As all nights we turned in early.
Christmas morning we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast and the headed out on the scooters to explore the north end of the island. We had three different maps and sets of instructions, one from another guest, one from the hotel and a map we picked up. We made our way across the bridge and decided to avoid the congested traffic in the market by taking the road around it. Somewhere along the road we missed our turn and ended up in a farm area, on more of the red dirt roads, hounded by several youths on bicycles eager to show us the way to the highway. Of course we knew there would be an expectation of payment for services. We told them no and waved them off but they were very persistent and aggressively continued to say, "this way, you follow me". It was both a bit annoying and comical; the biggest problem being we had no small change to give them. Eventually after trying several routes in the fashion of the keystone cops we made it to the highway with the young entrepreneurs in front of us. "You pay" they said. It was a bit bit awkward and heart wrenching to have to drive away without contributing to their cause. Sad for sure!
Motoring down the highway we still were not sure where we were or if we were going the right way. We saw a sign for a restaurant we thought was on the right path so we turned off and headed down another road. Of course as luck would be we came to a fork in the road. Rule of thumb, always go left. Or not. Wrong choice so we back tracked and took the fork to the right. Damn, also a wrong choice as the road again narrowed into nothing more than a path. This time there was a house and someone working on the yard. Okay maybe we can get directions. As I walked up to the place I saw a "white" guy sitting out front eating his lunch. I approached him and quickly learned although he had a strong German accent he clearly spoke English. I explained to him where we were trying to go and while intently chomping and slurping on a chunk of beef he told me we had to go all the way back to the highway. He said he had a map and could show me. The reason I mention this is because he got up and started to go then turned around, went back and grabbed his chunk of steak (or what ever it was) and with this in his hand I followed him to his scooter where he dug out a map the whole time chewing down on the beef. In between breaths and bites he showed me which way we should go. I'm sure the lady's would have found him quite charming with his round bare belly and sweat and grease all around his mouth and on his face. Yummy!
We headed back to the highway and following the instructions we were given finally made it to the beach area we were seeking. We pulled into Chez Carole's and were in awe at how amazingly beautiful it was. Situated on a gentle slope to the ocean there was a restaurant overlooking an infinite pool surrounded by several pagoda/gazebo sitting areas with tables and chairs. All around were small cabins for the guests to rent. We ordered a beverage and in doing so we were allowed to use the pool and the loungers by the ocean side. Wonderful!
An hour later we decided it was time to move on to find the actual beach. We followed the red dirt road for for several kilometres more and came across another resort with a restaurant. This one, Bamboo Resort, also was very inviting and again situated on the sea. We figured it was time for lunch so through the beautiful gate and over a small bridge we went to park in front of the main entrance. We walked through the lobby and were greeted by a very friendly Vietnamese hostess. We went into,the gardens and explored the yard and beach before sitting down at a table on the patio. Our hostess, original from Hanoi, served us freshly made spring rolls with a peanut sauce followed by a delightful tofu and rice noodle soup.
After lunch we rode a bit further down the road and found the beach. It seemed to go on for miles and was quite wide with wonderful white sand. There were several pearl farms along the way as well with the nets in the water. Mission complete, we turned around and headed home.
Another dinner on the beach side, MJ &D had squid and noodles and we had satay shrimp and a monster shrimp with satay BBQ'd.
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