Weekend getaway – Nghỉ dưỡng cuối tuần
He was waiting patiently while we’re sipping at our ginger tea, standing not so far from our table after he had explained to us…the amenities, available services in the introductory package.
It was raining cats and dogs outside as we made our way to the golf cart, taking us to our villas. With 60 individual ones in the whole The Nam Hai compound, they do look alike, well actually exactly the same. It took a few times to get myself oriented and especially with a few steps on two sides by the room’s wall, you’ll need to bear in mind they’re there.
He continued to show us our villa’s function from entertainment system to pointing out the free black pairs of walking thongs to our outdoor showers, then he politely leave us to it. Hah! We both smiled back in return until Big C whispered to me asking about the tips …we both realized we need to act a bit more ‘civilise’ around here… Big C rushed through the door to catch the disappearing hotel staff. I immediately explored the cabinet.
Decided not to take any underwear apart from my fancy lace set, I packed light. My friend alerted to us earlier to bring along some warm clothes. I tried to ignore. Quickly I made myself comfortable with the ‘closet area’. Normally for a beach getaway in the country, you don’t need much. For something as private and personal like the Nam Hai resort, I think it does not hurt to include airy outfits in my bamboo bag. Yet there’s some key items that shall not to be missed:
- Mascara
- Lipgloss/ Easy lipsticks
- Tinted moisturizers or compact foundation plus a travel brush or a few small brushes
- A contour pounder that also can be used as blush and eye colouring, I love YSL packs with multiple options
- Condoms
Key outfits:
Next step: marking territory – the his and her basin sort of thing while Big C head to the villa’s outdoor area in the front after re-assuring me he will be taking the outdoor shower only. I simply don’t mind.
Each villa faces the sea. Even lying on the king size bed full of pillows, the view is in range, a significant touch and important to us. In a 5 star resort room surrounded by nature, we don’t even bother with the air-con, and don’t mind if there’s any insects want to call our room home. It’s almost 3pm in the afternoon of total laziness and relaxation. I drawn a bath and ordered my ‘Big C served green tea’. The bar area is completed with coffee machine, countless tea bags, cashew nuts /dried apricot for the extra 9USD per jar. Just remember the 600USD fine if guests are to lose the room’s Ipod, we plugged ours in and reading through the Leading World Hotel book on the working desk nearby. We both fell into a late afternoon nap after a heavy dose of washing – bath – in and outdoor showers.
Someone knocked on the door. It’s cleaning time. 7pm a group of male and females hotel staff arrived in their hand carried bamboo baskets and bags. Big C wondered what on earth they’re doing around this time of the night….The staff gently changed our bedding. I guess it’s a regular thing and not that we have made the bed dirty. They put the big lemongrass smell – the dominant fragrant found everywhere on the premise – thick cream coloured candles on their stands, refill the bath/shower liquids, change towel, and clean whatever mess we created. Last but not least they pulled down all the white curtain, a signal for night fall, leaving all the yellow lighting and turn on their default café del mar soundtrack.
We head down for dinner despite the temptation of enjoying such well-made & caring the staff had just brought for 24hours dining room service.
Photo credit: Christan Berg photography
There’s 2 restaurants in the resort, one for lunch and one for dinner/breakfast, both had open kitchen/stove area. Like any top quality restaurants, the service and staff at the resort are friendly, professionals, and actually know what their diners seek and crave for. The menu had 3 main type of selections: Vietnamese, Western and of course Indian (for most of the GMH hotels). I let the staff took the liberty of ordering whatever their chef wants to cook, a choice of Indian dish. 3 course menu with 2 starters, 2 mains, 1 bottle of New Zealand white wine, 1 shared desert and some free breads J total up around 3mill VND which is reasonable. The restaurants have tourists and local guests besides the regular residents. Our meals were tasty, not the kind of food that would wow your appetite or excite your patellae but they were pleasant, (rather pleasant in fact the man sitting at the table next to us ordered a second serving of whatever soup he ate just a second ago) well-represented with care, and good quality ingredients. My ‘open food’ as stated on the bill was a chicken tika masala – the chicken was a little bit dry – which was flavourful anyhow. I could not complain. We then headed upstairs for after meal drink and chilling over the live Filipino pianist performance – later we invited her for a drink. Unfortunately the hot chocolate was not hot (which they quickly re-do) and milky, I would not recommend anyone to try. Just stick to the double smoky whiskey, it always works, perfectly.
Photo credit: Christan Berg photography
We left in a satisfying mood and soon after enjoyed our movie selection by the 32 inch TV on a stand is positioned next to our bed, handy!
The morning sunlight woke us up despite the room’s dark wood décor and charcoal feel.
For an average night , in season, the room would have cost us from as ‘little’ as 700USD. The discount down to 320USD per night is a great offer that travelers should watch out for. Even the Hoi An/Da Nang local expat pay a visit for their weekend getaway on a regular basic, let alone Saigonese. I don’t mind going during Nov/early Dec, when the weather is a bit rainy and not burning hot. The resort offers many activities suitable for families with children, the spa madness addicts or the gym goers, or simply people who wants to escape it all and relax. If you would need an excuse to finish a book, it could be a very good reason. I did not feel locked in prison like The Princess D’ AnNam in Ke Ga, or a luxurious over the top kind of holiday but rather a relax, good quality weekend, being part of nature, feeling at ease with myself and sharing those moments with Big C.
Photo credit: Christan Berg photography
Of course, not everything was perfect. I did leave some feedback to Mr. Herbert (GM of the hotel) and insisted he should fix the entertainment system in our room. I did not want to be hash, but a slippery wooden floor on the way to the Restaurant could be dangerous. What’s else? If you stay there longer than 1 night, they will not only need your credit card for credit purposes, they might freeze a large chunk of money in your bank account. So carry some cash or just get the credit card with 500USD off your partnered. Staff during the off-peak season might not be as sharp but they did remember you and your names every time you need their assistance. Swing by the resort’s boutique and don’t forget the all-year-around heated pool under the rain. Take advantage of the free bus shuttle to Hoi An or splurge on the rental Ford Everest at a cost.
My final verdict: I would come back to the Nam Hai next year when it’s that time again to relax and reflect. Bring some bubble bars, a thin short story, some cash…and a honey bunny.
