Vietnam - Part V: The Victoria

The Pool!

Before we left Hanoi, Ben and I booked four nights at the gorgeous Victoria Hoi An Hotel Beach Resort and Spa.  When we arrived, we were both extremely pleased with what we found.  After walking up the steps from the front street we were greeted with a stunning swimming pool which was 20 metres from a stunning beach.  Absolute luxury!  If we ever head back to Vietnam, which we plan to, we're heading straight back here!

The hotel was equipped with sun beds and day beds on a private beach, the ocean was 28 degrees and the waves were small and perfect for swimming in, we had a garden and ocean view from our room, the staff were friendly, and the food and 'free' breakfast was delicious! 

We spent a lot of the next five days swimming, reading and eating.  I also booked in to do a SCUBA trip to Cham Island, just off the Hoi An coast for a day.  Our group went on two ocean dives and I saw two lion fish, a stone fish, an eel and some other colourful creatures.  The trip got me thinking I should do more diving though the ear infection I aquired afterwards put me off just a little bit too!

One of the best parts of our trip was meeting a man named Young while we were having lunch on a beach out of town.  He's an older gentleman who lives in Texas with his wife and son, and was home to visit his family for the first time in nine years.

Young invited us over to meet his sister and her husband and family; there were quite a few kids amoung them, all curious of the tall, and red-headed, westerners over to say hello.  He graciously had us over for dinner (and a few shots of rice wine - yarrr!) twice and took us to the family beach.  They were all really happy to have us over to chat with them; Young translated as none of them spoke English but it was fun regardless.  It was pretty special to be able to meet and spend time with a local family.

Hoi An, the Ngyuen family, and the fabulous beach resort was our favorite part of our trip in Vietnam.  I think that swimming and relaxing is really all I need to do on a holiday.  We had clothes and shoes made in town, ate a lot of delicious food and befriended a few locals.  A fantastic holiday all around!

Cham Island

Hanging with the locals!

 

Young

The beach!

A day bed - ahhh!