Off to the Beach!

After three days in Ho Chi Minh, I was ready for a change of scenery. Yes, the city has a buzz. Yes, there was free beer. And, who would want to miss the War Museum? Me! I would! It was a nightmare. Pictures of mutilated, malformed children and people who had limbs missing because of Agent Orange. The best room was where they displayed the Viet Nam War Protests from ALL OVER THE WORLD. I knew that Canada protested (and we were there on the wall!) but I didn't realize that SO many countries around the world had protested against the Americans in Vietnam. Dozens!

Of course, I had had draft-dodger friends who were escaping the war by coming into Canada, so I got to know what was going on and their reasons for avoiding the draft. I also met the brother of an American friend who was bound to a wheel-chair for the rest of his life on account of Vietnam. There were loads of repercussions from that pointless war. But, the past is the past. Let's leave it in the past.

So, I boarded the bus for a five-hour trip to the beach in Mui Ne! I no sooner got down with my little suitcase and roller carry-on bag than a lady called out to me from across the street! SHE HAD A ROOM and WHAT a room!

                                                                      My Sweet Little Digs!

 In fact, it was more than a room. It was a kitchen with a table and chairs and bathroom and then, in a separate room with a door that locked was the bedroom, complete with a big wardrobe, bedside table, TV and double bed! Ooooh lah, lah! There's even a fancy mosquito net hanging overhead and AIRCON! The cost? It was a million dong for three nights. That's about $15 US / night.


                                            Here's the beach... at the bottom of the stairs...

I feel right at home here. The water is SALTEE! That's probably a good thing. And the waves are forceful! The sky was full of hand-gliders pulling along brown-tanned tourists on their boogie boards.
I had to walk about a kilometer down the road before I could get at the actual beach without the stairs that go straight into the water. All the hotels along the beach have a set of stairs and then a wall between them and the next hotel that also has its own stairs all the way down to the water. To me, that's foolishness. It's really difficult to climb around or over every wall. (I tried and finally went out to the street and walked down to where the walls end! But, that was after taking a swim in one of the swimming pools at one of the hotels, which was a bit bleachy but not too bad.)

This is the cute little walk-way leading to my room at the Sea Winds Resort in Mui Ne

                     This is an orchid hanging on the wall outside of my quarters. I love orchids.


When I went swimming, I didn't take my camera, but there is a nice sandy beach here and huge waves that tossed me around like a cork and almost ripped my bathing shorts off! FUN.