Asia Steps

While driving along Long Beach on the west coast of Phu Quoc Island we encountered some very charming kids. Here’s a video clip from our motorbike trip that day.

Hotel Continental in HCMC

Today we woke up especially early to get the most out of our last morning on Phu Quoc Island. After eating breakfast and snapping some photos of the resort we had a last tan and swim on the beach at Mango Bay. The taxi to the airport was a welcome change from the dust of the road by motorbike and we boarded our plane back to HCMC.

We returned to the city very hungry and promptly ate a meal of delicious crab/asparagus (Tamar) and melon/pork (Kevin) soup and other goodies at Vietnam House, a restaurant in the Don Khoi area. In the evening we met up with our friends, Aryeh and Jesse, at Jesse’s house in District 1 where we enjoyed excellent Indian food take-out. It’s great to be back in Ho Chi Minh City!

We just posted photos of the magnificent island of Phu Quoc and Mango Bay Resort where we stayed. Check it out!

We were in the mood for some pho in the morning and drove into town searching for a place serving that wonderful morning dish. It seems pho is not as popular here as it is in HCMC and we ended up having baguette with egg. We drove once again to Vietnam Airlines and this time we got lucky-we were able to get tickets for a flight back to HCMC for the following day! Although we could have easily stayed on the island for another 2 weeks, we were relieved that we won’t need to spend a whole day journeying back by boat and bus.

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Today was our first day of pure relaxation on the beach. We woke up to the calm sound of the waves and decided to spend the whole day reading, sleeping, eating and sun bathing. We stayed here at Mango Bay and got off our long chairs just to order food. The island has a magical power that makes you feel totally and utterly relaxed and happy. The speed of talk is slowed down and all thoughts seem to focus on how we could possibly live on an island permanently…

Kevin decided to explore the Phu Quoc “night scene” and go squid fishing in the evening. He drove the motorbike down to the docks alone where he joined up with a boat that was about to leave. He caught one squid the whole night but ate a great squid congee dinner washed down with a Vietnamese “333” Beer. He nearly got lost on the long, dusty, unlit and mostly deserted road late at night (went a couple of kilometers too far) which he said was the spookiest driving experience he’d ever had!

Driving through Fishing Villages

A friend we met in town, Nguyen, recommended driving north to see the beaches and forest on that part of the island. We read that you could drive through the forest with a motorbike and planned to take shelter beneath the shady trees at the hottest time of the day.

After driving for about an hour, we were covered in dust and ready for a break. We stopped at Vungbau Beach to look at the great view and had lunch there. Kevin ordered BBQ squid marinated in salt and chili and a few minutes later he got his own personal grill to cook his lunch on. It was so yummy!

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Riding around Phu Quoc Island

We rented a bike and drove to Duong Dong, the island’s main town. We decided to check with Vietnam Airlines office across from the airport if there were any available seats flying back to Saigon. So far there are none and we may have to stay here forever.

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Paradise

We took a morning flight to Phu Quoc Island and within 50 minutes we were in paradise. Phu Quoc Island is located at the Gulf of Thailand, 15km south of the Cambodian border (it is also claimed by Cambodia under the name Koh Tral). The island is a wonderful combination of beaches, mountains and small villages dotted all around.

Once we got our bag from the one and only luggage conveyor belt at Phu Quoc Airport, we took a taxi to “Mango Bay”, our home for the next six days. The drive was about 30 minutes and we were dropped off near the reception. Everything at Mango Bay is eco-friendly, including the building materials which are organic and recycled. It all creates a very special look. We quickly settled into our bungalow and had a wonderful lunch by the water. We spent the rest of the day relaxing on the beach. In the late afternoon, we watched the sunset on the beach. Phu Quoc is the only place in Vietnam you could do that.

We’re not making a lot of definite plans for this trip. There’s so much to see and do that we’re going to need to go with the flow. However, we are very interested in spending some quality time in the Mekong Delta region of Vietnam, in the south of the country. In the latter half of the trip, there’s a good chance we’ll cross the border by land from Cambodia back into Vietnam at the town of Chau Doc. Other possible cities include Ha Tien, also near the border, and Rach Gia, famous for its fishing. Our friend, Thu, and her family are from Rach Gia. Most importantly, we’ve got our eye on a good 5 or 6 days on the island of Phu Quoc, just off the coast of Vietnam, again, near the border with Cambodia. That might be the perfect sun and sand destination we seek on this trip!

Last year I took a 2 day organized tour to the Mekong Delta from Ho Chi Minh City. Most of the people on the tour were Vietnamese, city folk, some of whom had never spent any time in the major city of Can Tho and the floating markets of the Delta. In fact, some of the young travelers worked in HCMC’s growing hi-tech industry. Too see just how different the Delta is for people like them and like me, I’ve posted a video journey from a boat floating down a river from last year’s trip.