Welcome to the third and final installment of my Vietnam blog posts! And we're obviously back to go through the third and final stop on my trip which was Mui Ne. After a busy week of travelling around, doing crazy amounts of walking, and keeping super busy, it was time for a little R&R time at the beach.
The travel time from Da Lat to Mui Ne was much shorter than my previous sleeper bus so I didn't need to go overnight this time. It took around 4 hours so after getting an early morning one, I arrived at the beach by lunchtime. The driver even dropped me directly outside my hotel when I showed him on the map where I needed to go; people in Vietnam were very accommodating! I was staying at the Mui Ne Hills Backpackers and I could've sworn it was a hostel when I booked but it felt a lot more like a hotel. It was £17 for 2 nights and I was loving having a separate toilet, sink and shower as most places in Vietnam favour the wet room style. Which is basically that the shower is just in the bathroom somewhere with no enclosure so you get water everywhere. So this felt very luxurious!
I loved my hotel so much! It had two swimming pools, a restaurant, and it was basically beachfront. The hill to get up to it might have been a bit of a killer (especially with my suitcase) but the views from the top were amazing. I had a wonderful day of doing not very much at all; it was so nice to just relax and read and tan. In fact, solo travel when you're sunbathing is really no different from accompanied travel. Well, for me anyway. I just read non-stop anyway! I stayed put all day and enjoyed some happy hour beers as the sun set.
My experience with the social side of the places I'd stayed had been pretty consistent. I'd booked hostels that looked super sociable from the photos, but then while I was there: crickets! I don't know if it was just a quiet season or something, but my hotel looked like it had loads going on with pool tables and volleyball and games. But barely anyone was staying there. To be honest though, I didn't mind having a couple of chilled nights since I'd had such a busy social time of it in the first half of my trip. Instead, I ended up having a quiet dinner and then one of the famous Thai rolled ice creams. I still managed to get chatting to some people even there, as I met an older English couple and had a little chinwag with them about their travels.
The next day I decided to have a morning at the beach! I started with the cutest coffee of my whole life (another egg coffee, this time a hot one) and then walked the 20 minutes to the beach access path. Mui Ne was largely a resorts type of place. It was a beautiful beach, don't get me wrong, but it was giant hotel after giant hotel. It was very full of tourists and lacking a lot of the authentic Vietnamese charm that I'd experienced in the other areas of my trip. For a couple of days tagged on the end it was perfect, but it was my least favourite stop overall. It was a cool beach though as it was a kite surfing beach! Obviously what makes a beach good for kite surfing is that it's super windy, and typically 'super windy' is not compatible with sunbathing. So instead of setting up camp, I just had a little dip in the sea and then grabbed some lunch. I was definitely making the most of being on the coast as I was ordering seafood at every meal and it was amazing!
I spent the rest of my afternoon back in my favourite spot by the pool and was treated to a beautiful pink sky as the sun set! Oh and if anyone was wondering how I got photos by the pool, I took a photo of the set-up for you. A claw clip makes a great phone stand it turns out!
It was the last night of my holiday so I was determined to find some nightlife this time! I was certain that Mui Ne must be home to atleast some. And I managed it! After a lovely dinner (I finally got pho and it was fabulous), I found a bar with live music and great cocktails. People were up dancing and singing along and it was such a great vibe. A very good note to end on!
I wasn't leaving until the evening so I had one last day to enjoy and soak up the sun. I started with tofu banh mi and then spent the rest of the day alternating between swimming and reading. My hotel was great for leaving later too; they had showers, they stored my luggage, they booked a bus for me and even rang the driver to find out an exact ETA so I wasn't stood waiting. After one last day in paradise, I was shipping off to begin my long journey home.
After only a 4 hour bus to Ho Chi Minh City, a 4 hour wait at the airport, a 3 hour flight to Shenzhen, an 8 hour stopover, a 13 hour flight to the UK, and 2 hour drive to Nottingham, I was home sweet home. Oh and thanks to the time difference, all of that somehow took place on just one day! I would do an awful travel day like that a million times over though if it meant getting to have the experience I had in Vietnam. It was a truly beautiful country, I met so many cool people, I ate great food, and I had simply the best time. Solo travel was really eye opening and I'd encourage everyone to push themselves to do it at some point. It really forces you outside of your comfort zone, encourages you to enjoy your own company, and gets you comfortable with time by yourself. I certainly won't stop raving about what an amazing experience I had and I'd definitely do a solo trip like this again. But for now, it's Vietnam over and out!
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