Viet Viet (A Far From Overdue Post)

I hate to admit this but I have been slacking. From the looks of it, I have joined the slackers clan - where the blogs get forgotten; the Twitter gets no updates; the news do not get read despite the RSS feeds and the once hectic life comes to a standstill.

Oh well, how many times do I get to be jobless and do nothing but sleep till 12pm daily, wake up and do nothing? Guess I should treasure this slacker lifestyle before I swing right back to the crazy corporate world.

So, as promised, I am posting up a brief of what went on in Vietnam. Honestly, I am not going to and I cannot do a proper write up of Vietnam because :

• When the history lessons on Vietnam were on-going in school, I was either sleeping or playing truant.
• Whatever that I had managed to absorb (when I actually sit in for that few lessons), were left behind in school when I graduated.
• When our tour guides were briefing us, I was more interested in the birds that were flying by.

Yes, I admit, I do have a learning disability. I take in things visually easier than via listening. Hence, the crazy amount of photos we took in Vietnam.

Here we go, follow us through our journey in Vietnam - starting from Ho Chi Minh to Da Lat to Nha Thrang and back to Ho Chi Minh.

.

.

.

.

.

All geared up and excited about Vietnam.

Passports - checked. Boarding passes - checked. Off we go!

Arriving at Ho Chi Minh's international airport.

Lavender Hotel - accommodation for the first night at HCM.

A friend told us not to go too near this building as the guards will come with their guns.

Arriving at Da Lat's market. We bought winter coats in Vietnam.

Can you believe that?

A back alley we chanced upon. It was one of those old school back alleys. Beautiful.

Having our first meal the Vietnamese way - sitting on the low stools and eating at the low tables. Did I mention that there were cubes of pig's blood in these noodles? WooooOooooo!

The tour starts at the Prenn Waterfalls in Dalat.

Then we went on to see a much more nicer waterfall - Datanla Waterfalls.

Our holiday mates - Lawrence and Karen at The Crazy House.

Buddhist Meditation Monastery - I hope we didn't destroy the peace there.....

One of my favorite shots taken at The Valley Of Love.

Didn't I already said it's The Valley Of Love we are at?

The King and The Concubine found at The Summer Palace. I hope this photo spooked you out a little. I purposely touched up the color so it looks faded. One day, when we are old, we shall show this photo to our grandchildren and see what reactions they will come up with. Muahahaha!

Soaking at the Mineral Mud Spa.

Strolling by the beach at Nha Thrang.

First stop of our tour at Nha Thrang - the aquarium with not much fishes. But we had loads of fun taking pictures. Hah!

Sometimes, just sometimes, I like to pretend I am a mermaid and not a Dugong.

My baby's first attempt at para-sailing!

I thought this is interesting - we tried sea urchin for the first time. The sashimi and the porridge versions. The sashimi was perfect while the porridge was so-so. Now, you know what to order if you decide to try it, don't you?

On board Boat Trip No 4.

Can you see how happy I am? Cos I finally get to hit the sea!

Another one of my favorite shots taken by Lawrence. I am too photo conscious most of the time and it's nice to have something shot in a much more natural way.

And this shot marks the end of our tour in Nha Thrang.

It was back to Ho Chi Minh the next day.

Fooling around just before entering Cu Chi Tunnels.

This is the original size of the actual Cu Chi Tunnel entrance during war times.

See how my baby is struggling to get in?

Outside their General Post Office at 4.25pm.

Notre Dame - the one in Vietnam.

Coming back home. Obviously, we are not excited about coming home at all.

Turi Beach

Honestly, I am having a writer's block. I haven't been blogging for two weeks - my bad - and can't be bothered to upload any pictures.

So, this is not an advertisement but a promise to a friend that I will write about Turi so he can know more about the place. Shah - this is specially for you.

If you are heading to Batam and wonders what you can do there, here's a list :

• Parasailing
• Water skiing
• Canoeing
• Snorkeling
• Jet skiing
  
• Go karts
  
• Massages
• Lots of sun tanning
• And every Singaporean's favorite - shopping at the mega mall at Batam Centre

Although, I have been a bit OD on my Batam trips recently, I must admit that I haven't stay at many of the resorts. I have my personal favorite - Turi Beach Resort which I had stayed at a couple of times now. Nongsa Point Marina - I say forget it because the place SUCKS. Unless you fancy walking around in the dark at night; climbing up massive amount of stairs; is satisfied with a pool which do not have enough pool chairs.....just forget about Nongsa. The other two hotels which is often filled with Singaporeans are Batam View Resort and Harris. I didn't bother visiting these two either because the reviews aren't great and the people I know who had stayed at these two resorts and Turi comes back with thumbs up for Turi.

Turi has it's own watersports centre so if you are a family traveling with kids, rest assured there will be enough sea sports to keep everyone occupied. One thing I won't recommend is snorkeling though. Well, it's simple, waters around Batam is not well known for their clarity level so you might end up staring at your own hands the whole time. There's also a shooting range near the beach-side restaurant between Turi and Nongsa which is usually filled with families. Sorry, the singles are hanging out by the pool checking each other out and not shooting at some random boards...muahahahahaha! Go kart track is nearer to Harris Hotel so to get there, you need to get the hotel to arrange transport for you.

Turi has got two pools so if you are staying for more than a night, why not use the chance to enjoy the two pools? Personally, I love the pool in the new Tirta wing. It's an infinity pool and it's much more newer than the pool at Riani wing.

As for meals, Turi has got three restaurants that serves really good food. The restaurant on the second floor serves international cuisine and a must try is their beef burger. It's super JUICY! The one on the second floor serves Indonesian cuisine. And the last one serves superb Teppanyaki. Of course, if you have gone all the way to Batam, do go for the seafood. I am recommending Rezek Seafood Restaurant. Been there twice and all I can say is that the food is worth dying for. Two dishes that everyone must try - butter crayfish and black pepper crabs. I swear that you will want to order a second serving. Forget about the chilli crab though, it's terrible.

I could start writing about the golf course but since I hate golf - I only played golf cos my godfather made me learn it - and haven't been to the golf course at Batam before, I am leaving this out.

Writer's block is slowly seeping in again and I am kinda stuck at writing so go on, enjoy the pictures of Turi. Pictures usually speak more than words.

.
.
.
.

A view of the beach from the pool bar at Tirta Wing

This bridge leads to the Island Bar. At the end is a sheltered area where one can do some cam-whoring and look out to the sea. Try looking down though - the water is clear enough and you can see the fishes and stuff in the water. No corals though.

Rezek seafood restaurant

The pool at Tirta Wing

See! Infinity edge pool!

View of the rooms at Tirta. The rooms at Riani are like little bungalows built on the hill.

View of the older pool at Riani Wing

View of the room at Riani Wing

Yes, they do have mozzie nets to protect you from those blood suckers.