Mui Ne by the parm trees
I was swimming off the idyllic palm fringed coast of Mui Ne fishing village, observing the coconut trees, when a distant memory came flooding back. I was taken back to the time when I was a young lad messing around down the donkey track near Pegswood train station. I noticed that some street artisan had left some very tasteful art at the station. They had added “by the ‘parm’ trees” to the Pegswood sign with deft strokes of a black permanent marker pen . I remember debating with a childhood friend whether it was the work of an illiterate delinquent or perhaps the perpetrator was in fact been ironic and he/she wanted passing people to perceive us as a village of unlearned Untermensch. Maybe they were simply disillusioned with their lot and making a civil complaint that there are indeed no ‘parm’ trees in Pegswood and that the Parish Council should get off their arses and sort it out (although the climate might have proved an obstacle). For me, I remain blissfully undecided and the jury is still out.
Thanks for letting me share that memory, now back to the travel bollicks. I took a 6hr bus from HCMC/Saigon to Mui Ne. I found a great hostel ran by a small family and decided I would stay here a while. It is a posh resort but currently out of season so very quiet and chilled. I spent 6 nights eating freshly caught steamed fish with German friends Nicole and Kia. I cycled 16km to a fishing village with a huge fishing fleet in harbour which was quite a sight. There must have been more than one hundred vessels. Mui Ne is a top site for kite-surfing and I watched the experts doing it for hours on end – jumping 10m into the air at times – very cool. I swam amongst them and occasionally had to submerge myself as they surfed directly over my napper. Every night at dusk I would go for a small beachside jog and have a game of footy with the locals. I hired a motorbike and went to see the sand dunes and the fishing town of Phan Theit (pronounced Fan Teet). The dunes are massive and there are red dunes which look like Mars and white dunes which look like an inland desert. The scale of these dunes is what strikes you the most - huge. After an enjoyable week by the tropical beach I jumped a 7 hr (should have been 5hr) bus to Dalat.
Dalat is about 200km inland and sits at an elevation of 1500m leaving the climate a lot cooler than elsewhere. At nights you actually need a blanket!! I haven’t used one for months. There is a lake in the middle of town and the green surroundings reminds me very much of England. It is pleasant to walk the 4km around the Lake in the late afternoon. On my first night here, I was sitting, unwittingly eating some goat’s brain soup (which was very tasty although not what I ordered) when a group of local piss-heeds dragged me to their table. They were drinking small shots of very strong local wine and forced me to join in the fun. As I looked more closely at the demijohns containing the liquor I noticed a snake floating in one. That was cobra wine. Another demijohn was full of goat penises and that was called goat penis wine. It was quite a culinary night for me. I have to say though, if you get the chance to try goat’s brain soup give it a go. I was lucky that I didn’t know until later what I was eating but I have ordered it a few times since.
Again, in Dalat I found a great quiet family run hostel where I am the only guest and I have been made very welcome. Only last night I was invited to join the family for dinner as they shared two whole Chinese roasted ducks with me. They let me eat the duck’s heed since I was a guest……… mmmmmmmm dubious honour or what? I climbed up through pine forests and jungle to the summit of Mt Langbiang which is the highest peak in South Vietnam at 2163m. It was a tough climb but it was great to look down at the rice paddies and villages below. On the way up I saw a shedded snakeskin which made me look twice before I grabbed for branches on the ascent. The temperature has been coldish for the last few days and I have had to wear my fleece. After glorious mornings here, it seems to rain every afternoon without fail. It is all a nice change after months of unrelenting heat. Some days I have a steam bath sauna to warm up! It is because of the climate which is why I want to hang here for atleast one week.
I hired another motorbike and explored the lush mountainous regoin around town. I visited the Datanla waterfall and an ethnic minority village called Xa Lat. I then headed aimlessly into the countryside and was greeted by many strange stares as I approached outlying farms in the middle of nowhere. One young dirty looking farmer bloke came up to me and offered a smoke as we started communicating in sign language. I helped him herd all his water buffalo back into a field they had wondered from and he then invited me into his shack for a cuppa. Very strange just sitting there smiling and saying ‘GamUn’ (Thankyou) all the time but it was a laugh. When I see the homes people live in here I think of that program: Location, Location, Location. I imagine them filming a couple looking around one of these shacks and deciding if the bare wooden floors and intermittent electric is OK. Also if they are in the right area for a good school and that the well doesn’t dry up in the hot season. I’d love to see it, you know them stuck-up Southern types as a rat darts out of the ‘kitchen’ (more just a small gas stove at the edge of the only room). We really are spoiled in the UK man. I saw a load of girls coming out of a village school and couldn’t believe how well turned out they were giving where they live. They were dressed in immaculate white silk top and trousers with a blue silk smock over the top. Honestly, they looked like they were going to a wedding or something, certainly not school. To think they then sleep in these hovels. I think women find appearances important here.
One dodgy thing about Vietnam in general is the amount of motorbike accidents you see. I may have been unlucky but I have seen about 10 crashes in two weeks. Today, a woman came off after running over a dog (there are millions of dogs here, like Mongolia) and she looked bad. This happened about 3m from where I was walking and I helped lift the bike off her. Other locals turned up and took over since I couldn’t exactly provide much comfort in English. I was racing around like a lunatic when I first hired my bike but after a little thought I drove very carefully to avoid the same fate.
Bao Nhieu Tien (Viet for How Much?)
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