Muine Beach

writing this from Muine beach on the south east coast of Vietnam, looking out onto the south china sea, all that lies between here and LA is the Philippines.. the sea is the same temp as the air, hardly anyone else on the whole beach as it's the low season and we are staying at a lovely family-run resort. we came here for a few days after landing in Ho Chi Min city (Saigon) to get over the jet lag and acclimatise, it's been the perfect start to the 4 week trip.











We're staying in a small resort called 'chez nina' which is run by a good friend of Tim's mother Bich - for those of you who don't know Tim, he's one of my oldest friends and I've been working for his mother's company on and off since '99... she exports laquerware, bamboo and ceramic products from Vietnam & Cambodia. we've been planning a trip out here for years, tim's been four times previously so knows the deal and has enjoyed being the guide for once. we transferred through Bangkok (which is a MASSIVE concrete and glass si-fi structure with endless tunnels of duty-free shops, the carbon copy shops share their style with some in Vietnam, more on that later) and took a taxi straight through the city to a friend's house where we crashed out.

the jet lag was still in full effect when we went for dinner at a local roadside cafe for a simple and delious Won Ton soup, first served with rice then with noodles as the base. the soup or 'pho' as they call it (pronounced 'phir') could be seen as the basis for all Vietnamese food, most people here start the day early (5-6am)with a medium size bowl which keeps them going till lunch. the broth is boiling water withsimply shallots, lemon & chilli, to this white noodles and either beef or chickenm are normally added although there are many different varieties from North to South in Vietnam. here, you eat this from when you are a baby and you could see Pho as a metaphor for life here, you step into the 'soup' each day and are constantly surrounded by flavours!

the food gets better here with each meal, I could write pages describing the variety, especially the fish... safe to say Long Kee on Kingsland Road (one of the best vietnamese cafes in L'don) won't hold quite the same charm anymore!

the streets of Saigon are insane, we were not even out at rush hour and there were thousands of mopeds ('cyclos') screaming by from every angle, this is the case in every urban area in Vietnam, the cyclos (always Hondas) make up 95% of the traffic and the engine hum is constant 24/7. at first you stand in amazement and marvel at how few accidents occur, the flow of vehicles seems to glide by on autopilot. then you learn that the Vietnamese have been driving these since they were able to walk and you laugh at the Westerners who rent them, looking like rabbits in headlights, sweating, surrounded and scared for their life! Most women who ride wear both face masks (for the fumes) and long gloves covering their whole arms to keep their complexion clear. The men don't bother.




















crossing the road takes some courage at first, best to tag along with a local and trust in whichever God you believe in.. the cyclos move to avoid you rather than you dodging them, which you learn quickly. traffic lights are often flashing amber and they seem almost redundant. the constant sound of horns becomes serene after a while, used not in 'road rage' anger but simply to alert the person or vehicle nearest to the bike. we do not plan to rent a cyclo.


down here near the beach it's the polar opposite and we're very grateful for the chance to chill before heading back to Saigon in the morning. this area of coastline is one of the top 5 windsurf spots in the world, luckily it's the quiet season so the beach is peaceful. we've hardly left the resort as it has got the best food and is secluded.. most of the area seems built for tourists, save the odd fishing village. we share the resort with 7 dogs, including a huge Rottweiler who acts as the guard and 2 grumpy looking pitbull/boxer's (one of which can be seen below, lounging)
















in Saigon, we'll stay a couple of days to wander the city before starting our bus trip North to Hanoi. along the way we'll stop off in Nha Trang, Hoi An, Danang and Hue as it's a flexible ticket.. we hear the storms have passed in the north so we should be able to take a 2 day boat trip around Halong Bay before flying back south to Cambodia (Phong Phen).. we're hear for almost 4 weeks but I know that's gonna fly by so savouring each moment and taking many, many photos.. I'll write more as it happens..