Wednesday, August 20, 2014

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. 

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