I awoke on our second day of our Vietnam Easy Riders tour a bit weary from our late-night karaoke but ready for the road ahead. Our second day of the trip would take us from the pine-covered hills of the Central Highlands to the seaside city of Mui Ne.
Table of Contents
Noodles for Breakfast
As a westerner it always seems a little strange to slurp down noodles for breakfast. But after a few weeks in Vietnam I came to understand the restorative powers of phở; it really is the perfect hangover cure as well as a filling breakfast. 
One thing I loved about having Vietnamese guides was becoming privy to many cultural quirks. At breakfast I found out you shouldn’t put fish sauce in phở (oops!).
The guys also gave us a mini chopstick tutorial which I kind of passed. Kind of.
Coffee Plantation
After breakfast it was time for yet another agricultural tour… hooray. This time? A coffee and tea plantation.
Coffee pods. Joy.
Stopping for Coffee in a Mountain Village
The next coffee-related stop was much more interesting- we actually got to drink some!
While in Vietnam I became a veritable Vietnamese coffee addict- the combination of rich drip coffee and condensed milk is pure magic. Plus, sipping it at a tiny mountain village homestay while gazing at misty mountains makes the coffee taste even sweeter.
Coffee-drinking aside, we spent the better part of our visit playing with an adorable baby who our guide kept calling “The Buddha Baby.” Despite the photo below she couldn’t stop smiling.
After the plantation it was back to the open road.
Our simple and delicious food cart lunch we got roadside- all this for less than $2!
Next we found ourselves braking for a herd of cows; it’s moments like these when you take out your headphones and really notice that you’re in Vietnam.
Is the cow on the right demonically possessed or is it just me?
Nha Trang White Sand Dunes
Our final stop of the day was Nha Trang’s white sand dunes. While walking to the dunes we saw an ostrich-riding pen. And although a backpacker had recently shown me his enviable GoPro video of ostrich-riding, I opted not to partake- it just seemed a bit cruel.
But we did opt to ride quad-bikes. The otherworldly golden dunes seemed so out of place in Vietnam- they were a cross between the majestic Sleeping Bear Dunes in Michigan and the Sahara desert.
We paid $10 each for a twenty-minute ride- a bit short for the price, but worth doing anyway.
Five seconds into the ride two Vietnamese kids inexplicably jumped on our bikes and insisted on driving… I guess tourists can’t be trusted with the bikes? Fair enough.
After the white dunes our guides offered to take us to the Red Sand Dunes and the Fairy Springs but I vehemently shook my head- I was exhausted and needing a soft bed.
On my one and only night in Mui Ne, we splurged on a room at the ritzy Thuy Thuy resort. But a splurge in Vietnam is a $45 room, so we only paid $22 each! Not bad for a tastefully decorated, air-conditioned suite with a pool, hot tub and gym, right?
Overall I absolutely loved my tour with EasyRiders though I could’ve done without quite so many agricultural tours. Our guides, Yo and Linh were the funniest, sweetest guides who not only kept us safe on the road but gave us great insights into Vietnamese food and culture.
Have you ever done an EasyRiders Tour? Would you?
Viet Challenge in no way paid or perked me. The tour costs $65 a day and I can’t recommend it enough!
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What an amazing experience! And such gorgeous photos, Ashley! I must admit — I loved the part about you exploring the Vietnamese coffee culture the most!
Thanks, Julika! And I know you would adore the coffee in Vietnam as such an avid coffee drinker :). Happy New Year!
So exciting!!! What a way to see the area! And as always, I enjoyed the bits about local food!!! Such wonderful stuff! Cheers!
Thanks so much, Leah! Happy New Year! :)
Dear Ashley,
Certainly a good way to see a country, you see it
so much more. I think that’s why I like convertibles.
Love, Gamma
Dear Gamma, that’s so true, you’ve always loved your convertibles! Happy New Years :). Love, Ashley
This is really my style and would love to take a tour through most of SE Asia on a motorcycle. I know in some spots I’ll be lucky to escape alive but it’s really how I like to travel. Self directed or group.
Great price on the resort!
I would highly recommend it- a friend of mine bought a motorcycle in the south of the Vietnam and spent two month driving up north with a group of six people- it seemed like an AMAZING trip!
Fish sauce in Pho! *Gasp* :P
I hgave relatives in Nha Drang and can’t wait to get there :D
Haha I did that for like two whole weeks before I realized it was a no-no… whoops! And Nha Trang was really beautiful, you’ll enjoy it :)
I left Vietnam about 7 weeks ago and still find myself day-dreaming about the coffee. Love your sand dune pictures! Mui Ne was one of my favorite spots on my trip, and I would go back there in a second! Happy New Year, looking forward to your 2014 blogs.
Thanks, Garrett! It was so nice meeting you in Vietnam. Are you back in Michigan now? I’m home!
Nope! Australia to work. If you find yourself in Melbourne, let me know!
Wow that’s awesome! And I definitely will. Happy 2014 :)
ooo condensed milk in coffee, that sounds good! how much do they put it? and you don’t add anything else? There is no liquid coffee creamer in India and I’m so tired of milk and sugar (boring)
No you don’t add anything else but I’m pretty sure the reason the coffee tastes so good is because of the very fattening condensed milk, haha. What about chai? Is that nice?
yes chai is so good and i have it occasionally, but i need my coffee pick-me-up! i’ve seen condensed milk at the stores here, it’s homemade and looks like caramel- thanks for the tip!
Its nice to read about your motorbike tour, and the price actually seems pretty reasonable! Whilst I was in Laos last year I met a couple of Irish guys who had bought motorbikes in Hanoi and who were biking through Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. It seemed like an amazing idea. Its on my ‘bucket list’ now!
I actually do think it was a pretty good rate considering accommodation and travel expenses were covered. We did have to pay for food but the prices were seriously minimal… I remember paying 40,000-50,000 dong for my share of the hot pot!
Thanks for this info, did you do crazy house and the temple with easy riders? We are thinking about doing the 2 day trip from Dalat to Mui ne and are unsure if we need any time in Dalat before starting the trip to see Dalat itself. Thanks
I did! If you look at Part 1 of this tour you’ll see I went there :)