Vietnam Stay-Cation

Because of the detachment's operational schedule in Vietnam, it is especially trying for me to find the time to take a vacation in the summer months. Up until this year, I had managed to get away to the U.S. with Diep and Megan, but it wasn't in the cards this year for a lot of reasons I won't go into here.

What I want to talk about is the stay-cation that we took right here in Vietnam. After getting approval for one week off from the office, I purchased a round trip plane ticket to Saigon and left on Tuesday morning. Diep and Megan had already left the day before and Diep managed to get us high-end round trip bus tickets (12 USD/person) on Wednesday morning to Mui Ne, a promontory town in Binh Thuan Province. Mui Ne is a fairly remote beach town, 200km north of Saigon, that has developed rapidly in the past five years or so and is fairly sleepy in the summer months. From the looks of the tourists and the signs in town, it appears the majority of western visitors are Russian. Though this may sound less appealing if one considers the stereotypically fat, vodka-drunk Russians we learned about in the cold war era; the fact is, the majority of Russians I saw were young, sober, tanned and in pretty good shape.

Boats docked in Phan Thiet

Mui Ne is an administrative ward of Phan Thiet City - the provincial capital of Binh Thuan - and lies just east of the city proper. The people are pleasant and descend from the ethnic Cham, conquered by the Vietnamese in the 17th century. In my twenty years in Vietnam, I have never been to Phan Thiet or Mui Ne. I must admit, however, that Phan Thiet was one of the cities I first learned of shortly after enrolling in my Vietnamese language studies at the Defense Language Institute. I gained knowledge of this city because it is best know for its nuoc mam, or fish sauce - paralleled only by Phu Quoc Island in the manufacture of this  fermented fish staple found in every household in Vietnam.

Golden Fish Fish Sauce - Best Quality in Phan Thiet

The five hour bus ride to Mui Ne took us through plantations of cashew, rambutan, sugar cane and dragon fruit. Traveling in the heat of the day wasn't ideal, but the trip wasn't unpleasant with my IPad and Kindle app in hand. With the 15 minute break at the halfway point, it only took a little while to shake the stiffness out upon disembarkation.

I asked my friend Pete where to stay in Mui Ne because he had once managed a resort hotel in the area.  He recommended CoCo Beach Hotel, but Diep had seen some pictures her friend had taken at Sealinks Resort Hotel and made reservations there for two nights, instead. Sealinks is a golf resort that sits on the other side of the beach road, but it does own property on the beach side that allows guests access to private beach facilities. Given the opportunity to do it again, we would definitely opt for one of the hotels on the beach side. That being said, the Sealinks is a quality establishment with good food, great rooms and a fantastic panorama.

Sealinks Beach Property in Mui Ne

If I had wanted to spend my time swimming in the South China Sea, I would have traveled to Mui Ne during the peak season from the first of November to the first of May. Most hotels seem to raise their prices in the peak season by about 20 percent.  The summer months bring afternoon thunderstorms that bring the rains from the mountains into the sea creating murky waters.  Not ideal for swimming.  Fortunately, I just wanted to take some time off and relax in a place where the traffic volume is low, the seafood is fresh and cheap, the breeze is cool and the atmosphere is calm.  All of these things, I found in Mui Ne.

Seafood in Mui Ne

On Thursday morning, we took a taxi out to the Red Dunes on the east side of the promontory. The "red" dunes are actually more orange, but I don't want to be a stickler. Megan had fun riding a plastic sheet down the dunes, though the walk back up was a little tiring.  The kids rent the sheets out to the tourist and they can become a nuisance in congregating around you. The view of the coast from the dunes is spectacular and the colors contrast well.  Of course, great photos can be had if you can keep the kids out of them. The owner of one of the cafes at the dunes told us about the white sand dunes about ten kilometers further east. By this time, Megan was looking uncomfortable with shorts full of sand and we figured we had played on the dunes enough.

View of  the South China Sea from the Red Sand Dunes

Later, Diep and I rented motorbikes for about 8 USD per bike, per day and took the opportunity to explore the surrounding city and beach. We drove to Phan Thiet and all over the town without any of the traffic congestion we see in Hanoi and Saigon. It was relaxing, though I was nervous about renting the bikes for fear of one getting stolen. Nothing untoward happened to the bikes, and the guys who rented to us didn't even ask for our passports or any other collateral.

Megan Happy for the Summer

Friday was a lazy morning with a nice breakfast and swim in the pool.  After that we packed our fish sauce and headed to the bus terminal at The Sinh Tourist Cafe.  The scene was a little busy at the terminal, but everything went smooth enough.  My seat wasn't ideal on the way back, but I managed to suck it up without too much complaining. We departed at 1330 and got back to Saigon around 1900, which isn't bad considering we traveled into the city around peak traffic hour. The bus stops right on De Tham Street, the heart of backpack alley and walking back to our hotel was easy.

I flew back to Hanoi on Saturday afternoon and get back to work tomorrow. I do feel a little better than I did when I left, but I couldn't help but see all the emails going through on my blackberry.  I know what I have waiting for me...