I DIDN'T ORDER THE SOUP

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Even though the karaoke had finished we still didn't get a good nights sleep. Just after we got in there was a power cut and the entire hotel was plunged into darkness - this was quite unfortunate for me as I was in the bathroom at the time! At some point during the night the electricity came back on and with this so did everyone's lights, televisions and anything else they had forgotten to switch off.
Pete's sleep was also disrupted due to his window being in the stairwell. This meant that when all the staff were awake - which was very early - all he could hear was them shouting at each other. As soon as we were all up we packed our bags and went in search of a new hotel. Just a short stroll down the road we found a new hotel. We now had a shared balcony with amazing views over the bay and a huge window in our room giving us the same view. At $2 cheaper a night it was a bargain.

In the afternoon we walked to the three local beaches. Two of them were already developed and the third sadly is now in the process of being developed. Because it was out of season we virtually had the beaches to ourselves. We had a paddle, clambered over some rocks and ventured into some small caves. As always I found some shells and stones for my collection - if I carry on doing this at every beach my bag is going to be very heavy on the way home. On the way back we walked along a pathway built around the cliffs. As the path followed the curve of the cliff, we came upon the beautiful sight of the bright orange sun disappearing behind the huge rock islands. Silhouettes of traditional fishing boats carrying women in conical hats bobbed up and down on the waves. It looked just like a picture from a postcard. This was more like the Vietnam I had hoped for.

Back at the hotel we planned to book a boat trip for the following day. There was a small queue to get to the booking desk, but as there were only two ladies in front of us we were not expecting to wait long. As it turned out, the longest part of booking the trip was the endless wait in the queue. The two harmless looking American ladies in front of us spent forever asking the same three questions over and over again. The manager was starting to look like he was loosing the will to live - and so were we. By the time we reached the front we hardly needed anything explaining all - three times was quite enough. We decided to push the boat out - so to speak - and booked a two day boat trip. It included one night on a secluded island in a beach hut and two days of activities and sightseeing. Excited about the following days ahead we went for an early dinner so we could get to bed at a reasonable time.

Our chosen place for dinner was run by a very strange lady. She brought us a menu each, took a seat at our table and stared at us with her pad in her hand until we were ready to order. I normally like to take my time with a menu, I like to make sure that I have made the right decision so that I don’t prefer the look of someone else’s dinner to mine, but having her looming over us we felt pressured into making a decision and now as she disappeared to the kitchen I felt pretty sure that I had picked the wrong thing.

After ordering I asked where the toilet was. I was taken to the back of the restaurant and shown into a cupboard next to the fridge. There was no way that the fridge door and the bathroom door could be opened at the same time. Even so, as I waited for her to finish in the fridge she insisted on opening the toilet door and trying to force me through the tiniest of gaps. After much clashing of doors I found myself in a small room with a wet slippery floor. There was no sink, no way to flush the toilet and paint pots piled on the back of the cistern in a way that made me nervous to go near them. I returned to our table and requested that we move on after dinner.

During dinner a guest came down from her room complaining that she had no water and no electricity. The manager didn’t really seem too bothered, in fact she used this time to try and move her to another room which was more expensive. With this standard of care for its customers I was pleased I couldn't see the kitchen!

I need not have worried about picking the wrong thing, everyone’s dinner turned out to be decidedly average. We made our way back to the comfort of The Green Mango. With its dry toilet floor and individual hand towels in the bathroom it felt like another planet. Rather than beer we checked out the cocktail list. I normally drink mojito, but tonight I was feeling adventurous. First I ordered a passion fruit mojito, but it turned out to be quite a disappointment. Not letting this put me off I ordered a green mango daiquiri. It arrived and I could tell just by looking at it that I was not going tot like it. We all sat staring at this cocktail glass in front of me wondering if it was going to taste as bad as it looked - it did! Not only did it look like a glass of pea soup, it also had the same consistency. If it tasted of pea soup I might have actually liked it, but the only word I can use to describe the taste is rank! I really should have stuck to what I know. Just to make things worse Pete had ordered an amaretto sour which was absolutely lovely - I was quite jealous watching him savor every sip while I struggled to suck mine through the straw. Not wanting to feel totally unsatisfied by my sub standard cocktail choices, I finished the night with an amaretto sour. I just hoped that three strong cocktails would not be a mistake before an early morning boat trip.

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