Vietnam 2 : Mui Ne & Da Lat

Trekking in Da Lat

11-14 Jan 2018
We snuck out of Thanh’s flat in District 2 pre-dawn to catch the 06.40 train from Saigon to Phan Thiet (3.5hours) and then taxi onto Mui Ne.

Coffee outside Saigo train station at dawn

We spent four lovely days relaxing in the tranquil haven of Mia Resort and, thanks to Thanh’s connection with Mia, we were upgraded to a beautiful bungalow. Mia has the nicest, friendliest staff we’ve ever encountered. A serious treat staying here.

Mia Resort’s immaculate gardens: our bungalow is hidden away on the right

But, most importantly, this was the opportunity to break my wind curse (see Morocco blog Oct 2017) and test out Mui Ne’s famed kitesurfing beach.

Yeehaa - a strong wind appeared the first afternoon and I counted 145 kite along the 3km sandy beach! The hotel conveniently has a kite school a mere 30m from the swimming pool so I struggled off my sun bed and rented kit by the hour from the very helpful & friendly kite team.

For those interested in the specifics:

Day 1: I managed an hour with a 9m kite
Day 2: 1.5hrs - 8m kite. 35km/h wind, Force 5++ with a large, testing swell
Day 3: 2.5hrs - 8m kite; slightly overdid it/ could hardly walk that evening!
Day 4: I attempted to get out past the big shore dump underpowered on a 12m & 10m kite and got properly wiped out three times, so retired gracefully and happy not to have injured myself (blistered hands and aching muscles aside)!

Note large swell; Mui Ne is not a flat water destination.

Happy Chris! (And thanks Jess for photos!)

We ate out each night on Mui Ne’s long Main Street, with the highlight being Mr Crab 2 as recommended by Thanh. A street side restaurant where you pick your live shellfish by weight to be bbq’d or steamed, and then accompany with fries, beer and the ubiquitous chilli sauce. Doesn’t get any better.

Each morning we got up at dawn to walk/ jog down the beach and then swim in the pool in an attempt to work up a big enough appetite for the huge breakfast buffet!

Dawn fishermen with coracles & nets

Last afternoon on Mui Ne: zoom in to see the kites.

Mon 15 January : Da Lat
We caught a bus from Mui Ne to Da Lat, booked as usual on the excellent Vietnamese website BaoLau. However, in hindsight we made an error not starting our journey from Phan Thiet, because the only bus available from Mui Ne turned out to be ancient with creaking suspension on the undulating road for 3.5 hours - with the newer Phan Thiet buses blasting past us, and even the occasional moped zipping past too!

Our decrepit blue & white bus at the rest stop

We crossed over the hills into the Lam Dong province, leaving behind the striking sand dunes and watched the countryside switch to verdant agriculture - mainly coffee.

Coffee beans drying at roadside houses

Da Lat was bigger than we expected, and sits at 1,500m surrounded by pine tree clad hills. The French developed Da Lat as a cooler destination to escape to from Saigon back in the early 1900’s.
After checking into The Backpackers Hostel, we went for a long wander up to King Palace - the main abode of Bao Dai, Vietnam’s last emperor - who went into exile in 1954.

King Palace, Da Lat

Bao Dai & family 1939

We taxied down to the town centre, with a huge market area, and amusing flower sculptures celebrating Da Lat’s main export. The hills around the city are festooned with greenhouses full of flowers and fruit (mainly strawberries), and the cherry blossom was out - so hordes of people were posing for selfies.

Da Lat cathedral

Tuesday 16 Jan
We were collected by Dat from Groovy Geckos at 08.30 and driven 45mins out of the city to beautiful rolling pine hillsides for a 6-hour guided hike. Dat proved to be an excellent guide, leading us through the terraced coffee plantations, across shaky suspension bridges, and producing a sumptuous picnic lunch.

Coffee plantation and first bridge

Jess & Dat on the first suspension bridge

Jess negotiating the 2nd bridge with irregular planking!

Much of the path is used by farmers to transport produce etc on mopeds. One young boy passed us heading downhill with two large fertiliser sacks. We came across his bike a few bends later, embedded in rocks down a steep gully! He was lucky not to be hurt - and had gone to get assistance. He returned with the framer and five of us hauled his bike out - which amazingly started and was undamaged. He was noticeably cautious when we watched him cross the suspension bridge later!!