Mui Ne instantly placed us in full on vacation mode, a state which we quickly realized meant for Tara endless, unimpeded lounging and relaxation and for me meant a restless urge to explore. We compromised by doing our exploring early in the morning before the temperature shot up into the high nineties. Our adventures in Mui Ne included wading up the ankle deep waters of the Fairy Spring, a stream that cuts through other worldly rock formations and lush jungle foliage, ending at an outcropping of waterfalls and palm trees. The hike is best described by the guide book at our resort as "a very clean and pure stream with one side of red mountains and other side of natural green grass. You can enjoy the babble and songs of birds in a wild nature like being lost in fairy place." Nuff said. Other excursions included a trek up the red and white sand dunes where I tried, to a questionable degree of success, to slide down the dunes on a plastic sled like the local kids. The sight of me, face down on my belly, plowing a slow but determined path down the steep slope of the dunes sent a whole lot of laughter echoing out across the desert that morning.

We loved watching the fishermen set out early in the day, with one lead motor boat towing several round "basket boats" that were tied together by lengths of line. Later we would visit a local fishing village and get a close look at the little round boats, woven from bamboo with a wooden frame, just big enough for one or two very friendly fishermen. We watched them bring in their catches of snapper, tuna, squid and shrimp and sell them by the basket full to local merchants fresh off the boats on shore.

The Philippine typhoons bring heavy winds to Mui Ne this time of year and with them come droves of kite surfers from all over the world to ride the powerful, seemingly endless gusts. In the afternoons, their kites would glide throughout the sky, lifting the boarders ten times their own heights through the air in a controlled, arching free fall across the wind that must feel for an instant as close as you could come to flying.

Between our excursions, Tara got a plentiful fix of pure relaxation. We spent many hours reclining beach side with a book or a pen and pad to pass the time. Our long walks down the beach beneath the rising or setting sun were moments of peaceful wonder, breathing in the beauty of our natural world and feeling very, very fortunate to be here at this place together.