Getting Away

Last Friday, miracle of miracles, I had the day off. So I went to Mui Ne, a small beach town about five hours from Saigon by bus, for two days. Friday, I took a small tour of the area and saw the nearby fishing village, white sand dunes and yellow sand dunes. On Saturday, all I did was take a long walk on the beach before heading back to the city. Overall, it was a pleasant and much-needed get-away.

Both Friday and Saturday were overcast, so my pictures aren't stellar, but without further ado, I present my weekend in the form of a photo essay:

Unfortunately, I didn't get to go down into the fishing village, but the views from above were impressive.

Close-up of fishing boats.

I thought these small, round boats were just for holding the fish, but I saw a man inside one, using a long oar to move around.

The white sand dunes were soft and stunning.

They were also crowded. Countless footsteps and four-wheeler tracks marred the ground.

The yellow sand dunes were more orange than yellow, but still magnificent.

One tricky camera angle that turned out rather well, even if I do say so myself.

The sun decided to peek out just as it was setting.

Luckily, the tide, which comes right up to the breakers when it's in, decided to go out on Saturday morning.

One of the few strips along the beach that contained people's homes and not big resorts.

Despite the gloominess of all these pictures, the day was warm and balmy, and my walk was one of the most satisfying and pleasant things I've done since arriving in Southeast Asia.

Two little girls who just wanted me to take their picture.

And lastly, just because I feel like sharing, here is a cool picture I took on Friday:

I call this camera effect, "Through the window."

In case you couldn't tell from my last post, I needed to get out of the city for a while and Mui Ne fit the bill nicely. It was so quiet there, and the beach was so nice. I'll definitely be going back at some point.