The Alchemist

So, I finally got around to reading The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. I know this book has been pretty popular for a while and it's probably taken me a little too long to finally pick it up. When I first saw this book in my brother's room I thought it was some sci-fi Final Fantasy'ish kinda book. You can't really blame me... There was a character in that game who was an Alchemist... And I was probably playing FF at that time... Lol.

Anyway, I came across this title again a couple of months ago and it has been in my to-read list since.  I can understand why this book has been such a success. It's simple, yet inspirational. Many quotable passages, and prompts you to think. The book touches on many themes. The themes that I liked were living in the present, and having the courage to go after your dream/destiny/Personal Legend.

I like the idea that everyone has their own Personal Legend to fulfil but many along the way will end up not fulfilling because... of the many reasons why you don't end up getting your shit together. But if you do decide to go all out to fulfil this Personal Legend of yours, the world will conspire in helping you achieve it. That idea gives you hope. And we all need a little bit of hope don't we.

The book also talk about reading 'signs' and listening to your heart. I think, this book is a sign telling me that I need to take time out, and listen to what my heart is telling me...

Something to ponder on for a bit...

Vietnam - June 2014 [Da Nang & Hoi An]

Da Nang

Day 10

We took the 10am'ish flight to Da Nang from HCMC. The flight was delayed for 40 minutes. I was of course a little annoyed. But seeing other flights being delayed for more than 3 - 4 hours, I was grateful ours was only 40 mins...

The moment we arrived in Da Nang, our thoughts were, is this still Vietnam? Lol. Every city that we've been to have been 'old' in a way. With small roads, and many motor bikes. Da Nang gave us a very different feeling.

We had booked 3 nights at Hyatt Regency Danang. As soon as we stepped into our room, we were wowed away. The pictures speak for themselves.

 So.damn.awesome.

 White sandy beach

 Their beach pool

The view from our balcony

I loved the place and I really would not mind going back again. The sand was soft, and there wasn't a lot of crowd. Though there is still something missing that's missing in terms of Hyatt's service, I would still return for the overall experience. In my opinion, it's worth it to pay a little extra for their Club services. Free flow during happy hour, private pool, separate check in/out area, the whole package was worth it.

Lunch was at one of their restaurants and we were satisfied.

 Shrimp Salad

Hue's local pork noodle - this was yummy

The rest of the day was spent swimming, lazing around, exploring the hotel. It was awesome...

Day 11

Day of my birthday~! I told Kevin I didn't want to do much for the whole day. I just wanted to chill, read, and pamper myself. Hehehe...

Lunch was back at the same restaurant from the day before.

 Sugarcane juice - I love it how Vietnamese add lime to their sugarcane juice. This however did not have any lime in it. We asked for extra lime...

 Fried springroll

 Vietnamese bread roll is also one of my favourite Vietnamese food. No other country makes their bread roll quite like them... Crunchy on the outside, so soft on the inside...

Hyatt provided complimentary face massage for staying in their Club rooms so we booked a full body massage together for the afternoon. After the massage, it was almost time for dinner. Kevin booked dinner at The Intercontinental. The ride there took almost half an hour. It was worth it though. Intercontinental was very grand. They even have a tram inside their hotel!

 View from Intercontinental - It's very different from Hyatt

I would like to try their afternoon tea here the next time I return...

Where we had dinner

Dinner was good. The manager even asked one of the waitress to show us around the other parts of the restaurant :). Price wise, it's worth it comparing to what you'd get in HK for the same price.

Day 12

My Son & Hoi An

The day before, I noticed that we could see sunrise from the hotel. Kevin wasn't very happy that I didn't wake him up to see the sun rise. So we woke up early this day to catch the sun rise. I loved it.

After breakfast, our taxi picked us up and headed to Hoi An, stopping by My Son on the way.

My Son is listed on the World Cultural Heritage List by UNESCO. It's not as well known by people like Combodia's Angkor Wat. It's still worth a visit if you have time. Bring an umbrella if you are worried about the heat. There was practically no shade when we went... Entrance fee was VND100,000.

After visiting My Son, we headed to Hoi An. Hoi An was also another town that Kevin and I really liked. It's a nice quiet little town where it felt like it's a different part of Vietnam.

We had lunch at Mango Mango. Though it's pretty good, it's slightly more expensive than the other normal Vietnamese meals we have had during the trip.

 Grilled pork - the texture was pretty hard. I didn't finish it.

The prawn with tangerine & chocolate sauce was pretty good though

The rest of the afternoon was spent visiting small little shops, and Chinese temples. A point to note is that some of the points of interest in Hoi An require to buy tickets. You can buy tickets to five sightseeing places for VND120,000. Not all points of interest requires a ticket. You can choose not to buy the tickets if there isn't a sight that you are interested in that requires you to pay. We bought the tickets because there were a few sights that I was interested in.

We headed back to the hotel after. If we were to come back again, we would probably spend a night in Hoi An to see what it's like here after dark.

Our last dinner was spent at Hyatt. We managed to try all the restaurants Hyatt had to offer. We were quite happy with all of them.

Day 13

Time to head back to HK =(. It was a very good holiday and both of us enjoyed it. We will be back!

Vietnam - June 2014 [HCMC & Mui Ne]

Ho Chi Minh City

Day 5

It was late afternoon by the time we reached HCMC. My sister in law picked us up together with my sister and little brother. Seeing we still had a little time, we went to the salon to get our hair washed, and so my little brother could get a haircut before seeing my parents. His hair was a mess. After that, we went back to my brother's place to rest and 'wait for orders'.

Dinner was at La Villa, one of our favourite French restaurant in Vietnam. My brother and wife have been their regular customer for a few years now. Every time we go there, we leave with a very satisfied stomach... :D

My other brother and sister's family were already there at the restaurant by the time we arrived. After a few hugs, we had to get into position to wait for our parent's arrival. As soon as my parents arrived, they were shocked and didn't know what to say. They had no idea. :D

Now, to wind back a little, for those who know me, you would know that my dad calls everyday to check in. To avoid any suspicion, I had to subscribe to this service called Stealth Roaming because calling someone while they are in another country is another kind of sound. I don't know why. So that wives in HK can know that their husbands are lying when they are indeed in China? Anyway, with Stealth Roaming, people are not supposed to realise you're overseas on roaming. I wasn't sure if my dad would be that observant to realise but I didn't want to take a bet... So indeed, he was surprised. ^^v

Dinner was good while everyone caught up with each other. Life is good =).
Some of the things that we ate that night...

Day 6

It was planned that we would take a family portrait in the morning before heading off to Mui Ne where the family would spend a few days together. Family portraits with the little ones were not easy! It was hot, and the kids were a little impatient after a while. I sure hope there were some good photos...

After the portrait we left for Mui Ne. It was around 5 hours car ride? Not the most comfortable ride ever... We were exhausted and tired by the time we reached the resort place.

Day 7

After a good night's sleep, the kids woke up excited about going to the pool for a swim.

 Mia with her umbrella. It was a lot heavier that she could handle but she insisted...

 The pool

The tennis court

After the swim, it was time for lunch. We headed to a hotel nearby for some Vietnamese noodle soup.

When all these vegetable are mixed together, you have a nice bowl of Vietnamese noodle. Which I didn't take a proper picture of...

The end product after it's a mixed together

While food was being prepared, we of course took the opportunity to take pictures...

After lunch, it was back to the resort to chill. The rest of the afternoon is spent lazing around...

Dinner was at a local seafood place that served fresh seafood such as below. Yum yum yum....

Day 8

After breakfast, we headed to the sand dune nearby.

Sliding down the sand dune

The family

After lunch, we went to one of a nearby hotel for spa treatment. By the time we got back to the resort, it's almost time for dinner. As it was our last night in Mui Ne, they have prepared some home cooked seafood for us :)))).

 The crab is one of favourite dish. Everything was so yummyyyy.

The Queen of snails apparently... Nevertheless, yummy.

Day 9

After a few days of fun in Mui Ne, it was time to head back to HCMC :(. Another long car ride... We stopped by to buy some dragon fruit before heading back. The dragon fruits in Vietnam are super awesome. It's so sweet and they are so much bigger compared to the ones you get outside of Vietnam.  Another note to add, mangoes are really good in Vietnam too. Extremely sweet.

By the time we got back to HCMC, it was almost time for dinner. Dinner was at a Vietnamese restaurant and I was surprised with a birthday cake. It was time to say goodbye to the family...

It has been a good vacation and it's a shame we can only gather once in a while. Distance makes the heart grow fonder I suppose... We may end up killing each other if we had all lived in the same place anyway. Hahaha.