We weaved across both sides of the road, missing trucks and other vans by a mater of inches, all the while our driver, Trang, had a very serene and contented look on his face. Oh the joy!
Around four hours drive up the coast form Ho Chi Minh, Mue Ni used to be a small resort town with a few thatched beach bars, away from the hustle and bustle of Vietnam’s largest city.
Those days are now but a distant memory and the beach front, which in many parts looks little more than a building site, has become a popular destination for foreigners’ and wealthy Vietnamese. There appear to be unhealthy number of signs in Russian!
A mate of mine is a silent partner in the Sailing Club, a group of bars, restaurants and clubs around Vietnam. We had decided to check it out and were not disappointed. It is situated at the non-building site end of the beach and has been done out very tastefully… it also has a pretty good wine list.
Our room was subtlety designed and had that all important mosquito net. While the buzzing menace was not a major inconvenience we did have problems with sand flies on our first evening, but that was our own fault.
The sailing club gives you the option of having a romantic dinner for two on the beach. As Sharon and I hadn’t really seen each other for three weeks we thought it was the perfect opportunity to catch up, and it was.
The table, in front of the resort on the beach, was surrounded by candles and the romantic glow lit up our small piece of Mue Ni real estate. We chose well, I has a fabulous goats cheese salad, yep that’s right, followed by a tasty seared Tuna with a Mango salsa. Sharon started with Tuna sashimi and moved onto beef tenderloin.
All were looked after expertly, the great fear that everything would be overdone did not eventuate, and we washed it all down with a delightful South African white, from a vineyard we went to 14 years ago on our honeymoon. We even had desert!
The next couple of days were spent hanging by the pool and eating. The staff were attentive without being pushy and while drinks at the bar do take a while to appear, everyone are helpful and smile.
After hanging out for a few days we headed back to HCN by train a far more comfortable, and far less scary, journey.
Cheers,
Blocka
