When I finally arrived at the Vedana LagoonResort and Spa I was met by Thanh. As it
turns out she was my personal concierge and was knowledgable in all things local. She was awesome!
After briefing me on the layout of the
resort, and the general in’s and out’s… she then escorted me to my villa over
the lagoon. It was everything and more
that the website had outlined and I knew this was the perfect place for me to
find a little solitude, peace and unwind. As she
departed she handed me the resort map and once again welcomed me to the resort.
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| Thanh my personal concierge! |
I placed the guide on the desk and then
unpacked, showered and went for dinner.
Next morning I was woken by the sounds of
the local fishing boats as they put-putted their way across the lagoon to the
fishing grounds close to the mouth of the South China Sea. This 4:30 am wake up
call was to become my early morning alarm each day of my stay, but on that first morning I was
restless and wanted to explore anyway so why not get up I thought as I threw on
some shorts and a tank top, grabbed my camera and flew out the door.
There's no two ways about it, pre-dawn is
absolutely stunning! After sleeping in
the air conditioned comfort of my villa the humidity was noticeable but not too
oppressive at this time of day so I was quite comfortable as I began exploring the resort in the semi darkness.
At this hour of the morning, I was clearly
the only person up and about (all the completely sane people were still fast
asleep I know…), yet I was accompanied by a cacophony of birds chattering
amongst themselves high in rainforest above me.
Could there be anything sweeter I thought to myself as I meandered
along the path taking photographs in that gorgeous light.
As a photographer there are two best times
of the day where the light is muted, subtle and engages your imagination the
most - sunrise and sunset. Over the
course of my time in Vietnam I made it a point to see both as often as possible
with my camera at the ready.
After getting some great photos I headed
back to my villa and was downloading my photos from the morning’s shoot, and
noticed the map of the resort. Turning
it over I realized there was also a map on the back that outlined the local
surrounding villages and points of interest…cool!
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| My one bedroom villa over the lagoon |
Sitting by the side of the pool later than
morning, it struck me that I should explore these local villages, perhaps get
out of my comfort zone a little and see what I see.
Later that afternoon I grabbed one of the
many bikes that dotted the resort for guests to use, then following the
rough map rode out the front gate and into the local environs. At times I was riding on dirt roads, other times over paddy bunds, sometimes even on real roads!
Clearly there was such a huge gap in terms
of living conditions to what I was experiencing just a few hundred meters away. I felt extreme guilt for this enormous disparity but as I rode something strange was happening around me. I was the one with the guilt issues not the locals, and they seemed incredibly happy and extremely friendly as I
slowly pedalled by.
Without fail every person I encountered,
young and old said “hello” this was accompanied with a huge smile...
My initial destination had been the Dong
Hai bridge over the small canal some 5 km’s away, but as I pedalled hundreds of photo opportunities seemingly materialized before my very
eyes and before I knew it, it had been two hours and I wasn’t even close to the
bridge yet…
After reaching my original endpoint I noted
the next village gates were only a short distance away, so not really thinking too much pedalled into the village.
The narrow streets were full of families
sitting out chatting and eating, with the kids playing at the side of the
road. As I rode by people waved, smiled
and said hello with the little ones running beside my bike chanting hello and
waving to me. There were a couple of
narrow escapes where I had to swerve so as not to run over one of my would-be
cheer squad, but it definitely made me smile.
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| Village children playing by the side of the road - my personal "hello" squad |
Stopping every few hundred feet to take yet
more photos, I noticed that since I had left the resort I‘d taken almost 400,
and I wasn’t even close to being done yet. Such a fun and perfect way to spend the day I thought to myself...
At one juncture I was riding down the
narrow road when an old man stood in the middle of the road ahead of me and
gestured for me to stop…oh-oh, perhaps I’d broken some local village rule, or
maybe inadvertently had offended him in some way as I slowed to a stop in front
of the man.
He smiled broadly to show his one tooth,
and pointed to my back wheel. As I
turned I realized that I had been riding with the kickstand down, with that he
bent down and pushed it up for me. Then slapped me hard on the shoulder and belly laughed out loud as he then
shuffled off. I'm sure he thought I was a complete idiot riding a bike like that...what can I say???
Later that evening when I ran into Thanh at
the restaurant she asked me how my first day was and I related the story of
bicycling to the Dong Hai bridge and local villages. As I told her the stories from my ride there
was a look of total shock and surprise on her face. I realized then that very few guests ventured
off the resort especially without an interpreter or someone local to show them
around.
Thinking back to my bicycling ride it would
have to be one of the high points of my trip, and it gave me a new appreciation
for Vietnam, its physical beauty and the warmth and friendliness of its people
will be impossible to forget.
My advice is if you
have even the slightest chance of going to Vietnam - take it. Don’t stay in the big cities too long (Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh city), and definitely get out and explore rural Vietnam - you won't regret it!
In fact you'll likely fall in love with it like I did! J
p.s.
I want to say a big warm hello and thank you to my new friends at the
Vedana resort who’ll be reading this blog – thank you for making my stay in
Vietnam truly unforgettable!
Here are a selection of the over 1000 photos I took during my stay at the resort - enjoy!
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| Baby water buffalo in a paddy field by the road on my ride to the Dong Hai bridge |
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| Fishing boat in the lagoon - note the nets all neatly packed and ready to go |
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| French influenced architecture, built in 1931and centrally located in the village |
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| The village gate - all Vietnamese villages have a gate like this |
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| Wild bananas in the rain forest |
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| Far off clouds over the South China Sea |
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| Jungle path leading to the rain forest |
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| One of my personal favourites from the trip to Vietnam - dawn reflection in the pool |
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| My early morning wake up call |
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| Vietnam dawn over the lagoon... |
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| The morning light reflected in the earthenware flower pot |
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| Graves at the Martyrs cemetery in the local village, to all those locals who died during the Imperialist wars - French and American |
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| Firewood stacked on the front porch - ready for sale at the market |
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| Beautiful Hibiscus by the side of the road |
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| Machine for harvesting rice in a paddy field |
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| Village canal by the road |
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