We arrived in Mui Ne right in the heat of the day. The weather had finally come up trumps for us, and we were desperate to get to the beach! Our hostel was a small piece of paradise, with three pools, a restaurant, two bars – all a 2 minute walk from the beach. “What kind of price are you paying for that sort of luxury?” I hear you ask. £1.77 a night my friends. 10 bed dorm, but still.
After a chill afternoon at the pool, we walked to the beach to watch the sunset. Mui Ne is quite windy on the beach, so it’s kite-surfers’ paradise. Day one ended early after dinner as we set our alarms for 3.30am the next day…
Sunrise on the Sand Dunes
By 4am we were on a bus in the dark, heading towards the dunes. First we went to the white dunes – it was surreal experience walking across a small desert in the dark, but we soon found ourrselves a spot on the dunes and watched as the sun took an hour to slowly appear. The colours across the horizon were pretty spectacular.
Next, the bus dropped us at the red dunes, arguably slightly less picturesque, but still amazing. We spent our time at these dunes running up and down and making idiots of ourselves – it was a lot of fun! We enjoyed ourselves so much we were late back to the bus, and had to chase it down as it tried to drive away!
After this we visited the fishing village, where we saw the morning fishing market on the beach. The view of all the fishing boats at sea was pretty nice. So nice that once again we seemed to miss the rest of the group heading for the bus, and for a second time had to run for our lives to make it. This time the driver was chuckling to himself that we were the ones that nearly got left behind again.
Finally we headed to our last stop, the Fairy Stream. It was basically a really long mud river that you can walk along, which is mostly ankle deep. I say mostly, because there’s the odd water pothole where suddenly your foot sinks and you’re half submerged in water. To Chloe’s entertainment, I learnt this the hard way! Further along the stream, we found orange rocks (the technical name) which made me feel like we were in Breaking Bad.
This time we weren’t last back to the bus, and before we knew it we were back at the hostel, realising that it was only 8.30am and we’d done what felt like a full day’s activity! Naturally we wanted to sleep, so we went back and forth between the pool and the beach all day. Hard life.
That night we somehow had enough stamina for dinner, drinks and a pub quiz! Once suitably sloshed and with not an ounce more of energy in us, we crashed out, ahead of another early start and another bus the next day.
Mui Ne was an unexpected stop, added only because of recommendations, and to break up a longer journey. But wow I’m pleased we did it – we got the perfect mix of relaxation, exploring and drinking – everything backpackers seek!
Annie x
Pint-Sized Adventurers 