Mui Ne: Enchanted Land in Vietnam

I'm glad that I was here during the early stage of the traditional fishing villages getting popular as leisure destinations. I got to know that Mui Ne was an isolated stretch of beach with a little inhabited fishing village. Today, Mui Ne remains quiet and serene despite the rising of resort-style development along the coastline. There is no scuba-diving or snorkeling activities here but kite-surfing for those who likes adrenaline rush.

GETTING THERE

Experience the sleeper bus which operates daily from Ho Chi Minh City. The coach stops by right in front of your hotel. Likewise, you also may catch the train runs daily from Ho Chi Minh City to Phan Thiet.  It might be a bit more troublesome as the railway station is located at District 3 of Ho Chi Minh City and it arrives at Phan Thiet Railway Station which is 5 km from Mui Ne.

GETTING AROUND

Taxis are abundant. Beside the ordinary car taxis, motorbike taxis are also everywhere! 

It is almost impossible to get lost in Mui Ne as everything is located along the 15 km long strip of highway. Since the traffic is light, the most convenient way to explore the surrounding is to rent a motorbike or bicycle from the resort you stay or travel agencies. However, be careful as traffic fatalities is not uncommon. You can see Vietnamese riders don't even follow the traffic rules. Perhaps investing a travel insurance is a wise move if you plan to rent a motorbike here.

PLACE TO VISIT

The locals offer a convenient jeep tour for tourists to explore Mui Ne in one day, which covers Red Sand Dunes, Mui Ne Fishing Harbour, Fairy Stream and White Sand Dunes. If you have more time, it is even better to get around by yourself so that you can stay longer at each destinations. 

1. Red Sand Dunes (Đời cát)

Mui Ne is famous for its enormous red sand dunes. The vast sand dunes stretches endlessly. It was said to be an iron mine formed hundreds of years ago. Interestingly, the shape of the sand dunes changes hourly as the result of winding. Well, if you want to capture some stunning images of sand, this is your infinite destination!

Make sure you catch the sunrise at the peak of the red sand dunes. It's one of the best sunrise in the world! It is also the ideal time for a visit as the sand is still cool. Ah, you may see an irony scene whereby the sun and the moon are on the same sky!

You will spot the local people visiting this unique place too. They love to spend their family day here. Guess what? The red sand dunes is the top destination for sand-boarding! Sand-boarding is somehow similar to snow-boarding. Don't be surprise when someone offers you to rent a plastic sled. You may want to give it a try if you see the smiley faces of the kids!

I love the scene in which women carrying baskets slung on a pole walk around to sell off the local food in the baskets, silhouetted against the pre-dawn sky. We grabbed one and the food was truly authentic! They were sour sweet and savory. Worth for a price!

2. Mui Ne Market and Fishing Harbour (Làng Chài Mũi Né)

The fishing harbour humbly rests under the shade of a line of coconut trees along the main road. It is charmed with calm waves all year round and thus becomes the home of fishermen since years ago.

Its spectacular surrounding attracts passers-by to embrace the breath-taking scenery. At twilight, you can listen to the bustling rhythm of daily coastal life, whereby hundreds of colorful boat anchoring off for a new day, while hundreds of boat returning with loads of catches.

Early in the morning, the fishing harbour turns into a seafood market, crowded with both locals and tourists who wish to get fresh seafood at a bargain price. You can see boats returning also in the noon time, which supply fresh seafood to the seafood restaurants in the opposite of the road.

3. Fairy Stream (Suối Tiên)

I must say that whom named it is a genius! Tucked between beaches and fishing villages, the muddy stream is surrounded by amazing limestone formation. It is indeed another wonder of nature! 

The stream is very shallow. The color of the water appears dark red because of the red sand and yellow clay. The further you paddle, you find the colorful sand hillock! The sand is in many different colors such as red, yellow, orange, white and gray.

 Many says it is a tourist trap. I saw many went down barefoot to the stream and lost interest once they have done taking photos and check-in their social media (that's irony :x).

Out of the attractions in Mui Ne, surprisingly, Fairy Stream has become the greatest guide to offer me a valuable lesson. 

As we were walking down the stream, we noticed people returning once they did not see any difference from the beginning of the path to where they were. I ignorantly believed that there must be something at the end of the stream. The further I walked, the less people I saw. The color of the ground gradually changed, and the colorful limestone was no longer seen. The water has become warm and we were surrounded by red sand cliffs and later bright green trees. Upholding the belief, I was lucky enough to have a local family accompanied and together we reached the end of the stream -- a waterfall.

We thought it is the end of the journey but soon we realized it is the root of everything we experienced. The waterfall is the source of water whereby the stream is formed!

Upholding one's belief is a challenge, don't you think so? We hesitated, we tramped, but we made it in the end! 

4. White Sand Dunes 

The white sand dunes are even more impressive than red sand dunes. Its wonderful Sahara-esque formation is alike to how I imagined a desert to be. The vast land, however, is less accessible. Anyway, definitely it is worthy for a travel. In fact, the journey is quite pleasant as the country road is very scenic and windy. The only thing I don't like is that there are noisy quad-bikes speeding around, making traces of wheel-prints and fainting the otherwise peaceful atmosphere.

Despite the beautiful landscape of the sand dunes, there is a lotus lake amid the white sand hills. The fresh water lake has full blossomed lotuses, just like an oasis in the desert!

FOOD

Feasting through Mui Ne? Barbeque, noodles, spring rolls, local street food, snacks...just to name a few. The best way to discover them is probaby by renting a motorbike as you can stop by anytime when you see someone selling food. Where to get them? It's hardly possible to get an address but just remember the game rule: wander around, eat whatever you see!

Hereby I highlight only some special dishes we hit onto:

1. Seafood

Oh well, who don't love seafood? Mui Ne offers nicely cooked, fresh caught seafood to satisfy your cravings! There are a lot of seafood restaurants to be chosen from. The price range is reasonable.

This might be a good news for adventurer. There are other exotic dishes like snakes, crocodiles and turtles on menus too!

2. Bánh Căn 

This local specialty is a tasty soup served with rice cakes and hard-boiled egg. It is simple but delicious! 

3. Bánh Xeo (Vietnamese Prawn Pancake)

It can be found in seafood restaurants and roadside of Mui Ne. Usually served with sweet chili sauce, its crispy crepe stands out to balance the taste of the stuffed beansprouts and shrimps. 

-Jun 2016- 

Kuala Terengganu: A Quiet Trace of Eastern Peninsular Malaysia

Located in North-Eastern Peninsular Malaysia, Kuala Terengganu is relatively an off-track destination for tourists. Speaking of Terengganu, people usually think of Redang Island or Lang Tengah Island. But hey, this makes the visit to the state even more interesting!

WHERE TO VISIT

It is a place where Islamic features are widely being portrayed. It has the most stunning mosques in the world! The mosques are constantly refurnished to retain its majestic architecture.

Tengku Tengah Zaharah Mosque (Floating Mosque)

As the first real floating mosque in Malaysia, the mosque combines both modern and Moorish architecture. The white structure sits snuggly on the estuary of Terengganu River, appears to be enchantingly elegant and inspirational!

Crystal Mosque

Taman Tamadun Islam features miniature mosques around the world. Today, it combines various attractions including Monument Park, River Cruise, Convention Center, Crystal Villa and most importantly the iconic Crystal Mosque in one place for a tremendous cultural experience.






Yvonne and I were offered for a free tour by the students from UniSZA, an islamic University in Terengganu. We gladly put on the Muslim suit as instructed. The students told us they often do voluntary services here so as to promote their culture to the tourists.

The Crystal Mosque sits in a river overlooking part of Kuala Terengganu. The mosque is also listed as the top 20 Mesmerizing Mosques that highlight the wonders of Islam. If you visit it at night, the mosque even comes alive with a colorful light display!

With student guides!

Most of the hotels are located nearby the jetty where tourists are transferred to Redang Island. You don't find boutique hotels else where. Whilst I was amazed by the beautiful setting of the jetty, a local artist even told me that they were going to have a music show right here, on the next day! Having a stroll by the waterfront was a pleasant and relaxing experience too!

Terengganu's Chinatown is another MUST-visit. I did not expect one in Kuala Terengganu. Neatly located in the city, Chinatown resides the heritages of Chinese. Today, it is becoming a commercial hub which helps to shape Terengganu.

The town itself is within walking distances yet you would need some transportation to reach the attractions beyond the town area. There are mini vans, taxi and bus available. I like the sweet design of the bus in particular! I don't find it silly at all to slow down our car and capture a photo of the bus. Hee~

You may want to visit some Chinese temples in the town. Else, walking into shop houses would give you some surprises too. You could easily find traces of Chinese culture everywhere.

 

We went to Turtle Alley, a narrow walk way in between two buildings. Terengganu beaches used to have many turtles laying eggs and thus I think the people wish to raise public awareness by setting up some colorful mosaic arranged in turtle shape, as well as some information about turtles.

Today, the century old shop houses and buildings are attractively painted. It might take up some time to check all the alleys out. Specifically, each lane carries a different theme. Explore as much as you could!

Remarkably, the contribution of local Chinese communities is recognized by immortalizing their tributes in bronze cast plaques, along the wall of one of the alley. You could easily find the alley as there are a cluster of colorful umbrellas hanging above. I was told that the combination is to symbolize unity in diversity.

I was glad to see the batik, a Malaysian specialty, is stitched into a canopy of rectangle blocks along one of the alleys.

To my surprise, the place was well-preserved and clean in overall! The streets are paved with colored bricks while the side alleys have been given a refurbishment with murals and plaques. 

The central market (Pasar Payang) is a popular shopping bazaar. Here, you can get all kinds of good and produce, for instance fruits, vegetables, salted fish, clothes, utensils, bed sheets and whichever you could name it.

I heard that Terengganu sells good keropok and thus I bought some. It turned out to be real GOOD!

WHAT TO EAT

If you're to hunt food, Kuala Terengganu definitely brings you a twist of flavorful local cuisines, in addition to a reasonable price. I had a mouthful of good food throughout the journey. Here I list out some of my favorites!

Fried keropok lekor
_Pantai Teluk Ketapang_

You shouldn't leave Terengganu without tasting their keropok lekor, which is made of processed fish fillet mixed with pinches of salts and flour. This traditional snacks could be found elsewhere in Terengganu and they are best served with their complimentary chili sauce. I had both in fried and steamed version, but I still prefer fried lekor.

Fried Squid
_Pantai Teluk Ketapang_

They serve good deep fried squid too! The sweet fresh squid from the sea was dipped in special sauce and it is pretty cheap. 

ABC Dessert
_Pantai Teluk Ketapang_

You could also find authentic ABC dessert here! Well, the portion is quite big. 

Nasi Kerabu 

Terengganu has abundance of rice based dishes such as Nasi Dagang, Nasi Kunyit, Nasi Kuning, Nasi Berlauk, Nasi Lemak and Nasi Kerabu. Madam Bee's Kitchen is a peranakan restoran that serves authentic nyonya cuisines. The reason why I like their Nasi Kerabu is that unlike the one I had before, this dish was relatively light and delightful despite having fried garnishing alongside. Their rendang chicken was juicy and tastefully too! Ah, if you're thinking of the colour of the rice, the rice is tinted with natural light blue dye extracted from the petals of bunga telang.

Tomyam Pok Teh
_Adeq Sue Ikan Bakar_

This is their signature dish. You may want to sip the fragrant broth until the last drop because it was soooo goood! No doubt they serve other marvelous seafood too. The place is not easy to find but just set your GPS right!

Not to mention, in the town itself, there are a few cafes having unique design for you to explore too. Eat, walk, and eat again!

To wrap up, spare a few days to spend at Kuala Terengganu if you like peace and tranquility. It is not a mainstream for tourist. You will learn to appreciate local culture. You will learn to slow down your pace for a relaxing lifestyle. You will eventually fall in love with this little humble town!