Spectacular Sand Dunes of Mui Ne

On the bus to Mui Ne we pass rural villages and farms. The farmers live in small one-storey concrete houses and in general, the Vietnamese don't care too much about indoor living (probably due to lifestyle and tropical climate). In the 2 guesthouses we've stayed at, the families all sleep in 1 room, but are outside the rest of the day. For children there is no privacy, solitude, or having your own room (or space) like we have in the U.S. The computer and dining table is in a communal area and I think kids feel more support (a.k.a. not so alone) and respect their elders more. In Vietnamese Buddhism they try to reach enlightenment, but in addition worship their ancestors. You see many Vietnemese children helping their grandparents walk down the street. The Vietnamese-American author, Andrew Pham comments on Vietnamese culture stating, "His culture. Vietnamese. Honor. Obligations. Respect. I hated it all." He was beat up in 1998 when returning to Vietnam (where he was born) on vacation because he escaped and they called him "Viet-kieu." Andrew left Vietnam after the war with his family and moved to USA where he was successful. People would say to him, "You Viet-Kieu think you're better than everyone else don't you!" Thus the people who remained in Vietnam (especially those in the rural areas) called him a traitor, wouldnt speak to him, only allowed him to stay at certain hotels, and did not allow him to ride the train with a Vietnamese ticket(even though he was born in Vietnam and lived their until he was 13 years old). He wrote a good book about his journey on his bike from Saigon to Mui Ne (pictured here) and up to Nha Trang to Hoi An.

This is a true Vietnamese beach resort town with not many foreign tourists and is quiet. Mui Ne is a good place to kite surf, wind surf, and chill on the beach eating seafood at Lam Dong Restaurant. There is a fishing village (above) at the edge of town where people escaped in long-tail boats to Malaysia and Thailand after the war, including Andrew Pham. My favorite activity though was going in a jeep to the sand dunes and walking in the warm Fairy Stream (above).

Check out the nail designs (left)!!! The best manicure in the world is in Mui Ne, Vietnam!