Sunday, January 22

Sunday, January  22 - Relax, relax, and then relax a little more!

After a very relaxing afternoon/evening at the pool/beach yesterday, we were looking to repeat it again today …. And we did!!

We had read in hotel reviews that the breakfast buffet was extensive, and it was amazing (and included in the price of the room).  The buffet definitely catered to a western pallet (made us happy) and there were so many options (there were also local options, just not as many).  When they seated you, you could fill out a form to order your eggs and they would be at the table by the time you made your rounds on the buffet.

A variety of cereals in their own small containers (I'm a sucker for 'packaging')

Soft butter stars - who wouldn't love butter stars???

There were waffles, pancakes (with every kind of possible topping you could imagine), muffins, breads (bread sticks, dinner rolls, banana bread), cereals, juices, salads, cold meats and on and on and on and on.  They even had a live piano player!  

You can see the piano player in the back!

It certainly lived up to they hype we had read about it.

After breakfast we headed to the pool.  They wait on you hand and foot, makes me feel silly & guilty actually – I can grab my own towel, put it on my chair and tuck it in so the wind doesn’t blow it away, but they have ‘pool boys’ to do it for you.  What I really did appreciate was their putting the umbrellas up for you – that is one thing I end up struggling with – I either poke myself in the eye or only get it so high before I realize I’m not tall enough and it comes crashing down trapping me inside.  Not a pretty sight.

They also had menus at each seat so when you wanted to order food, you could raise a little flag by your table and they would come over and take your order.  At 4:30 every afternoon they offered something 'free' by the pool - ice cream or fruit etc.   

Green tea ice cream!

I don’t think I’ve experienced such top notch customer service elsewhere.  Not only did they seem to anticipate your every need, but they appeared happy to do it.  If anyone is ever considering vacationing on Phu Quoc island, I would recommend this hotel!    (Prices are not unreasonable, just might be a little pricey flying to get there.)

We split our time between the pool and the beach.  I love watching the tankers and boats going by – feels like home!  (now if I can just get Rus to hire ‘pool boys’ at Peirce Island I’ll be all set …. Actually now that I think about it Rus is my ‘pool boy’, he takes care of my chair and towels and will get food if I ask for it!!)

Talk about pure relaxation!!

At the orphanage and most homes or spas in Vietnam you take your shoes off before entering.  Now this was a first for me …. You took your sandals off before stepping on to the sand on the beach!  (could be a problem if the sand gets too hot!) 

Take off your shoes before heading on to sand!

We headed for a massage (cheaper than the hotel) then to the night market (lots of seafood so not our ‘thing’, so we came back to the hotel for dinner.  Since we hadn’t eaten Vietnamese since our arrival, we didn’t think we should leave without having some local fare.  We ordered pho and even used chopsticks just like a local!

It was a very relaxing dinner as they had a 3 piece band playing old soft rock American music.  (think The Carpenters, Neil Diamond, we even heard Mustang Sally )

Our flight tomorrow got pushed back so we don’t have to leave until 3:30.  Being so close to the airport (10 minutes) we won’t have to leave until 2:10.  They offered us late check out (2 pm), so we will be able to enjoy some more pool/beach time before headed back to the noise and heat of Saigon Monday night.

Saturday, January 21

Off to Phu Quoc

Saturday, January 21

We had wanted to go to the island of Phu Quoc for a few years now, but unless you plan well in advance the hotels are quite often sold out.  This year we had hoped to go to Cambodia to see the work Wullie is doing in Cambodia, but between the flights being rather expensive (for an hour flight) and our being here such a short time, we decided that wouldn’t work.  We looked at Phu Quoc once again and were able to book a very nice hotel on the water for a reasonable price and very reasonable flight costs, so the decision was made.

 If you want to read about what he is doing/has done (it is very interesting) you can check out this webpage --  Wullie: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-web/fundraiser/showFundraiserProfilePage.action?userUrl=ABC

Phú Quốc is a Vietnamese island off the coast of Cambodia in the Gulf of Thailand. It's known for white-sand beaches and resorts, most of which are along the palm-lined southwest coast. More than half of the island is part of Phú Quốc National Park, which features mountains, dense tropical jungle, hiking trails and wildlife. Duong Dong is the largest town, with day and night markets selling crafts, produce and fish.

We had decided to leave our large suitcases in storage at the hotel and simply take our smaller bags for our short get-a-way.  Last year when we checked out of this hotel they had housekeeping come up to check on its condition before they would let us go.  To be efficient, we decided I would head down to the front desk with our 2 large suitcases for them to store and tell them we were ready to check out, leaving Julie in the room for the housekeeping quality check.  (last year they couldn't find a hair dryer that was supposed to be there, but we had no idea, had never looked for nor used it and they let us go anyway, so not really sure the purpose of this final check.)   

I show up at the front desk with our two suitcases, explain we’re checking out and want to store the luggage.  The man looks at me with a very quizzical expression on his face (Oh no, am I talking too fast again?  Or lacking in my explanation skills? )  He finally speaks and says he is confused because he understands I am checking out, but  "sees only one person". (Was he wondering what I had done with Julie Bulie???)   I told him I thought someone needed to be in room for the checkout inspection.  Nope, he says we are ready to go.  Oh boy … we tried.  He took our luggage to storage and I went back up got Julie and we were on our way to the airport.  :-)

Due to the upcoming Vietnamese new year we have been advised to arrive to the airport early because this is the time of year everyone travels to spend time with their family.  However, we got there in plenty of time so treated ourselves to a foot massage (ahhhhh). 

Quick 40 minute flight – 10 minute ride to airport and we have been transported from the city of cars, motorbikes, honking horns and buses to palm trees, cool breezes, and beautiful views.  Again …. Ahhhhh.  We spent the late afternoon by the pool and beach, watched an absolutely beautiful sunset (and as it dropped below the horizon we asked it to provide a nice day for you guys as you were waking up!)

We dined at the hotels Italian restaurant – a bit expensive, but good. And we indulged in rather expensive, but well worth it, ice cream for dessert, a scoop of carmelized banana ice cream and a scoop of chocolate for me, (I repeated this dessert on Sunday night too!)  Heavenly.  My mom would be proud of me!!

Off to bed – looking forward to another relaxing day tomorrow.

Friday, January 20

Friday, January 20

This morning I got to face time my sister! Yea!   (She and I had a real conversation … no eyeball close ups!) By the way Kathy, Long is still asking when you are coming over here! 

Today was our last day at the orphanage (short trip this year) and It is always an emotional day when you know it is the last day to spend with the kids.  We try not to dwell on it, but we know some of the kids are old enough and we have been here enough, that they will miss us (shoot, we miss them and consider all we have going on in our lives!).  Sadly we learned that Bob is especially sensitive to this and asked repeatedly about us after we were gone last year.  We were grateful Long was with us today to help the workers explain to Bob we wouldn’t be back for some time, hoping this would help him to adjust and not expect us to be walking in tomorrow or next week.

But before we walked out for the last time this year, there was much fun to be had.  It is a special treat when Long gets to join us.  

I think Long may be having too much fun!!

(Funny aside before I get to the fun.  Long met us at our hotel and helped us lug our ‘goodies’ to the orphanage.  While we were waiting for the cab I asked Long about his work (he is a tour guide – that is how he & Julie met).  I always like to ask him about his ‘horror tour clients’ -  you know the ones that no matter what you do for them they are never happy?  He begins to tell us about his extreme frustration with these tourists from Boston.  BOSTON I say???  I am thinking – really – Boston?  As Long continues to tell his story my mind is in overdrive thinking, how can I find out who these people are and what can I do about it?  I tune back in to Long and he is saying they were two ladies from the Boston area, well really not from Boston but specifically from New Hampshire.  He says ‘they are the worse I’ve ever had’.  Julie and I look at each other and then Long can’t keep his straight face any longer.  He really had us going.  It is so fun when you develop a relationship with someone from another culture and get to know them well enough that you can tease like this and have a good laugh over it.  You got us good Long, we are still giggling over it.)

Dorothy always loves my velcro watch!!

There was a lot going on at the orphanage today.  There has been a lot of construction and sprucing up going on this week (probably in advance of their New Year which starts January 28^th.)  We were able to get to play in ‘our’ spot today, but there was a lot of cleaning and cutting down trees so lots of activity for the kids to take in!

Puzzle Time

Julie and Bob intent on some game!

 Back in to eat!

This food REALLY was hot and Julie was told to blow on it to cool it off!

Smiley boy I mentioned in last blog post!  Always smiling, always wanting hugs!

Check out Long in action ... feeding a girl we have named Victoria!  :-)

Bob walked us out to the entrance of the orphanage and we all had a few more hugs and good-byes!

Love, love, love my boy Bob!

The bus was jam-packed on the way back today.  We had to stand for a good portion of the ride (always a good core-body workout) and could barely wave and say good-bye to Long when he got off at his stop!  No idea why today’s bus was so full.  Thanks again Long for sharing your time with us!!

Julie and I decided to take the bus right to dinner (we were afraid if we went back to the hotel first we’d be too tired to venture out again.)  Since this was our last night in Saigon (on to Phu Quoc tomorrow) we didn’t have food to cook so decided to eat “Italian” tonight at a restaurant Julie found last year – Ciao Bella. 

After dinner we stopped for ice cream in a downtown mall. 

This was a "Mickey Dessert". 

After this we headed back to pack for our short trip to Phu Quoc.