Even the Sun needs a break

The outlook is looking grim. The sun hasn't shown itself since we left Hoi An. We pull up to the small pier after two hours on the road heading south along the coast of the China Sea. Sam and I grab our bags and thank our driver. We are greeted by our boat driver (driver? Can you be a captain of a small boat) as we board and transfer to a small island off Tam Hai.

We approach our Island resort, La Domaine where we will stay for just one night. It is almost 1pm and I can sense the disappointment in Sam's face. The wind is starting to pick up and the cloud cover meets the ocean horizon. Sam had organized for us to stay for 2 nights on the island but with the weather being so bad, we had decided to stay in Hoi An for an extra night, leaving just tonight on the Island.

We step out onto the island pier and are greeted by a French concierge. He leads us through the resort, which has done a great job of minimizing it's 'footprint' so that it feels very natural. The bungalows are hidden through the palm trees and there are no obvious paths. "Sorry for the weather, we are suppose to have good weather tomorrow" he says with a lisp and heavy French accent. We explain that we are only here for one night and he tells us that we are the only guests on the island...

We drop our bags in the room and check out the rest of the resort. No joke, we are the only ones on the island besides the skeleton staff. We make our way to the bar, order some drinks and settle down on the lounges and chill out. It starts raining. I feel really bad for Sam but what can you do? People who complain about the weather during a vacation are just obnoxious and Sam and I have traveled through enough bad weather to know there's nothing you can do but make the best of it. So we catch up on some reading and reminisce over our travels so far. The conversation turns to what the future holds, as couples on an island resort do. I start thinking about 'downshifting' again. The darkness comes upon us quickly as the sunset is nowhere to be seen. Time for dinner.

There was no question that we would eat seafood for dinner. The Tiger Prawn is the size of a small child's forearm and is quite possibly the best I have ever had. Fresh, grilled and just the right amount of garlic. We decide to stay in the bar on the lounges rather than move to the formal dining room, which like the bar, was basically a huge hut on the beach with no floor so that you could walk the whole resort without any footwear.

Finishing off our bottle of wine, we head back to our bungalow and I decide to take the opportunity to do some laundry. Not quite the romantic setting Sam had probably hoped for but she is already in bed watching TV and falling asleep. I tuck in the mozzie nets and switch on the sleep timer on the TV. Oh well, at least Sam got her wish for an outdoor shower.

Next stop, the Northern Capital, Hanoi.