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The last full day in Mui Né was very relaxing, just a little bit of swimming and enjoying the view. In the afternoon we took the scooters again and went to Ke Ga to enjoy the scenery. That evening we wanted to get a massage to leave Mui Né completely relaxed, but unfortunately we got the worst massage possible and although we entered that salon completely relaxed, we left the salon with a very tense body :S. The last evening we had dinner at ‘the Gecko’, this was a very nice restaurant where we ended talking to and playing pool with the staff :).

The next morning we left Mui Né towards Ho Chi Minh City, where we arrived that evening and we only got a bite to eat and went back to the hotel, because Patrick wasn’t feeling very well :S. The next day he already felt a little bit better so we went on a city walk. Here some highlights...



Ho Chi Minh City Hall


Cathedral Notre Dame


Ho Chi Minh City traffic, once you’re used to it, it’s not that busy :)


Thunderclouds building up above HCMC


To get away from the rain we had to go up to the rooftop garden of the Rex Hotel :P


Drinks @ the rooftop garden of the Rex


Nice flower in the park


Another nice flower in the park


Ho Chi Minh City Hall @ night


That day we also went to the War Memorial Museum. This was a very impressive museum, also because a lot of Vietnamese people still know what happened, because they have lived the war. But I was really impressed by seeing the medals donated by “William Brown, SGT.” saying he was sorry and that he were wrong.


A very impressive sight in the War Memorial Museum. Made me think...

Later that evening we went to a very good French restaurant, but Patrick didn't feel so well, so after the starter he went back to the hotel and I finished the meal alone. Well, not completely alone, because a Belgian couple sat down next to me and I started chatting with them after a while. The evening ended with them bringing me on the back of their scooter (so with 3 people on it) to a nice and relaxing bar to have a final evening drink in Vietnam.

The next day we had to fly back and although the flight towards Vietnam was extremely exhausting due to the 34 hour delay, the returning flight was pretty nice (for me, Patrick was still feeling sick, so he wasn't completely happy :S).

When I just returned from Vietnam I thought it wasn't a very good vacation, but now looking back at it, it was a pretty amazing country and I would go back there someday, the only thing that should be better is the weather.

Cheers!
]]> Personal, Travel http://www.drentsemoi.nl/index.php?entry=entry110718-225945 Drentsemoi Mon, 18 Jul 2011 20:59:45 GMT http://www.drentsemoi.nl/comments.php?y=11&m=07&entry=entry110718-225945 http://www.drentsemoi.nl/index.php?entry=entry110517-225605
Early in the morning we went on the bus to Mui Né, during this trip we still had some bad weather, but once the bus stopped in Phan Thiet the clouds disappeared and the sun really started to shine! This was of course very good for our moods and our energy! Our first goal, go to our resort and get a cool and refreshing drink! When we entered the resort we thought we were dreaming... This was the first hotel/resort that didn’t have to ‘Photoshop’ the pictures they put on the internet! Everything was great and the view from our balcony was almost too good to be true (although we didn’t spend much time on our balcony).



The view from our balcony :)


Swimming pool by night



Swimming pool at night with the lights turned on


After enjoying the view from our balcony we tried to get a map of the area, but once we got a map we saw that it was just one road, so no possibility of getting lost :). We did however found out that it was an incredibly long road. So after walking for about 6 km we decided that it was time to have something to eat, we went to ’Rung’, which means Forrest. The taste of the food was very good here, but most likely the fish wasn’t that good :S. Because at the end of the evening I was suddenly sick :S. It wasn’t until the next evening that I was feeling a bit hungry again, which is a very good sign for me ;). But I hated it, ok I always do... Especially when it is more or less the first beautiful day outside :(.

On the second day we rented 2 scooters for 4 days, so we weren’t dependent on the busses/taxis. The first stop was of course the gas station, because our scooters were running low from the beginning. When the fuel tanks were filled, the first trip through the chaos of Vietnam started. Our first stop was ‘Ta Cu’, which is a pagoda and of course the very large statue of Buddha, with 10m high and 49m long it is one of the largest in South-East Asia!


Smaller Buddha statues on the way to one of the largest ones in SE Asia


This is the largest one...

After ‘Ta Cu’ we’re on our way to the highest lighthouse in Vietnam, ‘Ke Ga’. Now I think the people in the area of that village see a lot of foreign people. Everybody looked at us like it was the first time they saw people like us :). In the area of the lighthouse we also met a local ‘motor gang’ of some kind who wanted to make us go faster and kept driving with us for about 10 km :).


Look, it’s the lighthouse on the island, look at the size!!!

On our way back to Mui Né we went very slowly and enjoyed the environment, mostly sea views, and the freedom we had on our scooters!


Nice view of Phan Thiet


Promenade Mui Né during sunset. One of my favorite pictures during this vacation!

The next day we got on our scooters again to go to the red and white sand dunes. The red sand dunes were closer than I expected, the sand was very red, but the dunes weren’t very nice :(. We didn’t really like them, so we quickly continued to go and find the white sand dunes! It was an exercise to get to the white sand dunes and once we got there it was the middle of the day and it was just to hot to do anything. Therefore we sat down on the terrace of the bar near the lake. The only thing I missed in this setting was a sandwich of ‘Grandma from Curacao’. After spending some time on the white sand dunes we wanted to get something to eat, but it was quite difficult to get something to eat in that area, so we headed back towards our resort to have a wonderful late lunch!


Near the red sand dunes


The White Sand dunes


This is the spot where we got away from the sun with a nice cool glass of water


Our lovely late lunch at our resort!

Next time the last part of Vietnam.

To be continued.
Cheers!
]]> Personal, Travel http://www.drentsemoi.nl/index.php?entry=entry110517-225605 Drentsemoi Tue, 17 May 2011 20:56:05 GMT http://www.drentsemoi.nl/comments.php?y=11&m=05&entry=entry110517-225605