by Jeremy Neldon

For all who take the chance to live their best life in the most unexpected and challenging circumstances.


To my husband, Chris, whose great raft of creativity always has plenty of room for everyone.

And to my Cassia Cottage community for their essential company and support.

At first, taking meals at Cassia Cottage, our four star boutique beach resort for a ten day vacation, was fantastic.

Their Spice House restaurant with its breezy ocean views and waving coconut palms, was a treasure.

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Many nights we enjoyed a lovely sunset dinner by the pool. The plates were and are still full of yummy homemade Vietnamese food. The smiling staff always helpful.

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But spoiled with food options, at dinnertime our merry crew of international educators,“trailing spouses” and their children chose to mix it up:













some nights we ventured out on scooters to really fun American BBQ, Thai or Indian places which dotted the island’s beaches.

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@ Il Muro Italian Restaurant

But after 8 glorious days, Phu Quoc, Vietnam’s largest island, like the rest of the country was suddenly ordered by Directives 15 and 16 to close up as another wave of COVID made the rounds.

No longer could we leave our resort. No more bike rides. No more trips out for lunch or dinner.

Days of lockdown turned into weeks. We all began to think practically how we could make this slice of paradise more like home. As long as Saigon’s COVID daily case count remained in the many thousands, we knew our time here may last months.

We now needed to fully realize the claim on the Cassia’s website:
“This is a place where time stands still, leaving you to savor simple pleasures.”

We got started by organizing a room to room happy hour with special cocktails.

Room 1A Mint Julep

5-6 fresh mints leaves
.5 oz simple syrup
2 oz cheap bourbon
plenty of ice cubes
sprig of mint for garnish

Drop the leaves into the glass with the syrup. Muddle to release the mint leaves’ oils into the syrup. Fill glass with ice. Pour in bourbon. Use a swizzle stick to gently combine the liquids. Top up with more ice and garnish.

Others created all-age board game tournaments and trivia nights.

Castles of Burgundy

The Old Runway by George Marshall

The artists took advantage of the natural beauty around us and sketched, took photographs and painted.