[monumentum]

Day #5: Mui Ne (4-May-2010)
It was way past midday when I took the first photo of the day. Practical day I guess. Went all the way to Phan Thiet. 1st I had to withdraw cash from an ATM; that didn't work out well. Gave me a genuine shock. Should I run out of cash I could've been stranded there. So it was calling the bank that solved the issue. Apparently the logos behind the card had to match that on the ATM. Phew. Relief. But anyway I still had to take into account that the bank's overseas hotline wasn't a toll-free one, & being put on hold & stuff didnt help. There goes my phone bill.
When cash was settled, went to Coop Mart to get a socket adapter. LOL, which cost me 65k VND. WOW. Not to mention the very very long non-detachable thick wire which contributed significantly to my backpack weight, causing a penalty for excess baggage at the airport on the way back. All of these.. Just cause I wanted to cook my powdered Campbell's mushroom soup, & instant noodles. Another lesson learnt - Stupidity isn't surmountable.
Motorbike to & from Phan Thiet was like another 120k VND. Spent the afternoon on the beach behind my hotel picking seashells; which did not really yield satisfactory result. Chipped shells strewn everywhere, nice whole ones were so rare. Easily attribute it to the fact that apart from me, there was one other person who was scouting around for the shells on the very limited stretch of beach (for I'd mentioned earlier that the beach was segmented, belonging to various clusters of seaside resorts). That other person was lugging around a big load, in which he deposits his newfound shells. How many had he collected anyway? Hmmm.. Professional picker huh?

So I had to go back to Fairy Spring to pass the photos I'd developed earlier on to the Fairy children. The next few shots were taken there. Though you probably can sense that I got over the fascination, from the number of photos. Zoomed in to the micro (or is it macro?) level, see how lovely these 4-leaf clovers are? They're really fragile little creatures - the leaves. A Fairy girl showed it to me. & I had some clipped into my book, which I'd eventually bring back with me.


Though the sweet aftertaste of Fairy Spring still lingered on my tongue, I'd planned to leave Mui Ne the very next day. Therefore, that evening I'd coffee with my Mui Ne guide, Van Duoc. A regret I still bear with me, is that I hadnt taken a photo with all the nice people in Mui Ne. Hope to go back there soon.
The next post shall be about a new town - a whole new adventure - Dalat. (: Another wave of apprehension.