Day 7- April 23, 2009

Day 7: Nha Trang - Private Island

I got up at 5 am to meet with Chef Khai’s family to prepare for a big day at their private island. We had to deliver all the food, cookware, ice, drinks and flowers to the island by small boat.
Along for the ride were 3 nail technicians and 3 masseurs. We set up a long table, bar area, resting area with hammocks and massage area. The ladies continued to prepare the food.

The group arrived at the island around 10:30am. They were welcomed by Chef Khai’s family and a bunch of flower laces. Cool, fresh coconut juice was served with pineapple and Grey Goose. The massage and nail salons offered their services throughout the day. Most of people had their nails done for the first time, including a few gentlemen.




The lunch was so amazing. We had fish soup, seaweed salad with pork, barbecued calamari, steamed lobster, pancake with calamari, chicken curry and grapefruit.

Most of the group went swimming at a nearby island which was only a 4 minute boat ride away. 2 nail technicians came along and more nail jobs were done. The others stayed behind to rest and some got a massage.











Most of the people were still quite full when the dinner was served at 5 pm. I couldn’t help myself but to enjoy plenty of mussel rice soup, stuffed crab, aged pork and pork cake, fresh spring rolls and local sweets.

Day 6- April 22, 2009

Day 6: Nhatrang

We left the Hoi An Beach Resort at 7 am for the airport. The flight from Da Nang to Nha Trang was 40 minutes long and very smooth. The bus took us to a small local noodle-soup restaurant for lunch. We had choices of lemongrass beef noodle soup, pho or seafood noodle soup. I chose the last one, which is local specialty.












It was delicious. I also ordered a side of steamed pork blood, which was
served in the soup broth. A couple of people tried it and said, “interesting!"



The Sunrise Nha Trang Resort is such a nice place with a 5-star rating. It has its own private beach, which is only 100 feet away.

We visited a Buddha temple in the afternoon. It has the Buddha with a thousand hands, a 30 foot long sleeping Buddha and a 30 foot tall Buddha. We then saw the Cham Temple where people worship the Goddess with black face. On top of the temple, there is a sculpture of a dancing woman and barking dog. Ana Mandara has a copy of this famous artwork on the wall of its Cham Bar upstair.




Dinner was served at Nha Trang Seafood Restaurant. My favorite dish was the baked oyster with cream. Mmm....Mmm...

Day 5- April 21, 2009

Day 5: Hoi An


The breakfast buffet at Hoi An Beach Resort was so wonderful. I very much enjoyed all the fresh local fruits and traditional food. We left at 8:30 for My Son Temple, a temple complex of ancient Champa people. The place reminded me of Angkorwat in a much smaller scale.

We then went to have lunch at a floating restaurant on the local river. The 6-course lunch was fantastic.

Then we went to a silk shop in Hoi An. I was so amazed with the process of making silk from silk worms. Oh my dear.....it's such an extensive and detailed process requiring tons of patience. They also showed us how the embroidered artworks were made. It takes 2 and half years to train a local girl to become an embroidering artist. Depending on the size and the difficulty of the artwork, it can take from 2 to 8 months to finish.

We then strolled through the ancient town of Hoi An. The old constructions were built out of wood and red clay bricks. 3 small motor boats took our group sight seeing along the river. Each of us had a chance to steer the wheel for few minutes. On the way, we saw a duck farm with hundreds of baby ducks and some full grown ones too. We then caught the scene of a fisherman throwing his giant fishnet in the air. They are just so sweet and happy to look at.



The cooking started at 6 pm. Our group learned how to make Bun Cao Lau, a very traditional specialty dish of Hoi An which consisted of claypot fish and a banana blossom salad. Following was an 8 course dinner which was enhanced by the sight of hundred of lanterns flowing in the river next to the dinning area. I also saw two small cats running under tables to find food.

Day 4- April 20, 2009

Day 4: Halong Bay and Hoi An

I woke up after 6 hours of deep sleep. The beauty of Halong Bay on an early morning is so calm and peaceful. I just watched the sunrise speechlessly. A group of 12 people met up at the top viewing deck for Tai Chi lesson.

The instructor is a 22-year old man who was helpful and charming. He served us hot green tea and lotus seed candy. Everyone seemed to be excited, happy and full of energy after the lesson.

The morning crew prepared the breakfast buffet and then served us at 7 am while the boat cruised slowly back to the dock. I had a delicious salad and fruit with some more tea. I thought to myself, “When will I have the luxurious moment of drinking tea in Halong Bay again?”

The group had a farewell meeting with the crew members. Everyone showed appreciation to each other. We then packed and checked out. The bus took us directly to the airport.


It was a nice day and a short flight to Da Nang Airport. After we had landed, another bus took us to the Hoi An Beach Resort. My room faced a small river and the lobby was only 100 feet from the beach. It was so beautiful and breath-taking.

We had a 10-course dinner at Le Ba Truyen II Restaurant, a beautiful Chinese garden restaurant. Our private room was on the top floor looking down to the beautiful garden. The restaurant had the old feel of a Chinese Imperial Palace. The furniture was all black and the China set was white and deep blue. We then set off for bed before meeting again at the Breakfast Buffet.