Andre and Wendy: Moving to Mui Ne

Moving on to Mui Ne for 3 at Mui Ne beach resort. Don't expect it to be like a Mexican Beach resort but will see when we get there.

Went to breakfast at 7:30 and it was the same hot food that we had one day last week, noodles and BBQ chicken which I had and Wendy skipped the chicken. The croissants were very good here. I had cappuccinos from a machine and they were good. The Akoya was a pretty good hotel overall.

After breakfast we went to get the laundry we dropped off yesterday afternoon and since it was express service it was 39,000 dong instead of 30,000 per kilo. Don't mind paying $4.75 Canadian for 4.5 pounds of laundry all clean and folded. Added bonus is they pack it tight in a little parcel, very easy for packing today.

Decided to walk to the spot where you catch the shuttle that takes you to the bus terminal. We told that to the front desk girl and her and the security man said too hot too far. We get cab for you, less than a minute we were in a cab and 10 minutes later we were at the shuttle terminal for 35,000 Dong, less than 2 bucks and we did not have to walk with luggage for 1.5 kms. We now have over 1 hour to wait, so I walk around the block to take a few pictures and also grab a iced Vietnamese coffee ( like an espresso with condensed milk) We boarded the shuttle about 15 minutes early and took off, made one stop for 5 more people and a quick 20 minutes drive to the main bus terminal.

There must have been at least 200 busses at the terminal and not all of them were from FUTA bus lines. Found the FUTA front desk they had a digital board with departure times and bus numbers. We boarded a few minutes before 11 and took off on time. We picked windows 2 seats on the front right of the bus. This is a sleeper bus with seats that recline nearly flat, actually they are always reclined, but you can adjust the back. I took the front seat and they are not designed for anyone over 5 ft 8, so if you are tall skip the front row. The other ones seem to have another 12 inches of legroom. Wendy wouldn't trade with me, she has a good view of the road sitting behind me, my view is blocked by the bus helper seat, so she is afraid of getting motion sickness.

The sleeper buses are also 2 levels and the bus is full. We drove about 1 hour and picked up a bunch more people on the northwest side of HCM City. After 2 hours we were 15 kms and 40 minutes away from our hotel where we started as this route was not the shortest to Mui Ne. Lots of traffic and traffic lights. Shortly after that we hit better road and are making progress.

20 minutes into the drive Wendy is already is asleep, she either sleep or read her book, she found the trip not too long, I just looked around but could not really take pictures as the window was very dirty.

At the 3 hour mark of the ride, it is announced that we are stopping for a bathroom break of about 10 minutes, There are no toilets on the bus.

When you get on the bus they make you take off your shoes and give you a plastic bag to store your shoes in. We have just stopped for bathroom break and thought what a pain to put our shoes back on. No, you leave your shoes on the bus and they have a bin full of sandals as you exit the bus that you pull a pair out of for the bathroom break. Wendy is fine with the fit, my size 12 feet hang over by about 2 inches off the heal. Wendy tells me this is the first time she has seen the non western pit type toilets, but she is happy there was options for a typical western toilet as well. For me the urinal top was about in line with my private part, I had to aim downward.

We saw the end of a funeral as they were loading the casket into the hearse. They were dressed in a few we assume traditional clothing with a couple of monks and had trumpets or horn as well.

A second stop after 4 hours and 15 minutes. This one was much longer 20-25 minutes. We guess it was for those who wanted food. We had snacks so we did not get anything and we did not understand that it was going to be that long as when I asked the driver helper all he said was we are here.

I Took advantage of this time on the bus to write this morning activities and a list of my observation of our first week in Vietnam. Will post those later when I am finish writing them as I keep adding things to the list as I keep thinking of new things.

Made a couple of stops to drop off people before reaching Phan Thiet at 5PM. I was thinking we were almost at the resort but no. A few more stops along town before reaching the bus terminal at the far side of town about 30 minutes later (15 kms). We then hop on a the free shuttle that took us to the Mui Ne Beach Resort where we are spending the next 3 nights and got here at 6PM. A 7 hour bus ride altogether which would be around 4 1/2 hour drive by car. That's ok because there no way we are renting a car here and driving ourselves and hiring a car to drive us would be a over $100 at least, bus cost us about $20 for the 2 of us.

Checked in our room at the resort. A massive upgrade from Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) where we did not have windows for about the same price. Corner suite with ocean view and a balcony for around $60 Canadian a night. Easily as nice as a 5* in Mexico.

Relaxed a bit and went to supper around 7PM. Took a while to decide what to order as there was 199 menu items including dessert. We ordered a 5 colour mixed veg salad and an order of Fresh Spring Rolls (5). Very large portions. We had not ordered the main course as I could not decide. A good thing as we only order 1 marinated ginger chicken as a main course to share. I had 2 beers and Wendy a tonic water as they only had rum or vodka, no gin. The bill was 363,000 dong which is about $20.

Saw that happy hour was at the pool with 2 for 1, we ordered 2 drinks each and that was about $15. A cheap night out. I think the every guest in the hotel was at the pool bar happy hour, maybe 30 of us?

Todays pictures:

At the shuttle terminal