Relaxing Times

We spent the most idyllic 5 days at Whale Island Resort - it's not on Whale island at all, rather on a much smaller island called Hon Ong, which lies in a calm bay between the mainland and Whale island itself, about 60km north of Nha Trang.
It's a French run resort and has been open for 10 years. During peak season it can cater for up to 70 guests in about 30 bungalows. During our stay there must have had between 10 and 20 guests. Apart from the resort and the owner's house in another bay, there is nothing else on the island.
There is very little to do here that doesn't involve getting in or on the sea. The resort has windsurfs, canoes and Hobie Cats you can rent, as well as laying on snorkelling and diving trips, but if you don't like swimming in the sea, this isn't the place for you.
We all loved it there. Twice Dave rented out a Hobie Cat to take the girls sailing around the island, something they both really enjoyed and Ella has a definite bug for.
The snorkelling was great. The resort has developed a marine reserve in the bay it occupies. They have created a few artificial reefs by sinking ceramic pots in the shallower depths which encourages the growth of coral as well as attracting an abundance of tropical fish. Ella and Florence can name most of them, sadly not because of our excellent home schooling, but because they have seen 'Finding Nemo' about a dozen times.
The girls have become great little snorkellers. We did a few boat trips to deeper waters and they managed to dive down to take a closer look at the fish and coral. There were, of course, the usual sea hazards - jellyfish, sea urchins and sea lice. Fortunately, not too many sea lice and Ella and Florence are now well aware of the dangers of sea urchins. The jellyfish were a different matter, some mornings the bay was full of them - some enormous! They weren't there all the time though, and with their increasing agility in the sea the girls managed to swim around any lurking behind!
A final plus for Ella was that she managed to do a kids Scuba dive while we were there - Florence was miffed because, once again, she was too young. Ella loved being able to stay deep (well 2 and a half metres) with the fish and coral, the only down side was her ears hurt because she couldn't equalise. I don't think she has any burning desire to become a female Jacques Cousteau!
Whale Island Resort was great, a lovely place to relax and escape from the hustle and bustle of Vietnamese life. After 5 days of laid back living and fabulous French/Vietnamese food, I left a little heavier and a lot more relaxed!

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