Before getting here I spent one day/night in Nha Trang, a big beach city. It's all a bit of a blur after another hellish 12 hour "sleeper" bus ride, which I'm now affectionately calling the "Roach-coach", because yes there were tiny little cockroaches running around on the floor... And this time I was on the ground level. Ugh. Thank God for the new sleeping sheet I bought in Hoi An to keep me somewhat protected. I'm so glad I never have to do that again! Anyway, after arriving at my hotel around 7am, too early to check in, I was whisked away to the Thap Ba Hot mudbath spa, where I sat in a tub full of mud for 20 minutes, then a mineral water tub soak for 45 mintues, followed up by a full boday massage. A great way to get over the horrific previous 12 hours.
It's hard to believe that I've been away for just over a month now. I have definitely been taking my time through Vietnam, keeping to the typical tourist path, although now I'm feeling rushed to get to through Cambodia and into Laos.
Mui Ne is not really a town, more of a strip of hotels and resorts along the beach. It's full of wind and kite surfers. It's a really nice change of pace from the rest of Vietnam. No relentless horns, clouds, people trying to sell you stuff or give you a ride somewhere. It's quiet here and the air feels cleaner. Hopefully, doing some good for my lungs/throat, which now I can't tell if I'm getting better or just getting used to sounding like I'm in a continuous state of puberty (if I were a guy).
The beaches here go on for miles and miles. They are beautiful... if you can overlook the garbage that either is dropped on the beach or washes up on shore. The Vietnamese aren't ones for the environment, throwing their garbage off their boats or out their car door windows (the highways are littered with gargage. The roadside vegetation looks like it's been decorated with plastic bags like a Christmas Tree, it's disgusting). It's a shame really because it could be sooo beautiful.
This morning was definitely a moment of am I really here? Some days it's painfully obvious and others it's like a dream, like today. I got up and watched the sunrise, relaxed on the beach, read (on the 4th book of the trip already), had a relaxing lunch, read some more... rough day.
Oh and I've started doing the self-pic from each city and getting over how dumb I feel doing it because when you're traveling on your own you don't get in lot of the shots, obviously, and not that I really want to be anyway but... here's the beginning of them! And don't mind the hat... I look terrible in hats. The one I took with me my sister told me it was the ugliest hat she'd ever seen so now I can't bear to wear it. Don't know about this one either but it was necessary for the boat trip I took that day.
More soon....
xoxo
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