Phu Quoc Island

After catching a domestic flight from Ho Chi Minh on a small plane where the propeller was outside my window, we were met at the airport and taken to Cassia Cottage and warmly welcomed.  Our little room was decked out with a welcome sign on the bed, we had some privacy and could sit on our verandah and watch the world go by.  Actually it was watching the butterflies go by.

This is the view from our verandah.  Behind Wayne is a swimming pool and beyond that is a small [park like area with trees and hammocks and a small stream.  From here you could laze in the hammocks and read books, chat and the staff would come around and ask if you wanted or needed anything and they were only to happy to oblige.  There was then the sea and it was so nice to have a clean beach with no local bothering you to sell or try the wares.

The beach had golden sand and was such a delight to walk on.  The sand was  a bit courser than the sand at home but was lovely to wander in barefeet and paddle in the water which was so warm.

The island has its own breed of dogs and we found many of them had dug holes in the sand and were sitting in them.  They looked so pretty and seemed to be smiling at us as we walked passed.  They have hair a bit like a ridge back dog along their spine but it looks tufty.

I am continually amzed by these boats - woven round boats - sometimes called basket boats.  They are able to stand in them and come in on the waves and don't seem to keel over.  The one we saw being used in the sea had 3 adults and they were using a net for fishing.

At one of the beach were an outcrop of rocks and as I went to put my hand on it a movement caught my eye.  The rock was loaded with sea lice ranging from very small to very big.

After dinner one night we came back to see we had a house guest outside on the wall.  Tokay gecko's are one of the biggest geckos and are so pretty with their coloured dots that are almost fluorescent.  I am not sure I want to get up close as they are said to be the bull dog of the lizards and hold on tight for a long time.

Needless to say I didn't get very close to it all.  Thanks goodness for zoom lens!

This guy was on the other wall and just sitting there waiting for unsuspecting prey.  In reality it was only about 2 inches from toe to toe but was plenty g=big enough for me.

One of the highlights of this place was the abundance of insect life - especially butterflies.  Although they weren't very obliging and it was  a mammoth task to get the photos.  Patience truly is virtue and it pays off in the end.

They even went right inside the hibiscus to get a drink.

This guy was very tiny, about 1 inch wingspan.  I just love the number of pretend eyes he has on his wings.

                                                           Can you find the butterfly?

Here it is, hiding underneath the leaf....such good camouflage.

Seems like this flying about is thirsty work.  The butterflies were always stopping at the flowers but only for such a short time.  It was fun trying to get these photos...am sure the other people thought we were crazy.  But to look back at these photos, I know we are not crazy but love to see nature working naturally.

Dragonflies were abundant too and they too were elusive.  I think its the hot weather and its probably cooler to fly than to settle and wait.

Drinking a Saigon Beer on the beach under the shade of an umbrella...what a pleasant way to spend the early evening.

This little frog was sleeping on a leaf in the shade.

This one wasn't sleeping he was watching everything we did.  As we walked closer he walked further away until he finally jumped onto the grass and ran up the wall.

We walked along the beach and up to the local town and wandered around.  They are so ingenious with how they use the bicycle for transporting a number of different items.

I kept waiting for her to fly away in the wind.  Balloons seem to be a big thing and easy to sell and make a little money for very little effort.

The river was quite pretty, with the different coloured boats, until you looked into the waters edge and could see all the crap and rubbish building up.

And sunsets were astounding.  Each night they looked so different and so spectacular.  They could be moody or they could be....

many different colours.

South Vietnam - Ho Chi Minh

Flying Tiger to Ho Chi Minh.

Back into Ho Chi Minh for two nights before a short flight to a little oasis island. And of course once in Vietnam you have to have one of their coffees. So yum! We found this lovely little coffee shop just down the road from where we were staying and their coffee was kept warm by placing the drinking cup inside the bigger cup with hot water. Waiting for it to drip through is hard...as the aroma is already wafting up and you can see the coffee falling into the cup. But patience is a virtue and it is certainly worth the wait.

Vietnam wouldn't be the same without it wiring infrastructure. I am still puzzled on how they know which wire is the problem wire. Below this guy was another one telling him what to do!
It still astounds me what they can put onto their bikes and it balances and they can ride them. This lady was surprised and amused that I took a photo of her bike. her job is to go around and pick up the rubbish which she loads into the sacks and baskets attached to her bike.
It's no problem if your Honda bike breaks down, you just go to the pavement mechanic and he will fix it.
I couldn't temp Wayne to have a shave on the sidewalk. This guy seemed to be legit as he had his number painted onto the wall. Although we have been to Ho Chi Minh previously we had never been inside the Post Office, this time we did and we were astounded at the beauty of it. It had booths for all sorts of things needed to be done at a Post Office. A beautiful building inside and out.
Wandering along one of the roads was this tree attached to a wall. From a distance it looks like it is painted onto the wall but as you can see it offers a shadow and shade.
Lottery ticket sellers are everywhere. This lady was sitting in the shade and the bikes were rushing past her.
Selling fans on the street, was tempted to buy but settle for a photo of her instead. People here always seem to be working at something to make ends meet. They always have a ready smile.
Another superb building - this time the Opera House. Incredible structure right in the middle of Ho Chi Minh.
Loading up the motor bike for deliveries. The lady is holding the bike while he stacks the boxes on. There is just enough room left for the the driver!
And when you have had enough of work your bike makes a lovely pillow for a snooze!
Where is the driver...somewhere in the middle of all these vegetables.

While in Ho chi Minh we saw lots, ate lots and walked lots. We found Pho 24 for yummy local food and also a Barbecue Garden where you cook your own local food. Both were good and cheap to eat at.

The place was so lovely and food was delicious! and we just had to finish the meal of with a banana pancake.

Youth Olympics Opening Ceremony Rehearsal

I was extremely lucky to be able to go with Molly and her son Clayton to see the dress rehearsal for the Youth Olympic Games. Fantastic display of talent. It was an amazing experience to see. Almost all of the performers were aged between 14 and 18. They had been practicing for months and it was such a polished performance and should be very proud of themselves. We had dinner before going and then walked out to rain and thought "oh no they will cancel the show" but no they didn't...as you walked in they handed out light plastic ponchos for all and you could take a couple. We found our seats in the light blue tier and had a great view of the floating platform. The following photos show most of the highlights of the show and by any means don't do it justice.

The lighthouse in the middle was to become the flame on the actual opening night....the flame spiraled up and was incredible to watch(we watched it on tv).

These two characters are the mascots for the games.


The drummer was silhouetted beautifully and he never wavered in his performance.

It wouldn't be Singapore with out the lions.

Students in the mirror water making the Olympic rings...spectacular.

The flag of Singapore about to fly.

These tall as puppets were stunning...they rested on the shoulders of people and they had poles that reached the arms and these were waving to the crowd. They also wandered amongst the crowds too.



Opening a story book is always magical...as was this one with the shadow boxing and the story behind it.
Fire and fireworks.
Monsters of the nice kind were beautiful.

The night scene drop was awesome and so photogenic on the night.

And then New Zealand entered the stadium to a small roar!!
But the biggest roar was for Singapore (and yes I did roar for both.)
Finishing off with fireworks at the end while raising the Olympic flag.