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Published: March 25th 2009
This is all actually a lie...I am not actuall still on the island. since I was on Phu Quoc Island, I have been on 2 planes, countless buses, many tuk tuks, 1 lion statue, multiple bikes, a plethora of boats, a few motorbikes and have moved on to 2 more countries, but have not had the time to actually sit down and write about it. I will attempt to remember my few days in Phu Quoc and then maybe just maybe will fill you in on my last few days which I have spent in Cambodia. Or about the place I am now in in Laos....
Getting to Phu Quoc Island was an adventure in itself. I walked down to the ferry terminal even though my hotel thought I was crazy and should get a taxi. It wasn't too far and ofcourse I arrived insanely early (once a time nazi, always a time nazi). I sat and had a glass of delicious Vietnamese coffee wondering what my next few days would be like. I had heard the island was a bit sleepy, but I was looking forward to the white sand and clear water! On the ferry, I sat next
to a guy and girl from Canada. They were both traveling for awhile and she was visiting some family in Vietnam. We sat downstairs for a bit while they played some Vietnamese comedy on the tv and then decided to check out the top deck. We walked up there and was spotted by the lady carrying the dog on the bus who had tried to make me stay with her and her family in a hotel the day before. When I met her on the bus, she kept talking to me, but I had no idea what she was staying. She spoke not 1 word of English, but I am pretty sure she did not understand that I was not able to understand her. I asked the Canadian girl I had met to translate and she completely talked her ear off. I felt bad for dragging her into this, but pretty much the lady had been upset that I stayed elsewhere, wanted to know every detail of my life, was disturbed and worried that I was travelling by myself and wanted me to stay at her house on the island and to take me sight seeing. It sounded like a
Sunset
being a posy girl for the sunset!great opportunity to do a 'real' homestay, except the fact that she spoke no English whatsoever made me a little concerned about how I would accomplish things such as, booking a flight to get off the island (kind of important). I decided I didn't want to actually live the rest of my life on the island so i politely declined the generous offer. She drew me a map to where her house was, but it was really far from where I was staying and would've been near impossible to get there.
We arrived at the island to a zillion taxis and buses eagerly waiting to escort us to a hotel. It was good having the girl who spoke Vietnamese around becuase she was better able to negotiate with them. We agreed to go with one driver, but he quickly changed the price from 15,000d to 50,000d so we opted for someone else. We ended up finding some more people to share a taxi which seemed better than the bus option where we would be completely squished. I had an idea of where to stay, but had not booked anything ahead. I couldve gone to the places of the others, but decided to try something else. I got to one place and asked if they had a room and they had told me they would in 1 hour. i left my bags there and told them I would be back in an hour. I went next door and asked to see a room and they were about to show me one when I got a phonecall from home (luv ya roomie!). i chatted for quite a bit of time (shocking, i know) and when I got off, they had given the room away! I was very surprised because i was sitting right in the reception area! They felt bad, but they figured that since I didnt have my bags that I was probably already staying elsewhere and was just trying to move. I ended up walking up and down the beach until i finlly found a place that had a room. It was a super cute beach bungalow with a great view and hammock outside. it was 2x more (it was 30 whole dollars a night) than many of the other places, but I decided to splurge for the night and then I would move the next day. The guy at reception told me to walk back to where my bags were and get them to call a taxi and he would pay for it. I walked back and the people were so unbelievably rude when i asked for a taxi. so not only did they give my room away, they refused to make a call. They wouldnt even give me the number so that i could call. There was a Vietnamese girl there who was trying to get taxi too and they wouldnt help her either. it was very strange. and I am also pretty sure the other girl was a high end hooker. I was talking to her and there was a western guy walking in front of us who did not talk at all, but i had not noticed him until i asked her if she was there with her family and she said, no i am with him. I am thinking she was probably a Pretty Woman type of hooker that he brought over to the island. gross.
I walked all the way back to my hotel, dropped my bags and spent the rest of the afternoon on the beach. The beach was beautiful! I went for a walk, met up with the friends from the ferry and then went to the airline office to book my flight away from the island. I figured 4 nights would be good to get a bit of relaxing in! That night, I just had a calm dinner and went to sleep. The next day I went for a dusty run on the dirt roads and on the beach which was great! i spent the rest of the day being a bum and then had dinner with some friends that night. We had a fun group-1 German, 2 Swiss and 1 guy who lives in the US.
The next day i went on a snorkeling trip which was a blast! We went to a bunch of the smaller islands (everyone fished to catch lunch-except me) and we went to a bunch of snorkeling spots. the snorkeling was pretty good, but definitly not the best i've seen. there were some very shallow reefs which were cool, except kinda scary-kept thinking I was going to slam into the many sea urchins. Those things are creepy! Our guide went and caught bunch which were then served as part of lunch! The boat was full of interesting people, including an older (70+) american couple who regularly volunteer in Vietnam. They had even done some volunteer work with the same organization as I have done, except in other countries. The live in NY and told me that they would help me on my apartment search! We went to some amazing beaches with super clear water and super white sand. it was very sad to stray away from where the bungalows or resorts were because then the sand was full of garbage. I hated that the island is doing a ton of building except it is good that they will atleast probably clean things up a bit. It is a great place right now but in a few years will probably be overrun by super fancy resorts.
That night, I met up again with some of the others from the other night as well as another Dutch girl who was staying at my place. We all went into 'town' and had some yummy dinner at the market.
i had one more day of being a lazy bum which was great. I love just lying around on the beach, reading and having someone cut up fresh fruit for me when I get hungry-its the life!
The next morning, I got up and headed to the airport. It was a super quick flight into Saigon and then i caught a motorbike to a bus station and booked a bus to Cambodia. It didnt leave for a few hours so I just wandered around the town. I tried to get online there but nobody seemed to know where there was internet and by the time I found one, it was just about time to leave. I had asked everywhere and since I was in a non touristy location, most people didnt speak English. One guy who did was nice enough to write on a piece of paper-can you please show me where the internet is. It was kind of unneccasary since everyone understands the word 'internet' but it was nice anyways. I went online for a few minutes and then waited for my bus. the bus arrived a bit late and was pretty slow moving. We had to cross some rivers (on car ferries) and going through the border took a bit of time. It is a bit scary when you cross the border because the bus guy takes your forms and passport and you have to keep getting on and off and then they eventually drop you at a rest stop until the paperwork is all sorted. it weird to be in Cambodia and know that you do not have your passport. Especially after hearing so many stories of people losing their passports at borders! Mine was all good and safe and we finished up the journey to Phnom Penh.
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