Phuc Quoc Island

Asia
February 8th 2011

Published: February 8th 2011

We spent a night in the City of Chau Doc (Mekong Delta), however it was noisy over there. Chinese New Year (Tet) was going on (loud drums, loud music, firecrackers) and the market next to our hotel. I had forgotten how in Vietnam they also start playing music and read local news via loudspeakers in the morning. It is a bit early to listen to it at 4:30 in the morning.
We caught a bus ride to Coastal Town of Ha Tienh (3 hours), then a slow boat ride to Phu Quoc Island (3 hours again). The boat had seen better days and what they loaded on it just amazed me. Motorcycles, food and all kind of supplies needed on the Island. Passengers were packed under the upper deck, like chickens into a pen. It was ineteresting experience. When we departed they started playing oriental music videos very loudly and taped bird sounds for the whole time (starlings i think), so we escaped to the deck where it was quiet. We stood and sat on the fore deck most of the way to the Island. It was very sunny and beautiful sailing. The East Sea was not too rough and we saw many fishing boats on our way.
We are finding phuc quoc island to be a popular destination for the vietnamese as well as tourists like ourselves. this island is pretty laid back with lots of forest in the interior and a strip of hotels mostly on the west side. we decided to take a trip up the west side of the island today and rented a scooter for the day to use for travelling. we packed some water, a pineapple and a map and set out this morning on the road. as we were leaving the town (duong dong is the name) we got confused as to where was the road leading out of town north. and we werent the only lost travellors as there were several other tourists doing the same thing on scooters that appeared lost and holding the same darn map. as we came through a small seaside neighbourhood some local folks approached us and pointed out a way to go and then a woman also appeared on a bike to show us the way. we followed her aways and got suspicious as she was taking us through very rough sandy trail that was really NOT looking like a main road and yet we were too far along to turn back and it was not clear at all where we were. we followed for about 10 minutes whereupon we came to the main road north (a paved wide lane road) and it was then that she demanded payment for being our guide and we lost 5 dollars on that scam. it appeared to be that the locals do this on a regular basis to lead tourists who are lost instead of to the main road, through a back convoluted route and then charge money for helping. we learned a lesson in not being too trusting when people offer to "help" us. this kind of thing happens in vietnam though and we just werent "being careful". anyway, we saw other lost tourists going in other directions with "guides" ..so it wasnt just us. it makes me mad..but then i realize its how these poor folks are making a living and just getting by..so why be mad about it.
anyway, we headed up the highway north and tried to find a certain beach but the road map was not accurate and we never did find the right turn off to the beach. so, we turned around and headed back towards the town and were able to find another beach north of town that was very pretty. at this beach there was mainly vietnamese families there having picnics and enjoying time together. we parked the bike and found a great spot on the beach under a tree. It was over 30celcius and we were hot and really looking forward to swimming in the ocean. however, as we sat there and looked around it became clear that there was NO one swimming, not even the kids! in fact everyone was wearing pants and sleaved shirts and hats. we remembered then that the vietnamese dont sunbathe but avoid tanning. so it didnt seem right for us to wear bathingsuits and go swimming and when no one else was doing this..we felt it was better to not go for a dip and risk offending or just plain standing OUT. the families were having time together picnicing, playing cards and some drinking and were friendly to us as the only non vietnamese (we were offered alcohol but declined).
i wanted to mention about the food in vietnam. first of all..very very fresh and TASTY. the menu unusually involves a choice of meat or seafood and it always comes with rice. rice accompanies most meals. vietnamese usually have a type of soup with noodles in it for breakfast (but there's also baguettes and eggs on the menu for westerners). we love eating PHO which is a soup with noodles, vegies and choice of meat. it is the kind of thing that you can find everywhere as a basic food that people eat a lot of. this is the most delicious soup as its slow cooked and very tasty as a meal. now dessert...waaaahhh (i am missing chocolate)...since in vietnam its fruit or maybe icecream perhaps (dessert is not a biggy here).
we'll post more pics soon..but internet is often slow and we cant always get the pics to upload. will give it a try in the next day or so.

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