Day Seventeen - 07/12/25
Day 17 started with a laugh. We found Rosie in the freezer, curled up beside the ice cubes, “preparing for Austria”. The kids thought it was the funny, and it made them ponder on what the future adventures have in store for us.
After that little surprise, it was our final morning at Bambusa Resort. A place that had quietly become home after ten or so days. We squeezed in one last family exercise session, then headed down for our last buffet breakfast. Still delicious. Still impossible not to go back for more.
Back at the room, we raced around packing and tidying up. The kids finished quickly and made cards for their friend Susie. They grabbed one of the small koalas we’d brought from Australia and gifted it to her with their note. She loved it. And in a full-circle moment, we found out her dad was Anh. We already knew her mum worked in the kitchen, but we didn’t realise Anh was her dad. Made the whole connection even nicer.
We dragged our bags up to reception and settled the bill. Because of the four-day power outage, Anh gave us a 20% discount for those nights, which was totally unexpected and honestly unnecessary, because our stay was amazing regardless. We grabbed a few last photos and let Anh know we were going to duck down to the beach for a final swim and some lunch. In true Anh style, he handed us two scooters for free and said, “See you when you get back”.
We cruised down and spent a couple of hours at the beach. Maddie got absolutely roasted, blister-level sunburn on her shoulders, but otherwise it was such a nice way to finish our time on that side of the island. We found a cool little burger place for lunch before heading back, returning the scooters, and ordering a Grab to our next accommodation, Le Forest, where the world schooling hub is based.
But first… cash. We needed 40 million VND for the stay, and the ATMs here have been a bit more challenging than anticipated. The ones that worked fine in Ho Chi Minh City completely refused to give us money on Phu Quoc (we found out why later). The ATM we did find only dispensed 3 million at a time with a fee each transaction, so it took ages. Luckily the air-conditioned was on in the glass box this time, because the other night I almost cooked. Our Grab driver waited patiently without charging extra, so we gave him extra anyway.
Le Forest sits at the end of a winding road on the south side of Duong Dong. We checked in and dragged our bags through the chaos. Families everywhere, kids everywhere, noise everywhere. Our accommodation turned out to be a standalone two-storey building right next to the pool. Downstairs has the master bedroom and bathroom, upstairs is a kitchen and the kids’ room with two beds. The kids were beyond stoked as they’ve been dreaming of staying in a two-storey setup. And Kia and I finally get a proper bed to ourselves again.
We chilled for a bit, then headed to the hub’s welcome pool party at 4pm. It was an intense one! Forty kids screaming, parents trying to talk over the noise, Daniela and Fernando shouting into a microphone to be heard. It honestly felt like trying to network inside a nightclub. Total sensory overload. A bánh mì cart rolled in for dinner, which was awesome, and the kids joined the chaos in the pool.
We headed back early, exhausted from the beach and sun. But the noise outside kept going, and the power kept dropping in and out. Just as we were getting ready for bed, the power cut again. The room heated up fast as it had been a scorcher of a day. When it finally flicked back on, we heard a loud pop. Then another. At first I thought someone had dropped a golf ball, but Kia yelled, “It’s the power board!” We yanked it out of the wall.
I tried plugging it back in and another cord literally shot out of it. One of our adapters fried and the power board started smoking. Later we learned the incoming voltage spiked to about 280V instead of the normal 240V. Fans and lights were blowing everywhere across the resort. After that, we didn’t trust any sockets. Thankfully around 10pm the power settled enough for the aircon to stay on, because it was impossible to sleep in that heat.
A chaotic, funny, exhausting, and memorable end to another great day.