June 2023 - Phu Quoc

 Day 1 - At Changi Airport

Ah..flattering angle eh? Jie looked like she had never ending legs.

Yay going on an adventure together

Oh we walked past this breathtaking TWG shop...and thought the tins were fake or a mirror image but it turned out that the ceiling was really that sky high...gosh...

First flight in 3.5 years since the Covid started

Ah...good that the little ones took a nap

I felt the 2 hour plus flight was such a long journey...my body ached, my butt hurt...how would we survive a long flight to USA?

KLIA

Had a stopover...our flight at KLIA was delayed by more than 2 hours...so we went around to explore...alas, if only we were stranded at Changi Airport, there would be way more things to see!

Varia Hotel

The first hotel wasn't all that bad. It was very near to the airport and just a stone's throw away from the famous night market. 

The room was spacious and it was cheap! s$75 a night. There were many ants crawling on the TV counter...the toilet bowl did not work properly...it was constantly in danger of overflowing on the second night...but it could be because the pipes were old and narrow and we were not supposed to flush toilet paper down the pipes!

At the beach

It was a good thing that we managed to play at the beach on the first day. It was a balmy evening...and it rained cats and dogs for the next few days...so in hindsight, how blessed we were to be able to spend a good few hours in the warm soft glow of the sun at the beach where the waves and the wind were strong 

There was a little quaint temple by the sea. It was just next to the lighthouse and was the temple of the goddess who was the guardian of the sea

Ah Ha, so my sister and I took a little jaunt and experimented with posey shots...oh and the vietnamese people dressed really fancifully...they were in billowing long dresses...we even saw one in a glittering black halter gown at the seafood restaurant at the night market...ha but we saw people in PJs too!

Phu Quoc Night Market

The kids bought trinkets - Mei bought a shark toy, Jun had a spinner...I bought pink pearl earrings...only s$3! wish i had bought other colours.

Bought the famous roasted peanuts and even took photo with the founder

They saw people trying this type of ice cream on youtube and were exhilarated to be able to try it for themselves finally. Ate the ice cream on both nights at the night market. You could locate the stall by the distinct clinging and clanging sounds made when the metal ice shavers struck against the metal base

First dinner in Phu Quoc...was not fantastic...oh well! Malaysian seafood anytime!

Found a roadside bakery that sold yummy and expensive cream puffs

On the second night, they had a giant bag of candy floss. Even bought a cute flying toy from a street vendor and all of us had a go at launching the little flier into the sky. Made a beautiful sight as it was lit and twirled nicely in the night sky. It was a lovely way to end the day.

Day 2 - Cable Car Ride and Aquatopia

Cable Car Ride

They were holding hands and going everywhere together...and coincidentally their clothes matched every single day...One day, it was the same hot pink...the other day it was tees with orange and yellow and inspirational messages,,,

Gorgeous view

Aquatopia

The kids had wanted to play at the water playground but we did not bring the swimsuits along. We did not realise that the cable car ticket was sold together with the aqua park ticket! There was a thrilling roller coaster ride - all built with wood and went at 80km/hour. It looked like an easy ride as the curves were not steep, but because of the speed, I felt like I was hurtling down a really bumpy mountain slope. It was so intense and I thought my head would explode and it did throb for a long while after I got off. 

My cute little gladiator

Jun was so obliging and posed like the figures in the murals

Her "use your charm" look

The walkway to the cable car station was decorated with Roman murals...

After the cable car ride, we took a stroll in the open area...

More murals...Jun the thinking man

Well, it certainly looked as if we were in some European city

There was a walkway that led to the open sea but was unfortunately not completed yet...you could see the round loopy structure in the background. That would be the amphitheatre, so one could enjoy a concert under the blue sky and clouds 

The weather was so unpredictable. It rained cats and dogs suddenly and we were stranded at this escalator. Boy, was the wind howling and the rain torrential. Made us really cold too.

This naughty one played in the rain

The place was called Sunset Town and had all the European looking buildings but all the shops were unoccupied. It would be a bustling place if all the shops were open...it would be great fun to shop and dine at this place...perhaps we could come back in a couple of years and the shops would be open?

Dinner at the Hilltop Restaurant

Dinner on the second night. Papa's friend recommended this charming hill top restaurant. the view was stupendous...overlooking the laid back little town (Tong said even the cars were going so slowly)...and the food was awesome

Time to take lots of photos

My dessert - toast with ice cream! The food was absolutely scrumptious. The children loved the mac and cheese - awfully milky and cheesy...it was very flavourful...other dishes were wonderful too...I think this must be the best meal we had on the trip

Erjie thought this photo was really nice

My handsome Tong pretending to be all suave and mature

The contrast between the day and night view...Ah...we were there when it was still sunny and stayed till the city lit up in colourful hues

Day 3 

Vinpearl Resort

So we moved to Vinpearl Resort on the third day. Well...papa had wanted to stay there for the entire duration but I thought it was too costly. Growing up poor had instilled the poverty mindset in me and though we were doing pretty well now...i still felt insecure about splurging on hotel stays...

So we compromised on a cheap stay at the beginning and a luxurious one at the end. And it was Er Yi who suggested this order so that it would be an upgrade! Clever staffwork.

There was a kids' club.

We fell in love with the place once we stepped in.

long airy bright hallways

classy Victorian style

Private pool

the kids' room was soooo adorable

The restaurant was captivating too...lots of murals and photo spots

One of the nights when the cousins came over to play

Heh...the parents took turns to babysit the kids. Papa and Mama went for massage on the first night here, while Er Yi and Er Yi Zhang went on the second night.

Well You You remarked that Papa was really strict and made him sit at the table to wait for the rest to finish their dinner so he could not walk around freely...haha he said he would prefer that our kids go over as they had way more freedom when their papa was around ha

Day 3 - Grand World

After checking into the villa, we took the shuttle bus to Grand World.

Buggy ride

Playground at Grand World

The playground caught our eye. It was a feast for the eyes with the colourful and dazzling structures and sculptures

The sculptures were interesting and good photo spots. We could not believe that we actually stumbled upon such a pretty playground cum park and it was actually free!

Art Gallery

A most intriguing bamboo building

Turned out that it was an art gallery

Cultural Village

Next we saw this ancient looking gate and took a photo and wanted to walk off but realised that it was actually an attraction

I think one used to need to pay an entrance fee to gain access as there were gantry points and a ticket booth...but now it was free

There was a huge amphitheatre. I wondered if they put up performances here.

The comely houses housed different crafts - like calligraphy, clothes-making, lantern-making

Only Jie was interested so we went to check out the different houses and she remarked that Waipo would probably like this place

Gondola Ride

Getting onto the boat was a little harrowing as the flimsy plastic bag holding the huge water bottles broke when papa transferred them from the shore to the boat...then the boat tilted precariously when we took turns to step onto the boat and at one point it felt like it might tip...ahh...

Well the gondola was not manually pushed by the oarsman, it actually came with electric motors, unlike the authentic ones in Venice, heh

But it did feel like we were in Venice with the European looking buildings flanking the river

Teddy Bear Museum

With the barista!

You You was afraid of the teddy bears so we went our separate ways. It was an entertaining museum. They made up stories of the bear's travels to various famous places in the world and meetings with renowned people

Tong the grumpy bear

Day 4 - VinWonders Theme Park

Aquarium

It was pouring yet again, but we had got used to wearing raincoats and going about our business as usual by then. There was no lightning risk so everyone continued to enjoy the attractions despite the rain.

The aquarium was modern and well-kept. 

They designed lots of tunnels for the little ones to crawl through. I thought that was a rather nice way of engaging the children. 

The most fascinating part was the mermaid show. I could not imagine how they were able to hold their breath and dived some 3-4 m to the bottom of the tank while looking so graceful and natural. It was a mesmerising show...though Meimei fell asleep on Gor's lap.

The rain let up a little and we went to the dry theme park.

There were a row of cottages which displayed scenes from various Disney tales

the drama mama Tong

Followed Alice down the rabbit trail and went to the Wonderland. This was a court trial room.

Took a spinning ride - not very scary

Gasp, the same horsey ride we saw in Legoland. We woke Mei up as the ride stipulated only a height of 80cm!

Money heist!

It looked like the hobbits' home

The water park

Played there for 2 hours

Ah...it was as if we had visited Disneyland

The kids bought candy and ate them while waiting for the show to start...ah...the scary blue tongue. Somehow there was an extra eyeball candy in er yi zhang's bag and all the kids said they did not buy it.Er Yi Zhang asked if anyone wanted it and Tong said yes. Then the other kids wanted it to so it was meant to be shared. ah...and mei mei sneakily asked yanjie to open it for her and she ate it quietly without telling anyone. Luckily Papa witnessed her eating it. When we confronted her the next day, she simply laughed nervous and never once admitted or acknowledged having eaten it on the sly. HA.

Even stayed back to enjoy a light and fire show - quite impressive when the fire created huge plumes of smoke, the heat was intense and we were already standing rather far away. Imagine how scorching it must have felt for the audience seated near to the stage

Last shot of the theme park. It was an amazing deal. An adult ticket cost S$50 plus and we got to visit the aquarium, dry theme park and the wet water park! 

Day 5- Safari 

We took the tram and saw the wild safari.

Then we went to the zoo.

At the aviary - it had a waterfall just like our bird park

Fed the giraffes at the restaurant

Mei was so brave to do it by herself

End of Day 5

Headed to the beach after the safari expedition as the children so badly wanted to enjoy the beach one last time but the waves were too strong and they did not allow us to go into the water...

Night Swim

Dining at the pool

We ate so much pizza, pasta and French fries...I was going to swear off western food and indulge in Chinese food for a week when I got back to Singapore

It was cold but they did not care and played basketball, dodgeball for a long time

Little Mei went in the water now and then but mostly stayed warm and cozy at one of the swinging chairs at the pool

Final photos before checking out - the kids loved the villa so much and were sad about going home

Yes, we enjoyed ourselves in Vietnam very much. We loved the chill vibes and friendly people. We loved the wondrous attractions and affordable prices. 

I thought we would probably come back again, maybe to visit another Vietnamese island. I took some 3 hours to reorganize the photos. I wished Iphone could simply allow photos to be arranged sequentially according to the date it was created so I needed not manually arrange them GOSH. It was a flurry of unpacking and washing of laundry when we were back home. Ah...but yeah Home Sweet Home. Till the next adventure!