Two months in and this is the first map of our travels in Southeast Asia.

 

We couldn’t leave Vietnam without a visit to Ha Long Bay… right.  Well it actually turns out that Bai Tu Long Bay, a bay near Ha Long is just as pretty and is a bit less crowded.  So we opted for a cruise in this nearby bay in a smaller boat with only 15 or so passengers.  It really turned out great, and it just so happened one of my old water polo buddies Kathy Kula joined us for the cruise to finish up her own Asian trip.

After almost 20 years of not seeing each other we were hanging out like no time had passed, we just happened to be in Vietnam.  We departed our hotel by 8:00 Saturday morning in a fancy van/bus like transport; Kathy and I got to catch up while the kids played their ipads and enjoyed the Saturday morning off school.  We stopped for lunch and were treated to a water puppet show.  The puppet show didn’t disappoint, it was a traditional play involving dragons, peasants and water buffalo plowing their fields.  The kids loved it and I believe Caroline said it was one of the most favorite things she has done on the trip to date.

We continued on after lunch to the city of Ha Long, we didn’t stop long in the town heading straight to the dock to meet with our boat.  We reserved our cabins on the Dragon’s Pearl Junk, to get there took we had to take a shuttle boat.  After boarding we unloaded our luggage into our rooms, Caroline shared a cabin with Kathy, which caused a lot of consternation with the other girls (they all wanted to stay with Kathy), but we negotiated a truce and explored the ship.  There were three levels, cabins on the bottom, galley on the second level and lounging area on the upper deck.

We boat set off and cruised though Ha Long Bay, gawking at the amazing scenery for several hours until reaching our designated anchorage for the night.   We were treated to a demonstration on how to make spring rolls, then went on a short kayak ride before dinner, some of us brave souls even jumped into the water.  BRRRRR…. The water was freezing, but it was very refreshing, if only we had a water polo ball.  Next time.

We were treated to a fantastic dinner, the food just kept coming, there were about 9 entrees.  I am sure we wasted a bunch of food, but that seems to be how they plan the meals.  We went straight to bed as everybody was incredibly exhausted.  The next morning we had a lovely breakfast as the Pearl motored on to our next kayak destination and barbecue spot.  The weather was cloudy and misty rain, but the scenery was still amazing.  The limestone pinnacles seem to go on forever and the mist and fog seemed to give the area a mystical feel.  Our kayak ride went on for about two hours which was probably about an hour long than necessary for the kids so they second half was filled with lots of whining and not a whole lot of paddling but we finally got to our beach for the barbecue.  The kids found lots of fun shells and coral but unfortunately the rain started and we had to have our barbecue on the boat.

After lunch we visited the Thay Cave, a large limestone cave.  Our tour guide told us that the limestone islands in Ha Long Bay were formed when a massive limestone formation became vertically fractured causing many separate islands of intact limestone surrounded by fractured limestone which was eroded away preferentially.  The cave had been there for quite some time as noted by the huge stalagmites and was a shelter for stranded fishermen before weather satellites.

Once back on the ship we motored to our mooring spot for our second and final night on the edge of Bai Tu Long Bay and ate dinner before heading to bed.  We had way too much food again but enjoyed the Vietnamese cuisine that was offered.  The kids really like rolling food in their rice paper, we might have to try that at home.  The next morning the weather was much of the same… foggy and overcast.  We ate breakfast and headed to a traditional floating fishing village and pearl farm.  Then headed back to the dock and our waiting bus back to Hanoi.

When we got back to Hanoi, Kathy offered to watch the kids while Maddy and I had some time to ourselves Yipppeee.  Thanks Kathy!!!  We followed the kids and Kathy to dinner and got them settled, before going off on our own in the old quarter of Hanoi.  We enjoyed a hot pot dinner and stimulating conversation.

The next day we completed school while Maddy had to finish work for vChief.  Once finished the kids, Kathy and I went to lunch and then toured Hoan Kiem Lake before meeting up with Maddy and heading to the ethnological museum.  What a diversity of ethnic groups in Vietnam!  We all had dinner on our last night together.  Coincidentally we had similar flight times out of Hanoi in the airport the next day so we shared a taxi and said our goodbyes to Kathy.  Back to Thailand.

After the chaos in Ho Chi Minh City we were girding for traffic in Hanoi but it was not quite as bad or maybe we are just used to the traffic rules.  We were definitely better able to navigate the streets.  We completed our schooling and enjoyed an overcast cool Friday afternoon.  So after having amazing weather for the first two months of our trip it appears that our Ha Long Bay trip might be a bit cooler and rainier than anticipated.

After school we grabbed lunch in one of the tiny street side local stalls, I think I was the only one who enjoyed the lunch, it was very meat centric and very local; there was quite a few peculiar foods and sauces and the food was not particularly warm.  After lunch we headed out to Hoan Kiem Lake or lake of the returned sword.  The mythology of the lake is that an ancient king of Vietnam was taking a boat ride on the lake when a golden turtle arrived and asked for the sword from the king, the king obliged and gave the sword to the turtle.  The king needed the sword again for conquests against the Chinese but always returned it to the lake and the turtle.  The legend also states that if a turtle returns and gives you the sword you are the rightful leader of Vietnam.

We walked around the lake and entered the Jade temple dedicated to the rare Yangtze Giant Soft-shell Turtle that once resided in the lake, and is the subject of the myth.  The entrance was an amazing red bridge through several arches leading to the island with the temple.  The island has a mummified 6 foot Yangtze Soft-shell Turtle on display to show you what they look like.  As we were walking around we looked in the water and saw a turtle in the water, it was small less than a foot long.  At first I thought it was fake but then it started moving.  Could this be a baby giant soft-shell turtle?  We took pictures and really felt quite lucky to have seen the turtle, it even poked it’s head out of the water to breathe.

I did some research about the turtle and learned there are only three left in the world and they are huge; they are also having trouble getting them to produce offspring.  So the turtle we saw must not be one of the rarest species.  Our hotel concierge did say it was very rare to see them and that they only come to the surface once a year and being right after Tet it is especially auspicious.  We walked around the rest of the lake and visited the french quarter of Hanoi, the architecture changed and we noticed lots of old building like you would see in Paris.  We stopped and had coffee and hot chocolates, I tried, after much goading from Maddy, an egg coffee.  It had a thick layer of yellow foam on top of the coffee.  We found out it was egg yolk, condensed milk and sugar.  It was quite a drink, I was jittery for the rest of the day.

We paid the remaining bill on our cruise and wandered around a bit more before hopping onto two Tuk Tuks and heading back to our hotel.

That night my water polo friend Kathy arrived into town, she arrived late but we met up with her in the hotel and chatted.  She is joining us for the Ha Long Bay cruise adventure that starts the next day.

Friday night after meeting up with Julie’s friend Marta who was biking across Vietnam and of course our favorite Brits, we headed to the 3 dragons restaurant and had a huge feast with a few bottles of wine.  Quite a memorable meal with great people, one of those meals with great friends that you don’t forget for a while.

Saturday we visited the Marble Mountains only a twenty minute van ride away from Hoi An with our group of 10 (us, the Brits and Julie) that seems to be together as much as possible these days.  There we visited an area with 5 marble mountains poking up out of a flat sandy plane near the ocean.  Each mountain was named after a different primitive element: water (Thuy), earth (Tho), fire (Hoa), wood (Moc) and metal (Kim). We visited only the Water Mountain the largest and I would image the most developed.  There were at least 3 or 4 major caves and plenty of minor ones all of which had various statues of Buddha including a woman Buddha.  Beautiful pagodas were built on the mountain to house the monk as well.  Although not a UNESCO site the mountains were protected by Vietnam as a site of historical and cultural value, so we couldn’t take any of the beautiful marble, not that we have any room in our bags anyway.

The mythical legend of the Marble Mountains goes that they were formed when a dragon landed on the beach near De Nang and left a dragon egg which after 1000 days and nights hatched into a beautiful woman.  The mountains are the remains of that dragon egg poking out of the ground.  Either that or the eroded remains of a metamorphosed limestone formation.

Sunday we sadly said goodbye to Julie (our realtor) who was off to visit Dalat before heading home.  We were on our own for the day and organized a ride to Hue another UNESCO site about 3 hours away from Hoi An, where the Imperial Capital for Vietnam was located between 1800 and 1945.  On our way there we drove over the famous Hai Van Quan pass a strategic mountain pass along the coast.  The views were spectacular, but the ancient arches and buildings were a bit run down.

We arrived at the city around 11 and drove to the citadel and entered the forbidden city, similar to the one in Beijing we were told.  Maddy the kids and I walked around the city for about an hour but the kids were getting hungry but our ride was nowhere to be found and there were no places open for eating due to Tet holiday.  We also forgot our bag full of food, so we had some cranky kids.  Once we found our ride with our food bag we were able to right the hangries and move on.

Our next stop was the Pagoda of the Celestial Lady an ancient pagoda built in 1601 on the banks of the Perfume River.  It was a beautiful spot on a bluff near a bend in the river.  In the Vietnam war era (they call it the American War) the pagoda was also a hot bed of resistance to the communist government which oppressed the Buddhist religion.  They have on display the car in which the monk Thich Quang Duc drove to an intersection in Saigon where he set fire to himself in a display of self-immolation which brought the plight of Buddhists to the attention of the international community.

After visiting the Pagoda we began driving back to Hoi An and on the way back finally stopped for lunch.  It was probably one of the most authentic or least westernized meals we have had.  It was rice noodles, thick pork/bacon slabs and veggies.

Afterwards we went home, Seamus and I got to have guys night out; we certainly had fun roaming the town of Hoi-An and improving Irish-American relationships, not that it needed any help.

The next day we met up with Seamus, Pamela, Mia and Eli for lunch and then afterward biked to a well-known pottery making area along the river near Hoi An.  The kids had fun making bowls and making designs in clay.  Although there was some sadness over not being able to take the creations with us but really, we had no way of transporting them.  We visited a pottery museum and then hopped a boat back to the center of Hoi An for dinner.  After getting the kids home to bed safely it was the Maddy and Pamela’s turn to have girls’ night out.

Tuesday we met up with Pamela and Seamus again, this is becoming repetitive right?  Well we seem to have a ton of fun together and the kids really get along in fact Julie and Eli are really a bit attached to each other and Caroline and Mia are inseparable.  The adults have lots of fun too; we all have similar temperaments and it’s just easy to hang out.  We had lunch at their hotel and had a lovely pool party in our swimming costume’s as the Brits say.  Then had dinner together.

Wednesday we met up at Jack’s Cat Cafe for lunch and petting of cats.  The place is a refuge for cats in Hoi An, they have about 70 cats and 2 dogs; all were rescued and nursed back to health.  We met up with another world schooler Kristen and her two daughters.  After the cat café we all had more pool time then Pamela and Seamus had their date night.  I went home with our daughters and Maddy took Eli and Mia to their hotel to watch movies.

The next day we had to pack up and say goodbye to the new sunshine homestay and our new besties the Gallamoys.  Off to Hanoi and Bai Tu Long Bay.

Is how you say happy New Year in Vietnamese for the year of the dog.  After surviving the chaos that was the airport in Saigon (think the Wednesday before Thanksgiving) we landed in DeNang, and after a 20 minute taxi ride we arrived at our amazing hotel, comfy beds, nice showers, and an awesome pool.  The only problem is that our host made us move rooms three times because they overbooked the home stay over the Tet holiday.

Our first day we completed school and took a plunge into our pool before heading to the old city of Hoi An.  We borrowed bicycles from our home stay to ride the 1.5 km ride to town; Caroline rode her own while the twins rode on the back of Maddy and my bicycles.  It was a bit precarious at first but Caroline soon got the hang of riding and the various rules that govern the road.  We typically made a habit of leaving our bicycles on the outskirts of the town due to the heavy traffic and the habit of mopeds going the opposite way on the streets.

The downtown area is designated as a UNESCO world heritage site due to the beautiful architecture and collection of streets around the Thu Bon River.  The Tet preparations were in full swing, lots of clothing shops selling beautiful dresses.  We decided that the girls could buy a traditional Tet dress for the upcoming celebration, although Mimi decided on a more modern design.  We ate lunch and wandered across one of the main bridges to an island in the river.  We took a 20 minute boat ride down the with a nice old lady that looked like she was about eighty.  We ate dinner over looking the river and the town, we might have walked the girls around too much as they were pretty crabby on the way home.

The next day Julie our realtor arrived at our home stay, as was planned and we regaled our travel stories with her.  We decided that since it was a beautiful day we would head to the beach and meet up with another family that she met in Ha Long Bay.  We had lunch at the Salt pub on Tan Thanh Beach.  The family had twins that were 8 years old, and despite a rock start we all because fast friends after playing in the ocean and sand for a few hours.  Pam and Seamus were lovely people from England that are traveling for 6 months in Asia just like us.  We all became mostly inseparable for the Tet holiday which was great to have another couple sets of eyes watching the girls.

On Wednesday Julie offered to watch the kids while Maddy and I went on a date for Valentine’s Day.  We accepted her offer without any hesitation.  We had a lovely time wandering the street of Hoi An getting a snack and drinks here and there.  lots of lantern and tons of people roaming the streets.  Thanks Julie!!

Thursday afternoon we invited our new friends over to our place for a pool party and then headed to the organized Tet eve celebrations in downtown Hoi An.  We had dinner and had some awful service, they forgot half of our entries and tried to charge us double for beverages.  We ended up getting other food at the night market before the parade and fireworks.  Along the river bank there was a place for the kids to build their own floating candles.  Then we sent them off into the river for to pay homage to our ancestors.  Hoi An is very famous for the floating candles but we can’t help but wonder where all the candles end up, probably at the bottom of the ocean.

We had just finished our candles and the parade started, it was just a dragon followed by loud drumming not exactly what we were thinking but it works.  We followed the parade past rows of carnival games and candy to a big stage.  We sat down unsure when the show would happen.  After an hour the children began to get restless and we realized we we were not going to make it to the beginning of the show or the fireworks.  So we left our friends in search of a taxi back to our home stay.  Of course it was impossible to get a taxi and my phone wasn’t working and the kids were all screaming… alas not the start to the new year we were looking for.  We finally shared a taxi with this nice guy who wasn’t feeling good.  We got into our beds by 11.

Friday the actual day of the Tet holiday we went and took a boat ride on the round bottom traditional boats they have here in Vietnam.  Some of our boat guides were a bit crazier that other.  Our guide wouldn’t let us move or paddle, others danced in their boats.  I took a great time-lapse of about half the journey.  Lots more adventures await us the rest of the week.

 

We have all decided that Ho Chi Minh City is a bit too crazy for us.  When there are motor scooters on the sidewalks and you have to dodge traffic just to go have lunch it is time to move on.  We only spent 3 night in the city but it was enough for us.  We did see quite a bit of the Pham Ngu Lao part of the city, we visited a market, and wandered around looking at the Tet preparations.  We tended to eat meals at the Bul Vien walking street filled with lots of shops and food places.  We had snacks and beverages at the top of one of the tall buildings with a great overlook of the city.  Lots of buildings with flashing lights and tons of bright lanterns.

Our last day in town we packed up and visited a park, there were displays of bonsai trees, a sensory table with pink kinetic sand and a full on carnival.  That afternoon we headed to the airport and as soon as we got there we realized that the hostel was still holding our passports yikes!!  I called the nice women Mai House Hostel and they felt bad about not returning them and rushed them to us a the airport, disaster averted and we were off to Hoi An.

 

Our third and final encounter with the Mekong was memorable both for the problems we encountered and the actual tour we took on the river.  Our tour departed out of Ho Chi Minh City on a Saturday five days before the Tet holiday.  We organized the tour with our hostel and departed around 8:00 in the morning but we were quickly delayed by both traffic and a group of about 10 Asia men with Australian accents that had to be kicked off our bus.  The group of young men had been out drinking the night before and were not in any condition to take a tour.  One poor guy had thrown up within 10 minutes of being on the bus.  So once our guide had dropped them unceremoniously on the side of the road we were on our way.

It was about 1 1/2 hours to My Tho where we crossed the Mekong and several large islands.  We were told that it was about 1.6 kilometers across the river at that point, much wider than when we encountered the river in northern Laos.   Our tour began with a tasting of honey and fruits with some local kumquat/honey tea.  We were then treated to some local music before a brief ride on a paddle boat.  The boat ride was through a small canal, with palm trees and houses on either side; a very picturesque little jaunt through the jungle.  We finished at a coconut candy maker, where we tasted the local sweet candy, we were amazed they don’t use any sugar.  The kids also were brave enough to wear a large snake around their neck, the look on Caroline’s face is priceless.

After we boarded our boat on the larger Mekong River we crossed over to an river island with a pomelo orchard on it to have lunch.  We had pork and didn’t spend the money to get the elephant ear grilled fish, maybe next time.  Once we finished lunch we boarded our boat again and crossed the remaining part of the river to the far side to join our bus for the trip home.  I was in awe about the amount of water was flowing in the river and it wasn’t even the wet season.  This wasn’t even the only branch of the river heading through the delta.  At this point it really hits home how important this river is to the region and how many people rely on the river for their livelihoods and their very survival.

Our last stop was a Pagoda and Buddhist temple near the shore of the Mekong.  They had several Buddha statues, the best was the happy sitting Buddha who represented the Buddha many years into the future where everything is good.  We learned that the Pagoda is where the monks pray and live while the temple is where visitors come and go but is not where the monks live.

Once we boarded the bus is became apparent that we were really in holiday traffic, the amount of scooters on the road was incredible.  By the time we were supposed to arrive in Saigon we had run out of food for the kids and were starting in on the coconut candy, to hold off the impending meltdowns.  After almost scrapping paint with a half a dozen other vehicles and a few stops we arrived safely in town three hours late.

The Delta was our last visit to this amazing river but we did get to see three very different areas of the same river and the extraordinary civilizations build around it.  From the northern reaches in Laos, where the river meandered through the hills to the the stilt villages on the Tonle Sap and ending in the famous Mekong Delta.

 

The days after our snorkeling trip we were a bit more on the lazy side. We completed school and caught up on our work and reading. The kids found lots of hermit crabs on the beach and made a bit of a terrarium out of a stump. There was a badminton net, building sand castles and lots of hammock time.  Maddy and I also got a few mini dates when the kids were otherwise occupied and snuck away to the restaurant for an adult beverage.  This usually didn’t last long as the kids were either hungry, fighting or in need of attention.  We’ll take what we can get.

On Sunday Caroline and I took out one of the resort canoes out in the bay around sunset and were treated to a beautiful little voyage getting the best light of the day with very few waves.  I wish I had brought my camera; it is great to have one on one time with the kids.

The beach on Koh Rong faced north toward the mainland so there was typically a constant accumulation of trash washing up on the beaches.  The resort was constantly picking up the trash but especially after high tide the beaches were littered.  I took a run one morning down the beach and saw what accumulation of trash would be like without a daily pick up.  It is sad to see such a beautiful place cluttered with garbage this way.

In the last few days about the time the kids were getting bored with the beach, there was a family with two boys that showed up at the resort also on a long term trip.  We like having interaction with the local children but it is a whole other experience to meet American children who have similar experiences.  The adults also had a fun time comparing experiences and travel tips.

The next morning we packed our bags up, ate our last breakfast at the resort and I paid the bill.  The total was something around $600 for 5 nights with food, adventures and beverages; I call that a steal.  We crossed our fingers about the boat ride back but when we got up that morning the ocean was calm and the boat ride was easy.

We got back to the same lodge we stayed at on Otres Beach and finished school before attacking a huge bounce house like structure tethered to the ocean floor.  The kids had tons of fun jumping around on the obstacle course/jungle gym.  We grabbed some dinner and ran into some folks from the UK we had met previously at the Otres Lodge and joined them for dinner and sunset.  Once we got back to the lodge we crashed pretty hard after a long day of travel and play.  Vietnam is on the agenda for tomorrow!

Finally we made it to the beach, it was so nice to relax and do nothing on the beach for a few days after almost a month of quick moving travel.  We relaxed on Koh Rong off the coast of Cambodia in a resort mostly cut off from the mainland.  We had rearranged our initial itinerary and included Chiang Mai and Cambodia earlier because we were told that in February and March they start burning fields in preparation for the wet season and the air is smoky.  So we had to wait a month for any beach time.  I know poor us.

We flew into Sihanoukville from Siem Reap and around midday, it was a bit cloudy and warm.  The airport was small, no luggage conveyor belt but just a free for all for your luggage as it came out.  Must be like what it was in the early days of flying.  Our taxi driver took us to Otres Beach 1, yes there is a second Otres Beach, where we spent the night before heading to the island.  We came on barbecue night at Otres beach lodge, they grilled meat over a charcoal grill which made for lovely steak, which Julie and I enjoyed very much.  The lodge was a lively place on a Thursday and we enjoyed some beverages by the pool while the kids splashed around and talked with other guests.   There was a birthday party and the guests were treated to cake as well.

The next day we took a taxi down to the Royal Pier in Sihanoukville, not much royal about the pier, it was a bit of a bone yard for boats with lots of trash around and the water smelled pretty awful.  We boarded our boat, a 35 foot wooded ferry with about 15 or so other tourist who were presumably going to the same Palm Beach Resort.  The ride was about two hours and the seas seemed a little rough.  Maddy and I took seasickness pills which basically just served to but us both to sleep, we didn’t throw up though.  Once we got to the resort we off-loaded our luggage and made our way to the restaurant bar area where we would take all our meals.  We got a welcome drink and an introduction from Craig the resident dive master and resort personality.  We retired to our rooms for a bit of rest and relaxation.  We had 3 queen beds in our bungalow so we all shared a bed one night or another.

The next day we reserved a spot on a snorkel adventure arranged through the resort and on the same wooden ferry boat that brought us to the island.  We grabbed some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on our way to the boat to keep the kids from starving while on the boat and we were off on our adventure.  There were about 15-20 other guest and crew on the boat but as usually we were the loudest and most obnoxious.  The first stop was the aptly named coral island, Mirabelle and Julie jumped in with me and swam around for a bit before Julie realized there were sea urchins in the water.  Caroline didn’t want to go in the water at all, it looked a bit too scary for her, snorkeling still needs a bit of work still.  After bringing Julie back to the boat Mirabelle and I swam around together and had a great time.  We found some parrot fish, giant clams (1 1/2 feet wide), coral, sea urchins and lots of sea anemones.  Afterward Mimi proudly announced she was going to be an oceanographer.  Maybe she will take after her grandpa.

 

Our next stop was to watch the sunset and do some fishing.  I helped the kids unwind the fishing wire from their coca cola can fishing rods and threw a hook with a bit of squid in the water.  After a bit Craig came over and helped the twins sink their hooks to the ocean bottom and they actually both caught fish although Mimi’s fish was a bit too small and had to be thrown back.  Besides the captain they were the only ones to catch fish out of about 10 people fishing.  We finished watching the sun set over the Gulf of Thailand and motored off into the darkness.

Our last stop was to see bio-luminescent plankton famous on the island, I had seen it once before in the Cook island but never had the opportunity to swim with it.  The kids were really apprehensive at first to jump into dark water in the ocean when it was pitch black but once they heard the gleeful screams from the water from the other swimmers they decided to jump into the water.  There wasn’t much to see from the boat but once we got into the water we found out what they were talking about.  It looked like huge blue and white sparks in the water when you moved you arms that illuminated your whole body.  The girls exclaimed that it was like being a fairy and a mermaid at the same time.  An amazing experience.  Sorry no pictures, apparently National Geographic came and couldn’t get any pictures either.

The next day we took a trip to see Tonle Sap, the largest fresh water lake in South East Asia.  The lake has an interesting and complex hydrogeological system; during the rainy season the Mekong river will drain toward the lake raising water levels in the lake until the rains subside.  Once the dry season sets in the river reverses direction and water drains from the lake out toward the Mekong Delta.  The lake is well known as a healthy fishery and has sustained the populations on its lake shore for thousands of years, probably one of the reasons that civilization around Angkor Wat was so successful.

Mr. Lucky took us to the dock where we boarded a boat and went down the Siem Reap River to the where we boarded our boat, a rather large wooden boat with a huge motor and a rope pulley system to steer the boat.  We traveled through stilt village out to the open lake where we boarded two smaller boats for a quick ride through the marshy areas near the shore line.  I was interesting to see the fishermen and all their various nets and boats.  We finished our time on boat and had lunch before heading home.

The next day we went back to Angkor Wat to do the outer loop, we visited Banteay Srei, a temple with some of the most intricate and intact carvings due to being lost in the jungle for over a thousand years.  It is also very far from Angkor Wat as we found out.  It was worth the drive though.

Our next temple was Wat Preah Dak a sprawling temple complex with more of the large trees growing in it as well as interesting alters.

Our last Wat was Prae Roup a really tall temple with large spires where you could climb to the top.  After these last two temples we were pretty tired so we went home and hopped into the pool.

Our last day in Siem Reap we caught up on school and played in the pool and relaxed and recovered.  We caught a flight to the Cambodian islands near Sihanoukville the next day.