We arrived there by bus in the week long holiday of Tet (Lunar New Year) with a tentative guesthouse booking, which we didn't trust at all, and an optimistic plan to check into the nearest place we found. It turns out Mui Ne is completely packed over the holiday and after a sweaty walk to well over 30 full guesthouses we thought we'd give our original booking a shot. Unbelievably they'd saved our room even without a deposit. Chuffed we were!
The town is world famous for kite surfing, and on a breezy day you can see hundreds of kites over the sea each attached to a happy little Russian adrenaline junky. To learn ourselves was a bit too much of a strain on the dwindling moneys so we went for a slightly more frugal windsurfing lesson instead. It's really difficult. I never really got the hang of the yoga-like balance control it requires but Kath managed some smooth sailing between some hilarious flops. Unfortunately our second lesson was called off due to lack of wind which is apparently quite useful for windsurfing.
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| Kite surfers sure be crazy |
Each morning in Mui Ne we could roll out of bed, grab a fruit salad and have a dip in the sea so we got tempted into stopping for a few extra days. How could we fill our days though? Oh yeah, with ostrich riding! Well, that didn't actually take that long - but it was weird and fun and only a tiny bit guilt inducing. Then there was the staple of beach towns everywhere; mini-golf. This time an awesome-hat-required tropical version. We also went sand-sledging on the Red Sand Dunes in the north of town, which is like snow-sledging where instead of getting cold and damp you get hot and sand in your pants.
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| Kath over par and still smiling |
Even further north there are the White Sand Dunes - notably more white and less red than the Red Sand Dunes. This little desert area is quite popular for cheesy Vietnamese pop videos because it's incredibly beautiful and serene when you're not riding a quad bike through it. Which we did. We didn't dare go as fast as some crazy Vietnamese children though! There is just no health and safety here at all...
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| So fun |
We took some time for a little culture so cycled up to see some serious looking Champa towers which are remnants of a civilization that was wiped out by the Khmer and Vietnamese a long time ago. Not too much is known about the civilization as they wrote stuff down on leaves which didn't weather too well. Near the Red Sand Dunes is a fishing village that manages to be amazing by its size and weirdness. The sea here is full of tub-like fishing pods which are occasionally rowed about by a fisherperson with huge nets, somehow avoiding getting themselves tangled up like a kitten in wool.
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| Fishing village, Champa tower and a cow road block |
One of the biggest inspirations for coming to Vietnam, or traveling in the first place was the Vietnam Top Gear special where Clarkson and crew buy mopeds and ride up the coast road. This episode must have sailed a thousand Honda Wins, but we couldn't get travel insurance to cover us on motorbikes, so we settled on a new plan; bicycle touring!
To prepare, we got a bus back to Saigon which was rather more busy now the Tet holiday was over. Crossing the road in the city is an experience in itself; you have to walk through the traffic like a stone in a river - letting the figurative water filter either side of you. Although never go near a moving bus. Those things are nuts.
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| Enjoying Saigon's weird keep fit machines, make your own spring rolls, cool little alleyways and confused looking telecom engineers! |
We got a month extension each on our visas which thankfully only cost $56 in total, so this would give us 5 or 6 weeks to try and get as far north as possible (can always stick a bicycle on a train). The problem is, bicycle touring is not a big thing here as Vietnamese people sensibly use mororised transport to lug stuff about. The bicycles here are usually, at most, 7 speed city bikes and not suitable for long distance travel. Therefore, we had to bodge stuff together from all over the city on a pretty tight budget.
After much getting lost due to slightly innacurate free city maps, we found a few places that sold suitable gear, did lots of price checking and research and eventually bought the following:
- Martin 107 in District 3 sold us two Asama Cross LX hybrid bicycles ($225 each). The suspension isn't great but each has mudguards, 21 gears, a rack and good brakes. Also they came with free ponchos to keep our luggage dry and a spare innertube (actually that cost $2).
- CAT (across the road) sold us a bunch of gear like helmets ($25 each), rear lights, combination lock, multi-tool (including chain tool), pump, puncture repair kit, bottle cages and a saddle bag.
- The upmarket and expensive Saigon Cycles in District 7 was surprisingly understocked. However, we both bought much needed padded bicycle shorts ($35 each) and a couple of bungee cords. A motorbike mechanic actually gave us another free bungee cord later that day as well.
- Saigon Square market in District 1 turned out to be good for a man's long sleeved sports top and sports bras.
- The tourist Ben Thanh market in District 1 sold us a good quality headtorch in case we got stuck stuck out at night.
- The Russian market, also in District 1, was fantastic for getting a good quality small cycling rucksack and a woman's long sleeve wicking top.
- Artbook, again in District 1, had a decent, albeit expensive, road map.
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| We were considering a tandem tour but we didn't because... we didn't want to. |
We were relieved to find that our main backpacks fit perfectly onto the bike rack provided so no panniers were necessary. These backpacks have definitely been one of our favourite travel items. They are both Osprey Farpoint 40l bags which handily open like a suitcase for easy packing, fit into both airline overhead storage and under your seat on a crowded bus - and now, with the straps zipped away neatly, they fit on the back of a bicycle. We really love our bags.
In total the preparation cost us about $350 each (about £210) but hopefully it will be an investment for an interesting and challenging adventure that is different to the usual travellers route. As a symbol of our new adventurous spirit, and to save quite a bit of weight, we left our Lonely Planet book in Saigon as we pedalled off into the sunrise.
- Jon
Hi Jon and Kath. I'm sure you could write your own, much more amusing, lonely planet guides. I'm both informed and tremendously chuckle-ated at the same time. Please keep writing this stuff.
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