Mui Nei

We boarded a train immediately after work last Friday and settled into our seats. We paid less than $10 for our family for the 5 hour trip. The seats were rather vertical and the air con was...not there, but we had a good trip with the windows open and a bag of chips. It was, as with most train rides in the world, a great way to see the area.

On the train.

From the train window: A pick-up game of volleyball.

We arrived at the Pandanus Resort in Mui Ne very late and checked into our room and went to sleep. We awoke to paradise. It felt very decadent to be doing this on a weekend, but the gift voucher (is it just a "voucher" if you pay for it?) expired soon and we needed to use it up. Oh well.

Flowers, Flowers, Flowers

The grounds of the resort were beautiful.

Not only the coolest pool I've seen but the warmest...even Lauren said the temp was perfect!

Even the ocean water was warm enough for Lauren.

Colin is never happier than when at the beach

Our second, and last day Lauren took us to a place she'd read about in Lonely Planet as one of 10 things you had to see in Vietnam: The Fairy Spring. The taxi dropped us off in front of an alley at the side of the road under a sign that said "Fairy Stream". Close enough. We walked between dilapidated buildings, past huge earthenware jars of fermenting fish sauce...

 ...to this scene:

When Colin saw this and was told to remove his shoes and wade in, he proclaimed "I hate this. I am not doing this. It is the worst field trip ever!" and burst into tears. We ignored his protests and dragged him in. I pretended to not be worried about parasites and thought that somehow my flip flops would protect me. The water was not, as it looks, muddy. It turns out the sand dunes up river are this amazing rust color. We were all rewarded for our bravery:

Trevor and I walking the river. Lauren taking the photo from on top of one of the dunes.

It was an incredible trip and well timed. It marks our last trip of our first year here and life is about to get crazy at work before we head home for the summer. This was a wonderful chance to relax together as a family and see another amazing place in this remarkable country. This place is easily accessible and we want to return.  Let us know if you'd like to join us sometime.