Vibrant Vietnam: Part 1 - Saigon Streets)
We were sitting at the tour operator's office waiting for the 8 am bus to Cu Chi when in a fit of boredom, we decided to peruse all the photo albums in the office. It was then that we saw gorgeous pictures of the beach and sand dunes in Mui Ne. I fell in love immediately.
Out of curiosity, Aidil casually asked if it was possible to take a day trip there. One tour guide, Bruce said yes before we left for Cu Chi but since he had a tummy ache he was not around to answer our queries when we got back. Frustratingly, the other guide insisted that we had to stay overnight, which we were reluctant to do.
Aidil suggested we check out the Sinh Cafe tour operator instead because they were known for their good service and "can do" attitude. Sinh Cafe used to be purely a cafe but some free/ independent travellers started asking them for travel assistance and the service was so good that Sinh Cafe decided to do it fulltime. So not surprisingly, we managed to get two return tickets to Mui Ne within 5 minutes of enquiring. The tickets costs us only US$18 per person for a return bus ride, snacks and drinks on the bus and use of Sinh Cafe's Mui Ne Resort facilities. Fantastic!
Mui Ne's set up reminded me of Bali and Phuket, only smaller, more peaceful and less commercial and touristy. All the resorts and guesthouses lining the beach looked promising. If I were to stay there overnight, I'd be spoilt for choice. 
The weather was truly beautiful: sunny out, with a crisp wind and a cloudless sky.
We did not plan on going to the beach so we did not have the appropriate beach wear. 
The trip to Mui Ne was spontaneous and unprepared, we had to make do with what items we had. 
But I really had a swell time swimming. The water was cool and refreshing and the entire stretch of beach was secluded. 
However, the waves were pretty strong in some parts and crashed heavily on us in relentless succession. The waters claimed one of their first victims of the morning: Aidil's prescription glasses. Truly unfortunate.
So for the rest of the trip, he was visually challenged. He kept muttering grumpily that his eyes were autofocusing like our Nikon DSLR.
Apart from that one small disaster, we enjoyed our time in Mui Ne. The Sinh Cafe Resort was quaint, pretty and somehow, fully booked by a bunch of Korean visitors.
After our swim, we were starved and had lunch in a local restaurant across the road from the resort. There were restaurants aplenty in Mui Ne, serving all kinds of Asian and continental fare, which was convenient.
We were so hungry and the homemade meal of rice, seafood and vegetables that we had was so yummy that we forgot to snap pictures. Ironically, to me, that was one of the best meals I had in Vietnam.
After lunch, we booked a private half day tour for US$30 to see the sand dunes and fishing village in Mui Ne. 
Our tour guide cum driver Tham was one weird fellow with a penchant for Ace of Base songs which he played ad nauseum all the way to the sand dunes and back. But he was flexible with time and let us stop every so often to take photos like the one above of Aidil's 'best friends'.
The view of the ocean on our ride to the sand dunes was breathtaking. The scenery reminded me of Australia. I never imagined Vietnam would be this beautiful. This country truly is underrated. You will be surprised to discover how many amazingly beautiful God-given natural features Vietnam boosts from mountains to hot springs, unspoilt beaches, lovely rivers and rainforests.
This postcard quality picture was taken at a windy high spot overlooking the fishing village. The colours are gorgeous, aren't they? The sunshine and the colours of the sea and the boats combine with breathtaking effect.
And I must say, Vietnamese children are so cute and friendly. They were not selfish with their hellos and random waves or smiles to strangers. Vietnamese people are very good-looking and this adorable little girl is no exception.
And oh man, check out Aidil decked out in his latest purchases. Gahahahahah! 
Our second stop was to see the yellow sand dunes. 
There were plenty of locals and tourists at the sand dunes, playing games, sliding down the slopes or simply chatting away. 
The atmosphere was relaxed and we had a very good time.
The sand was fine and powdery. Aidil tried his best to capture bits of it flying off my palm, can you see them? 
We found some playing cards half buried in the sand. 
How rather apt. 2 hearts, 8 hearts and 8 spades. 
Aidil tried sliding down the slopes with some success. I had to avoid getting hit square in the face by his 'flying' flip flops. 
Our last stop was to visit the white sand dunes. Tham encouraged us to stay there and watch the sunset, assuring us that he would wait for us in the van. Fantastic. 
We had to walk through a small forest of trees and a marsh to get to the dunes. It was rather surreal. 
The beauty of it all was quite overwhelming. 
Again, I had not imagined Vietnam would be this amazing. 
We had some distance to cover and felt so totally unfit climbing the slopes. Hahaha. 
But it was well worth the effort. 
Although we had to stop to rest a couple of times, I would not trade the view of the sunset for anything.
And to be there with my best friend was an experience I was truly grateful for. It also felt good to know that I paid for this trip all on my own. =)
Aidil tried his hand at sliding down the slopes with the homemade board we had rented. 
Several local boys laughed their asses off watching his initial unsuccessful attempts but taking pity on him, they decided to help him with his technique (or lack thereof). 
What fun! What an experience. 
Tham drove us back to the resort and by 8 pm we were tucking in to a hot pot meal at a small restaurant down the road from the resort.
We had plenty of noodles, seafood and vegetables all dumped into the pot.
The soup was made sweet by the vegetable stock used and Aidil slurped it up greedily. 
We had some fresh rice paper vegetable rolls for starters.
I like Vietnamese spring rolls.
We also had some grilled seafood.
These we ate with plain white rice. The fish and squid were pretty good - simply done but tasty.
For dessert, we had banana flambee. This was super juicy, sweet, soft, yummy. 
We walked back to the resort after dinner. It was getting really cold but Aidil, against my better judgment, decided to take a dip in the hotel pool. So crazy. 
I was already shivering because the air was so chilly. I felt like such an idiot for not taking into account that Mui Ne might turn cold by nightfall. I did not pack any sweater or jackets for us both. We were freezing in our beach day clothes and we had to wait some time for the 1 am sleeper bus to come pick us up from the resort back to Saigon. 
Not thinking straight, we bought iced coffee, lemon sorbet and coffee ice-cream. 
Gahahahaha. Although pretty good, there was only so much cold treats I could take in that weather. 
I vow never to be in this predicament again. Brrrrrrrrr~ So cold.
