SIMPLY (t)RAVELLING

The Fairy Path to Soui Tien Mui Ne

 

Continuation from HERE.

Half day tour around Mui Ne was part of the package we took when we purchased the bus ticket from the agent in Saigon, and there he was, the driver, waiting at the lobby 2pm pronto. We have considered doing the self tour by bike initially, which definitely much cheaper than the USD10 per pax for the jeep ride, but had our minds changed due to time constraint. Furthermore there’s not much info about Mui Ne in the net and the map we had wasn’t reliable at all. I don’t want to risk missed visiting those places I intent by wasting time getting lost. Not that is not possible given more time. Well that’s the irony of being a hasty traveller, you don’t have the luxury of time and fast track options are usually slightly expensive than DIY. On the other hand, we try to cover as much possible in the short time span, in a practical way rather than just being there and done that. 

 

Unlike the morning, afternoon saw a clear, blue sky and we hoped that it will remain for the rest of the day. Our first destination was the Fairy Stream, which is one of the highlights of Mui Ne. Actually we tried to look for it during our short excursion earlier, but unable to locate it. Eventually it is very near to our guesthouse, which we had bypassed unknowingly quite a few times.

We were deposited at the side of the road, and our driver pointed the secluded path that tucked in between houses and mini markets. Nothing indicates the place save for a makeshift signboard made of zinc. You won’t see it unless you are really looking for it.  “Forty minutes”, said our driver and we sort of mumbled “uh.. oh..okay..”. We followed the direction faithfully, curious to where it will lead us. 

 

Some hundred meters away we finally arrived at a murky creek, and no one was in sight. Being the most sensible thing to do, we folded our pants and took off our slippers, and started trudging aimlessly in the water. The water was cold and refreshing, only knee deep; and it was not dirty but just brown from all the sands.

 

We walked for a few minutes and started to question ourselves whether we were in the right direction, and was relief to see a few people in front of us. Must be the right path.

 

We came to a sandy hill and decided to trek up. Going upward the 80 degree inclination over soft and wet sand was easy said than done. Panting, with streams of sweat rolling down my cheeks I finally made it to the top.

 

Nevertheless the splendid view from top was worth all the efforts and gave us wider perspective of the area. We saw for the first time the white sandy formation that line up the creek in contrast of the reddish hillside that makes up the Fairy Stream. Down we go! 

 

It is green and lush at one side, while the red and white sands dominate the other makes the place unique no less. The locals call it their “little canyon” but this is ultimately no match for the one in Arizona. At first glimpse there’s nothing much and seeing red soils is typical back home but when you come to think of it, it is actually amazing as the confluence of colors of the sands - from white to orange to gold to deep red to black won’t simply mix.

 

The colors of the sand that makes Mui Ne.

 

We were also greeted by this colorful centipede, which tones very much camourflage with the surrounding.

 

Like kids we loafed around playing with the muds and checking out the white pinnacles. There’s a small waterfall further up, and from that juncture we walked back to our jeep. Walking downstream was much faster, and along the way we bypassed some ostrich farm and cauldrons of fermented fish. A few foreigners stopped by for the ostrich riding experience, for just USD2. We on the other hand, moved along and saw our driver, waiting for us at one of the stall, sipping his coffee.

Unfortunately we didn’t catch sight of any fairies.