Shiftless in Shangri-La

Since arriving at our little piece of paradise things have slowed down considerably. I last wrote about the day of our arrival, which was Wednesday, and it's now Saturday. My, how time flies! I thought I would begin this post by describing the place at which we're staying. As I mentioned in my last post, we're staying at the Nam Hai resort through the generosity of our friend, Ben. It is amazing.

Approaching the reception area you see this.

Walking through to the other side, you see this.

Walk down the steps on the far side of that pool and you see this.

Here's a better view of that pool.

Next to that pool is this one.

Here's a view showing how they relate to each other.

Beyond those pools, and down yet another flight of stone steps, is the final pool. It, like the others, is an infinity pool, so it looks from this perspective as though the surf is crashing into it.

There's a pool beside the restaurant.

There's a pool inside the restaurant.

There's definitely a theme here, and it's stunning.

You know, of course, that the surf isn't really crashing into that lower pool. Beyond it, and down a final set of stone steps, is the beach.

with sand and ocean as far as the eye can see.

Up that beach a short distance, not on the beach but with a view toward it, is our villa.

Here's our view of the beach.

and here's a beach walker's view of our villa.

The bedroom is on the right, and the living room is on the left. Walking up those steps gives a better view.

Living room,

bedroom,

and pool.

Here's the view from the other side of the villa, the street side, you might say, except this "street" is still within the walls of Nam Hai. The actual gate is behind the center portion of the wall.

Voilà!

We even have frogs in the pond.

But I've left for last the most amazing thing of all. We not only have the fun of staying in this amazing place but we have, in addition, the full time services of Huong, our "butler".

She is utterly delightful, very competent and, wonder of wonders, a fabulous cook! Thursday morning we and Huong went shopping in the market. What fun!

That day she made us an exquisite lunch and has continued to daily make breakfast and lunch for us. She consistently makes food as good as any we've ever had. She and her husband hope to someday open a restaurant. Lucky, lucky us.