Day 6: Vung Tau to Mui Ne. Ouch.

 

Kilometres: 188
Total kilometres: 470
Bellies full of Vietnamese pancakes, we began the long haul from Vung Tau to Mui Ne. After driving for what seemed like ages, we consulted the GPS and realised that we had barely budged. It appeared that we were in for a long day.
But at least it was a long beautiful day. The route that we chose to take (the Southeast Loop on the Vietnam Coracle) was traffic free with stunning beach views. Cow crossings were a regular occurrence and the children that were guiding the herds enthusiastically shouted their English greetings as we rode past.

 

 

La Gi was our half-way point and we revived ourselves with a hearty lunch. “John the chicken” was on the menu, but instead we ordered some sort of delicious lemongrass curry thing. Post-lunch, we made a quick stop at a breathtaking Pagoda, and started the second leg of our journey to Mui Ne.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Right around the 120 kilometer mark, exhaustion was setting in. This was also the point when the sky opened and things became very, very wet. And windy. Remnants of Typhoon Rammasun, as it turned out. Luckily, the beach roads continued to be very quiet, lined with rice paddies, ocean views and dragon fruit orchards. At one such orchard, we stopped for a taste and Josh was very popular with the giggling ladies operating the roadside stand.

 

 

 

 

The rain continued and reaching Phan Thiet. I decided that I’d very much like to be done for the day. But we pushed on the extra 25 kilometers to Mui Ne and arrived at the Mui Ne Hills resort. We picked the cheapest room which was reminiscent of a cabin on a cruise ship. However, like a cruise ship, the common spaces make it totally worth while. We arrived with 45 minutes of happy hour remaining and indulged in a few much needed G&Ts by a gorgeous pool overlooking the town. The heavy tropical showers appeared to have dampened the nightlife, but we ventured out for a walk on the beach and collapsed back at the ranch.