10th wedding anniversary holiday destination

[Harriet]

I'll be sure to be punctual.

Happy birthday to your hubby!

I was last there towards the end of '05. The changes in my lifetime have been astonishing.

 

[Phoenix]

Funny, ha ha!!

Thank you.

I''ll bet! Can''t wait to hear abt them.

 

[Harriet]

Btw, which spa did he go to? Oh, and did you see my pictures on my "Travel Eye Candy" thread?

 

[Phoenix]

The Andana Spa (or something like that! I am never any good at spelling

).

You two make a very cute couple, so young! [sigh].

 

[Harriet]

I''m older than I look, truly.

 

[Harriet]

Lien,
Do show us your vacay pictures!

 

[Phoenix]

For sure, I will. Just hope we can decide soon.

 

[Harriet]

Your old ones, silly.

 

[Phoenix]

Oh, in yr travel thread, you mean?

Silly me indeed!

 

[Harriet]

Hurry!

 

[Phoenix]

You''re too cute, Harriet!

I''ll have to send them to Irina to ask her to post them here. Btw, how do I cut my photos down so that i can post them on PS myself? i don''t want to bother Irina all the time and I feel really stupid not being able to do it.

.....

have to go now, hubby just came home!

Speak to ya later...

 

[Phoenix]

Thank you so much, everyone, for yr wonderful suggestions. There are so many incredible places that we'd like to go to. Unfornately, we've only got so much time (or rather hubby has). We've decided that we'll stick to somewhere in Asia and not travel too far. My apology to Indendent Gal, as we've now decided on Vietnam. The following are the places where we intend to stay (we've booked but not paid a deposit yet) I am a little nervous, esp. as it is our 10th wedding anniversary and I just don't want anything to go wrong. Vietnam is still rather "undiscovered" and am not sure that these places will live up to their claims, but I am keeping my fingers crossed.

We're staying at this place for 4 days 3 nights:

http://www.sofitel.com/sofitel/fichehotel/gb/sof/1744/fiche_hotel.shtml

and this place for 5 days 4 nights:

http://www.haivenu-vietnam.com/hotels-nhatrang-evason-hideaway.htm

a different link showing the same resort in Nha Trang:

http://www.stayinvietnam.com/Hotel/HotelInfo.aspx?hotelId=184

In Nha Trang, we haven't decided yet if we should go for the water villa (literally sitting atop of the sea, a concept similar to that of the Maldives resorts) or the Spa villa, which is a bit less expensive (abt 5 mins walk from the beach but you get a one hour massage EVERY DAY of yr stay).

YAY!!!

 

[Harriet]

Glad you found a place. Will Vietnam be extra-special to you? Given how much you enjoyed the water villa in the Maldives, go for the similar one in Vietnam!

 

[Clio]

It sounds wonderful! I''m sure you''ll have a fabulous time.

I tried to talk my husband into Vietnam for our 10th anniversary, but he was opposed to the idea (strange, since he is Vietnamese). We went to Greece instead, which was amazing, too, but I''m still trying to get to Vietnam.

 

[Phoenix]

Date: 5/18/2007 9:07:57 AM
Author: Harriet

Glad you found a place. Will Vietnam be extra-special to you? Given how much you enjoyed the water villa in the Maldives, go for the similar one in Vietnam!

Thanks, Harriet.

Yes and no. Yes, because I am proud of my roots and no because I haven''t been living there for so long, it''s not really home anymore (London is and will always be my permanent home, esp. as my family is there, Singapore is home for hubby and myself for the time being). Actually it''s more hubby that''s been wanting for us to go to Vietnam forever. I only agreed because of the water villas

and yes, I do think that we''re gonna go for that.

 

[Phoenix]

Date: 5/18/2007 10:50:13 AM
Author: Clio
It sounds wonderful! I'm sure you'll have a fabulous time.

I tried to talk my husband into Vietnam for our 10th anniversary, but he was opposed to the idea (strange, since he is Vietnamese). We went to Greece instead, which was amazing, too, but I'm still trying to get to Vietnam.

Thanks, Clio.

I kind of understand why yr hubby didn't want to. First, people usually don't really think of where they come from as somewhere they will go to for a special holiday. Second, as I mentioned, VN is still rather under-developed and undiscovered, it's not something you'd automatically think of as a luxury holiday destination. I was reluctant initially when hubby suggested it but subsequently did some further research and found these lovely (or at least seemingly so) resorts. I still have reservations, and really do not want anything to go wrong for this special occasion, but I am hopeful.

Greece is amazing!! I really did love that too when I went many moons ago.

I will post our experience and pics when we come back from our holiday (in July). Hopefully, it will be a wonderful experience that maybe you could use to persuade yr hubby.

Congrats on yr 10th wedding anniversary btw!

 

[Independent Gal]

Lien, glad to hear you''re off to Viet Nam! I really had a spectacular time there and can''t wait to go back. I was inches from calling my at the time new employer and saying ''SORRYYYY! I quit'' and begging the UNDP for a job instead so I could stay in Ha Noi.

In terms of things going wrong, if I were you, I''d ''expect'' things to go wrong, and then be pleasantly surprised if they don''t. The other thing I do when I travel and stuff goes wrong is remind myself that it''s always the stuff that goes wrong that makes the best anecdotes. The worse the funnier!

But then again, it''s not my 10th anniversary! And I can certainly imagine funny anecdotes wouldn''t be first on my priority list.

I found service in posh places to be EXCELLENT, so hopefully that won''t be an issue.

But be EXTRA careful about food as people carve meat up on pieces of cardboard on the sidewalk, etc. but you probably know that.

Boil it. Peel it. Cook it. Or FORGET IT! So the saying goes.

Good luck and have fun!

 

[Independent Gal]

How old were you when you left, Lien? And where in VN did you live?

 

[Phoenix]

Date: 5/18/2007 12:18:22 PM
Author: Independent Gal
Lien, glad to hear you're off to Viet Nam! I really had a spectacular time there and can't wait to go back. I was inches from calling my at the time new employer and saying 'SORRYYYY! I quit' and begging the UNDP for a job instead so I could stay in Ha Noi.

In terms of things going wrong, if I were you, I'd 'expect' things to go wrong, and then be pleasantly surprised if they don't. The other thing I do when I travel and stuff goes wrong is remind myself that it's always the stuff that goes wrong that makes the best anecdotes. The worse the funnier!

But then again, it's not my 10th anniversary! And I can certainly imagine funny anecdotes wouldn't be first on my priority list.

I found service in posh places to be EXCELLENT, so hopefully that won't be an issue.

But be EXTRA careful about food as people carve meat up on pieces of cardboard on the sidewalk, etc. but you probably know that.

Boil it. Peel it. Cook it. Or FORGET IT! So the saying goes.

Good luck and have fun!

Eeehhh!! You got me a bit worried now. What kind of things went wrong for you? I want to be prepared!!

No, I didn't know that people carve meat up on pieces of cardboard. I am aware that that hygiene is an issue. I don't know how we survived when we were there.

We left VN when I was abt 13 yrs old, so that's a long time ago! We lived in different places, actually my Dad is from Hue (I owe my surname, with the initial TN, to this, if you come across Vietnamese people they can tell you abt that) and Mom from Vinh but we lived in DaNang and Saigon when I was growing up.

I've only been back to VN three times since we left, each time to Saigon for a biz trip. The first time, we were in this place and they served us food at their canteen which had flies all over it and next door was a pig farm and we could smell it. I took a couple of spoonfuls out of politeness but was cringing inside!

I know you're not supposed to drink ice, so one whole week of no ice will be a bit tough for us (again the first time I was back in VN for a biz trip, I was there for 3 weeks and had no ice at all - which was absolute torture!). In Dalat it won't be so bad as the weather is cooler but I don't know how we're going to survive in Nha Trang on that hot beach. We shall see...

 

[Independent Gal]

As long as you're scrupulous about what you eat, you should be absolutely fine! I've traveled extensively in all kinds of places and as yet have only lost half a day to sickness because I'm CAREFUL. Make sure what you eat has been prepared freshly, and that it's good and hot. Cooking kills most bacteria, so even if the meat was hacked up on the street on a piece of cardboard, whatever it had contact with will be irrelevant. The most frequent 'slip up' my travel buddies have made is eating salad. If it's not cooked or peeled DON'T EAT IT! And try not to eat from buffets or street vendors (unless they cook stuff up fresh in front of you, as some do!).

It's easy to get bottled water and canned juices and drinks there. But I had a terrible time finding COLD drinks because I guess some Asian cultures consider it unhealthy.

I have to say I ate MAGNIFICENTLY well in Viet Nam. The seafood especially was wonderful. So long as you're cautious, you shouldn't have a problem!

One other thing: are you both up to date on your shots? Typhoid? Hep A? That's easy to take care of!

In terms of things going wrong, on that particular trip, most problems I had were in Cambodia, not Viet Nam. In VN, the only thing really memorably bad was a tiny airless rat-infested cabin on a boat that had diesel fumes pouring in the window. Without the motor running, there was no electricity (so, no lights, no fans), and the motor was loud and STINKY! I slept on the deck. Then we hit a rock. Long story.

ETA: That boat trip was seriously on the cheap! So I wouldn't worry about it if you're planning to take any boat trips. Anyway, what's a few rats?

 

[Clio]

We left VN when I was abt 13 yrs old

Ah, my husband was only 3 when his family left, so he doesn''t even remember it really.

We''re hoping to go with my in-laws before too much longer (my father-in-law goes bach pretty regularly). The only issue is that our kids now are getting old enough to go along with us, and that gets pretty expensive.

 

[Phoenix]

Date: 5/18/2007 12:58:01 PM
Author: Independent Gal
As long as you're scrupulous about what you eat, you should be absolutely fine! I've traveled extensively in all kinds of places and as yet have only lost half a day to sickness because I'm CAREFUL. Make sure what you eat has been prepared freshly, and that it's good and hot. Cooking kills most bacteria, so even if the meat was hacked up on the street on a piece of cardboard, whatever it had contact with will be irrelevant. The most frequent 'slip up' my travel buddies have made is eating salad. If it's not cooked or peeled DON'T EAT IT! And try not to eat from buffets or street vendors (unless they cook stuff up fresh in front of you, as some do!).

It's easy to get bottled water and canned juices and drinks there. But I had a terrible time finding COLD drinks because I guess some Asian cultures consider it unhealthy.

I have to say I ate MAGNIFICENTLY well in Viet Nam. The seafood especially was wonderful. So long as you're cautious, you shouldn't have a problem!

One other thing: are you both up to date on your shots? Typhoid? Hep A? That's easy to take care of!

In terms of things going wrong, on that particular trip, most problems I had were in Cambodia, not Viet Nam. In VN, the only thing really memorably bad was a tiny airless rat-infested cabin on a boat that had diesel fumes pouring in the window. Without the motor running, there was no electricity (so, no lights, no fans), and the motor was loud and STINKY! I slept on the deck. Then we hit a rock. Long story.

ETA: That boat trip was seriously on the cheap! So I wouldn't worry about it if you're planning to take any boat trips. Anyway, what's a few rats?

Both my DH and I have travelled extensively both for work and pleasure and most of the time , we're ok. We NEVER drink anything but bottled water when we travel to what we consider less than hygienic places. My hubby has travelled to India many many times for work and has never once gotten the "Dehli belly" (touch wood!). The only times he got sick was when we were living in HK and once in Mexico at a 5-star hotel. In fact, he got extremely sick in Mexico

that I was seriously thinking of getting him evacuated by air back to the US. I got sick once in Malaysia on a Valentine's day in a 5-star resort and was really pi..d particularly because it was Valentine's day and because you don't expect to get sick in a 5-star resort (again!). We are going to be careful and not take our chances. Maybe we'll bring an ice tray and fill it up with bottled water and leave it in the freezer in our villa (if there's one) or ask them to do it for us, he he!!

Thanks for reminder for shots.

That's very helpful. We'll defintely make sure we're up to date.

One of the things I am reluctant abt going back to VN - and I am speaking both from personal experience as well as from what I've heard from other people - is that I am Vietnamese and my hubby is white. Some Vietnamese can be very narrow minded and chauvinistic and cruel, particularly if they've never travelled overseas. I guess this stems from the fact that during the VN war, a lot of Vietnamese women who "went" with white men (be they American in South VN or Russians in North VN) tended to be prostitutes and so automatically now, to these people, any Vietnamese woman seen with a white guy has to fall into this category. Hopefully, with all the foreigners there now, their perceptions and attitude may have changed somewhat, but I doubt if things can happen overnight. I remember once when I was in VN on biz, we went out with the CFO of the company we audited and his wife. He's English and she Vietnamese. She told us that when they were first posted there (abt 8-9 yrs ago), they lived in Hanoi and whenever they went out to the streets (obviously not so much within the company), people would either really stare at them or call her a "whore" to her face and some even split at her!! Amazing!!

. It got so bad that they had to ask for a transfer to HCMC, where people were a bit less presumptuous, but the perception was still there, she reckoned.

When I went back for my first biz trip, I remember the first day we met the General Manager who is Vietnamese. I was the team leader (being a Senior Manager) and was introduced to him together with my staff. This guy marched straight up to one of my staff (a foreign man) and shook his hand, totally ignoring me

! So I cooly walked up to him and introduced myself, letting him know who I was. He went all red in the face, I kind of felt sorry for him. Some Vietnamese men have this pre-conceived notion that women cannot be anything but subservient to men and are not capable of great things (luckily my Dad does not fall into this category).

So for yrs and yrs now, I've been reluctant to go to VN with my DH. I think I might have been overly paranoid. So now I am willing to give it a chance. However, I will make sure I do not wear anything revealing, lest people get the wrong idea! Hopefully now that I am older, such things will not happen and people will treat us with respect.