Charlie Does Surf!

Just to prove Colonel Kilgore wrong, we've made our way to Mui Ne on 'Nam's East Coast and the balmy waters of the South China Sea, where Charlie and a hell of a lotta people are most definitely surfin'!
After 3 years of good intentions, a few moments of procrastination and a little bad luck with my attempts to learn to kitesurf, we've accidentally landed in one of the best spots in the world; a constant inshore wind, gentle break and low costs for an easy life!

For the first time in our 2 months on the road we've actually stayed in one place and enjoyed a holiday (the rest of it has been soooo hard!), so I immediately enrolled in lessons and have spent the last 3 days being dragged all over the place by a kite, drinking a lot of South China Sea and occasionally getting up onto a board. It's taken around 6 hours of lessons to get me in vague control of these floaty things, with the exception of when I brought it down over the rooof of a bar, and now its a case of combining this with board skills and keeping afloat. A bit like snowboarding but you get to create your own mountain, or wakeboarding where you drive your own boat. My Gallic instructor, Jean, is very patient and says I'm doing well, so I keep throwing dollars at him and extending our time here...

In the meantime, with the local attractions of a mountain, sand dunes, waterfalls and a quaint fishing village, Rach has assumed this pose from dawn til dusk....

and neither of us has ventured more than 500m from our bungalow. Except when I've been dragged down the coast by a stubborn kite.
Our days have been dominated by this strict regime; days on the beach, watching for wind and catching rays, a little lunch then more wind and sun, a sundowner then a stroll along the road to one of the many restaurants by night. So you can imagine why we've extended for a few days and actually our plans for Laos are probably going out the window...

It's not all fun and games, though; last night Rach had to ward off an attack by killer cockroaches and beetles, and then very nearly stepped into the road in front of an oncoming cafe (that's right - a cafe. Lights, display cases and delicious produce, all strapped onto a speeding bicycle).

Well, I'm sure we'll make our way north at some point. Until then, here's to all of you in your offices on a rainy British day in November, from us soon-to-be unemployed bums. Cheers!