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.