A lovely little break

I have had a distinct change of place this week and enjoyed some much needed rest and relaxation.

For the first few days of the break, the country was in mourning for the 103 year independence hero, General Vo Nguyen Giap. As a mark if respect, all entertainment was cancelled. This meant restaurants, bars, sport, cinemas and other special events as well as most tv stations were out of action. It didn't worry me too much, apart from a futile trip to the tailors.

I then spent 5 nights on the lovely Phu Quoc island which is off the coast of Vietnam and Cambodia.

 The weather was overcast for the first few days of my stay at a resort out of town, but that also did not worry me, as I was just pleased to be by the sea, with nothing to do except eat, drink, read, walk, lounge and sleep.Even the rain did not dampen my spirits, as I just lounged on my balcony instead of by the beach.

On my walks out from the resort, the first thing that hit me was the sense of jungle. It was so quiet apart from the sounds of the birds and the more domestic chickens and cows. Then when passing by the odd dwelling, there was also the sounds of men playing pool and cards,  a mother singing her baby to sleep, as well as children reciting their daily lessons.

Once I moved close to town, there was a little more action to view.

The higlight one morning was watching a group of locals drag fishing from the beach. They put out enormous nets; two people were in charge of winding them in until it became a whole team effort including some of the tourists to haul in this heavy load. The fish were tiny but there were thousands of them, plus numerous jellyfish.   

                

I also thoroughly enjoyed a hot and sweaty walk around the harbour and through a very local section of town. I merely followed the pathway of the motorbikes and made my way down little alleyways. The people were so friendly and were in fact asking me to take their photos. I loved the guy, who like many others had his whole business set up on his bike, but his involved shaving blocks of ice into a cup,then pour on flavourings, topped off with condensed milk. Delicious I am sure, but I didn't put it to the test!

Google maps then came in handy to get me back to the main drag!

Apart from that little adventure, there was more reading, lounging and swimming!

I now feel like a new person!

               

More photos of Phu Quoc

Once back in Saigon, I made my trip to the tailors, had my first pizza which was absolutely delicious, went to the cinema for the first time and enjoyed 'Gravity', went to a flea market and the flash mall, just like Chadstone!

So, I think you could say it was a successful holiday!