Hoi An, Vietnam (Part 1): The Hoi An Tropical Resort

As I mentioned in a previous blog post, my wife and I spent 6 days in Vietnam last month. In that blog post I talked about our last stop in Vietnam, which was Halong Bay. Today, I'm going to begin Part 1 of our first stop in Vietnam: Hoi An. I'm going to specifically talk about the Hoi An Tropical Resort.

My friend Stephen Keen recommended me to visit Hoi An because he said it was his favorite city in Vietnam. My wife and I tried to choose a resort carefully because knew that we could find a really nice resort at a reasonable price. After combing through booking.com, we made a very solid choice in the form of the Hoi An Tropical Resort. Unfortunately we had a limited time constraint due to wanting to see Hanoi and Hoi An. Therefore, we could only stayed for two days, which sped by faster than Halley's Comet. Although the time at the Hoi An Tropical Resort was short, it was very sweet.

Let me give you details of our arrival. When we arrived in Danang, someone from the hotel picked us up and drove us to the city of Hoi An. The trip was about 40 minutes and it was a steamy, wet day! After my wife and I checked in, the staff was nice enough to escort us to our rooms via golf cart. I was pleasantly surprised by the wonderful customer service. Here's a picture of what the rooms look like:

They are very clean inside. We got free water, toothbrushes, toothpaste, and towels of course. After we dropped off our suitcases we headed to the restaurant, which was near the pool and about 30 feet from the beach!

Hoi An Tropical Resort pool on a steamy day

Another view of the pool

My first meal was noodles with meat and vegetables. It cost about $4 at this very nice four-star resort and I was quite satisfied! We also ate breakfast and one more dinner here because the dishes were much better than we expected. The price of the food was inexpensive and the quality of it was outstanding. 

Not a bad first choice for dinner! Here's mine!

Here's my wife's. Yes, the theme was noodles!

If you would like to know how breakfast is, it's even better than dinner. For breakfast you can get an omelette, pho, waffles, potatoes, sausage, vegetables, passion fruit juice, orange juice, coffee, etc. The layout was fantastic. You can see me eating breakfast here:

Breakfast during the next morning

While we were eating dinner on our first night, it poured off and on. We knew we were in the midst of rainy season, but we were hoping to get at least two or three days of sun while we were there.

After dinner, we walked around the grounds and took a look at how close we were to the beach. There was a cool swing that my wife got on. You can tell that they take care of this hotel well by how trimmed the grass is.

The next day we had postcard resort weather. It was unbelievably beautiful and looked a lot closer to the pictures we saw on booking.com.

The next day was much sunnier!

We also got a massage at this hotel in a separate building on the premises of the resort. The staff in that building accepted us quickly despite us not making a reservation. They even had us picked up by golf cart to take us back to our room. When we finished our massage, they had umbrellas waiting for us, so that we could get onto the golf carts without getting wet. That was V.I.P. service to the max. 

And here's the best part about this hotel. We reserved a Deluxe Double Room with Ocean View for a price of $175.50 (USD). My wife and I loved the experience so much that I don't mind advertising for them on my blog. Thank you to the Hoi An Tropical Resort in Hoi An, Vietnam!

Scott Worden (The L.A./Seoul Guy)

Instagram: l.a.seoulguy

Sermon: A Real King's Banquet (July 8, 2018) by Pastor Andrew Gu

Mark 6:30-44

There are only two miracles that are covered in all five of the gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John): The Resurrection and the feeding of the 5,000. If that's the case, then the feeding of the 5,000 must be pretty significant. It's also not an accident that the story came after King Herod's banquet in the book of Mark.

In verses 30-44,  we know that the disciples were tired and wanted rest despite the crowds continuing to seek after Jesus. Jesus's disciples were annoyed and didn't want to deal with the crowds. However, Jesus wasn't annoyed and he showed compassion, patience, and affection towards them. The way we view people shows how we should respond. The disciples saw it as a disadvantage. They were thinking that if they have that many people, how could they feed them? Jesus saw them as people that needed guidance and love. Maybe that's why you're here today. You've heard of Jesus and want to know more about Him.

Jesus never gets tired of meeting our needs. Jesus's compassion has no end. Jesus was tired but still taught them. When Jesus teaches us, he refreshes our spirits.

In verses 35-44, we see Jesus continuing to teach, but dinner time is approaching and everyone is hungry. The disciples quickly forgot and said that they should send the crowds away. They thought it would be an impossible task to feed them. The disciples saw Jesus do many miracles, so you would think that they would have the attitude that Jesus was going to take care of it. But they're humans. They quickly forgot and panicked. On the other hand, Jesus  was in control and focused on what they had and not on what they didn't have. Jesus told them "You lack nothing". Jesus + Nothing = Everything.

What they don't realize is that they're about to have a feast (vs. 39). They're in the wilderness but Jesus tells them to sit on the green grass. There's a lot of imagery here. Green tells us that it was spring time. This story reflects a picture of life and abundance. In the English version, it says Jesus told the people to sit down. But in Greek, he actually said "recline". He's using banquet language. A banquet is a festive celebration and there's plenty to eat.

Who was invited to Herod's banquet (Mark 6:14-29)? Only the elite and most important. It's invite only. Jesus's banquet is in the open field and everyone is invited. Herod's main event was for his own self-indulgence and provocative dancing. Beautiful women would parade in front of him to please his own desires and no one else's. Jesus's banquet focused on all of his guests and he made sure everyone was taken care of. He saw them as sheep without a shepherd. Jesus did whatever he could for the benefit of his sheep. Power corrupted Herod and killed a righteous man (John the Baptist). Herod used his power in a wicked way. Jesus is all-powerful but he isn't corrupt. You can trust Him because he uses his power for the good of his people.

A true shepherd (1) provides, (2) guides, and (3) protects his sheep. Herod fails in all of these. In Jesus's banquet, a righteous man eventually dies. The person that dies is the host of the banquet and by his own choice. He did this so that others could partake in the banquet. In Jesus's banquet, they all ate and were satisfied. Jesus always gives us what we need. We are all invited to Jesus's banquet. His nails in his hands show how much he loves us. See Isaiah 25:6-8. You can also read how much Jesus has to offer you in Psalm 23. Will you join in his banquet?

Scott Worden (The L.A./Seoul Guy)

Instagram: l.a.seoulguy