Vietnam: Mui Ne White Sand Dunes, Red Sand Dunes, Fishing Village & Fairy Stream

Day 2 of Ho Chi Minh Trip - Part 1

4.30am: Early in the morning, we were all prepared to explore the sand dunes! We booked a Sunrise Jeep Tour for $35 (6 persons) and they came to our guesthouse for pickup. In order to fit 6 person in a jeep, 2 of us need to sit at the back and experience an adventurous ride. 

The midnight view from the jeep.

I was the one sitting at the back of the jeep and hence I get to enjoy the view in the dark. However, the wind was quite strong and there's plenty of sand blowing into my eyes. Quite a disaster. =O After 30-45 minutes of jeep ride, we finally reach the first, long-waited spot -- White Sand Dunes!

White Sand Dunes is really a beautiful place to visit.There's a lotus pond at the White Sand Dunes area and that makes it really amazing. You can never find water in a dessert. That is special =)

Hello White Sand Dunes! So beautiful and the sands are so soft! 

The lake, the sand dunes, and the blue sky. Such a great combination for photo. Love it!

The wind was strong at the sand dunes. But who cares, I just want to take a post-card like photo, with my horrible hair. Haha... 

Waiting for sunrise. The sky is getting brighter now. Love the beautiful clouds. 

OMG OMG!!! Sun is rising.

Jump shot is a MUST with such beautiful scenery. Yeah! The sand is so soft! I can jump non-stop there. XD

Sunrise at White Sand Dunes. =)

I left my heart here. In love with such beautiful sand dunes. 

After about 45 minutes of photo session at White Sand Dunes, our tour guide asked us to leave and proceed to the next stop -- Red Sand Dunes. BYE White Sand Dunes ~~

Red Sand Dunes, as its name suggest, the sands are RED. Red Sand Dunes is much smaller than White Sand Dunes. There will be kids coming to approach you to ask if you want to try sand boarding. We had only 20 minutes at Red Sand Dunes and hence we decided not to go for sand boarding. For Red Sand Dunes, it is only nice for photo. In reality, it doesn't look that great. But well, camera was very well-fed. ^_^ 

The sand looks really RED under the sun. 

The clouds look really special today. But it does seem like it's about to rain. OH NO~~

After that, we proceed to Fishing Village. Wanted to take photos of the colourful fishing boats but we were there at noon, the sun makes the boats shine too brightly. Photos taken aren't nice as expected. Apart from the boats, this fishing village is very happening. There are a lot of people selling fish, prawns, and crabs on the beach. It is a morning market, where all the people will come and buy fresh and cheap seafood. 

First time seeing people sell fish in this way. SO FRESH!!

The round fishing boats are so cute! 

Look at the crowd on the beach. Such a happening market.

But we were there for only 15 minutes because the weather is really really HOT!

5D4N Ho Chi Minh Travel Itinerary 2015

Here's to share with you, my 5D4N Itinerary for those who are interested to travel to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, wondering what to see how much fund to prepare for the trip. I hope this post would give you some idea. 

To be honest, my 5D4N in Ho Chi Minh City does not cover the city thoroughly (just explored a bit of District 1 and Mui Ne). So if you are a hardworking traveler or explorer, you will definitely be able to explore more places as this trip we spent a lot of time lazing in Cafes and guesthouse. XD

Day 1: Alor Setar -->  Kuala Lumpur (KLIA2) -->  Ho Chi Minh City (SAIGON)

We took a morning flight from Alor Setar to KLIA2 and then proceeded with a noon flight (12pm) to Ho Chi Minh (also known as Saigon). We went HCM in a group of 6 girls. I like this number of people as even number is easier for sharing and our number is just nice to fit into a big taxi. It is my first time traveling with only girls, normally I'll have one or two guys in my travel group. Hmm... A different experience. 

It took us 2 hours to fly to Saigon. So we reached Saigon around 1pm (local time is 1 hour later than Malaysia). Prior leaving the airport, each of us got a SIM card with data. Then, we took a local bus to Ben Thanh Market, and walked to Sinh Tourist to get our bus tickets and tour checked in. 

Street view in front of Sinh Tourist. Motorcycles are everywhere!

Walked around District 1 while waiting for our bus to Mui Ne (at 8pm).

Around 7.30pm, we walked back to Sinh Tourist to prepare for our bus trip to Mui Ne. We booked a sleeping bus and hence we cleaned up at the office before we go on board. 

Day 2: HCM --> Mui Ne 

Bus trip to Mui Ne took us 5 hours and we reached there around 1.30am. Checked in at Diem Lien Guesthouse and then we rested for 3 hours before we go for the sunrise tour at Sand Dunes.

White Sand Dunes @ 5.30am

Red Sand Dunes

Mui Ne Fishing Village

Long waited ---- Fairy Stream

Cham Tower, Phan Thiet 

After touring around Mui Ne and Phan Thiet, we went back to our guesthouse to rest for a while. At 11pm, we checked out from the guesthouse. Then, we waited at the Sinh Tourist office and took another sleeping bus back to Ho Chi Minh at 1am. 

Day 3: Mui Ne --> Ho Chi Minh City --> Mekong River Day Tour --> Ben Thanh Market

Reached back HCM city around 5.30am. We have a day tour to Mekong River at 8am and hence we decided to rest before joining the tour. The Sinh Tourist office opens at 6.30am and hence we had to rest at Family Mart. 

Mekong River

Hand-rowing boat. New experience and really thankful to the 2 men who row our boat.
Thanks for the ride. =) 

Ben Thanh Market