About the Long Holidays in Vietnam (Written by Ho)

Hello, Vietnam!

Vietnam 🇻🇳 has few public holidays, so the long Tết break becomes a precious time to refresh. My wife and I decided to head to Phú Quốc Island. Every day we floated in the pool morning, noon, and night, puttered around on a motorbike in search of delicious food, and drank, swam, drank, swam, and repeated it all over again — a wonderfully relaxed trip.

The main street of Phu Quoc Island was bustling regardless of Tet, with a moderate liveliness of Western tourists. The shops weren't closed either, so I really enjoyed myself. If I had to point out one thing, the girl who works at the spa had gone back to her hometown, so there were only boys left, and they were even worried, asking if I'd be okay... The boy who took care of me was incredibly skilled at massage, so no problems at all. As for restaurants, I have a habit of going back to the ones I like, so... there were few misses. And the deliciousness of the hand-rolled fresh spring rolls with sardines tossed in coconut flakes — oh, it was something else!

Grilled mackerel, and a salad of watermelon, beetroot and cheese—so many encounters with fresh, new flavor combinations. Seafood really is delicious, isn't it!

I caught a cold and wasn't in the best shape, but even while pushing through it, the latter half went smoothly. Just a one-hour flight from Ho Chi Minh City—I knew there was a paradise like this so close by, but it was my first time. My husband, on his second visit and a bit more used to it, absolutely loved this place. We've even scouted out restaurants for our next trip.

The hotel is also in a nature-rich spot up on the hill, past a bamboo grove — a little reminiscent of Ubud in Bali. About 80% of the guests are adult tourists from America and Russia.

Being woken up in the middle of the night by the super-loud chirping of a gecko was a first-time experience for me. It was a gecko as big as a burdock root. It wasn't a dream — probably. Our flight home was delayed by two and a half hours, which is such a classic "only in Vietnam" thing! So we figured, hey, lucky us, and the favorite pizza we'd bought as takeout to eat at the airport — we gave it to the staff as a gift and headed out to a restaurant for dinner instead!

The 2020 Tết holiday that we enjoyed to the very last moment. In Japan there are public holidays almost every month, so the way of easing off the pace had become second nature to my body (though, being freelance, things don't always follow the calendar). But in Vietnam, there is a Vietnamese way of working. If I don't master this, I'll ruin my health and end up short on energy in all sorts of ways. How you spend your days off is very important in Vietnam. Relocation Life Ranking