China Beach
Trip Start
May 29, 2008
1
57
102
Trip End
Dec 19, 2008
Da Nang,
Vietnam
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Lounging by the pool
. Some of their work was a real masterpiece as it was made out of one piece of rock not separate parts so it could remain flush and smooth. After Marble Mountain, we drove over to our hotel Furama Resort. This was really a top flight resort equipped with fitness center, sauna, spa, beautiful white-sand beaches, and a to die for infinity pool. It had wide, open spaces and really cool architecture. Upon our arrival, we were greeted with the cutest welcome drink which was Dragonfruit juice in a Dragonfruit that sat in a bamboo beach chair. It was a real treat. Our room was big and comfortable and looked into the foresty garden area. It had amenities galore. The resort was right on China Beach. China Beach was a popular beach for American soldiers during the Vietnam War. Soldiers would be flown in here to relax and try to regain their sanity during wartime. We can see why they brought them here. White sand, plenty of space, the oceanview was beautiful as gorgeous green mountains surrounded the area. There was a lot of development going on in this area as this was considered an up and coming beach resort destination. At the resort, Rachel and I would go to the lounge area to have happy hour drinks and food and also take advantage of the free internet. There was a live band playing relaxing American music. They had a pretty diverse range from pop to jazz to country. One of the nights Rachel and I were the only ones in the lounge and out of nowhere the band starts to play Allison Krauss' "When You Say Nothing At All" which was the song Rachel walked down the aisle to during our church wedding
Our "captain"
. It was very romantic and felt like the band sang it just for us. We had to stop what we were doing to listen and soak in how lucky we were being on this trip and how happy we were to be married to each other. The resort also had a gorgeous pool overlooking the ocean which was an infinity pool like the Hilton in Bangkok and Anantara in Northern Thailand. Every one of the pools had a different infinity element though. This one flowed infinitely into the ocean which was a really cool effect. Rachel and I took dozens of pictures here as the lighting was exquisite. I think the guests thought we were doing a photo shoot for Sports Illustrated or something because when I say we took a lot of photos, we took a lot. The sunset was just so amazing as it reflected over the pool's waters. Check out the pics to see what we're talking about.
In the morning before we left, we were hoping to use what the call a basket boat to take a ride in the ocean. The hotel offers this service but we soon found out that there boat had a hole in it. Rachel was really bummed. We were determined so we went out to the ocean and spotted a local fisherman that was using his basket boat. We had to tail him for a while but finally caught up to him in time for him to take us out. We jumped in his boat which was, literally, a big floating basket with nets and other fishing equipment in it and went out to sea. The oar was the most particular thing as it was only on one side and the fisherman would turn it in a figure 8 motion to go straight. There was only one oar and that motion worked rather effectively. No motors, no paddles, just one oar in a figure 8 motion. He also dipped his hand into the water to our amazement and grabbed a jellyfish without regard to being stung. We jumped when he plopped it next to us. Thinking he was crazy for doing it he spotted an even bigger jellyfish, bigger than his head and grabbed it and plopped it into the basket boat. Apparently, they'll eat them. We finally made it back to shore unstung using our cool, little basket boat.
