A look at Phan Tiet and Mui Ne (Part 1)

After the first week in HCMC, the impressions at school and in the neighborhood where we live, we were able to take a short trip to the nearby Phan Tiet or Mui Ne.

On Mondays and Tuesdays, only employed teachers have to attend the educational days. It's not that the practitioners aren't warmly invited... it's just that we're all drawn out of Ho Chi Minh to more remote places. While those soon to be leaving go on their last tours from Hanoi by moped or explore more distant islands, Alina and I are going to Phan Thiết, about 4h/5h away.

After consulting with my father Matthias's beloved travel agency in District 1, we once again abandoned the plan to start with the island of Con Dao and postponed it to an unknown future. But you should still be able to get out of HCMC.

Unfortunately, the port city of Phan Thiết does not impress with the desired peace and idyll. But it won't be boring either. Every day a new adventure surprises us.

It begins with the shock that struck us in Egypt. On the one hand, the tourist mini-paradises (they just no longer seem so real and convincing) and on the other hand, the beaches, gardens and streets full of rubbish.

So on Saturday (2.3) I'm sitting on the beach feeling rather sad and even the sound of the sea isn't loud enough. My heart is heavy when I see this. This dirty truth is also revealed in the rivers in Vietnam and in various places. Every little thing here is packed in plastic. Plastic bottles are emptied every day because tap water cannot be drunk here. Every purchase ends with a plastic bag, every meal is wrapped in plastic before consumption. But there is no developed, comprehensive recycling system in Vietnam.

After this intimidating realization, only the afternoon can change our minds. In an attempt not to resort to taxis again in order to save money and walk a bit, we start a tour that required a lot of strength and stamina from us.

Along the sea, hit by the waves of the Pacific, we head towards Mui Ne. Of course, the 20 km walk is too far in the burning sun and we don't know exactly what the goal of this hike will be, but we venture further and reach a district over bridges over the Phan Thiets River, where we are closer to the sea want to get there and suddenly find yourself in a place where people other than locals have probably never appeared before.

If you want to feel like a star or a Martian, this is probably a good place. I don't think there is a person who didn't stare at us with curiosity, partly astonishment, partly joy, many greeted us with an excited "Hello", 2 groups tried to call us, but we shyly and yet cautiously declined each time with a smile … I never felt so close to life in Vietnam again. In narrow streets, families and neighbors sit together in front of their apartments, which open up directly behind them, eating, talking, selling or playing billiards, cards, and other board games in open halls.

In these alleys we finally found a way to the sea, but here we only saw the coast, stones, rubbish and shells. We made some progress before we took one of the narrow paths into the streets again, got lost, I was suddenly handed a schnapps through a fence and we were finally led out of the alley system again by a friendly woman nearest major street.

It was wonderful. Our feet hurt, the first sunburn was already shining on Alina's legs, arms and our necks, but we forgot all this when we finally got to a beach, where we soon saw the sunset and Alina did a great slide almost into the sea. Encouraged by the beer, we managed to make our way back without many detours and return to our sleeping place in the center of Phan Thiết.