From Phu Quoc to Hoi An: 'Relax Times' with K&V
Claire always says there's nothing like having a friend out to Vietnam to help you fall in love with the country again. Seeing this place through a tourist's eyes gives it a romance you thought long gone.
Such was the case last week, when my long-time friend Kyle Myers swept through with his girlfriend, Vanessa. They had just nine days, but that didn't stop us from getting in our fair share of motorbike rides, spring rolls and "relax times," as a billboard at the Phu Quoc Island airport promised guests of the Blue Moon Resort.
We opted instead for the promise of Chen La, a charming, Columbian/French-managed resort up the west coast, about as far from the hustle and bustle of Saigon as one can get.
From the airport, it's a couple miles through a quaint fishing village then a few more along a bumpy, dirt road that eventually leads to a property that slopes down to the sea. The saltwater pool was tremendous in that it was large and void of bratty children. The buffet was impressive -- even Kyle 'Kateru Kobayashi' couldn't take down the pastry selection. And the crab summer rolls were as good as finger food gets.
What I enjoyed the most, though: Those roads, which pounded the crap out of our $15/day motorbikes, but revealed landscapes you only dream about.
The best piece of terrain, we discovered, was up north in the national park, where canopies of monstrous trees kept the dust down and the air cool. We tempted time in the Ganh Dau slammer by (unknowingly) swimming in a private bay, but were saved by a pair of old bats in a beach hut who frantically waved in a way that suggested we scram, pronto.
A couple days later, we ventured north to Hoi An, Claire's favorite spot in Vietnam. There, we stayed at a client property, the five-star Nam Hai, and let the relax times roll.
We got a special sneak peek at the resort's soon-to-be-unveiled summer menu, played some golf at Montgomerie Links (another client property) and got the VIP treatment at Mango Rooms, where owner, chef and friend Duc mixed us up some mean mango mojitos, then invited us out onto his new boat the next day for a cruise down the Thu Buon River. We drank wine, ate a grilled duck bruschetta concoction and let the day lazily pass by. Here's a picture of an old man on that river. Call him Old Man River:
Such was the case last week, when my long-time friend Kyle Myers swept through with his girlfriend, Vanessa. They had just nine days, but that didn't stop us from getting in our fair share of motorbike rides, spring rolls and "relax times," as a billboard at the Phu Quoc Island airport promised guests of the Blue Moon Resort.
We opted instead for the promise of Chen La, a charming, Columbian/French-managed resort up the west coast, about as far from the hustle and bustle of Saigon as one can get.
From the airport, it's a couple miles through a quaint fishing village then a few more along a bumpy, dirt road that eventually leads to a property that slopes down to the sea. The saltwater pool was tremendous in that it was large and void of bratty children. The buffet was impressive -- even Kyle 'Kateru Kobayashi' couldn't take down the pastry selection. And the crab summer rolls were as good as finger food gets.
What I enjoyed the most, though: Those roads, which pounded the crap out of our $15/day motorbikes, but revealed landscapes you only dream about.
The best piece of terrain, we discovered, was up north in the national park, where canopies of monstrous trees kept the dust down and the air cool. We tempted time in the Ganh Dau slammer by (unknowingly) swimming in a private bay, but were saved by a pair of old bats in a beach hut who frantically waved in a way that suggested we scram, pronto.
A couple days later, we ventured north to Hoi An, Claire's favorite spot in Vietnam. There, we stayed at a client property, the five-star Nam Hai, and let the relax times roll.
We got a special sneak peek at the resort's soon-to-be-unveiled summer menu, played some golf at Montgomerie Links (another client property) and got the VIP treatment at Mango Rooms, where owner, chef and friend Duc mixed us up some mean mango mojitos, then invited us out onto his new boat the next day for a cruise down the Thu Buon River. We drank wine, ate a grilled duck bruschetta concoction and let the day lazily pass by. Here's a picture of an old man on that river. Call him Old Man River:
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