Beach life

2 min read

A holiday is not a holiday for me unless there is some time spent on the beach. A couple of years ago, with no plans or bookings made, we packed up our car and travelled along the east coast of Victoria. It was a camping trip where we were always close to a beach. What a fantastic time we had! We were not flying anywhere or in any exotic country, but spending time on a beach is very relaxing and rejuvenating.

Standing on An Bang Beach in Hoi An, Vietnam, was definitely relaxing after our whirlwind tour of Europe and before our return to Melbourne’s winter. The water was warm and the sand was hot! Lucky we had some lovely loungers with large flax umbrellas to sit under, courtesy of the beach bars on the beach. For those who didn’t want to spend the money on beverages (the price you pay for the privilege of using the loungers and umbrellas), little Vietnamese ladies charge small prices for supplying shade in the form of cloth tied to two poles which were plunged into the sand. This was rather funny as when the sun was high up, there was no shade created at all!

Close by, there were woven tubs sitting on the sand. This was the first time I had seen these things. I presumed that they were storage for something. It wasn’t until nearly sunset that I saw these men haul these things out to sea – they were little fishing boats! What a sight to see them all heading out together. (have a closer look at them in this post – Banyan – An Bang Beach).

It was a great beach for people watching. There were beach goers from all over the world. The Europeans were on their summer holiday and the Australians were escaping their winter. There were some that have made Vietnam their home for as long as they can. I think that An Bang Beach was the better of the two beaches there in Hoi An – less crowded and more relaxing.

This green bikini is by nunui.