Friday, December 11, 2009

Mui Ne Day 7

Day 46

    When I got up I had an enormous hunger and went straight to the restaurant for food. Two breakfasts and a big fruit shake took care of that. Off to the pool and in less than an hour I was hungry again so I went across the street for more food and after Austin and Estonia girls decide to walk the beach to check out the kite surfers. We stopped for more food on the main beach as we watched the kite surfers zip around the water. We got a taxi back and played cards for a while at our hotel as I busted out some of my very limited card tricks which was good fun. We went our for dinner not to long after and had scallops which were amazing. Another pogo night in full effect good times.


Mui Ne Day 6

Day 45

    Woke up and laid in bed for a while watching TV and talking about last nights events. I had some food and hung around the pool with the Estonia girls enjoying the sun and company. Around lunch I was already hungry again. Another Phat Burger because I had walked to the ATM which was past it so i just could not pass it up on my way back.



     I got back to the room and took a nap until around 7 and when i got up the Estonia girls, who were our neighbors, were in front of the room with their ipod pre-partying so I joined them talking and listening to their Estonia music.



     We walked back to DJ Station in hopes of another good night but it was quiet so we returned to Pogo and made our own party. We returned to the room around 2 or 3 and I went to my room but heard through the wall music and laughing so I poked my head into the girls room and they were dancing around and so I joined them laughing and being entertained until i fell asleep.


Mui Ne Day 5

Day 44

    What a beautiful day again. Today I had to lay off the Phat Burger but Chris finnally well enough to walk around went and got one himself. Walked about 1.5 miles down the beach to watch the kite surfers. I dident put any sun screen on and got seriously sunburnt.


 



(sorry mom, did not use sunscreen today)



     Instead of walking all the way back I got a motorbike to the hotel, met up with the Estonian girls who had showed up that day and went out to Pogo where it was dead so we all went down the road to the DJ station. There was about 50 people there and I saw a few people I had met before in Thailand. I heard the funniest pick up line tonight "my friend really likes hats, you should go talk to her" so I did and the first thing she said to me was "I really like hats". After this interesting encounter I met some loud English girls and we danced all night.


Mui Ne Day 4

What do you know, breakfast at Phat Burger once again eating in the room as he is still not well enough to leave. Was a hot and sunny day so I swam in the pool and sun bathed most of the day. Met some new people, had dinner, played some pool and went out that evening.


Mui Ne Day 3

    Got up slow today, took a swim and walked to Phat Burger for the Phat Breakie Burger which I brought back to the room for Chris and I. Chris was feeling better today but needed another day of rest so stayed in bed all day.



   Kirk and Aussies were taking off around 2 so we chilled around the pool awaiting their departure. Went for yet another Phat Burger for Chris and I and we hung out in the room watching movies on HBO. Told Chris I was going out for one beer but stayed out till 2am hanging out with some people we had met in Halong Bay.


Mui Ne Day 2

   Did not do much of anything today besides hanging by the pool and getting Chris food as he was ill from either sun poisoning or other food ailments. He stayed in bed all day almost passing out when he stood up and making me worry a lot.

    My health seems to be taking a turn for the worst lately. After our first day in Na Trang I felt like I was going to die, throwing up all the time and in cold sweats. I felt fine the next two days so it seemed it was ok to go out in the Jeep. Was in the sun all day long and I think I got sun poisoning. Every time I stood up my vision would tunnel until I could not see at all and my heart beat would increase substantially. I almost went to the hospital but it was really far away and I dident think I could make it there so I just laid in bed and hydrated myself while Zev brought me everything I needed.

Some German girls I had met the night before came to the pool and hung out for a while before going on a motor bike tour to a temple close by. I was going to go with them but worried about Chris I stayed and messed around on the internet, got dinner and watched TV with Chris keeping him company in our icy air conditioned room.
    Kirk, the Aussies and I went down the street to Phat Burger for dinner, this was the best burger of the whole trip, scratch that, best burger in all of Asia. Again went to Pogo, played kings cup and go rowdy.

Jeeping In Mui Ne

Day 40

    Today the sun is finally shining so I got up and took a swim in the ocean with Rowey and chill by the pool. At 1pm we got a Jeep tour to see the Sand dunes and surrounding area.



We walked down a river with red cliffs and little streams running down the canyon creating red and yellow silt along the riverbank making the water an interesting color. At the end there was a waterfall where we got wet to beat the heat.





Next we stopped at the fishing village with a horrid stench of rotting fish because this is the area they make huge amounts of fish sauce and it really curls your stomach.



Onto the white sand dunes which sits beside a small lake flourishing with lilies and clear water, a beautiful place. We got large pieces of plastic and tried to slide down the dunes but failed as it was just not steep enough to pick up speed.



    After we stopped at the red dunes which were actually just yellow for sunset, we were all tired and hungry from being in the sun all day so we did not stay to long.



Again went out to Pogo for the night playing cards and acting crazy with the Aussie Boys.



Chasing The Sun To Mui Ne

DAY 39

    I woke up abruptly to Chris holding my itouch in my face saying Zev get up the bus will be here in 15 minutes your alarm didn't go off. I jumped up got my stuff and we were out the door in 2 minutes. We waited only a few minutes before the bus arrived and hopped on to Mui Ne. The Aussie guys we had met in Pai, Thailand and again in Vaing Vieng, Laos were on the bus and we talked a bit as we exited town. I got to reading my book again and was swept away into the wild of Alaska for the rest of the bus ride. This book really inspires me and makes me really happy I have decided to become a world traveler.
    As I finished the book I glanced out the window to see the expansive fields and hills stretching out in the distance and was truly touched by its beauty. It reminds me of so many places I have seen in magazines like Africa and Australia because of its dry climate but at the same point it is completely new to me and has characteristics all of its own. This is the driest region in all of Vietnam, where the sand dunes rise and fall in the distance as they stretch away from the sea and little shrubs speckle the ground as far as the eye can see.




    The brilliant orange and yellow of the earth has a crazy contrast to the deep blue of the water and the whiteish grey haze that fills the sky. Little huts line the sand in the middle of nowhere with pipes and work equipment lining the sides of the highway. The Ocean seems calm and mellow compared to the deep and rich colors of the sand that it touches. We approach the small city of Mui Ne and the long beach stretches out along the bay as a few high rises and cranes come into view. Still we are faced with overcast sky's which has been mostly our luck thus far in Vietnam. Construction seems to be everywhere in this country and always in a mid process with bright orange bricks exposed with half completed walls jetting up everywhere and makeshift scaffolding at its sides.
    Small groups of 4-5 work slowly but in a timeless fassion on what seems to be an endless process of constructing hotels which they could probably not afford to stay. They still work with dedication and respect for their craft as I pass by in the bus waving and getting an occasional wave or small cracked smile from them as we zoom past. Others on the bus sleep but I am wide awake with thought and ideas after reading my book filling myself with emotion and a need to express myself in a new way. I love These moments of new found clarity in life, and in travel where I am able to express myself in writing.
    Its around 1:30pm when we arrive in Mui Ne and walk to the hotel where Debbie, Wes and Kirk are staying. The Aussie boys come as well and we all check in having some cold beers and play pool for a while before we take a dip in the pool and swim in the sea. We all go out for a seafood dinner which is awesome with huge tiger prawns, squid, fish, crab and shrimp. We all go out to the Pogo bar and play more pool and enjoy our time together.



Sick In Na Trang

DAY 38

    We got to Na Trang around 6 am and Chris had turned white in the face and had puked a few times from the bumpy bus ride, so we decided to stay over a night and rest up while the rest of the group went on. We checked into a hotel and Chris went straight to bed while I walked around the city to check it out. I went to the beach, a church and found myself aimlessly walking around the streets and stumbling across a street market that was very cool. I got strange looks from all of the people, like I usually do but these looks led me to believe that not many tourist come to this market which made it different and exciting to be off the normal path and among real culture, seeing how local people are in their everyday routine.








     After leaving the market I realized I was totally lost so I stopped at a corner store had some food and asked a motor bike guy for directions. When he told me where I was it clicked and realized I was only 2 blocks from my hotel. He tried to get me to go on the bike back but I declined and walked back to the hotel. I was a bit tired and exhausted from the overnight bus so I crashed out the rest of the day and messed around on the internet on my itouch untill dinner time. I got Chris up and we went to the Bananna Split across from our hotel had some food and came straight back to the hotel watching some TV doing some blog work before bed.

Hoi An to Na Trang

DAY 37

    Pillaged the buffet once more and then went for my last fitting at the tailors. I sent my stuff back via Sea mail which takes 3 months and then returned to the hotel. Chris and I sat in the lobby and blogged all day while we waited for our night bus south to Mui Ne. We got snacks and got on our bus around 6:30. This bus was nicer than the last one and I could hang my feet off the end of the seat into the isle making the ride a little less painful. I actually got some sleep on the bus and had 3 cute danish girls next to me so I had good company which made the ride more interesting.