Finally. Finally. After more than six weeks of no sea, beach in sight, finally here we are. I have waited for this for such a long time. Love the sea. Love it! The weather is gorgeous, not a single cloud in the sky, the sun inviting! I could stay here forever!

We get off the bus, take a moto to one of the hotels. It is now around 14:00 hours. The price is agreeable, I even manage to bargain some and we only pay $6 per person per night. Including beach-side swimming pool. After we settle in I put on my trunks and rush to the sea. So beautiful. So warm. So salty. I missed you soo much. I walk around the narrow beach, tanning while I can. Enjoying the tranquillity of the area.

Large, about 1m wicker baskets are pulled up on the sand. Fishing time is in the early morning hours, or at night. A few of them still linger in the waters, with a single paddle tied to the back, the fisherman propels his float by making little circular movements. His buddy pulls in the net from behind. Old couples are mending the nets in the shade of palm trees. Locals are fishing with the most primitive of rods, the fishing reel a tin can. So relaxed, so laid back; this place has conquered my heart instantly.

And there is really nothing to do here. Just laze. Lie down on the beach, or by the swimming pool. Catch up on reading, writing, enjoying beautiful Vietnam. Thank god the weather has been absolutely amazing all four days we've been here. Four days of absolutely doing nothing - except for motor biking. Ok, I lie. I couldn't help myself and went jogging for a few kilometres in the early morning twice. I felt so clean afterwards. In a whole of six weeks I haven't done any sports really. Nothing. And a single rock-climbing session doesn't count. My body knew it. It needed it. Blissful muscle-aches were my reward :)

You really don't want to go look for any activities here. The first night we went for dinner, we walked for more than an hour to find a restaurant that wasn't completely empty. Where is everybody? This is supposed to be the relaxing place for 11 million people from Saigon; plus countless tourists. And yet, it's completely dead. There was only a single hooker. Even she was relaxed. This happened the second night when we took bicycles to find food. We only had two bikes, I'm in the back of Remko's bike, and Chang - Michel's insta-friend - on Michel's. As I look around I see an attractive Asian girl waving at me, so I wave back. We stop at multiple places to look at the menu and as we leave one, I see her walking on the other side of the road. We wave again. After dinner we see her again, and wave. But so enthusiastically that I start to doubt myself. Maybe I know her, or she knows me? So I walk up to her asking why she's waving, and "Do we know eachother?" "Yes", comes the replies, "I see you on bike today". Ah, great, so we don't know eachother. Completely ruining the atmosphere the girl utters a silenced "Do you want me?" Dammit, why do they have to be prostitutes?

On Tuesday the 17th of August we venture on bikes again. Mũi Né has a most interesting phenomenon: giant sand dunes reaching into the sea. We decide to visit them, but not with a tour. On motorbikes. And it was the best idea in Vietnam we've - well, I - had so far. We rent three bikes, Chang with Michel again and set out around nine in the morning. Hardly have I ever seen such a gorgeous coastal road in my life. Perhaps I could compare it to St. Tomassino in Italy, but that would hardly do it justice. It is warm, clear skies, beautiful tropical white beaches caressed by the sea and an almost deserted coastal road. In perfect condition. A biker's dream. We speed up the coast, stop occasionally for photographs, amazed at the view. Small, coastal fisher villages are buzzing with activity, sardines are laid out on the sides of the road to dry, their salty fish-odour truly bringing the experience home. So amazing!

We speed past the red sand dunes, in search for ones further up north. The white dunes (there is also yellow) are the biggest and most beautiful. After getting lost a few times, following crazy Russians on a jeep and struggling through a sandy dirt-road we finally arrive. It is now around eleven in the morning and the sand really starts to heat up. My sandals are barely enough to keep the scorching heat away. We walk past a beautiful blue lake, some food-stalls, annoying vendors and suddenly find ourselves in front of sand. Just dunes and dunes of sand. You can see the air trembling above, the dunes so pristine it seems they've been just formed yesterday. At the top the view is tremendous and thank god a bit cooler because of a slight breeze. Looking east the South China Sea invites lovingly, just below the dunes is a large sweet water lake, its banks filled with lilies and more dunes to the north. The crazy Russian family quite some distance away. Nobody else around. Beautiful!!

Unfortunately we have to go back as Chang's bus leaves in the early afternoon. But it was definitely worth it. The ride is blissful, pushing the heat from our minds. As Chang hops on the bus, we get back on our bikes, and go back north in search of some of the deserted beaches to explore. For good measure - just as in Kota Kinabalu - I do the most scenic and hilly part of the route a few more times. Because it's so enjoyable to drive :). Everywhere you go in Vietnam you have to leave your bike at a guarded parking lot as crime is a big problem. But there are none here, so we push the bikes down onto the beach. Michel instantly flattens out in the sand, asleep. I go for a swim and practice summersaults. He, you gotta do something. Sunset is a few hours away and we are intent on seeing it on the nearby red sand dunes.

Getting the bikes back on the road is hell. The three of us huff and puff to push a single one up. Thank god these are small bikes, and not proper ones or we'd still be stuck here. The red dunes are crap as we rightly feared the first time we passed them. Full of obnoxious vendors, tourists. It is not only small but also every bit has been stepped on, giving the appearance of a lanky beach. Oh well, sunset wasn't good anyways as it disappeared quite some time ago behind the clouds ever present to the west. It has been a beautiful day! With a nice sunburn...

In the evening another familiar face shows up. Walking into the same restaurant as we are having dinner is Tali. Incredible. She tells us stories of horror. After Phnom Penh she left for the south of Cambodia Sinoukhville saying she can't just visit two places in a country. I agreed with her then, but we were pressured for time. Fortunately, she hated the place. Boring, ugly town, open sewage flowing into the sea. Good. We didn't miss much then :)

We see Tali again the next day as she comes to visit us - or our swimming pool? - at our hotel and we chat up some more. A last beach day and Mũi Né sea for me. The bus to Nha Trangh leaves at two in the afternoon. We'll arrive in the evening hours and then take the overnight train to Hội An the next day.