Blissful Idleness in Phu Quoc

Phu Quoc is a tropical island par excellence, with golden beaches and palm trees. The warm water is so translucent that you can see every sea creature below, which can be a little disconcerting when you discover that you are surrounded by a school of jellyfish, as I did on my first day here. I leaped out of the water, much to the amusement of a group of French tourists.

Really, the only question on an island such as Phu Quoc is whether to resist the lovely feeling of total idleness or to embrace it. Characteristically, I succumbed to its embrace, while Chris hired a motorcycle for the day and set off to explore the island.

In other news, I've planned the rest of my itinerary. My last five days in New York--when I realized that this could be a longer trip than I anticipated, if I played my cards right--were so crazy that I had no time to think of what to do with my 5 weeks of freedom in Southeast Asia. Now that I've had time to ponder it, I've decided to take some time to explore northern Vietnam--Hanoi and hiking in Sapa and a cruise on a Chinese junk on Halong Bay. Then, I'll fly to Siem Reap to explore Angkor Wat and see some birds. After this, I'll mosey on down to Bangkok to see Chris, and catch the train from Bangkok to Singapore via Kuala Lumpar and Penang a la Paul Theroux. The great thing about Singapore is that there is a Mandarin Oriental that I've wanted to visit for years. My life goal is to visit all Mandarin Orientals. I'm way behind--I've only checked New York, Washington DC, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Chiang Mai off my list--and they keep building more! I've got to get cracking!