Since I blogged about Ho Chi Minh Travel Guide, readers have been chasing me for the Mui Ne post. They are so curious about the desert and want to know more about it. I got you guys! Today's post is all about Mui Ne Travel Guide. This article will include hotel, attractions (tour) and guide from Ho Chi Minh to Mui Ne. Also, remember to read about our worst experience with the train while we were on the way to Mui Ne. It was quite terrifying though.
MUI NE
Instead of Hanoi or Danang which is the mainstream place for tourists to visit, we had chosen to visit Mui Ne because the 'desert' attracted us. Well, they don't exactly look like the desert in Dubai (of course we can't compare) but the view is spectacular and worth it.
HO CHI MINH TO PHAN THIET
Many of you asked me how do we travel from Ho Chi Minh to Mui Ne. Well, you can travel via bus/train. Eventually, we had chosen to train because it is faster. We booked the train ticket online before we started travelling.
The seat was actually quite comfortable. It was spacious and hygienic. One thing we were so concerned about was the toilet. It was clean before the train started. But after we went for the second time, it was so dirty and wet. Strongly recommended you guys buy some snacks with you and go to the toilet before the train has started. We took the Vietnam railway and it was about 4 hours+ distance (supposedly).
WORST EXPERIENCE WITH THE TRAIN
Okay. You might be noticed I mentioned 'supposedly' at the end of the sentence previously. Wondering why? Because we had a bad experience with the train! After 3 hours+ of journeys, we thought we had almost reached Phan Thiet station (Mui Ne). We were so happy and excited because we were supposedly planning to check in hotel and then have our brunch. After chill for seconds, and wait for the jeep tour driver to pick us up.
Well, the plan was totally ruined! The train suddenly stops for almost 1 hour at the same place. Both of us are so worried as we keep asking the staff and they don't understand English and keep telling us something in Vietnamese. We saw most of the people are so panicking. They keep shouting at the staff and some of them were so angry until they took their belonging and went off the train! The whole train (well, at least my coach), only both of us are tourists, others are all local. We keep telling each other we will be okay, don't panic. All of a sudden, a random Vietnam speak English to us! Finally~ You had no idea how happy we were in that situation. She told us the train before us had been broken, therefore, all the trains can't proceed to the next destination and were forced to go back to the previous station.
What? We already paid for everything and travelled for 3 hours + 1 hour of waiting and this is what we get? Whatever, I knew the train right in front of us was broken and it was an accident. We can't blame anybody. But how can you start the train without checking it? Same case as Malaysia's buses all the time.
The lady told us the train will be travel back to the previous train station and we felt so relieved. Checking our watch and thought we still got enough time for the tour. But... I guess we are just happy TOO EARLY! Because after the train stopped at the previous station, the environment was exactly like the photo shown below :
Many of you asked me how do we travel from Ho Chi Minh to Mui Ne. Well, you can travel via bus/train. Eventually, we had chosen to train because it is faster. We booked the train ticket online before we started travelling.
The seat was actually quite comfortable. It was spacious and hygienic. One thing we were so concerned about was the toilet. It was clean before the train started. But after we went for the second time, it was so dirty and wet. Strongly recommended you guys buy some snacks with you and go to the toilet before the train has started. We took the Vietnam railway and it was about 4 hours+ distance (supposedly).
DETAILS
Cost : RM336.20 for 2 ways (2 pax)
Booking : https://vietnam-railway.com
Booking : https://vietnam-railway.com
WORST EXPERIENCE WITH THE TRAIN
Okay. You might be noticed I mentioned 'supposedly' at the end of the sentence previously. Wondering why? Because we had a bad experience with the train! After 3 hours+ of journeys, we thought we had almost reached Phan Thiet station (Mui Ne). We were so happy and excited because we were supposedly planning to check in hotel and then have our brunch. After chill for seconds, and wait for the jeep tour driver to pick us up.
Well, the plan was totally ruined! The train suddenly stops for almost 1 hour at the same place. Both of us are so worried as we keep asking the staff and they don't understand English and keep telling us something in Vietnamese. We saw most of the people are so panicking. They keep shouting at the staff and some of them were so angry until they took their belonging and went off the train! The whole train (well, at least my coach), only both of us are tourists, others are all local. We keep telling each other we will be okay, don't panic. All of a sudden, a random Vietnam speak English to us! Finally~ You had no idea how happy we were in that situation. She told us the train before us had been broken, therefore, all the trains can't proceed to the next destination and were forced to go back to the previous station.
What? We already paid for everything and travelled for 3 hours + 1 hour of waiting and this is what we get? Whatever, I knew the train right in front of us was broken and it was an accident. We can't blame anybody. But how can you start the train without checking it? Same case as Malaysia's buses all the time.
The lady told us the train will be travel back to the previous train station and we felt so relieved. Checking our watch and thought we still got enough time for the tour. But... I guess we are just happy TOO EARLY! Because after the train stopped at the previous station, the environment was exactly like the photo shown below :
WHAT!? This is the train station? Why we were nowhere in Vietnam? All of sudden, the lady told us we need to take our luggage and went off the train. Huh? Where are we heading? The lady told us they will arrange a bus for us to fetch us to the train station (destination) but now we need to off the train first.
Can you imagine both of us carrying our big luggage, each of us has to carry 10-12 kg+ and walk through the TRAIN ROUTE WITH STONE!? You might think it was easy. Hello~ Both of us carry the luggage + walking on the super unbalanced stone + under the hot sun (that time was 12pm) + we haven't eaten anything for the whole day (only ate some biscuits on the train) + need to walk like 20 minutes because it was not near at all! We run out of energy but no excuse, we still need to carry our own luggage.
Can you imagine both of us carrying our big luggage, each of us has to carry 10-12 kg+ and walk through the TRAIN ROUTE WITH STONE!? You might think it was easy. Hello~ Both of us carry the luggage + walking on the super unbalanced stone + under the hot sun (that time was 12pm) + we haven't eaten anything for the whole day (only ate some biscuits on the train) + need to walk like 20 minutes because it was not near at all! We run out of energy but no excuse, we still need to carry our own luggage.
Due to too many people (approximately more than 100 people) waiting under the hot sun, we got no place to stand. We felt pity for the newborn babies because they keep crying under the hot sun. We stand there for about half an hour and all of sudden, someone shouting in Vietnamese and everyone is running back to the other side of the train. We were so confused until the lady told us the bus is on the other side not here! WHAT!? We were forced to walk back to the train with the damn heavy luggage. Suddenly I felt my BFF Sylvia was falling behind and she told me her luggage handle had just broken on the vertical side. So I told her to grab the horizontal one but when she grabs for a few minutes, it was broken too. My poor BFF has to carry her luggage with hugging it on her chest. I wish I can help her but I can't because I have to carry heavy luggage on my own too.
By the time we arrived, the 3 buses were already full of people. We were so tired (almost faint because we were so hungry and had no energy) and we want to give up. Suddenly, we heard a woman say "taxi?" We said YES! We don't want to wait anymore because we are already late for the tour!
The tour driver supposes to pick us up at 1.30pm at our hotel but at that time we are still in the taxi. Luckily they said they can pick up at 2.15pm with another jeep but we need to cancel the first activity - Fairy Spring due to not enough time. We got no better option so we got to miss the activity.
We had reached the hotel at 2pm, and then we realize the taxi driver dropped us at the wrong hotel. Fortunately, she's still there, she fetches us to the right hotel (about 5 minutes distance) and when we want to pay her the extra (we already paid earlier), she said no need. Super nice driver! Oh ya, we spend about RM160+ from the scariest station to our hotel. All thanks to the train. Paid for the train for nothing because we have to go through all these things and paid extra for other transportation.
By the time we arrived, the 3 buses were already full of people. We were so tired (almost faint because we were so hungry and had no energy) and we want to give up. Suddenly, we heard a woman say "taxi?" We said YES! We don't want to wait anymore because we are already late for the tour!
The tour driver supposes to pick us up at 1.30pm at our hotel but at that time we are still in the taxi. Luckily they said they can pick up at 2.15pm with another jeep but we need to cancel the first activity - Fairy Spring due to not enough time. We got no better option so we got to miss the activity.
We had reached the hotel at 2pm, and then we realize the taxi driver dropped us at the wrong hotel. Fortunately, she's still there, she fetches us to the right hotel (about 5 minutes distance) and when we want to pay her the extra (we already paid earlier), she said no need. Super nice driver! Oh ya, we spend about RM160+ from the scariest station to our hotel. All thanks to the train. Paid for the train for nothing because we have to go through all these things and paid extra for other transportation.
HOTEL
Joe's Cafe and Garden Resort
By the time we had arrived at the right hotel, the owner saw both of us are so exhausted (because we still haven't eaten anything yet), she faster let us check into our hotel room. We quickly drop off our luggage and change our shoes (we were wearing sneakers earlier, but now we changing to slippers) Thank god we were wearing sneakers instead of slippers while walking through the train route or else our feet will be so painful.
Joe's Cafe and Garden Resort is a wonderful hotel to stay in. Friendly staff, good food and comfortable stay. They even have a live band at night time. Probably until midnight so it won't really affect your sleeping time. Or just both of us too tired for the whole day due to the worst experience with the train cause once we were on the bed, we slept like a log. HAHA
The hotel's price range is so affordable and they included breakfast as well. They will provide you with the breakfast menu and all you need to do is just choose one meal + one drink. Both we had chosen a sandwich which is Banh Mi in Western style (cheese + scrambled egg + bacon) served with french fries and fruits. For the drink, Sylvia had chosen Vietnamese coffee and I chosen Lipton Tea (since I'm not a coffee person). The Banh Mi was so yummy!
The sea view was spectacular as we are facing the sea while we having our breakfast. Oh yeah, the best way to have breakfast like this!
Joe's Cafe and Garden Resort is a wonderful hotel to stay in. Friendly staff, good food and comfortable stay. They even have a live band at night time. Probably until midnight so it won't really affect your sleeping time. Or just both of us too tired for the whole day due to the worst experience with the train cause once we were on the bed, we slept like a log. HAHA
The hotel's price range is so affordable and they included breakfast as well. They will provide you with the breakfast menu and all you need to do is just choose one meal + one drink. Both we had chosen a sandwich which is Banh Mi in Western style (cheese + scrambled egg + bacon) served with french fries and fruits. For the drink, Sylvia had chosen Vietnamese coffee and I chosen Lipton Tea (since I'm not a coffee person). The Banh Mi was so yummy!
The sea view was spectacular as we are facing the sea while we having our breakfast. Oh yeah, the best way to have breakfast like this!
Definitely recommended staying if you guys wish to visit Mui Ne soon. Totally worth the money.
DETAILS
Address : 86 Nguyen Dinh Chieu Street,, Mui Ne, Phan Thiet, Vietnam.
Cost : RM99.85 per night (including breakfast)
ATTRACTIONS
For the Mui Ne Sand Dunes Jeep Tour, we need to pay on spot. Too bad we can't make it to the Fairy Spring, heard it was a good place to take a beautiful photos. Oh well~ Never mind, as long as both of us are safe now.
DETAILS
Cost : 10 USD / RM39.60 (2 pax)
For the Mui Ne Sand Dunes Jeep Tour, we need to pay on spot. Too bad we can't make it to the Fairy Spring, heard it was a good place to take a beautiful photos. Oh well~ Never mind, as long as both of us are safe now.
DETAILS
Cost : 10 USD / RM39.60 (2 pax)
- Fishing Village
Nothing much to do. Basically, we just came down from the van and took 10 minutes for the photo session then went back to the van.
- White Sand Dunes
Finally here is your curious place - White Sand Dunes. When I first post my photo with the desert. There are so many followers DM me asking where is the place / is it in Dubai? / can you share more info about it etc? Well, now you guys. Yes, as I mentioned. I did visit there on tour. It is recommended because of the communication issue and I think the tour's price range is affordable. So yeah, this place is totally insta-worthy!
There is two option for you in White Sand Dunes, either you can rent an ATV and go free and easy. Or, you can take SUV and a driver will fetch you all the way to the top. At first, we thought to want to take ATV because it will be more fun and cheaper cost. However, actually, you can't take beautiful in the lower area. In order to take a beautiful photo, you need to go to the top area.
But we saw the sand dunes are too slanting. We don't have the professional skills and courage to get up to the top on our own. Therefore, we have rather chosen the SUV package although it is slightly expensive.
DETAILS
Cost : 800,000 VND (2 ways)
It was totally worth it! The view is spectacular! There is a huge difference between the view on top and down there. The tour guide allows us to stay here for 40 minutes.
- Red Sand Dunes
Another sand dunes attraction. I personally prefer white sand dunes and red sand dunes because the view is different. As you can see from the photos shown below, there is more crowd and therefore, photobombing is for sure. The sand is also not really clean compared to white sand dunes, garbage is everywhere. Thus, we were just here for 20 minutes.
FOOD
Random Restaurant with Sea View
After arriving at our hotel and finishing showering, we finally can eat something after a whole day! Our very first meal in Mui Ne. Now you guys knew why I slimmed down after coming back from Vietnam. Lol. I forgot the restaurant's name, but it is just located nearby our hotel. It can be reached within walking distance. Since we are in Vietnam, of course we must try their pho (noodles)!
We had ordered pho with beef and chicken and some spring roll. They gave us fried bananas for free. Eating fried bananas makes us miss Malaysian food a lot! No matter whether I travel to which country, I still miss Malaysian food all the time (well, except in Japan) Lol.
DETAILS
DETAILS
Cost : 10 USD / RM39.60 (2 pax)
WIFI
Roaming Man
So you guys might be noticed I didn't mention SIM card expenses. Well, for this trip, I'm not using any SIM cards. Instead, I'm using pocket WiFi from Roaming Man. The Internet speed was smooth and able to connect up to 5 devices. Maybe you can check it out if you're interested.
Thank you for reading my Vietnam Travelogue and if you're reading until here without skipping my worst experience with the train. I truly appreciate your time and effort. Hope you guys enjoy reading and I can't wait to share with you guys more travelogues with other countries. Till here. XOXO.
It's a nice place. I wanna join to travel over the sea for making an experience and nice photos. Oooo...I am heart to travel and photography.Hee..
ReplyDeleteGogogo! Pay a visit now :)
DeleteWhat a "Memorable" trip for us
ReplyDeleteDefinitely. Won't forget that day. Hahaha
DeleteWow there are tons of information provided. Just what I need to plan if going to Ho Chi Minh and get off the beaten path to this wonderful site
ReplyDeleteI always hope my travelogue able to help you guys to save a lot of time in doing research. Lol.
DeleteI have been to Vietnam so many times but have always missed the opportunity to visit Mui Ne. Seeing all these pictures especially the resort, its so dreamy. Must go la
ReplyDeleteHahaha. Put it in the bucket list. =)
DeleteOmg you got a little stressful on your trip. However it seems it all pays off. Your hotel looks fabulous, and hope you had a good relaxation.
ReplyDeleteYup, fortunately we safe at the end. Yes, we did!
DeleteWhoaaa your photos are so damn nice. May i know what kind of camera you are using?
ReplyDeleteSony RX 100 III. You can read more details here : https://www.shinilola.com/2016/12/sony-rx100-iii-review.html
Deletethis is nice place and nice view..one day i will plan my vacation with my whole family to be there. ..tq for the good information.
ReplyDeleteIndeed. You're most welcome. :)
Deletebestnya dapat pergi Vietnam.. nampak banyak sangat view yang cantik-cantik disana.. btw your photo is so awesome.. i like it..
ReplyDeleteThanks for the compliment. :D
DeleteYou always take such great photos and i love your outfits too!!
ReplyDeleteAwww~ Thank you <3
Deletethe place looks so beautiful..btw i love your ootd :-)
ReplyDeleteReally? Thanks ya Ayu!
DeleteAwww... what a mess with the train. Thanks for sharing that experience. When people look at our nice travel photos, they won't know what trouble we have to go through to get there!
ReplyDeleteYup, luckily both of us are safe then.
DeleteIndeed. They only thought we had a lot of fun. Lol
Thanks for such informative post for Mui Ne travel guide! I feel bad with everyone that stuck with the train then, with hot weather some more. Do you have better recommend for transportation then travel to Mui Ne?
ReplyDeleteYou can take bus to Mui Ne. If I'm not mistaken the duration is 1 hour longer than train. :)
DeleteThanks for the travel guide! Do you mind to share which tour you choose? How to contact them?
ReplyDeleteHi, you can make your booking at www.muinego.com ya. We choose the 1 day tour in Mui Ne. There are two option : sunrise and sunset. We had chosen sunset ya.
Delete