PEACE AND TRANQUILLITY

Before we went out last night, we ate our anniversary cake and opened the champagne, but not being used to it, it made us quite sleepy, so we were in bed before 9.30 pm after we had had a meal in the restaurant.  Mr. HCB was thrilled because deep fried squid was on the menu, but seafood is not my thing, so I stuck to stir fried chicken with rice.

We are enjoying the peace and tranquillity of this beautiful resort after the frenetic activity of the last few days and slept well despite the heat.

Before we went down to breakfast, I had a wander round the gardens - sadly I didn't have a pink robe with me, although I did wear my pink flip flops!  The top left photograph is the view looking down through the gardens from the reception area.  It was lovely to listen to the birds singing and the little geckos making their chirping calls.  Yesterday, I had mistaken a gecko for a bird, but the man next door told me what it was when I asked him what he was photographing on a nearby tree.  I also managed to get a shot of and have put it in as an extra, especially for the sons of GodsCreation and Mindful_Life, but as long as they stay outside our room, I will be happy.  

We are staying in what is known as a Garden Room, so we are surrounded by beautiful plants and flowers, a few I recognised, but many I don't because, of course, they are tropical plants.  It was strange, though, to walk round and see many plants that we consider as house plants in the UK but which grow prolifically here.  

I recognised the Bouganvillea, Peace Lily and Stephanotis, the latter in the second row on the left, particularly because of its beautiful perfume;  it is used in the UK in wedding bouquets, although I had tiny Hyacinth "pips" in mine, which also had a wonderful perfume.  

As I stopped every now and then taking photographs, I saw one of the gardeners watering the plants and you can see him in the bottom right of the collage.  When he saw I was photographing the flowers, he came over and beckoned me towards the beautiful flower shown next to him - I'm not sure what this is and he couldn't speak my language and I certainly am not proficient enough yet in Vietnamese to ask!

I think my favourite flower this morning was the one in the middle of the second row, a beautiful water lily, and I will be watching this particular pond to see if any more come out.

Whilst we were having our breakfast, Graciela, the General Manager of the resort, a lovely young lady originally from Lithuania, came and welcomed us and asked if we were happy with everything.  We said it was all fine, except that I mentioned that the bath towels were obviously meant for tiny Vietnamese girls and not for ladies like me with more ample proportions!  She apologised and said that although they did not have bigger bath towels, she would ensure that we had some "pool" towels, which were larger.  She said if there was anything else we needed, to get in touch with reception and they would be happy to help us.

We had a good breakfast, with plenty of fruit but decided that a hot cooked breakfast or even a hot Vietnamese breakfast wasn't quite what we wanted, particularly as the temperature was already quite high but I did enjoy the hot latte - although I must try an iced one soon.  

It's the little things that make the difference in a place like this - the attentiveness and friendliness of all the staff, the wonderful toiletries, having the bed turned down, chocolates on the bed and the way nothing is too much trouble -  I know we are paying for all this, but the fact that it is always done with a smile is so refreshing.  In fact, when we came back after breakfast, the new and bigger towels were already in our room - that's service!

We are now sitting on our terrace enjoying the beauty of the gardens all around us, listening to the birds singing, the geckos chirping and watching the various butterflies.  We won't be doing much sunbathing, because of course, Mr. HCB isn't allowed too much time in the sun - and for those who don't know us, we didn't really come for the sun, but to see our son!

Thank you again, for your kind comments, stars, hearts and anniversary wishes - the actual date is 6th March, but we are grateful anyway and it's good to know you are all enjoying our celebrations with us, so we are having a party after all!