Andrew Pell: The sand dunes of Mui Ne

After 3 nights in chaotic Saigon it was time to hit up the beaches of Vietnam! A 5 hour bus ride north from Saigon (1 hour of that for getting through traffic) and i had arrived in Mui Ne and checked into a cool little resort. A whopping $10us for a shared room with one other that included a massive pool and ocean views. Pure gold! I shared with a crazy Canadian called Julien who was full of laughs.
After a 12 hour recovery sleep it was time to check out the main attractions of mui ne. 6 of us chipped in $4 each and hired a jeep with a driver for 4 hours. Our first stop was at the Fairy Spring (Suoi Tien). Basically this was a stream running through a patch of sand dunes with really interesting sand and rock formations. We were able to wade through the stream and visit the smallish dirty waterfall at the end. Sounds a bit boring but it was super nice wading through the water and soft sand.
We then jumped back in the jeep and headed towards the white sand dunes to try our luck at sand-sledding, a must do when in Mui Ne. The local kids hire out very average plastic sleds for just under a dollar and then it's up to you to find the steepest slope and sled down it. Although no super speeds or records were set it was still an extremely fun and sweaty couple of hours in a beuatiful setting. The jeep then drove us to the red sand dunes for sunset. We were a touch late so we only saw the last little bit of the sunset but it was still worth seeing. We then headed back into town driving along the beautiful coast road for a cheap and tasty dinner in a roadside restaurant.
The next day I woke up reasonably early and went for a walk along the beach to watch the hundreds of fisherman in their little round boats. The boats look more like half of a supersized coconut. It must be such a difficult job for these fisherman as they are continually bringing in tiny fish and resetting multiple lines at the same time. As one boat came into shore they saw me watching and called me over. This wasn't to say hello, it was to get me to help lift the ridiculously heavy boat up to dry ground. The man was very happy that i had helped and wanted a photo next to his rig. I have found the majority of Vietnamese people to be extremely friendly, always happy and willing to give you a smile. :)