little Russia

MuiNe boasts to be the lovliest veach in Vietnam. I am not impressed. Both beaches in the Philippines and Cambodia were MUCH nicer. It looks a bit more like a polish beach with yellow sand and warmer sea. There are lots of Kitesurfing schools to tempt me once again, and surprise: tons of Russians!! I am still to discover why they like this destination so much, but so far every sign, menu, literary everything is translated into Russian and you cannot walk past more than 4 people not to hear the language…

On Friday we rented scooters to go discover the famous dunes of red and white sand. Even though the road was straight we somehow managed to get lost anyway – women. But first we got to the fishing village with hundreds of colorful fishing boats crowding the shore. We got all the way down to the water where a bunch of local kids laughed at us and posed for the pictures. Also the guys working on the closest boat started posing before I even directed my camera at them – sooo funny :] It was nice to cruise around the narrow alleys between the shore and main street. In places like this where few white people go we were greeted with smiles and curious looks.

Later we set off to see the dunes. The red dunes were really red! Haha! Fiery color :] The whole landscape made me feel more like in African savannah than Asia, even though I’ve never been there this is how I imagine it. Looked amazing! But the white sand dunes were even better! We were directed by some local boys to a very secluded place. We were the only humans in maybe 2km range so we got to enjoy the beauty of white dunes in peace. It’s really hard to find a peaceful and really relaxing place in this part of the world (people seem to be swarming everywhere). Then we got on out motorbike and left to see the Lotus lake and slide down some more white dunes. The lake looked absolutely fabulous even without the blossoming flowers. Sliding down wasn’t as easy as we thought and the sand was burning. We still had lots of fun just experiencing the place. It actually looked more like what I imagine Saudi Arabia to look like – I mean the dunes. Just sand everywhere and occasional tourists riding their rented quads. The sun got really tiring so we made our way down to enjoy some coconut juice (straight from the nut) while relaxing in a hammock right at the water. Pure awesomeness! To finish the great day we watched the sunset at the fishing village and celebrated a full moon at the beach with bonfire and some great fire performances.

Today, it got really rainy in the morning, but that was fine as we took the bus ride to DaLat. The bus ride was quite enjoyable at the beginning when I had 2 seats for myself but when we passed through the mountainous area the ride got really bumpy. It was like a rollercoaster with everyone jumping up 10-20cm once in a while. At first it was funny but after a while it got really annoying when reading my book got difficult and myself feeling like a sack of potatoes. But the views were truly amazing we did get into town safe and sound.

I got a very good impression of DaLat. It is a well-developed town in mountainous area with confusing roads and hotels lining up everywhere. I already tried some really good local food (can’t remember the name though) and am about to purchase a “NorthFace” jacket for 20$ as it is quite chilly here. Silly me I packed very little warm clther thinking it’s as hot as the Philippines everywhere in SEA :P

One thing I really don’t like about this place is the omnipresent noise of honking. It was the same in Mui Ne and Saigon too and it is driving me crazy. Everyone is honking at everybody without a reason. Nobody seems to care but me. It’s really annoying…

p.s. all the new photos at http://picasaweb.google.com/smartainsea