After a 4-5 hour bus journey we arrived in the beautiful town of Mui Ne. We had booked in the backpackers hotel and (as we were dropped off directly outside by the bus) we were met by the Australian owner, John. We were taken to our ocean view room and left to settle in. The room had a curtain separating the bed from the shower and toilet.... I went for a little walk to the beach front (about 10 steps away from the room) to read my book whilst lee went the toilet.... Then we had a stroll down the beach. It was full of Kitesurfers. It looked amazing. Some took off as they turned and the wind lifted them from the sea. We had a drink in a gorgeous place called sankara. It had a beach front deck, beds, cushioned booths, a pool and a bar. It was draped with linen and looked beautiful. I was in my element, Lee was even enjoying the sand, sea and sun! There was a nice breeze that kept you cool...
We went for a stroll along the street and ended up hiring a moped. We jumped on, donned some beautiful helmets and fixed our sunglasses in place. Oh yep we looked cool!!!! We drove past a fishing village, past some orange sand dunes, through the bumpiest road to a gorgeous lake right next to white sand dunes. We left the bike to chill out with a cocunut (correctly priced may I add) then noticed you could climb the sand dunes and boogie board down. The cocunuts got ditched and we rented a board (lee was fuming at the cost for and i qoute 'a crappy piece of plastic' ha ha) .... So we hiked up the sand dunes with our 1 boogie board! Not an easy task. It was like being back at Glastonbury, in the sticky thick mud, having to drag your leg for the next step as the other sinks. We got to the top and it looked a ling way down. Lee dove on the board to slide down the dune.... It sank! I thought it was to do with the distribution of weight and sugested expanding our surface area... Yeah I sank?! Pfft after Lee trying to surf down standing I attempted the board-less side roll. I came back up the dune to Lee planking on the next dune over..... We were both covered in sand so decided to call it a day and headed back to the hotel to get showered and changed. We asked John, the hotel owner, where to eat and he suggested somewhere on the beach front called Bo De. We found, once we'd got there, it had the seafood swimming in tanks at the front of the restaurant. You literally picked what you wanted and off it went on the BBQ. I ordered see food rice. It's weird, I didn't feel cruel eating the huge shrimps? Lee went for barracuda :( the food was delightful. I've kinda got used to people begging - it happens everywhere - but I was a little shocked when I went to look out to the sea, as I ate and a little boy popped up from the railings?! I'd say 'where are these children's parents' but before I'd had chance I'd turn to the table and a little girl, no older than 4, was holding, what looked like, her 'blind' grandads hand leading him table to table to beg?!
Once we'd eat we went looking for a bar. I needed the toilet so I followed the sign for WC... Erm that's a lie! It most definitely was not suitable for a lady! It had 4 sides of corrugated iron... That's it?! It was basically a more discreet way to piddle on the street! We saw a bar called Oceans Republic so nipped in. We were greeted by an Austrian/ German/Mexican (well travelled) man drinking at the bar. He invited us and the couple who came in the bar the same time as us to drink with him. I drank the last part to his bottle of wine whilst Lee got a white russian. Then it was by one get one free on the cocktails so the German bar tender(and owner of the bar) decided to create a mystery cocktail for us 'if you don't like, you don't pay' Lee loved his mojito I no like my grapefruit concoction. So he made something else which I drank and drank and drank... Then Lee told everyone (including our new friends - a Texas lady and her French boyfriend) it was my birthday at midnight... The countdown began and the whiskey (the well travelled man was now drinking straight) came out! It turns out the well travelled man owned a kitesurfing school. He was really friendly but absolutely bonkers! At the stroke of midnight every1 had to tilt their heads back whilst he aimed for your mouth (eyes, nose and face) gross!!! Not long after that I woke up in bed the next day with Lee telling me I'd fell asleep on the 'bathroom' floor.