As hot as a hot thing that has been heated up in a large oven

After I left the internet cafe last night I walked out into a darkened town. Back along the road to my resort, past my bungalow and onto a deserted beach. The stars were giving an amazing light show, framed by the fishing boats hanging on the horizon like a string of fairy lights. I just lay back in the sand and enjoyed the twinkling madness above. The resort was only feet from my head but quiet and dark so as not to disturb my night time enjoyment.

Back to the bungalow where geckos had congregated around the bathroom light to chase the flies and mossies- fair play to them. I watched them skittering across the ceiling for a while and then to bed. Which had mysteriously filled itself with sand in my absence- or maybe on my return, I am not sure. And it was hot. Even with the princess drapes open the fan barely disturbed me and I sweltered the night away.

My alarm went off at 5am today so I could get ready for the 6am tour. I had set it early as I had an idea that the beach might be a good place to watch the sunrise. And I was right. It didn't rise from the water but behind some sand dunes, slowly filling the sky with light and the day with heat. I lay back in a sunlounger and watched the fisherman in their wicker bowl boats paddling furiously, the joggers running along the beach and was joined by a couple of little dogs for a while. A crab was digging a hole by my feet, scurrying in and out, frantically throwing sand up into the air.

The tour bus was late but that was OK. It arrived around 6.30 and took us for breakfast. Then onto a fish market. It was mental. I felt a bit voyeuristic but then that it is the nature of tourism really. But imagine if you were just doing your job and a bunch of people just turned up and started to take photos of you.. what am I talking about- that was my students with their damned camera phones everytime I went to class!

I watched some women cutting the fins off some poor shark, more bowl boats and kids swimming between them. And proof that the conical hats are not just for tourists- they were everywhere. I took many photos and then we were off to the dunes.

Which didn't look that impressive at the start, though the lake at the bottom complete with water lilies was beautiful. A smaller pond nearby was attracting a herd of starving looking cattle who nervously put their hooves into the water and bowed their heads to drink.

Up the dunes we went with a bunch of Vietnamese kids in tow, all eager to get us to sledge back down again on their pieces of board, for a dollar. I didn't do the sledding but others did- the walk back up put me off- they lay down and then the kids jumped on top of them and away they went speeding down the hills, screaming all the way. But it was hot. Not so hot that we couldn't take our shoes off though which was good. Back down and we had a wee paddle in the lake and onto the next dunes. In the twenty minutes or so between dunes the sun had heated the sand to unbearable levels. Even the little that slid into through the toes of my sandals and under my foot to the back burned like fire. Hot hot hot.

We saw some red dunes which looked for all the world like a minature Kings Canyon or something. We popped to a market for a look around and then the tour was over. It is only 12 lunchtime here and already I feel like I have done so much today. There were three ladies from Seoul on the tour and one from Gwangju who was thrilled at my Mokpo connection. I spent much of the tour chatting to an Irish couple from my resort who had recommended the tour to me.

I plan to go back to my royal chamber now for a shower and a sleep. Maybe a beer tonight on the beach. Back to Saigon tomorrow to do a bit of shopping before heading to Seoul on Wednesday night where, I have been assured by the Koreans on the tour today, it is not as hot as it is here!