After a week in the City named after the man who introduced communism to Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh) we thought a bit of quiet beach time was required. So we set off for Mui Ne and Nha Thrang. Little did we know that these two towns also had a link with Mother Russia and Communism? We had been warned that the Russians had a fondness for this little corner of the world, but that did not prepare us for the scale of the Russian takeover.
With our little bit of Russian (Pa Ruski) we set off exploring!
Mui Ne
The only way to explore Mui Ne and its surroundings is via motorbike; therefore for the small price of €4 a day we rented our scooter and set off visiting the area.
Stop 1 – Fairy Stream / Waterfall
Slip off the flip flops and stroll up the stream to the waterfall. Simple!
Stop 2 – Fishermen’s Village
Stop! – Photo Time!
Stop 3 – Red Sand Dunes
GoPro into action for some burst shots of us both jumping off the dunes.
Stop 4 – White Sand Dunes
Before the beauty that was the white sand dunes there was the small matter of the not so beautiful corrupt local policemen. Scenario as follows (Shortened but not dramatized):
Corrupt Policeman: Pull Over – You were speeding, look at this app on my phone that says you were speeding!
Blain/Julia: Are you serious? That’s a picture of the number 45? That doesn’t even prove we were going 45km/h?
Corrupt Policeman: Whatever, show me your license, Oh yeah it’s not valid here, pay me 2million Dong.
Blain: Eh no, show me your police ID
Corrupt Policeman: Ok you go to jail now.
Blain: Shit lets pay this fucker!
Corrupt Policeman: Thank you enjoy Mui Ne!
Photos at the Dune post angry little Policeman.
Apart from the corrupt police and far too many Russian men wearing see through hooded vests, Mui Ne you are a little gem!
Nha Trang
We quickly got to Nha Trang via bus, conveniently located a few hours north of Mui Ne. The reason why this place is mentioned on travelling blogs remains a mystery to us. On top of lacking any charm, there simply isn’t much to do there at all!
The whole place concentrates high rises built by the sea front in which you cannot swim (in December anyway – there are “no swimming” signs everywhere). The atmosphere isn’t great and the city is crammed with Chinese and Russian tourists who are on package holidays.
This was by far the most disappointing stop for us. It was luckily made better by spending an evening with some familiar faces and visiting a couple of interesting temples and a market.
Nha Trang, sorry but we won’t be back. Unless you tell us what this weasel coffee is.
A Year With The Sullys 