Cai Be Hotels with Pools

This was a real surprise. I was sent here by my travel agent, Nguyen Hoai at VivuTravel in Ha Noi. This is REALLY out in the countryside. The roads kept getting smaller and smaller until the car wouldn't fit any more and we had to shift over to a golf cart. Eventually, we worked our way through jungle trails until we came to this lovely pond with small individual huts on its banks. Each hut is a separate accommodation with its own deck. You can fish for fish or shrimp off your deck. Since this is Vietnam, you use rice for bait. I thought it was going to be a quiet evening alongside the water listening to the crickets until the karaoke started blasting me from somewhere off in the jungle. I don't know what it is about Viet Nam, but they seem to have these wonderful, peaceful, idyllic jungle or seaside settings that are perfect for reading, writing, or just sitting and enjoying the sunset. Then they destroy them by blasting them with loud, thumping drum synthesizers and off-key singing at volumes that could knock down a small building. Fortunately, the noise pollution didn't last too long and it didn't disrupt my sleep. I've had worse. Karaoke is the Japanese's revenge for losing World War II. It has been the bane of my travels throughout Southeast Asia. Anyway, it is a lovely location and definitely worth a visit. Bring ear plugs because you might get some bozo sharing his idea of thumping noise with you from several kilometres away. And it is HOT. Wow. Penguins are never going to migrate to the Mekong Delta. If your wife or girlfriend is always complaining about how cold it is, bring her here. No sane person could complain about being cold at the southern end of Vietnam. There is where Hell sends requests for more heat when it gets too cold down there. They have plenty to spare, believe me. But still worth a visit. You can get away from civilization and into the deep jungle. At night you can listen to the thumping drum synthesizers of the natives and pretend you are in a Tarzan movie. I have to commend VivuTravel and my travel agent, Hoai. I've been traveling in Southeast Asia for four months and every place I've been has been a unique experience. This is a relatively new facility but one which is worth a visit before it gets discovered and is swarming with tourists. That's the trouble with the world -- too many foreigners out there. See it now while you still can.