Today was our last day on Phu Quoc. We swam in the ocean and in the pool
for a couple of hours and then packed up to go back to Saigon. After we
were packed up we went to the resorts restaurant for lunch. It came
late, thirty miniutes after we ordered. We only had fifteen minutes to
finish our meals. After lunch we were picked up to go to the airport. We
got onto the plane fine and on the way we had one last view of Cassia
Cotages. We knew that it was Cassia because of the houses and a
house-boat in th water just outside Cassia Cottages. It was a very short
flight. It was only about one hour long, half the length of the trip
from Da Nang to Ho Chi Minh City. We got to the airport and went outside
to find our guy. There must have been some confusion because there
wasn’t anyone there. We had to wait for thirty minutes to find anyone.
He then took us to the wrong taxi. Another man showed up and said that a
big van was coming. Then instead of waiting to get the van they decided
to move us to another taxi that was the exact same size as the one
before. We made it to the hotel and went to reseption to get our key and
go to our room. The told us that we had to pay for the room that we
stayed in last time and the room that we are going to stay in this time.
We wanted just to pay at the end so that we could use as much Dong
(that’s the currency here) as we wanted for shoping and then use the
rest to pay the bill. Then if there was any leftover cost we would pay
it in dollars. We tried to tell them but they said that we had to pay
anyway. We paid some in dong and some in dolars. Then they said that we
owed another twenty-eight cents. We asked what that was in Dong and they
calculated that for us. It came out to be six thousand Dong so dad
pulled out his walet and gave them a five thousand and they said one
more. Mom then pulled out a one thousand and put it down, a little
violently. Done. We went to our room and got settle in. Then we swam for
a minute went out for dinner and went to bed.
This morning we hung out at the beach and the swiming pool. Hannah
played with her Norwegen friends. Then for the afternoon we decided to
go on a motorcycle ride. In Vietnamese you would say that we went on a
xe om (say ohm). We went up to reseption and asked for a mortorbike for
te afternoon. First we went out to lunch. We went to a german place and
had sandwiches. They were good and then we got back on our motorbikes
and went south. The road that we took was the one that we went on with
Johns Tours but this time we got to enjoy the scenery better because we
were going slower. Unfourtunently the motorbike that dad and I were on
didn’t work properly. When you tried to accelerate it would go for a
second and then putter and die. As soon as you let off it started to
work again. Sometimes when we were ahead mom and Hannah would spead up
and pass us going “HONK HONK” with their horn. We drove along the beach
and then went across a really scary bridge. All it was was a few metal
poles suporting wood with sheat metal on top. It looked like they were
making another bridge to the side of it. We made it accross and kept
going allong the beach. We were hoping that there would be a place that
we could turn off and go through the forest but there wasn’t. Mom was
getting worried that she would get sunburnt so we turned around and went
back to the resort. Or at least tried. We we were supposed to fill up
the gas taks of the motorcycles at the end of out trip but dad and I
missed the gas station. I looked back and mom looked bewildered. I told
dad to stop and pull over so we could figgure out what was wrong. Mom
pulled up and asked where we were going. We said that we were looking
for the gas station and they replied “it was back there!” So we turrned
around and went back. We filled up and then went to the resort. We
played in the pool, had dinner and went to bed.
Today since we didn’t have much to do I will give you a tour of the
resort. If you went in the front gate (opposite the beach) on your right
are the staff’s area. On the left is a mortorbike rental place. Walk a
little further and on both sides of you are little cottages where you
can stay. Walk past the cotages and to you right is the breakfast room,
the internet cafe, and reseption. Now walk around the bend in the path
and to you left is a beach house. Walk a little further and (on your
left again) you see the pool. On you right is the big house with four
rooms, one of which was ours for the last four nights of Phu Quoc. Oh I
forgot to tell you that on the second day we had to move to another
smaller room. Anyway if you go a few steps more you are at an
intersection. If you go on the path straight in front of you it will
lead you to the beach house that we stayed in the first night of our
stay. Turn right and you are facing the room that we stayed in for the
lastr few nights of our stay. If you turn left and go down the steps you
are in the area of the resorts restaurant and walk a little further and
you are on the beach. That’s about all. I decided not to tell you
anything about the second room that we stayed in because it wasn’t
anything special. All I’ll tell you is that it wasn’t as nice as the
first one, it was more like a regular hotel room. OK done with the tour.
Durring the moring we played at the pool and the beach with the Norwegen
girls Then we went to eat lunch. I forgot what we had, it must not have
been very special. Then we hung out at the pool and worked on the blog
for a while. Then at around three thirty dad and I got ready to go squid
fishing. We were picked up late, fifty miniutes late actually and went
to a van at the hotel next door. Two people were already there. Then we
waited for two guys from the hotel. Finaly they came but then they went
to their rooms for fifteen minutes! Well they got in and they said that
they had gotten lost on the island. I can’t immagine how they got lost
because the entire island except in the cities have about ten main roads
and a few secondary ones. They should have taken a map. Well we went to
another hote and picked up four more people. One boysterous man sat next
to us in the van. Then we went to another hotel and picked up two more
people. After that we went to the dock. On the way the driver blasted
the music and when he stopped the music the man next to us said! Oh!
That was good keep it up! So the driver turned it back on. For most of
the trip I had one ear smashed on dad’s shoulder and the other ear
pluged up with my finger. Well we made it to the dock without being
deafened and when we got out some of the local boys who were playing
soccer started dancing to the music coming out of the van. After that we
got into the boat and went out to where all of the other tourist fishing
boats were. We fished for fish for a while with big spools. I got pretty
good at casting and I even caught a fish. Then we got a different spool
for squid fishing. It didn’t have a bait just a shiny thing that you
drew past the squid when you saw it. I didn’t catch any squid, we only
got three squid and a few octipi. They squirted ink all over the place.
Lucily there were buckets and we put them in those. We even caught two
crabs with a net! On of the crabs was caught bu the man that sat next to
us on the bus. I saw it and told dad. Then one of the ladys saw it and
yelled. Someont handed a net to the guy and he scooped it out of the
water. After fishing they grilled them on a little stove thing. They
didn’t have very much meat but fourtunently they made some calamari soup
for us to eat. The man who caught the crab had one bown and said, “I’ve
had enough calamari soup for the next ten years! After the calamari soup
which wasn’t my favorite we went back to port and went to a taxi. There
was something about us and two other guys going in this taxi because
they didn’t want us to walk in the dark. I guess that they didn’t want
us to walk down the little road that leads to Cassia Cotages. Well we
made it back safely and went to bed.
Today we went on a tour of the sothern part of Phu Quoc. We started out
and waited for them at the front gate. While we were waiting the owner
of Cassia Cotteges came up to us and asked where we were going. We said
that we had organised a tour with John’s Tours and were waiting to be
picked up. His comment about them was “Oh, go get another cofee, they’re
always late.” He obdviously didn’t like the lateness (I don’t think that
is a word is it, oh well I’ve made up more that a few words while
wrighting this blog) of Johns Tours. We also asked him if they spoke
good English and his comment was that “there will be somone that can
speak enough to say ’now it’s time to get out to snorkel’ and ‘sorry the
coke isn’t cold’ and stuff like that.” Anyway we were picked up by a
taxi and went to one of their many offices and got onto a bus. We drove
around for a while allong the beach and then stopped to “see how pearls
were formed.” Of course the real reason was to let us buy stuff. We did
get to see them open a few clams to see if there were any pearls in
them. After shopping we got back into the bus and drove to a dock and
got onto a boat. We went out for a while and then stopped to do some
fishing but the seas were pretty choppy and we moved to another place.
Then we went snorkling. Hannah had some problems because her fins didn’t
work and so she couldn’t stay up, they were just flaping around not
doing anything. So she took off her fins and got a life jacket just in
case. We snorkeled to the reef. It wasn’t much of a reef, all of the
coral was dead and it seamed like there wasn’t anything alive exept
small fish. All of the fish were, well, fished! Much of the reef was
gone because of dynamite fishing. That’s when they drop a stick of
dynamite into the water and then the shock kills all the fish and makes
them rise to the surface so the fisher-men just have to pick them up.
Unfourtunently it also ruins the reefs. After the first snorkeling place
we sailed to another one close by. The conditoins there were just about
the same, dead coral and not many fish. After thirty miniutes there we
moved to another one. The first time we stopped for snorkeling all ofthe
people got in. The second time about half got in. This third time it was
just us and another couple. This one was a little more interesting but
just as dead. There were some rocks that made it neat to look at. After
that we went back to the dock and went to Sao (pronounced: sow) beach. I
was the only one that got into the water. Not even Hannah mom or dad got
in. Just me. Then we went back to the resort and swam. Hannah played
with her Norwegen friend again and then we went to the room to get ready
for dinner. We saw the beautiful sunset on the beach and went down to
get pictures. We decided that it would be easiest to eat at the resort’s
restaurant. The menu didn’t have very many choices but we ordered and
after a while the waiter came back and told us that some of the things
that we ordered were not avalible. So we had to re-order some of our
dishes. Anyway the food came and we had a pleasant meal. The area had a
little stream and some nice trees and vegitation which mada for a
pleasant atmosphere.
Well today is our first full day on Phu Quoc. We decided that today we
would just stay at the resort and enjoy the beach and the swimming pool.
We swam for a while in the ocean it was pretty special because this is
the maybe fourth or fith time that we have seen the ocean and the beach
in our lives. The last time that we really were at the beech was when we
went to Hawaii when I was five. We stayed at the beach and at the pool
for most of the morning and then we walked into town to see the town and
look for some goggles for me because mine broke. On the way we stopped
at a little stall for John’s Tours beside the main road into town. We
boked a tour for tommorow of the south of the island. Allong with that
we booked a tour to go squid fishing the night after tomorrow. Then we
walked a little futher and found a shop that looked like it may have
goggles. He didn’t have any but he told us where to go buy some. We
walked in that direction and looked at some differnt shops until we got
to one that sold goggles. We got the goggles and then headed back. The
town wasn’t very big, just maybe five to ten main streets. By this time
it was about time for lunch. We ate at a pizza place, it was good but we
accidentaly got two pizzas. I think that when mom was asking for the
size she pointed at one of the choices and the waiter thought that mom
wanted to order that. Well we ate the second pizza and then went back to
the hotel. We went down to the pool for a while. Mom chatted with a
Norwegen man with two daughters. He asked where we were from and we said
America. He asked which state we were from and then he said, oh, there’s
a university somewhere it starts with a “B.” Of course he was talking
about Boulder and when we said that he said that one of his friends was
going to school there at Colorado School of Mines. Then another couple
came over and said “Boulder? are you from Boulder?” It turned out that
they lived in boulder and had come to Vietnam on a buisness trip for
Celestial Seasonings. The reason is that all of the cinimon that
celestial seasonings uses comes from Cassia Cottages. It just tells you
how small the world is, three people metting at one spot all having
something in common! Hannah played with the Norwegen girls one was nine
and the other one was my age. The younger one had very good English, of
course not perfect, but what would you expect from a girl that has oly
taken two years of English! It wasn’t just “my name is Ellinor” it was
“can you do a hand stand?” and things like that! Of course there were
some grammar errors but they were minor. Then we walked down the beach
to another place where we had dinner. It was good and then we went back
to the hotel and went to bed. ZZZZZ (that’s dad snoring).
Today we woke up and got ready to go to Phu Quoc, an island off the
western coast of Vietnam. After we were packed we got into the car go to
Rach Gia where we were to board a boat to go to Phu Quoc. Once there we
had to kill time for a hour or so. We had lunch and then went to the
dock. Our boats name was the Super Dong Express. It was suposedly a
hydrofoil and most likely it was but sometimes companys just think a
word sound like a good way to market their services to tourists and may
not even know what it means. It was like an airplane in some respects
like having set seats. It was pretty cramped so it was a pretty long two
and a half hours. We got to Phu Quoc safe and sound. We were picked up
at the dock and drove to our hotel. The one that we picked was called
Cassia Cottages. It was one of the first resorts on Phu Quoc. We got our
key and were shown to our room. It was huge! When you went in the front
door you were in the living room it had a sofa and two chairs in the
left side . On the right side was a table and the mini bar. If you waled
forward to a little alcove you would see to either side of you a door
that led to on of the rooms. They were mirror to each other so you know
the drill. I’ll tour you through the one on the left because that was
where Hannah and I slept. As soon as you go in you are seeing the bed
with nighstands to either side of it. In front of the bed was a big box
to put valubles in. Walk in a little bit and turn right and look right
you are looking at a closet/desk allong the wall going all the way to
the bathroom wall. The bathroom door is on the wall paralel with the
closet. In the batroom was nice but not spectacular, it had a bath and a
shower and all the regular things. The ammenities were basic though, oh
well. Anyway once we were settled in we went and toured the grouns. I am
not going to tour you right now but it will come. We went down to the
beach and hung out at the ocean and the pool. Then we went back to the
room to get ready to go to dinner. We decided to walk down the beach to
try to find a spot to eat. We found a little restaurant on the beach
with little tables on the sand. We got a table on the sand and had a
wonderful meal. After dinner we walked back to the hotel and went to
bed.
Hey,today we are going to Choa Doc. That is on the way to Phu Quac
Island. That makes sense that Phu Quac is an island. Anyway. This
morning we went to a more occupied breakfast room. There was about… 20
people at breakfast. Mom and Dad were the odd balls, because they were
the only white people. We had to leave for Choa Doc at 8:00 AM so we had
a relatively hurried breakfast. We got ready and headed out on the road
at precisely 8:00 so we timed everything well. Mr. Anh, ( our guide,)
told us a very interesting story that I would like to tell you guys.
Today we woke up and got readdy to drive to Chao Doc. We went through
Can Tho and then kept on going north to Chao Doc, a place very close to
the border with Cambodia. The first thing that we did was go on a boat
ride. We rode around and see many exiting things. One thing that really
stood out were some people fishing with big nets. It was a simple design
for these big nets. The frame was just two ladder-ish things conected at
a fulcrum on the shore. One side is over the river and has a net
attached to it. The other side is just free with nothing. The person
fishing walkes on the ladder closest to shore and tips the net out of
the water. Then he (of she) walks to the center of the contraption and
pulls a rope that then pulls the net up. Then they put the fish that
they caught in a smaller net. Then he walks to the end out over the
water and waits for two miniutes and start the prosess over again. After
the boat trip we went to a market. It was basicly just like any other
Vietnamese market. We saw some pretty disgusting stuff such as frogs
with their heads cut off but still moving. After the market we went to
the hotel and got settled in. It was a nice hotel and the rooms were
nice (we had to have two). The staff didn’t win any prizes though. We
hung out for a while at the hotel (no tour because it wasn’t anything
special) and went to the hotel’s restraunt for dinner. Then we went to
bed.
Hello, today was a very special and memorable day. Today we started at
in a city called Can Tho. Can Tho is also a very special day, because
when Mom, dad and Sumner came to get me in Soc Tran, they stayed in a
hotel very close to the one we stayed in this trip.
So toady we woke up and got ready to go to Soc Tran. Soc Tran
(pronounced: shoc tran) is where Hannah was born and where her orphanage
is. We got up and walked to the dock to go to a floating market. On the
way we found the hotel that we stayed at the last night that we were a
three person family. The next day we had Hannah. Then we got onto the
boat. We went up the river a little way and then turned on a canal where
the floating market was. On the way we saw an on the water gas station.
It was like any other Vietnamese gas station with gas pumps and all.
When we arived at the gas station we went slowly up one side of the
market. There are many boats with fruits and vegitables. We saw many
bamboo poles with some of the different fruits and vegitables hanging on
them. We asked our guide what they were for and he said that those
things are the things that they are selling on that particular boat.
This market was wholesale so you had to buy in mass. We saw some women
in little canoos up beside the bigger boats and buying produce. We saw
some other women in canoos selling phu and noodles and other food. Our
guide called one of these weomen and asked her to make us some fried
noodles. She had a little styrofoam box with the top and one side cut
out of it with a little one burner cookstove. She had one pan add mixed
the noodles and fried all the stuff. Then she gave us the food. It was
moving fast food! Once we got to the end of the market we furned around
and went down the other side. On the way back we stoped at a place that
sold pineapples we baught one and the man on the boat sliced it for us.
We ate the pineapple on the way back down the other side of the market.
Then we went back to the big river and to the dock. After that we went
to buy some things for the kids in the orphanage at another market. This
time it wasn’t outside on the water it was inside on land. We baught all
sorts of stuff, candy, washing machine soap, soy sause, rice (five
kilo’s of it), toys and all sorts of other things that would help them.
Then we loaded all of it in the car and drove to Soc Tran. It was maybe
a four hour trip to get there. When we went to go get Hannah it took
allot longer because you had to take two ferrys. They just compleated
the bridge six months ago so if we had gone seven months earlier we
would have had to go on the ferry. When we got there we went directly to
the orphanage. First we went into the office of the orphanage and met a
woman named Mrs. Van. She was the doctor for the orphanage at the time
Hannah was there. She didn’t remember Hannah because she didn’t ever
have any realy serious sickness. In that room they had a chart of how
many kids were there. We were supprised to see that they only had
twenty-nine kids. Then Mrs. Van took us to one of the rooms, the main
one for orphans. We saw babies and little kids and older kids. There
were some older kids in there that we gave those fethered things to.
Many of the kids there had disabilitys. I was so glad that I have
someone to love me and take care of me instead of being in an orphanage.
It is probably one of the hardest lives to live. After giving some toys
and candy and cookies to the kids Hannah played with one of the girls
there. While she was doing that I played for a while with an older kid
in the orphanage. His name was Tam and he is fifteen. We played with the
fethered thing. We learned that the Vietnamese call it a fethered cock.
I don’t know why, but that is what they call it. After that we went to
another building where elderly people live. That room used to have with
Hannah’s crib. After that we went to another building, the one that we
went to to sign the papers that offically made Hannah ours. Then we went
back and had a conversation with Mrs. Van through Anh because her
English is very limmited. She thanked us for taking care of her for the
last years and we thanked her for taking care of Hannah for the first
years of her life. The conversation was more than that but that was the
path the conversation took. After that we got back in the car and drove
to a pagoda. It was basicly like any pagoda exept that in the trees
surrounding the ppagoda were many bats. The locals even called it “bat
temple.” After that we went back to the car in a thing sorta like a
sicilo. It was the oposite though because a person on a motorcycle
attached at the back to a small carage (not like the ones that the pony
express went on just a seat and a little area to sit on the front.) Once
at the car we went to the hotel and got settled in. It was a big hotel
and looked very nice from the outside. Once we got inside it was still
nice but it wasn’t as nice as it seemed from the outside. Our room was
clean and it would be only one night so it was fine. They even had a
swimming pool so we decided to go check it out. It was a little
questionable about how clean the water was but it looked clean enough so
Hannah and I swam for a little while and then we got out and went back
to the room. By that tome it was about time for dinner and we went to
the restraunt in the resort. It was a little scary because we were the
only ones there, besides two emploiees. The meal was OK though and we
went went back to the room to get readdy for bed. Done with today,
BEDTIME!
