A Perfect Day in Paradise!

OK, this has been a fantastic trip so far, but this day was definitely the most relaxing. First up was a boat trip to the fishing village on Mieu Island where we had a chance to try our rowing skills with the basket boats (just like we saw on an earlier episode of The Amazing Race). I have to say that they were more stable & easier to row than I thought they would be. Iris & I had a 45-year old woman for our pilot, and she & I did all the work while Iris worked on her tan - lounging like Cleopatra on a trip down the Nile.

Yea, we made it back to our boat without capsizing!

After the basket boats we boarded our boat and headed to Mini Island for our 1/2 day at one of the beautiful private beaches. They had our wonderfully comfortable divans ready for us - all lined up in a very neat row, calling to us. The water was phenomenally clear and the temperature of bath water - absolutely heavenly. What made our experience even more decadent - besides the umbrella drinks, perfect weather and crystal-clear water - was the outside "spa" treatments available. You could get manicures, pedicures, facials, whole body massages and hair removal (by threading).

Ah yes, threading - never heard of it, never seen it. I was lounging next to Iris, sipping my strawberry mojito while she was getting a massage. When her masseuse moved to the foot of her divan, she took one look at my legs & declared - quite frankly as she moved her hand along my lower leg - that I needed my hairy legs done. Of course I thought she was going to wax them - not a good idea if you're planning to go into salt water right after - but she used the threading method. This is hard to describe, but imagine a long piece of string similar to dental floss (actually the one end is anchored between her teeth). The other end is held between her hands as she moved diagonally from the knee downward. It wasn't very painful - I guess you could compare it to plucking out a hair - but I think she was absolutely exhausted after she finished.

 

We approach our private island.

 

 

 Barbara bravely gets her facial hair removed

by threading.

 

 

Sipping on my strawberry mojito,

saying goodbye to my hair follicles (ha ha).

We returned to the hotel for an hour discussion of Vietnam and Communist issues, then headed out for a "date night" - just Iris and me - to Lac Canh restaurant for local BBQ (highly recommended by Frommer's and rightly so). What a riot! Tons of smoke, lots of sweating locals and tourists. The manager really helped us out with the menu - we cooked our own chicken & shrimp right at the table - and added vegetables and crispy noodles. We had 2 large San Miguel beers (about 3-4 glasses per bottle). Total bill = $10 US!