Japamala Resort on Tioman Island

We decided kind of last minute to take a trip to Tioman Island in Malaysia.  We had heard that it was beautiful and very secluded.  It is the kind of place you go when you need to relax.  No cell phones, no internet in the rooms, and barely tv.  It is a quiet resort where there is nothing to do but relax.  Just what we needed.  The weekend began with a less than relaxing flight on this plane which landed on a strip that did not look big enough to land on.  A little thrill to get the weekend started.  After the plane we had to take a boat to the resort.

This is the villa we stayed in.  It was very nice except the air conditioning went out on the second night.  The villas are all set apart in the side of the mountain so you feel like you are the only people around.  Luckily our cabin was close to the bottom so not too many steps to climb.  It was funny to me that none of the elevated walkways had railings.  At night they lit torches along the paths, beautiful but not too safe after a few drinks!

We had a small pool in our back deck.  We also had monkeys come visit us on the deck while we were enjoying a few beers.  Unbelievable!  Greg got so excited that the picture is a little blurry but you can see how close it was to us.

The restaurant at the resort.

 

This is the area where we went snorkling.  It had very nice reefs with some fish we had never seen before.  One in particular, a baby shark, kept coming after me and I freaked out.  I was kicking so hard I got a cramp in my calf that left a bruise.  After that I was done but Greg went even further out and saw a 4 foot shark in a beautiful reef.  I probably should have gone back out to see it but I could not make myself do it.  My two greatest fears...sharks and snakes so I was done.

Gorgeous beach with lots of washed up coral.

Mom look, we were surrounded by danger!

We had dinner on the dock and this was the view out to sea.

The view back to the resort.

Our last parting view of the villas on the mountainside.  We had a very relaxing, considering we had 2- two hour massages, weekend.  It is the kind of place that makes memories that will not be forgotten. 

More Vietnam

Sorry I did not upload these earlier but I had the flu.  I was really sick for 7 days.  Anyway, here are the rest of my Vietnam photos.

We went to visit the tunnels from the war.  This is one of the openings to the tunnel system.  It shows how small and easily hidden the tunnels were.

 

These openings would have a lid then they would spread leaves over the top and it would be invisible.

I went down a different entry that was much larger but quickly gets smaller.

I wanted to leave at this point but had to continue on to get to the exit.  Just a few minutes and I was feeling very claustrophobic.

 

Here very happy to be leaving.  These tunnels go on for many miles and get smaller the deeper you travel.

This is the landscape where the tunnels are located.

I can now mark this off of my bucket list.  ME SHOOTING AN AK47!!!  OMG it was a rush.  I missed the target everytime but only by a little bit.  I kept jerking up when I shot so I kept hitting above the target.  I think I could have gotten the hang of it after a few more shots.  Watch out I can now shoot a gun!!

Vietnam

We traveled to Ho Chi Minh City for the Tet celebration.  It was incredible.  I have uploaded some pictures and will upload some more later this week.  It was such a good trip and I have so many good pictures.  I am trying to pick out pictures that give you a feel for what it was like there. 

  There were parades and decorations everywhere.  We even got to see the fireworks show at midnight.

This is the hotel we stayed in, it was built in 1925.

As you can see we had a lot of fun out in the villages.  We hired a tour guide for 2 days to show us around.  It was really helpful to have him.

On a river in the Mekong Delta.

This is at the restaurant where we had lunch.  It was beautiful. 

We are in the middle of a rubber tree forest. 

We discovered that Vietnamese food is very good. We had some delicious meals.  In this restaurant you cook your own food in the middle of the table on a grill.

Another great lunch we had.  The fish was incredible and I liked the way it was served. 

Now for Greg's favorite part...Snake wine.  This is only for men, I think because women are too smart to drink it, and it is call viagra in a jar by the locals.

These jars of snake wine were all over.  Creepy!

Greg and our tour guide taking shots of the snake wine.  I was gagging while taking the picture.

In one of the villages we were serenaded by the local women.

Women washing clothes in the water.

A boat ride down the river.

The view while on the boat.