Visiting The Sand Dunes of Mui Ne, Vietnam

Driving down the coast of Mui Ne in our bare bones jeep, the trees to my right open up to reveal the bay below. Basic life boats and larger fishing vessels bob in the waters. The popular and purpose built round boats used for fishing always amuse me. Watching a fisherman try to paddle a round boat gracefully always makes me laugh at the futility of it all.

We continue along the winding road passing slow peddling school children on bikes and kite surfer dudes on motorcycles with t-shirts that read ‘Wind F*ucking Forever’.

From The Sand Dunes of Mui Ne, Vietnam

The metal plate beneath my feet starts to heat up. We haven’t been on the road for more than 30 minutes and already the engine feels exhausted. It’s impossible to tell how fast we are going since the speedometer, like all other gauges on the dash, is reading dead zero. We must have traveled some 30 km by now.

And then, cresting over a hill, the ocean turns to a sea of sand dunes. We had reached our destination: the sand dunes of Mui Ne, Vietnam.

From The Sand Dunes of Mui Ne, Vietnam

Our driver turns to me, his Top Gun aviator glasses (bought no doubt exactly because they are Top Gun aviator glasses) reflecting my image and says in the kind of perfect English one acquires from saying the same dozen English sentences for the past 5 years: “We stop here for one hour”.

Approaching the foot of the dunes, an eager crowd of kids await us. They have the thing of grown men’s dreams: four wheelers. Noisy. Fast. Dangerous. An eager crowd of middle aged Russian men soon forms. Money exchanges hands, children thrown precariously on the back and off they go, screaming of fear and joy.

I don’t care for it myself, opting to climb by foot. Soon I find a good reason for my frugality as I walk past a stranded screaming Russian man, angered that his new toy is both stuck in the deep sand and incapable of climbing the final summit. I smile.

From The Sand Dunes of Mui Ne, Vietnam

The top of the dune is incredible. Gusting winds blow sand across your legs. Beyond the dunes is the oddest thing; lush forested trees surrounding a lake of water. The juxtapose is a mystery.

Many of those that had bypassed the motorized toys opted instead for a sheet of plastic to slide down upon. Little comes of their sled however; the sand is too thick and the tourists too heavy. They don’t slide. I smile and take a photo.

Sitting at the summit of the dune , I soon realize, is a fool’s game. The wind is too strong and the rising sand blows up my nostrils. The Lawrence of Arabia illusion is shattered and I’m left to subtly try and clean my nose free of the sand.

From The Sand Dunes of Mui Ne, Vietnam

I can’t imagine a more unusual sight to find in Vietnam than this place. Peak to trough must be around 100 feet in some places. The sun is surprisingly hot for an overcast day but the sand that fills my sandal is cool. I launch off the peak, landing feet first and up to my knees in sand. My first step reminds me of how loose I wear the straps of my sandals. I take them off and continue down barefoot. More photos and already our hour is done. Our driver is ready to leave as we stroll back to the parking lot.

“Let’s go” he shouts. He’s learned that one too it seems. Soon we are off again, making our way up the coast in our tin can of a jeep.

Another crowd of children will plastic ‘sliders’ awaits our arrival. I’ve played this game before, I tell them. They persist but I deflect them to an easier prey; a family with two small children. The kids make fast work of them.

From The Sand Dunes of Mui Ne, Vietnam

The red sand dunes are equally beautiful and seem to glow in the setting sun, despite the clouds. It’s truly beautiful. I watch the family slide down the slope beneath me with more success than was had at our previous stop. Maybe there is something in the red sand. More likely the kids are light enough to stay on the surface. Interesting.

Our ride back to the hotel is quiet. We are exhausted and our driver has never been much for words. Our only particular excitement is a small slalom through a heard of cows before we are shortly back to our hotel. Mission accomplished.

“Goodbye” shouts our driver. A true linguist.