Just a little bump in the road...

I believe last time I wrote, Michelle and I had booked tickets to go to Nha Trang which is a beautiful beach spot along the Vietnom coast- about 10 hours north of Saigon. Our travel agent failed to tell us that there had been 10 straight days of rain in Nha Trang (though if we were smart, we would have googled the weather!). Oh, and apparently it's supposed to be dry season as well! As soon as we got there after our 10 our overnight bus we heard about the weather and decided that we'd made a mistake going there. The town was dead, the weather was drizzly and cloudy, and the wind was thrashing the waves upon the shore. Didn't take long to decide that we'd take the next morning bus back... (that is, not before we spent the evening at a mineral springs retreat in a mud bath!)

That little incident, along with the weather channel's perfectly Vietnam shaped cloud of rain covering the country, forced us to make some executive decisions. Going to Laos was no longer an option because the price of an air ticket was outrageous under short notice. Instead we booked flights to go to northern Thailand (via Bangkok) where we had yet to visit- Chang Mai. The flights were three days away so we took a little bus ride (5 hours) to the beach town of Mui Ne. (I used to loathe the 2.5 hour car ride home to San Antonio, but now it seems like nothin' next to these 10 hour bus trips).

Mui Ne

With an equation of Sun, water, and tons of good looking foreigners...we were bound to have a good time, right? YOU BET! We got dropped off the bus and began our search looking for guest houses. Apparently this was a pretty happenin' place because everywhere seemed to be full. Looking like total backpackers, we trekked (actually, just walked on the side of the road) about a mile till we found a place that had an open room. Get this- we also got cable television AND a hot shower...JACKPOT! Okay, our pocketbooks actually took a dent with this $15/night room, but it was all worth it!

We dropped our bags, put on our swimsuits, grabbed some noodles for lunch (ramen is super really popular a the restaurants, but they like to call it 'fried noodles' and jack up the price) and headed straight for the beach. I won't lie, the beaches in Thailand were much more beautiful and crystal clear, but Mui Ne still had a lot going for it. It is known as the Kite Surfing Capital because of the intense wind, so there were tons of guys on the water showing off their skills.

Later in the afternoon we snuck into one of the many resorts along the main strip and relaxed in their beautiful infinity pool. Doing the same thing as us, we met wonderful English couple who was spending their three week holiday traveling all throught Vietnam. They told us of a cheap little restaraunt on the beach that serves all the basics (spring rolls, fried noodles, fried rice, noodle soup, etc) in large portions- we have a winner! We ate our next SIX meals there:) My favorite was probably the fresh spring rolls, mmmm! I actually ordered the vegetarian spring rolls the first night and I bit into the first one and realized it was vegetarian when I pulled a baby squid tentacle out of my mouth- I like seafood, but not that much!

We basked in the sun and did a lot of relaxing and reading ( I just started the book Eat, Pray, Love which was highly recommended by many friends) for the next day and a half. We floated around a couple of the beach bars with our new English friends, but overall, there wasn't a huge night scene...The sun drains you out and I guess most people would rather recoup for the next day.

On Thursday night, we caught the 2am bus to Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) so we didn't have to pay for a guesthouse that night. By the time we made it into the city, we were tired from staying up so late and not sleeping on the bus- we had to find a place to crash for a couple of hours anyway before catching our flight that afternoon. Let me just say- we rented a jail cell! There was just enough room on the floor to put our bags (about 4 square feet) and we had to use the sheets as towel after a shower. Oh, and to let ourselves out to grab some lunch we had to unlock a padlocked metal gate in the front of the 'store' which was on the first floor. The funny thing was- it was perfect for us. During this trip, we've learned to become minimalists and flexible with whatever comes our way...

No toilet paper...no problem, we can drip dry. Ants...no problem, we'll just shake them out of our clothes before we leave. Cold water...who actually takes hot showers anymore- they're so overated. Annoying cab drivers harrasing you...no problem, just smile and walk away.

In the mean time, we've made it to Chang Mai and have already booked a two day trekking tour for tomorrow and Sunday. We will stay in the north with the Long Neck tribes and do some white water rafting, trekking, and other fun stuff. After that, we'll hopefully sign up for a Thai cooking class, mmmm!!!

Take care everyone, and I look forward to seeing you all in a week:)