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!

Realizing that this was our last full day on the island, we drove to Long Beach and started the tanning/eating/drinking routine immediately. We hung out at the Thien Hai Son resort admiring the clean water and making a new eager friend – a cute cat wonderfully colored like the golden sand.

In the afternoon, we drove back into town where Kevin taught me how to ride a motorbike! For the first time, I was the one in the driver’s seat going at a raging speed of 20 km/hr! No innocent bystanders were hurt but they all had an amusing time watching me try to shift to 2^nd gear. No, sorry, no video attached.

That was exhausting and I needed some dinner! We drove back to the resort area and chose a great place serving BBQ seafood, it was yum!

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!

We said goodbye to the nice people at Vungbau Beach and drove towards Bai Dai beach, another award-winning beach with golden sand, blue water at perfect temperature and no one but Vietnamese fishermen in sight. We just had to take a dip.

Driving to the northwestern corner of the island was a rocky ride (not to mention dusty) but Kevin did a great job and soon we were heading inland driving through the forest. It was very special to ride through luscious green vegetation on mountainous windy roads. We were all alone in the forest for most of the ride which added to the charm. We stopped to buy a couple of bananas right before heading south back to town and ended up with 2 kilos of bananas (the price of $0.50 for two bananas did seem a little high). Back in town, we were starving as usual and since it was an in between time for a meal, it was hard to find a place to eat. Finally, after driving around, we sat down at a place by the water and had great fish soup which was sweet and came with tiny dried baby shrimp.

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.

After lunch, we started heading south along Long Beach (Bai Truong). We couldn’t help but stop for a drink and a quick dip at Long Beach which is a stretch of pristine beach with golden sands, crystal blue water and no tourists in sight. After cooling off, we hopped back on the bike and continued to Bai Sao which we heard was a picture perfect beach on the southern part of the island.

Bai Sao was indeed as beautiful as promised and provided the perfect afternoon spot for us. After relaxing at Bai Sao, it was time to head back and we enjoyed a leisurely ride into town. Plans are in the making to turn this quiet island into a well developed version of the Thai island of Phuket. Driving around, we felt that we came at the last moment right before all this charm gets turned into a multitude of resorts. Passing by small villages, cows, dogs, ducks and of course smiley kids was a lot of fun and we didn’t want the ride to end.

Eventually we arrived in town right in time for the night market where we had excellent local food sitting with friendly people. The bun thit nuong we ordered was so good, we had to order 2 dishes each!

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.

bKpk7HuS7zQ

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.