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Christmas
On Monday we left the New World Hotel and Saigon and our trusty driver “Manh” took us the 4 hours of mad driving through traffic that seems to know no rules, north east to Coco Beach which is about half way between Phan Thiet and Mui Ne, a really beautiful coastal resort - just the way you imagine it should be, largely unspoilt, coconut palms, small pools, recliners on the beach, bungalows facing the ocean, and a mass of kite surfers and windsurfers. We arrived on Christmas Eve and had previously been told that there was a Christmas dinner which was compulsory for all guests to attend (no problem by us) they then asked if we would prefer to be on a long table (shared with others) or our own table - we elected for the long table, which was a great choice as it happens.
They put together a lovely Christmas Dinner, with drinks on the deck then turning on a mass of beautiful coloured lights around the pool and the tables set for dinner, they had a Viet Santa with his Reindeer / Water Buffalo. We sat with an English couple, who now live in Tokyo (Peter and Emma) and two guys from Munich and an assortment of other French and Germans. They did a great dinner, with everything including Turkey! and then Santa came back and they had individual gifts for everyone - all personal things selected and wrapped, a very generous touch.
We crashed a little after midnight, to the disappointment of the Munich Boys who were looking to party on ! but that gave us the opportunity to wake early (6ish) and watch the sunrise and the fishermen (and women) bringing the boats in which was a magical experience - lots of photos.
Kite Surfing Santa
The afternoon was more predictable with the wind building around midday and the boards and kite surfers taking over the water and us retreating to the couch on the deck overlooking our beach, relaxation heaven! We met an Australian family from Ballarat Rob, Lyn and 4 daughters, 1 son in law, and a boyfriend in tow - very generous people we had breakfast with them and met again over lunch - nice to have a sense of community with people when you are away at Christmas.
We have one more day here then we head back to Saigon before we fly to Danang and head down to Hoi An.
Posted by crispin at December 25, 2007 07:42 PM