Cassia Cottages Living Garden

Torkay Lizard: This was a resident at Cassia Cottage 4b. Every evening he came out from his hideout and dealt to all of the unwanted mosquitoes. He is quite a large Gecko who really didn't mind us taking his photo.

He was very patient waiting until he could strike. Apparently they are known as the pitbull of Geckos because they do bite and when they do they latch on and don't let go in a hurry. Apparently they have been knwon to hold on for up to an hour when biting people. I didn't want to put it to the test though.

We spent a bit of time relaxing in the garden hammocks and as a result we saw some interesting wildlife. This lizard put on quite a show when he realised we were close by. He eventually lept off his tree and made his way up the wall.

I am not sure of the name of this frog but he sat on this leaf in the shade near the hammocks for most of the day. His nose had a rather sharp point to it.

This water lily flower provided a great resting place for the grasshopper.

Up close it makes a nice contrast with the pink bloom.

This moth flew inside when the workers cut the hibicus hedge and stayed in our cottage for two days. Most of the time his wings were folded up it wasn't until we encouraged him to leave that he laid his beautiful wings out for us to see.

After the rain and we did have a number of showers the butterflies played on the hibiscus blooms.

Vietnam Secret

Our September holiday came around this year and Ruth and I decided we needed to take a real break. Usually we race off and have adventures in our holidays. This time around we felt a need to pace ourselves so that we returned to Singapore rested and ready to tackle the 4th term at MAE.

So the decision was made to go to Vietnam. Not a hard decision, we have been there before and we love Vietnam. We always try to go somewhere we have not been to, so the island of Phu Quoc was somewhere we hadn't been. This Island is in the Gulf of Thailand about 15 km from Cambodia. It is in the South of Vietnam and is very underdeveloped. There are signs of development for the tourist dollar. But the developments are still quite a long way off being ready for a big influx. We flew in from Ho Chi Min and stayed for 4 nights. We stayed at Cassia Cottages on Long Beach and absolutely loved it. This small eco friendly resort is awesome with great local staff who just couldn't do enough to make our stay a pleasent one. We spent most of time, relaxing beside the pool, in the hammocks and swimming in the sea and the pool. Their restaurant is small but fantastic. We will go back to this place. The photos say it all.

Beautiful Sunsets made even better by pleasant drinks on the beach.

Great company to enjoy the moment with.

It was Monsoon season and typically the wettest month. We didn't find that a problem, it just meant we had to pick our times for exploring and may be not go so far. But with beaches like these at the bottom of the garden why would you?

Sao Beach, actually a bit of a drive to the other side of the Island. One of the best we have visited in Asia.

An Thoi Fishing village and port at the southern end of Phu Quoc.

The dogs on the beach have a ridge of hair that goes backwards. These are a local breed of hunting dog. Not sure what they hunt, most of them were asleep when we saw them.

This was a very relaxing break with so much to offer I am sure that when we go back we are going to find so many more hidden treasures on Phu Quoc.

Don't tell anyone it is our secret. Shhh!