Waking up in Mui Ne with a balcony view of the rolling waves and kite-surfers lining the beach was something else. This cute beach town is famous for its powerful waves and glorious weather, making it the top surf hotspot on the east coast of Vietnam.

Mui Ne is renown for its white and red sand dunes, which stretch for an incredible 50km inland. On our second day in Mui Ne, we headed up for the hills, passing through the red Fairly Stream and Fisherman’s village. Just 1km inland from the coast, we suddenly found ourselves in the middle of the desert.

We hopped on a quad bike and made our way up to the White Sand Dunes. Stretching for as far as the eye could see, the dunes lined the horizon with the sun burning our shoulders and gusts of wind blowing sand into our eyes. We quad biked around the dunes for what felt like hours, Matt somehow managing to get us stuck in the sand every 5 minutes and me almost hurling us off the bike more often than we’d anticipated.

As sunset approached, we made our way down to the red dunes located slightly closer to Mui Ne town. We were greeted by young Vietnamese children, begging us to give 30,000VD for a sand-surf ride (around £1). It was heartbreaking. Some of these kids were as young as 7 years old, born into the custom of serving Westerners, some already grasping the art of conning tourists. It’s sad to see these young, vulnerable children living in sheer poverty, spending their days trying to make a living for their families rather than getting an education or enjoying their childhood. It truly makes you appreciate what you have.