*Insert corny beach and rain joke here*

Table napkins OR post-it notes... you decide.
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When we were in Mui Ne, everyone we met said "we were just in Nha Trang and Mui Ne is soooooo much better," so we came here with low expectations.  But it's funny, because we expected to compare two beach towns, which was not actually the case.  Nha Trang is big, city-like, with way more than one street, a lot of buildings, a fair amount of traffic and smog.  This is no comparison.  Mui Ne is a slow-paced beach resort paradise, while Nha Trang is a fast moving bustling beach metropolis.

Part of the towers at Po Nagar Cham
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This place has the tourist thing figured out.  In fact, from the moment we stepped off the bus and saw our names posted on a big sign, we knew we'd be taken care of here.  (The last hotel we stayed at had called their sister hotel here, and informed them to pick us up.)  Unfortunately, arriving in the afternoon didn't do much for our travels as this is now rainy season, meaning you have to take advantage of the sunny hours, usually between 7 and 11 am.  We wandered through the rain to see the market, pick up some wine, and settled in to the room for the night.  The next day, however, we were able to explore some of the sites.  We walked up to the Po Nagar Cham Towers, where we stumbled upon an enormous feast which we think was being offered to Buddha.  Then we continued up to Hon Chong Promontory which was a strange tourist attraction of boulders, but we were able to find a picnic spot in the shade which was good enough for us.  Walking the road took us past a university where we made several friends eager to speak english.  Further, we traveled to see two enormous Buddha statues at Long Son Pagoda, one reclining, and one sitting.  These were the most attractive/least offensive giant Buddha statues we have seen, as they were entirely out of stone, and not at all covered with gold, pink, and other pastel paints.

Nha Trang from the towers
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Still we were determined to do some beachy activities.  The beach on the mainland is quite grotty this time of year due to rain and river discharge, but they run a big business in boat trips.  We signed up for a 4-island day tour.  We ended up in the middle of the ocean in pouring rain, eating a buffet of unnamed meats off of wet seats on a leaky boat, and forced to jump into the water to obtain our "free wine" from the "floating bar".  Despite this, it wasn't that bad, thanks to our amazing and hilarious crew.  Not sure whether they were joking or serious, but they broke out a full band (including guitar, amplifier, and semi-real drum set) and performed for us.  As we continued to stop at each beach on another unnamed island for an hour or two, and no one got off the boat due to the weather, they kept playing hits from Vietnam, and Hotel California, all the while serving beer and keeping the people happy.  Have we mentioned that we are not party people?  Well this doesn't mean we don't enjoy the company of party people, at least for a couple hours.  And after a shower and some food we are primed to pass out on a night bus to Hoi An.