A Trip to the Beach

It took at least five hours for the bus to cover less than 150 miles to the resort of Mui Ne, just beyond Phan Thiet. Highway traffic moves at around 35 miles an hour, which is not a bad thing, considering the way people drive.

For $35 per person, our two-day tour included round-trip transportation, a room in a lovely resort right on the beach, a trip to sand dunes that looked like the set from Lawrence of Arabia and where the adventurous could sled down the slopes, and four meals.

We met a fisherman who had put away his nets to try reeling in tourists by offering rides in his boat, which resembled a giant basket. In an effort to help him succeed in his new venture, the men he once fished with give him the seashells that end up in their nets and he offers them for sale on the beach.


Until the recent resort development, he told us, the area was jungle and fishing was the main occupation. When the developers came, local people were promised jobs, so they welcomed the changes.

Once the land was cleared and construction underway, however, the locals were replaced by workers from the city. "We had to go back to our old way of life," the fisherman said. "I cannot read or write, so for me there is no opportunity. But I have three children and they go to school. My hope is that they will have a better life here."