March 6th + 7th, 2016

Dubai quickly came to an end when we woke up in Bangkok to begin the rest of our trip. I would not recommend taking a red eye, especially when your days and hours are all mixed up from international travel – however we had to maximize the time we had. We were shuttled off to the private jet terminal where we would meet the rest of our group to travel throughout Southeast Asia. There are 16 of us total (8 couples: 4 from the States, 2 from Europe, 4 friends from China) along with our guide and founder of the travel group (Remote Lands – who also did our Honeymoon to the Maldives!) Catherine. The itinerary is 15 days of touring Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Philippines, and Tokyo by means of private jet (Gulfstream G200). We will be traveling to Aman properties in each country, so it really is a special itinerary.

With lots of time to play who’s who in the lounge before take off, it looks to be a great group of very friendly couples who love to travel. As we split up between the two jets, we were able to chat more with some of the couples on the 1.5 hour flight over to Vietnam, with lots of Champagne – of course! Finally arriving at our first property, the Amanoi in Vĩnh Hy, Vietnam, we knew we had arrived at paradise. The property was very zen-like, with an emphasis on wellness and relaxation. Our room was spectacular and setup just how I like it – very open with 360° views to the outside, very open walls.

We then made our way to the restaurant, which had magnificent views out to the ocean, for some traditional tea and snacks (Vietnamese green tea, Vietnamese rice pancakes, VERY fresh fruit… and cream puffs – Nick’s favorite). Having some time to kill before dinner we wandered over to the spa for a great couples massage.

 

For our first night, there was a welcome cocktails and dinner out at the Cliff Pool, a great infinity pool that overlooks the sea. It was a beautiful location, tasty food was served, and the lights of the fishing boats lit up the ocean. The food kept coming and drinks were flowing – it was a wonderful night and a great way to start off our trip and gave a taste of what Vietnam has to offer!

Waking up on Monday, we enjoyed yoga with some of the other guests before breakfast and then a day at the beach. Nick went out on the Hobie Cat a few times, we snorkeled, tried stand up paddle boarding (for the first time!), and did lots of swimming. What a great day!

Once the sun set, we headed down to the beach where a BBQ was set up for dinner. The location of where we are staying in is a National Park that is right next to a fishing village, meaning all of the seafood we had was fresh caught and so good!! At about 4:00pm we can see all of the boats heading out to throw their nets and catch all the fish they can before sunrise.