It was a scorcher of a day, but that didn’t stop us from boarding a bus in Mui Ne and hiking a hill to visit an ancient temple this side of Vietnam. I have absolutely no inkling that this country has an almost Angkorian architecture within its lands; a very nice surprise, to say the least.

TOURING DIY IN MUI NE

We just finished the usual Mui Ne itinerary of visiting the White and Red Sand Dunes, the Fairy Steam, and its fishing village the day before. We didn’t do it DIY though, we simply hopped on a five-dollar Mui Ne half day tour. This time, we scanned the map provided by Joe’s Seaside Boutique where we were staying and circled a few more spots worth visiting. We’re definitely doing it DIY.

Without extra cash to spare for a quad bike, we trudged across the cream-colored dunes of Mui Ne on foot like Fremen looking for Melange. It was harder than expected, our feet sinking on the soft sand every step we took. A few meters of walking left us panting; and we planned on going all the way to the top of a huge dune, which might as well be a universe away. Still, the view was absolutely out of this world, I could not imagine a country like Vietnam having landscapes like these.

Wanting to see the sights in town with the least bit of effort, we booked our Mui Ne half day tour on one of the many tour companies along the town’s main drag. We closed our deal at VND120,000.00 (USD5.25 | PHP270.00) for each of us. It was a group tour and we’d have a couple of companions along with us on an open jeep, but for the price and its inclusion, it was quite cheap!

My promise to see the sunrise at Mui Ne happened on our very last day in Mui Ne. Three days had passed with my alarm raging through the early hours of the morning and me killing it off as soon as I can—and then back to dreamland. We were just too exhausted for a very early morning reverie even if the sea was just outside our doorstep.

MUI NE IS OUR SECOND STOP IN VIETNAM

Mui Ne, a beach tourist town five hours northeast of Saigon was our second stop on our three-week Vietnam escapade during our Same Same Summer Trip. After spending a couple of nights in Ho Chi Minh, we bought our Vietnam Open Bus tickets for the whole leg of our Vietnam tour at Sinh Tourist for a measly VND835,000.00 (USD36.75 | PHP1,878.75) then proceeded to Mui Ne without a hitch.

CHECKING IN AT JOE’S SEASIDE BOUTIQUE RESORT

We arrived in town a few minutes after the sun lowered itself down the horizon and were promptly dropped off at Joe’s Seaside Boutique Resort. It was gonna be our home for three nights in Mui Ne and we were just glad it was conveniently located right by the town road.

COTTAGES RIGHT BY THE SEA

Checking in at their open-aired lobby cum café, we were led to a stone path bordered by square flagstone-walled cottages with red clay roof to the far-most one right by the sea. We could hear the soft waves lapping on the shore, but it was too dark to see what the beach looked like then.

OUR SPACIOUS VILLA

Our villa has its own veranda, so we deposited our backpacks there while we took photos of the interiors. The room is huge for two persons [CHECK DISCOUNTED RATES & AVAILABILITY]. Sprawled on a corner is a queen-size bed, adjacent to it is a mini living area with plush sofas, and across it is a cabinet that serves as storage area and flatscreen TV stand. Near the entrance, our room holds a mini kitchen of sorts, a few more storage cabinets, and a spacious toilet and bath.

WITH AN EXTREMELY SPACIOUS TOILET AND BATH

LOVING THE PAINTINGS

The room is spartanly decorated, the floors finished with clay tiles and the walls painted in light tones. The only décor are the poster-like paintings hanging on the walls and funky stickers with labels and reminders for guests. We were told later that the owner has an unhealthy obsession with stickers (so very like us, lol!).

OUR DAILY MEALS AT THE BANH MI STALL ACROSS THE RESORT

There really wasn’t much left to do in Mui Ne by the time we arrived. The only thing left, really, was dinner. There are a lot of seafood restaurants, which locals refer to as Bờ kè, in town, but it was quite a walk away from our place. So what we did, we went for second best; banh mi and pho, which we found on a small roadside stall right across Joe’s Seaside Boutique.

But it wasn’t second best at all. The lone lady manning the stall serves a mean banh mi sandwich; quite possibly the best one we’ve had during our trip. This became our go to place whenever hunger pangs hit us.

COMPLIMENTARY BREAKFAST SET MEALS

The next day shone brightly. It was way past sunrise when we rose, and after a late breakfast of very creamy banh mi and piping hot pho bo at the resort’s seaside restaurant, we visited Joe’s sister resort, Joe’s Café. It was just a couple of minutes away from our place.

JOE’S CAFE, SEASIDE BOUTIQUE’S SISTER RESORT

It also faces the sea, has its own pool, and a much larger café which turns into a bar during the evenings—complete with musicians belting out relaxed acoustic covers. The place is much smaller but their accommodations are much more rustic.

BOOKING A TOUR TO SEE THE WHITE SAND DUNES

On our way back, we dropped by a tour agency and booked a daytour around Mui Ne for VND180,000.00 (USD7.90 | PHP405.00). We could’ve done this DIY by commuting—there are cheap regular buses that ply the town’s main road—if not for the White Dunes, which was really too far away if you don’t have a motorbike with you.

HIGH TIDE AT JOE’S BEACH AREA

TRANQUIL ATMOSPHERE INSIDE THE RESORT

THE BEACH NEAR JOE’S SEASIDE BOUTIQUE RESORT

POOL AREA, WE SWAM ON OUR LAST DAY

Lounging around the resort while waiting for our tour to commence—we booked that same day—we thought of enjoying the pool or swimming at the beach, but with less than an hour left, we decided to don our swimwear for another day.

TOURING AROUND MUI NE

And soon, we were walking along the shallow waters of Fairy Stream, admiring the plethora of traditional round basket boats at the Mui Ne fishing village, stumbling across the vast slopes of the White Sand Dunes, and continuing it at the Red Sand Dunes in time for sunset. It was a fun but exhausting day that again led to a no-sunrise morning the next day.

ONE OF THE RUINS OF CHAM TOWER

Wanting to save some Dong the next day, we circled off places we’d want to visit and asked help from the front desk on how to achieve this without joining a tour. It turned out to be pretty easy. We boarded a bus after breakfast and were soon wandering around the ruins of Cham Towers. We then dropped by a few beaches in the area, gate-crashing a resort in the process, and finally had a very late lunch at Mui Ne’s bo ke seafood area.

Again, we were knackered by the time we reached Joe’s. But since it was our last night in Mui Ne, I added additional alarms on my phone. I really wanted to see the sun rise from the sea from this side of the world.

SUNRISE AT MUI NE, AT LAST

And at last, I managed to wake even before the alarms started going off.

I went outside our cottage and was greeted by an exceptionally calm but fiery morning. The water was like glass, mirroring the intensity of oranges radiating from the rising sun. On the horizon, silhouttes of tree layers played as background to fisherfolks on their round basket boats; some casting and hauling in nets, a few quietly rowing about. I promptly took off my shirt, walked towards the shore, and joined Mui Ne’s glorious morning.
~ JOE’S SEASIDE BOUTIQUE HOSTED OUR THREE-DAY STAY IN MUI NE. VIEWS & OPINIONS, ALL MINE

 

Joe’s Seaside Boutique Resort
Address: 74 Nguyen Dinh Chieu Street, Ham Tien Ward, Phan Thiet, Vietnam
Contact Number: (+84 25) 2384-7271
Email: joesseasidemuine@gmail.com
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GPS Coordinates Map: 10.950871, 108.210278
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