The Perfect Day

So this morning I was supposed to take a motorbike ride with Joseph, *all the way* to Mui Ne, on the coast, but alas, Mother Nature had other plans. Once again, I woke up to torrential downpours (damn Dalat!) and Joseph said that it was too dangerous on the highways to bike all the way there. And plus, it just wouldn't be a very fun ride at all. So instead I caught the bus, and was on my way - and dry - to Mui Ne.

On the bus I met a guy from New Zealand who was also travelling on his own and heading to Mui Ne. His name was Hugh and he seemed really cool so when we got into Mui Ne we decided to share a bungalow together to save on costs. Mui Ne is a little beach hideaway on the South China Sea about 200 km. north of Saigon. It's bordered by massive sand dunes and thus has its own micro-climate. The sand dunes protect Mui Ne from a lot of the rain that the rest of the country gets and so as a result the region is quite arid and sandy, with completely different vegetation. The town is basically one long strip of hotels, resorts, and restaurants along a soft stretch of white sand beach, and it really is quite a lovely place.

It was SO NICE to be somewhere warm and dry and even though the seas are a bit rough at Mui Ne, the beach is very quiet and almost empty. You can hang out on the luscious sand all day and not have to worry about being hassled by vendors. You just have your piece of sand to yourself, the swift breezes in your hair, and the sound of the pounding surf....ahhhh....Hello, Relaxation!

On our first night I went down to the beach alone to sit by the surf and stare at the night sky. The moon was nearly full and it shone brightly in the sky, its reflection glittering off the massive waves pounding the gentle beach. I stared out into the blackness of the ocean, and thought about all my friends and family back home. Its amazing to think that I'm on the other side of this great ocean that separates Asia from North America, and when I look out at its horizon it's almost as if I can imagine Vancouver's lights are just beyond my vision. There really isn't anything but water inbetween (well, okay, that and the Philippines) and so I wonder if anyone back home is walking along the Pacific's shores way on the other side, or staring at the moon like I am, at the very same moment as me. It's not a feeling of homesickness, it's just a wonderful sensation of feeling connected to your home by this body of water, and by that glowing celestial body in the sky. How large the earth feels, and yet how very small at the same time.

Some of Hugh's travel buddies that he met earlier arrived the day after we did, and we spent the remainder of our time in Mui Ne all hanging out together. They were Michael and Bobbi-Jo who are both Canadian but have been living in London, UK for ten years, and Myriam from Stuttgart, Germany. They were all really nice people and we had such a blast hanging out at the beach together. My days in Mui Ne all blended together so nicely, a wonderful blur of beach, sunshine, swimming, fantastic intellectual and philosophical conversations, some great (and not-so-great) dinners out, and many, many silly photos avec alcohol. Altogether I was there four days, but I had one day in particular that was truly amazing.

On this day I had signed up for a tour of the sand dunes, and this involved waking up at 6am. Yes, it was awfully early, but it didn't seem so bad actually, and you'd be surprised as to how bright the sun is at that hour. My personal guide came to pick me up on his motorbike, and after breakfast we headed out of town. The sand dunes are a good 20-30 minute ride from Mui Ne, and speeding along that coastal highway on the motorbike was sheer heaven. The warmth of the sun on my face, the warm wind whipping through my hair, the early morning bay glistening in the sunlight, fishing boats dotting the waters, and red and orange hills in the distance. It felt like I was flying and I wished that the ride was hours instead of only minutes long.

First my guide took me to see the fishing village. It's not so much a village as it is just the place next to the harbour where all the boats come in to dump their catch after a long night of fishing. It was a wonderfully chaotic place, with literally hundreds of ships in the harbour all eager to make it to shore. And on shore there must've been a thousand villagers or so, helping them unload the boats, and sorting through the massive piles of seafood. All around me were these giant piles of seafood of everything that you can imagine - fish, fish, and more fish, plus crabs, clams, mussels, squid, octupi, scallops, lobster, and even seahorses! It was quite the sight indeed - and smell - with all of this seafood absolutely everywhere.

After the fishing village we first went to the white sand dunes. They're quite far out of town and consist of this huge curving mounds of pure white sand. They're the size of hills and you can climb up and over them, following their crests, and examining their wind-sculpted ripples. They're truly majestic, and wandering through them you can't help that you feel like you're in the Sahara or something! You can also *sled* down the sand dunes, and that was a blast and a half! Local kids follow you through the sand dunes with these plastic krazy karpets that you can ride down the dunes as if they're snow! Flying down the dunes and then crashing at the bottom, and being covered in sand, was completely hilarious and crazy. It was so much fun!

After the white sand dunes it was back on the bike, and we went and checked out the red sand dunes. On the way there we stopped at a canyon in the hills that consists of these blazing red jagged peaks carved out in the sand by wind and rain. It was quite an other-worldly place and very scenic. The red dunes weren't far from there, and although they're smaller than the white ones they're still very beautiful. And, yes you can sled down these dunes too!

The tour ended after this, and I spent the afternoon reading on the beach and swimming in the sea. It was a perfectly hot and clear day with the bluest of blue skies, and it felt great to be out in the fresh air. I met up later with the girls and Michael and we hung out over at the beach on their resort. Myriam made seashell necklaces for each of us, thus forming a new pop band, 'The Seashells.' We went for a long swim and practiced our dance moves in the surf, and got completely silly pretending to be at a photo shoot for 'the band'. Way too much fun!

After our swim I walked back to my bungalow to get cleaned up. The stroll along the beach coincided perfectly with a truly spectacular sunset. Colours of orange, pink, crimson, and magenta mixed together painting the fluffy clouds in an ever-changing dance of colour. There really is nothing quite so beautiful in this world as a tropical sunset when viewed from a white-sand beach.

Later the five of us went for a delicious seafood dinner, followed by dessert, and then drinks. After supper we bought some wine and vodka. We went back to Hugh's and my bungalow and we got a bit tipsy and took a whole long series of silly bedroom photos. We decided later to go and hang out on the beach, and had some more drinks while chatting the night away. At quite a late hour we decided to strip down to our bathing suits/underwear and run into the surf. It was awesome to swim in the dark sea and we really did have such a great time. We went to bed after our night swim and I fell into a long, deep sleep. What an amazing, perfect day! It's these incredible days, in these beautiful places, with these wonderful new friends that you make, that truly define a perfect holiday.