We spent the next day lying on the beach then the pool, having a few beers, then the pool and the beach, dinner the beach and the pool. It was a perfect day of relaxing. It was an interesting site, first thing in the morning when all the local dogs, and cows went for strolls on the beach without anyone walking them…just a casual family walk that they seemed to do every morning.
Then in the afternoon all of the kite surfers came out to do their thing, the wind had picked up and Mui Ne is well known for this sport.
The next morning started out just about the same and around 1:30 pm our friends Marielle and Marieke showed up. We had dinner together and lounged some more.
We spent our third day in style. The four of us rented motorbikes and headed out for some fun! We went to the white sand dunes and drove along the coast, stopping for a swim in a deserted beach far from the city.
Then, we went to the famous red sand dunes, paid some kids some money and slid down them on plastic. The sand dunes reminded us of the sahara desert. They stretched on forever and where exhausting to climb up. The kids were adorable little sales men who took great pictures and video of our time with them.
We then headed back into town to find the Ferry Stream which we had misread and thought it was a spring. We walked and walked down the stream waiting for the spring only to be haggled by more young tour guides so we gave up and went back to the pool at our place.
Our evening ended with dinner and a sleep over since the hotel was overbooked and didn’t have a room for the girls. So, the four of us piled in for some fun (Adam was also out of clean clothes and ended up sleeping in my silk pj shorts…which supplied some great jokes from the three of us and even more fun to share with you)
At dinner though, we had a very interesting moment…while we were eating dinner at the restaurant, a big Vietnamese family was celebrating the grandpa’s birthday. They invited us over for a beer and we all shook hands and laughed through the language barrier. I was kind of dreading the question I knew was coming when finally the older man said, “where are you from.” The two from Holland spoke up and then I said America. I immediately saw one person look to the other then to another and so on. It was so awkward and I almost felt a bit ashamed to say it. But, the moment lasted no more than a long 15 seconds. The old man shook our hands again, toasted and we all began to sing.
On our last day in Mui Ne it poured, all day. For me, it was perfect, I sat on our front porch and read all day. Ad was a little restless went for a run on the beach, but he too even read a bit…I know I know shocking (He is really into a James Patterson book and may even finish it before we head home)
We all went for dinner to a restaurant in town. We had tuna steaks and grouper and 2 bottles of wine, all of a total of $32 it was the perfect ending to our time in Mui Ne.
Check out the beautiful sights in the pics and videos.
This morning, we woke super early, packed up, ate a quick breakfast and headed out on a 5 hour ride…bumpy ride..extremely bumpy ride to Da Lat high up in the highlands of Vietnam.
More from Asia
Intentionally and incrementally. Most families who live this way did not leap from conventional to adventurous overnight. They built remote work capacity, paid down debt, tested longer trips, and had increasingly honest conversations about what they actually want from their lives. The leap feels bigger from outside than from inside.
Different for every family. For some it is long-term travel. For others it is weekend adventures close to home. What connects them is intentionality about how time is spent and a preference for experiences over accumulation. The version that fits your family is the right one.
By finding stability within the adventure rather than treating them as opposites. Routines, rituals, and family rhythms travel with you. Familiar foods, bedtime routines, and predictable family dynamics provide stability even when the location changes. Kids need consistency in relationships more than consistency in geography.
That people are fundamentally similar across cultures in what they want for their families. That comfort zone is a smaller circle than it feels from inside. That the things worth having in life require effort and discomfort to get. And that time together doing hard interesting things is the most reliable source of family closeness.
By getting clear on why you made the choices you made and returning to that clarity when the outside noise gets loud. Most families living unconventionally describe an initial period of explaining themselves that gradually gives way to just living the life. The explaining becomes less necessary as the results become visible.
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[…] The trees turned to hills, the hills turned to dirt, and the dirt turned to pristine mounds of flowing red sand for as far as the eye could see. This was the view of the back of our rented scooter as we cruised the roadways of Mui Ne, Vietnam. Arriving at a place that I can only describe as the planet Mars on a sunny day, we were greeted by several 4 inch smiles on 4 foot bodies. A group of young entrepreneurs pitched their sled rental business to us and after a few minutes of laughter and bargaining, we were sold. They guided to the fastest slop and were kind enough to offer (at no additional charge), photography service of our out of this world experience. You can read the full story here. […]
[…] 0 All in the name of peace. We found this cutie in Mui Ne, Vietnam. He was our $5 a day tour guide and showed us a great time on the Red Sand Dunes of the area. We spent the day with him surfing down this amazing desert near the Vietnam coast. You can read more about our trip here. […]
[…] Bottom Left: Up in the sky, in Mui Ne, Vietnam […]