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Birthday on a Tropical Island
Thank you for all the birthday wishes. It was a fabulous day spent fishing and snorkeling in the Gulf of Thailand. Then we went for a lovely seafood dinner and cocktails on the beach and watched a storm roll in. The hangover the next day reminded me how old I am.
We flew from Siem Reap (Cambodia) back to Saigon to connect to another flight to Phu Quoc Island a few days ago. Relaxing at the beach is the best way to end such an epic journey. It is South of Saigon and is considered one of the few true tropical islands that hasn’t yet become overly developed. It is picture postcard, with coconut lined beaches that go for miles and miles. We completely lucked out with a standby flight of only $40 and a bungalow on the beach for $30.
Watching the fisherman in the morning was a highlight. They crank in the nets manually until it is so close to shore that they get in the water and walk the nets. They make a tight circle and go in with nets and scoop the fish out. This net even caught a small stingray that they took to the markets too.
We also visited an oyster farm. The island is a major exporter of pearls (and fish sauce). Lucky for Elias, I am not a big pearl fan and the money stayed in the wallet.
Now, reality is close at hand. We are sitting in the airport in Saigon complaining about how much we just paid for a lousy airport meal. Tonight we fly to Kuala Lumpur and then onwards to Australia and then finally the next day back to Canada. No more cocktail hours & endless seafood. It was a good one while it lasted.
…more photos in the Vietnam album in the Photo Gallery above.