July 24, 2014 marked our 4th wedding anniversary. We were serving in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam at the time. 2 months had gone by since our last weekend off so Cody decided to surprise me with an amazing get-away to a beach city called Nha Trang. This blog is a recap of our 6 nights/7 days of “fun in the sun” and sweet time together. I hope you enjoy the pictures…
Arrival/Night 1
We arrived by bus after dark. We quickly caught a taxi and Cody took me to a nice coffee shop where I was to wait for his return. He took our bags and set out to find a place for us to stay. He arrived about an hour later and took me to a nice hotel in the center of the tourist area. A bouquet of roses awaited me in our room with a decent ocean view.
We walked down the street and found a Russian brick-oven pizza shop. This is where we met the woman we lovingly call “Mama Russian.” A woman in her 50’s, Mama Russian was frequently found sitting outside her restaurant in the company of men half her age and a glass wine in her hand. Her vibrant, youthful personality caught our attention. My handsome, young husband caught hers. We didn’t care though. We became “friends” with her and ate at her business twice more.
Day 1/Night 2
Cody left me to sleep in while he set out to arrange our surprise activities for the next few days. After finding something to eat for lunch, we decided to rent a motorbike for a couple of days.
We were asked to move rooms because of overbooking. We laughed when we realized how small it was in comparison. It had two twin size beds and the peep hole was literally a hole drilled in the door that we had to stuff toilet paper in to keep people from seeing in. (Hey, it is the World Race!)
We explored the city on our motorbike, and my husband surprised me with dinner on the beach at a local brewery. We enjoyed fish and chips, along with their very own beer.
Day 2/Night 3
We rode our motorbike to an oceanic museum.
After exploring and nearly getting caught touching the sea turtles, we headed to Vinpearl. Vinpearl is an amusement/water park on an island off the coast of Nha Trang. You either take a ferry or ride one of the world’s longest suspended cable-car systems. We chose the latter. The whole thing is suspended by little Eiffel Towers. (It is beautiful lit up at night.)
We enjoyed a couple of roller coasters…
and water show with dolphins and sea lions.
I was bummed when we realized that the water park closed early and we missed our only opportunity to go. That is when Cody gave me surprise number 1…PARA-SAILING!!
SO. MUCH. FUN.
We were able to move to a very nice room on the highest floor with a great ocean view.
Day 3/Night 4
Snorkeling!! This was Cody’s second surprise. We enjoyed a day on the water… we even found Nemo and Marlin! The trip was complete with an amazing lunch aboard the boat. We returned home exhausted and sunburned.
After a nap, Cody told me to put on the nicest outfit I had and sent me away for some alone-time in a nearby coffee shop. After a couple of hours, he arrived to pick me up in his new suit and took me to a beautiful seafood restaurant on the beach. It was amazing!
After dinner, Cody took me to a bar on top of the fanciest hotel in town. We were told that it had a really great view… and it did. As we were walking home Cody explained to me that his hope was to have surprised me with a room at this hotel, but it was too expensive. However, as we were passing the Best Western and admiring how tall and fancy it was, Cody said “Welcome to your new home.” This was his third surprise.
That is right! My husband moved us out of an already nice hotel room to a 4 star hotel, keeping it a complete secret. I actually thought he was joking at first!
As we walked into the lobby, I could have peed my pants. It was so beautiful and BIG. We took an elevator to a floor 3 stories from the top. Floor 36. I had no idea what to expect as Cody located our room and opened the door. HE GOT US A SUITE!!
I literally started crying as Cody gave me a tour of our home for the next 2 nights. Why? Because it actually felt like a home! (Which is something we haven’t had for awhile.) It had a kitchen, living room, 2 bathrooms and a huge bedroom. And the view… Oh, the view!
Our bed was covered in rose petals spelling the words “I love you.” A fresh bouquet of roses also awaited me. It was perfect!
Day 4/Night 5
This was to be our last day in Nha Trang so we took it easy. Cody bought me a kite that we played with for awhile. Other than that, we relaxed in our little home.
We went to see Mama Russian one last time and got a picture with her. She was so excited!
That evening, we were sad and found it hard to prepare to leave the next day. We thanked God for our amazing time together, but we just weren’t ready to leave. We asked a receptionist to help us buy bus tickets home for the next day. We waited as she called multiple bus companies and rejoiced when she informed us that all buses leaving to Ho Chi Minh were booked. We would just have to wait until the following day.
Yes! Thank you, Jesus! We were so blessed to have another day and an excuse to give our team for our delay. (Not that they cared much. They were just as excited as we were to have that time together.)
Day 5/Night 6
Truly our last day, we decided not to leave our home at all. My husband enjoyed playing worship overlooking the ocean from on of the huge windows in our room. I talked to my family for a while. We ordered room service and just enjoyed each other.
Day 7
Our bus didn’t leave until that evening, but we had to check out at noon. 20 minutes before we left, Cody surprised me with a bubble bath in the massive tub. It was even topped with rose petals.
We left our luggage in a hotel closet and spent the afternoon on the beach. Cody played some worship, chasing off most of the Russians around us. We flew our kite and then played in the water for some time.
We also enjoyed one more nice meal on the beach.
When we got on the sleeper bus to leave, we laughed as Cody realized the shirt he was going to use as a pillow still smelled of Mama Russian’s old perfume. It was the perfect end to a perfect anniversary get-away.
Thank you to everyone who donated to help make this week happen. It was our best anniversary yet! Also, thank you to our team for loving us enough to rejoice in our weekends off and encouraging us to take off a whole week. You are the best. Seriously.
