18th of August, 2024.
Hitchhiking in Vietnam: Fisherman village Son Hai
I am walking towards outside Phan Thiet, holding my sign for Mũi Né, when a young fellow in his motorbike offers to take me there. It’s a long drive, and I’m sure many motorbikes are going from here to there, so I take it.
The boy drops me off somewhere outside Mũi Né. I get water and wi-fi in a resort, and with directions, I hitchhike again, this time to the “fishing pier” of Mũi Né. At least that’s what says on Google Maps but there’s nothing really going on there. Perhaps they change location and on Google it was not update, because later on, when I am further away in town, I can see another area with many fishing boats approaching. It’s around 9 a.m. then, so perhaps the timing is also important…
Asking for left-overs food in the fancy resorts is a huge fail. The first few I ask, there are no guests, so no breakfast buffet. Then the only resort with quite a few guest, and a wonderful buffet, unfortunately, has the restaurant being managed by two bitches. Seriously, I can not understand why people have to be so rude with someone simply asking, politely, for some left-overs food. I am not stealing, I am not asking for money, and I am not a beggar, I am dressed normally and I look just like any other traveller, a foreigner in your country. If there’s something that really pisses me of is rudeness! The resort is called Pandanus. And for the record, the other workers, reception of the resort and reception of restaurant, were lovely and friendly, only the managers of the restaurant were abysmal.
As soon as I put my backpack down, a tiny yellow car stops. The man is from Vietnam but he has this Chinese vibe and he is very happy to help and to have me onboard with him. He’s taking a few days break, travelling all the way from North to South and now back home. He’s a marine engineer and he tells me about Vietnam weather and culture. We stop to have lunch at a small restaurant which he likes because he ate here years ago and he says they are very authentic. The wind is super strong and the waves are crazy! He order a few different dishes, grilled fishes and shrimps, plus rice. It’s a lovely buffet and we finish it all!
We were supposed to stop in a view point just after Cana, but as I was falling sleep, we passed and I missed that. Once we arrive at the fishing village where I was planning to sleep, after visiting a tiny beach nearby, I figure out what had happened. No issues! Everything happens for a reason and things actually turned out great! I tell you how and why…
From the fishing village Sơn Hải you can hitchhike to View Point Đường ven biển Ninh Thuận, but it will take more time than if you simply go back to the highway and hitchhike from there. That’s what I did.
A few cars passed until Thuy and her work colleague Duc stop for me. They are super lovely people and they are travelling for work. I tell them all about my travels and they are so surprised. Duc says he would like to do that but right now he can’t as he has two young kids. They both like travelling and when we stop at the view point, I’m happy on how much they liked, as they are both from further South and didn’t know about it. It is actually a very gorgeous view. After some photos they carry on, as they have a meeting, and I will spend some more time here. Thuy tells me that if I am ever in Saigon again (where she lives) I am more than welcome in her home. How sweet! It’s a bit ironic also, as I had such a hard time finding a place to stay when I was there before.
I walk a little bit just for fun and for the gorgeous views. A drunk man in his motorbike stop for me. Yeah, I noticed he is drunk because of the smell of alcohol and for his tipsiness. PK. Laugh. But he takes me exactly where I must go in order to walk to that small beach I want to go. It’s an almost invisible spot at the highway, where there’s a path to the beach. It’s surprising that I managed to figure out just by looking at a far away image from the satellite. I’m proud of myself!
I am about to ask to drop off the hulk in a small restaurant. But while asking information about the path to the owner, a very nice senior man, he tells me I must walk a bit more in the highway, about 1 Km, and take a different way than the one I am considering, which is a shortcut comparing to his way, which goes around the mountain. I don’t like that because I don’t have much time of daylight, but I go his way.
Once there, I ended up in a security cabin, for what it seems to be some kind of governmental building. Weirdly enough in the middle of nowhere. When I ask about the beach to the elderly security guard, he shows me that I can go my way, the short cut, and the good thing that it’s partially a road. I try to leave my backpack there with him, so I can go faster and easier to the beach and come back in time before dark. But it’s impossible, he simply keeps showing me that I can’t leave my backpack there. Why, Loki, why? So I take a deep breath and I make the hard decision of walking to Sơn Hải, camping there as I planned before, leaving my backpack somewhere there tomorrow morning while coming back here to visit the beach. The beach is called Bãi Tràng Mũi Dinh. In the end, honestly, it was the best thing I could’ve ever done, for so many reasons, so I am grateful for the “no”. And it feels that everything came together so this could happen…
First of all, as I walk through the beach towards Sơn Hải, I realize that I would never make in time to the beach and the village before sunset. No way. Plus, the views at this time of the day, during the almost golden hour are absolutely stunning! I am loving it! Even though my backpacks feel so heavy, mostly by walking in the sand, I can’t help myself of stopping every minute to admire the views and take some photos on the way. Before getting to the beach, the way looks like a desert, so I feel I have been teleported to Texas, or somewhere in the dry lands of the U.S.A. There are some abandoned, bright turquoise containers on the way, and I just wonder what the hell are they doing here.
By the beach there are quite a few fishing sheds. Well, at least I am assuming that they are all for fisherman. They only use some wooden structure and cover it with black canvas. I still can see some scooters in some of them. And all around, there are the big fishing baskets, traditional here in Vietnam. But I barely see people at this time. Perhaps they are all at the sea…?
The sea also looks gorgeous, with turquoise shades, and infinite. The water is also very calm, and I feel so tempted to dive in, as I see one fisherman enjoying himself in the water.
I am exhausted! Walking in the sand feels more like walking in a treadmill, I never get out of one spot. But when I am near to a road which leads to the village, even though I am not sure if I should camp around here or what, I spot a family of fisherman having a meal in front of their shed, and I feel really tempted to go there and talk with them. For ages now, I have this dream of interacting of fisherman and just hang around with them in their environment. As I could see from far, they were all men, so I am a bit uncertain if I should / could just walk there and talk to them.
They help me out though. As they see me, they call me and shake their hands, as saying hi, and asking me to come. I just rest for a few minutes by the road and then walk to them.
And I am so glad that I did! They are mostly men, yes, all fisherman and from the same family, and all different ages. One of the brother’s wife though is also here, together with their young son. The father of the family is also present, and together with all of them, he is very welcoming and seen happy to have me around. As soon as I approach them they invite me to sit and offer me a beer. I accept, of course! Some of them can speak English, some of them use the translator, but all of them are super kind, and show me how happy they are to have me as their guest. They are eating too, so I try a bit of different fishes, salad, rice, and for the first time I eat some small oysters. It’s not so bad as the texture is really not disgusting as I expected. And it’s cooked in a sop, with lemongrass, so it tastes quite nice. They also have one of my favourite Vietnamese snacks: crispy rice paper, called Banh Trang. There are many different types, sometimes only with black sesame seeds, but some are made with onions and chilly, and they are all delicious!
It is such a nice evening, and I can’t believe in how lucky I am to be here, or better saying, how you can really attract anything you want to yourself if you really want in your heart! Manifestation.
They all have houses in the village, and one of the brothers offer for me to come and spend the night with them. But I kindly refuse as I really want to camp by the beach. They show me where I can have my tent, and they tell me that the father will spend the night at the shed, plus a couple they have for neighbours, so I really have nothing to worry about. Same for tomorrow morning, as I can just leave my backpack at their shed and go to explore Bãi Tràng Mũi Dinh beach. Awesome! I say goodnight to my friends and make my camp around 8 p.m., as I am exhausted and they are too.
10 Years Around the World 