Le Beach!

Honk To Pass Go!

14/12/12

Our bus trip to the sands of Mui Ne was a typically thrilling ride but this time we traded physical for mental pain as our driver had shares in the local horn replacement business! An estimate over a relatively quiet 5min period put his horn usage somewhere around 80 horns or 16 bpm (beeps per minute). With our ears ringing we made it to the beaches of Mui Ne (see photos) at around 8pm and began the hunt for a hostel. After wandering the streets and being told there was 'no room at the Inn' we jumped on some moto taxis and arrived at our home for the next week, Hong Di Guesthouse - a lovely little number complete with hammocks and of course 'beach access'.

Hell's Angels!

15/12/12

After a fairly hectic couple of weeks and being constantly on the move, we promised ourselves a relaxed day. This was quickly disregarded as we exchanged chilling for a date with danger. Throughout our travels we have been considering hiring mopeds and today was the day for it. At $4 dollars each + $3 dollars petrol we each hired a 100cc moped and some stylish helmets. Hell's Angels Vietnam was born.

Moments after the money had changed hands we witnessed a spectacular crash between an australian who didn't like indicating and an unsuspecting local. The Vietnamese man drove away unphased (there is no road rage in Vietnam and almost definitely no insurance details to swap). The australian man parked up his moped in the bay next to ours and with a sense of acheivement said "that was my 4th crash today"...but we had to continue, there are no refunds in Vietnam.

So we set off down the coast and saw some beautiful scenery including a fishing harbour with traditional fishing boats and the famous white dunes and red dunes (between 5-20km away). The white dunes were particularly amazing - they were bright white and framed by an electric blue lake that looked like a mirage. The mopeds were really a blessing for the most part and allowed us to see the local scenery, which would have been undiscovered otherwise.

We have since named the hogs according to our experiences - Bronco (GR), Judas (GA) and Van Wilder (AT). For mothers and squeemish family members I suggest you stop reading now...

Match report:

AT looked unstable throughout and had some brake test issues, however escaped incident free and intact - somehow!

GR was generally good with some cornering problems and was also bucked off his hog when we encountered some rough terrain. Fortunately GR nailed the landing and although the hog took a hit he was unscathed.

GA had some throttle control issues which culminated towards the end of the journey...Having overshot our guest house on our return we U-turned on a wide pavement. GA had a small amount of power on the throttle in 4th gear and simultaneously downshifted from 4th to 1st. As the gears dropped with the throttle still on the bike quickly accelerated straight into a 4ft plant pot. A local Vietnamese woman would not stop screaming. GA made a speedy getaway and nothing came of the situation, or so we thought...

We returned the hogs to the rental place, little did we know GA's encounter with the plant pot had left a crack in the fairing at the front of the bike. GA tried to play innocent, but the man knew that he had caused the damage. The financial cost to GA... a reasonable $10 extra to replaced the fairing.

16/12/12 - 18/12/12

The last few days have been more relaxing with beach related activities. GA + AT have tried there hands at kite surfing as Mui Ne is the so called mecca of kite surfing. GA has continued his lessons beyond his initial 5 hour package to try and become proficient on the board. AT has fallen by the way side and decided hammock sleeping is more suited to him.

Pricing Ridiculousness!

With little to report over these last few days apart from gayly frolicking in the surf, we thought we would devote a paragraph to the interesting retail pricing structure here.

Large bottle of beer - 30 cents
1.5 L water - 35 cents
Beatiful omlette - $1.50
Guesthouse literally on the beach - $6.50 pppn
Day hire for moped + petrol - $7
Large pack of doritos - $7
5 hours kite surfing lessons - $245

GA crashing into plant pot - priceless (or $10)

Here's food for thought (!) 5 hours kitesurfing = 817 bottles of beer

G.R + A.T