Mui Ne

This weekend I had some unexpected time off, so I took my first real trip outside of the city. On Saturday afternoon, I caught a sleeper bus to the beach town of Mui Ne, which is about 200 km to the Northeast. Mui Ne is not one of those iconic Southeast Asian beach paradises, but is known more as a weekend getaway. So for my intents and purposes, it was perfect.

I’ve been told that Mui Ne is like, a mediocre beach town in Vietnam… okay.  

I met up with some of my friends who had been staying at a place called LongSon Resort Hostel. This hostel was my favorite ever. Instead of sleeping in a dormitory-style room, you can rent a tent for $4.00 a night. And if you get too hot when the sun rises, then you just go nap on a beanbag or mattress in one of the shaded bungalow lounges.

The place is fairly isolated and away from the buzz of town, so there’s no danger of night intruders or people trying to snatch your stuff. The location is prime and the ambience is splendid. Even though we were not on an island, the atmosphere had that really laid-back vibe that I’ve always associated with the Caribbean - come and go as you like, but let’s hang out while you’re here. Both nights I ended up passing out around a campfire of vagabond travelers.

Oh, and the best thing of all – no bugs! I didn’t use any insect repellent all weekend and I came back completely unscathed. Not sure how this is possible given the tropical climate, but I’m definitely not going to go looking for them. So anyways, there's no humor or reflection in this post, my only point is that I’d recommend this place in a heartbeat. Really great, refreshing weekend.