Phu Quoc

After our stay at Jungle Beach we were keen to spend a few more days relaxing on an idyllic beach sandwiched between our time in Saigon and Bangkok, so we headed to Phu Quoc, an island off the South West coast of Vietnam (closer to Cambodia) by plane. The Island is pretty big, so to explore it we hired a motorbike, the roads aren't great, most of the main ones are fairly flat, but not sealed, and pretty dusty, so a flashback to our time on the Boloven Plateau was unwelcomed..... at least it was hot and dry i guess.

There's not much to see on Phu Quoc but beaches.... many of which are not the cleanest. The most exciting activity we undertook was a visit to one of the local fish sauce factories, not advised for those of you with a weak stomach or a dislike of fish. You can find your way to the factories without a map, solely by following your nose....the island reeks of rotten fish. We bought a bottle having read iin the guide book that Vietnam Airlines won't allow you to take it on their flight, but Nath was convinced we could hide it in our main luggage...... wrong! They are wise to our tricks, and after checking in the luggage on on return flight to saigon, a voice over the airport tannoy called me to the luggage belt to remove 'The bottle in your bag'...Busted!! No fish sauce for us!

Whilst on Phu Quoc we stayed at a small resort called Mai House on Long Beach, near Doung Dong, we stayed in a beautiful bungalow with a view of the beach, and a number of other luxuries, it felt almost asthough we had shunned the former backpckers we once were. Sadly however our bungalow, and our nextdoor neighbours was occasionally home to some unfathomably large spiders.

The beaches on Phu Quoc i'm sure are lovely in the high season, but whilst we were there the island was quiet, and it felt a little like the locals had let everything go to wreck and ruin. The beaches weren't claen and the water had rubbish in it, and you couldnt see the bottom.


On our second day on the island we took the bikes to a beach on the South East coast with a kiwi and Australian Couple we had met at the hotel. The beach justified the reports of Phu Quoc we had heard prior to our visit. Bai Sao Beach is beautiful. White sand that squeks when you step on it, clear(ish) turqoise water, and overhanging palm trees, much closer to what we had hoped for, but a fair trek from where we were staying.

So all in all Phu Quoc... not our favourite, but we didnt regret going there, and we met some cool people. Wouldnt have wanted to stay for any longer than the four days we were there though.

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Part of trip: South East Asia 2009

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