And so, I had a totally wonderful weekend. It is good to be able to write about something other than work. And also a good change to be away from HCMC.

The place I went to for the weekend was called Danang. It was voted one of the top 5 beaches in the world by Forbes magazine, and you could see exactly why. I flew there after work with GANay on Friday, so we arrived at the place around 10pm. Obviously, the restaurants were all closed by then, but we were not really hungry. We got shown into the rooms, and it was a fantastic room. Big, and spacious, and very tasteful. Everything was wooden and brown and had a very luxurious feel. It should be luxurious though, since we were paying USD145 per night after a super discount, room upgrade AND special prices. The room had superb mini bar (to look at, not to touch) and also a great patio, where one could feel the sea breeze, and also step down to a huge garden with a pool. This pool was odd shaped, with bars and stairs and seats everywhere hidden among trees and large bushes. I called this pool the garden pool. This is to separate it from the main pool which was on the other side of the building right in front of the lobby which I will talk about later.

We put our stuff down, (the toilet has a huge window to the bedroom, so technically it could be very kinky). Haha. We were walking around and our first stop was Paradise Club, which was located just outside the lobby. It is NOT a dodgy place. Basically it was a bar, with very luxurious karaoke rooms (USD 15 for 3 hours) and a slot machines room (decorated exactly like the Crown VIP room). Us being us, we looked around the karaoke room, checked the songs, looked at the bar, and then walked into the slots room. Woohoo ! USD10 minimum to play. *Faint. But !! as we had only about 30 minutes to the end of Friday, I decided to take a chance. I played a poker game slot machine. I was down to about USD3 and then made a killer bet and went up to USD15. I pressed pay out straight away. Seriously, one should be happy to get away from slots at break even, so a 50% payout is very good. By that time, I already had free drinks and a lot of attention from the attendants, so I felt it was worth all my time. And I was the only patron in the room anyway.

Then we went to the bar and got a drink each with some really fresh and well cooked calamari rings. We relaxed and read all the English newspapers there, before walking towards the Big Pool. This pool is huge and is split level. Meaning, there is one big rectangular pool, and then a ledge which water falls over into a lower level pool. This is a great place, as from the ledge, you have an ocean view. While behind, you have an unobstructed view of the whole main hotel building with lights and the fountain. Very nice. Then, we walked down to the beach.

Wow. That was a great experience. It was midnight, and the wind was strong and the beach was deserted. We walked down to the cool water’s edge and looked at the big waves. Then (my idea) we made wishes on the beach, and the stars. And just totally enjoyed the breeze and the sound of the waves. I usually prefer to stay in the city, but whenever I go out into nature, and listen to the sounds of the waves, or the jungle, I feel really good inside. Yea.

After the beach, we went back to the Garden Pool and swam around until 1.30 am. It was so brightly lit by the stars, and it was a totally private pool, since no one else was around. Fantastic. Finally, we left the Garden Pool and swam at the Big Pool before going to bed. I think we fell asleep watching Fashion TV. And although we planned to look at the sunrise at 5.30 am, we ended up sleeping till 9. After a breakfast at the coffeehouse (fantastic spread !!) we took the shuttle bus to the nearby town of Hoi An.

Hoi An is a world heritage site and you can see why. It is a whole village of very talented artists and you can go goggle eyed at the amount of fine art there is. If I had money, I would have bought so many pieces. There were loads of handicraft and silk pieces and art, and lanterns. Very beautiful. To walk around the place was like going back in time. There were small cafes here and there, which were very westernised, and you could order refreshing sorbets or fine French pastry. They were like the watering holes for the tourists and you could see them trickle in and out, looking for a rest from the excruciatingly hot sun.

We also took an hour long boat ride along the river to the sea and it was like Venice! Because now is still the monsoon season, there were whole parts of the city that was under water and the river flooded its banks, so you could see river side benches underwater ! Many of the houses and buildings also obviously expect it every year so they each had jetties and boats tied up as well. It was very interesting, and we could see villages, forests, cooking classes and classy hotels, also fishermen, kids floating in baskets, and other tourists on a variety of river transport. After that boat ride and some souvenir shopping, we headed for the beach to catch the last of the sun.

Unfortunately, by that time the sun was not too strong (I felt) and I doubt that any tan will be apparent, and so the suntan lotion that we bought in anticipation of freakingly hot sun was a waste. We still had a lot of fun running into the waves and flipping around. In fact, I cannot remember the last time I spent so much time in the sea water. After an hour or two, when I was filled up with sea water, I retired to the beach to lie and sleep while GANay went to play beach soccer with the locals. Then we had our showers before going for……….massage. It costs more but then again, it is a 5 star hotel. Verdict – Not worth the price which was about 3 times the normal price. But relaxing enough to make me want to fall asleep after that. However, after a light dinner of some hot oxtail soup, garlic bread and ice cream, we went to the Games Room and played 14 games of pool. The great thing about the Games Room was that they had mahjong tables and mahjong sets, but obviously there was no on to play with. Then it was beddy time as we had to wake up by 6 for breakfast and a tour of the town of Hue.

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