(Side note- It’s a super fun game to count up al the countries you’ve been to.  Brings back tons of fun memories.  But, there are a few rules.  You can’t count places that you’ve only had a stop-over in.  So, even though I’ve been to the airport in Frankfurt, I can’t count Germany.  Also, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland don’t count because they’re part of the United Kingdom and Great Britain.  Angry Scots, please don’t email me about this.  It’s just how it is.  So, how many countries have YOU been to?)

Anyway, after almost three months in Vietnam, Singapore was a little bit overwhelming!   Gone were the sweaty afternoons spent wandering amongst colourful local markets and dodging locals who spit all the time.  Instead, we went from mega-mall to mega-mall, never leaving the air conditioning in a country where spitting is literally against the law.  It was a culture shock to say the least!

Modern, sprawling and beautiful. The view from high above Singapore.

Our hotel was in Little India and we had a fantastic time exploring the neighbourhood. I was especially keen to pop into every single Indian grocery store that I saw.  It killed me not to fill bags with all the gorgeous spices and mixes that I saw, but I knew I’d never be able to get them past Australian customs.

My first EVER mango lassi. Won't be the last!

Our friends James and Briony, whom we last saw in Buenos Aires, were in Singapore for a few days as well, so we reunited over great food and many drinks.  It was messy, but great to see them again!

Dinner with James and Briony on our first night in Singapore

I was amazed by the buildings in Singapore.  It’s super hot there so people seem to go outside as little as possible.  Instead, huge malls and office buildings are all connected via underground corsos.  We went shopping one afternoon (shopping is the Singaporean national sport I think!) and we got off the train at one mall.  After walking and shopping for a few hours we went outside and discovered we were blocks and blocks away from where we’d started our day!  It’s like being a very pampered, very posh hamster!

One of the dozens of huge shopping malls in Singapore

Inside one of the constantly busy shopping malls

One of the most amazing things about Singapore is what an international little nation it is!  There are people from all corners of the world living and working in Singapore… and it seems like they all brought their favourite foods with them!  In the space of one week we ate Chinese food, Indian food, German food, Malaysian food, Singaporean food (duh), American food, Japanese food and Turkish food.  And that was just a sampling of all the cuisines available to us!

A massive dosai and curries in Little India

Steins of German beer

Chicken and mutton satay

Huge burgers with blue cheese, carmelised onions and pears

Japanese food and beer

Turkish dips and breads (first time I'd had hummous in more than three months!)

So, it was a culture shock to enter Singapore with it’s giant shopping malls and endless choices of food and drinks.  But, I think it was just what we needed to prepare us for our reentry to Australia!  Here we come!

We started in the capital.  We started in the cold.  We ended in the South.  We ended in the heat.  We saw the coast and we saw the rice paddies.  We saw huge cities and we saw tiny villages.  We ate and drank and made friends and memories.

When we left South America I wrote a wrap-up post full of numbers.  I thought I might do the same for our time in Vietnam.  But, when I began thinking back on our time there, it wasn’t the volume of things that stood out to me at all.  Instead, it was the small and significant moments that we enjoyed.  So, here’s a small wrap up in the form of my Top Five Most Memorable Moments in Vietnam.

1.  Making friends in Ha Noi

New friends on a night out in Ha Noi

My memories of Ha Noi are mixed.  I loved the architecture, I hated the cold.  I loved the food, I hated the damp.  But one memory of Ha Noi that’s entirely positive is the memory of meeting a group of new friends out at a Bia Hoi one night.  We ate and drank and translated for each other and laughed a lot.  Amazing people.  Amazing night.

2.  Kayaking in Halong Bay

Andy is paddling happily in Halong Bay

This is something that I have literally wanted to do for years.  We spent a cloudy, misty hour kayaking together around the jade green waters of Halong Bay.  The cliffs rose above us, the water lapped at the kayak and I thought, again, how much wonder there is in the world if you go looking for it.  A fantastic experience to share with my husband.

3.  Cooking up a storm in Hue

Bun tron made for us by Trang in Hue

When we arrived in Vietnam we didn’t plan on spending six weeks in Hue.  But we fell in love with the small city, the great food and the wonderfully kind people at the New Life Hotel where we lived.  Our favourite staff member, Trang, even taught us how to make one of her family’s favourite meals- bun tron.  We cooked with Trang and our new friends Russell and Asia and enjoyed a delicious, authentic meal.

4.  Sunsets on Phu Quoc

Sunset over the Gulf of Thailand on Phu Quoc Island

Andy and I love a good sunset.  Whenever we have a chance we like to pour a glass of wine and watch the sun dip below the horizon.  There’s something very calming and contemplative about watching another day end and Andy and I often have our best conversations at sunset.  On the island of Phu Quoc we spent every evening with our toes in the sand and our eyes on the skies.

5.  Seafood pig-out in Saigon

The remains of a very successful shellfish dinner in Saigon

It was our last night in Vietnam, and I like to think we went out in style.  One last time we squeezed our American bums on tiny plastic stools, ordered icy cold beers and tucked into a feast of Vietnamese food.  This time it was freshly grilled shellfish and we managed to stuff ourselves on scallops, mussels and cockles.  What a way to end our adventures!

This is just a quick sample, a small number of the endless moments of fun, contemplation, deliciousness and laughter that we shared with each other and with the people of Vietnam whilst we were there.  We went to Vietnam hoping to recharge our batteries and regroup.  To get ready to restart our “real life.”  We left feeling rejuvenated, peaceful, full and excited about our next steps.  Thanks for all the memories, ‘Nam!

The first shot is from the beach out towards the water.  The color in the sky was unreal, and it was quite a contrast to the sunsets.

The thatched umbrellas added a nice touch to this photo.

I went down to the water to shoot the sky and the beach.  The clouds were filled with color, and it reflect back onto the water.  This shot was one of the best of the morning.  The view was constantly changing, and It lasted for about 20 minutes.

Just startling color in the morning!

Phu Quoc was kind of our last hurrah in Vietnam.  We’d planned to spend a full six months in Vietnam, but a job offer in Sydney forced us to cut the trip a bit short.  And that’s ok.  We’re SO excited about getting back to Sydney, and we’ve planned a stop-over in Singapore on the way to Australia.  So, there’s still a great deal to look forward to.  And in the meantime, we were on the world’s most perfect beach.  Not too shabby!

We finally found our Vietnam beach holiday!

We flew from Saigon to Phu Quoc, a short one hour hop in a little prop plane.  When we landed our resort had sent a taxi to pick us up and drive us several miles down the coast to our own little piece of heaven.

We would recommend it!

We stayed at Thanh Kieu resort on Long Beach (so named because the beach is pretty long… the Vietnamese are nothing if not literal!)  We had a garden-view bungalow with a big front patio, two beds (only one had a mosquito net, which was MUCH needed), a big bathroom, a hammock and several lizards.  I’m not a great fan of lizards, but Andy ran around photographing the resident lizards for five days!

I think he posed for this picture!

The beach itself was gorgeous… soft sand, crystal clear water that was warm, but still refreshing and comfy lounge chairs under umbrellas.  We spent many, many happy hours reading on the beach and taking little naps during the hot part of the day.  A terribly exciting holiday.

Lounge chairs and tables right on the beach. Many were even closer than this!

The beach was lined with other resorts and restaurants, each of which seemed to do a sunset BBQ every night.  So, after watching sunset on our own beach, we’d stroll through the sand to a nearby restaurant or resort, order fruity drinks and freshly BBQ’d seafood and sit and chat while listening to the little waves lap at the sand.  Then, after we’d gotten fully tucked in to our seafood dinner, we’d rinse our hands off in the ocean and stroll home along the beach.  It may not have been very exciting, but five days on Phu Quoc was a perfect way to wrap up our time in Vietnam.

Simply amazing!