Phu Quoc

---

After the Mekong Delta Trip I spent 5 days on this small Island in the Gulf of Thailand called Phu Quoc. It was fantastic. The island is a tourist paradise. It is not very well developed yet - predominately small resorts and dirt or gravel roads - but the beach is fantastic and not crowded at all. I didn't have a reservation, so after a ferry ride on the SuperDong 2 ( The currency up here is the Dong, not sure what they meant when they called the boat that ), I got a minibus to take me and a Dutch couple I befriended to find us a place to stay. They found us a fantastic place with beach bungalows right on the sand overlooking the water, all for $13 a night. What a deal. These were really nice too, far cry from my bungalow on Ko Lanta. They were brick construction, with thatched roof and a proper restroom. There even came with fridges! I spent most of the time swimming or snorkeling. Went diving one day - the visibility was really poor - about 5 meters, and I got lost. I was clearing my mask, turned around and my party was gone. I could hear the banging from the dive master but couldn't see him. Was sweaming in circles - was about to go up when he found me. Even with such low visibility - I enjoyed the dive. The coral up here is amazing. Different colors - some I've never seen before. But the fish is disappointing - mostly juvenile - since they overfish up here. The dive master was a lot of fun. He brought a girl with him - so he was singing her Vietnamese love songs and dancing and such the whole boat trip 😊 He was trying so hard to win her over, but the girl didn't even smile once - she wasn't impressed at all!
Anyways, at night all the resorts set up grills right on the beach. It was great. I tried red snapper, tuna and squid. One night I went night squid fishing. The boat goes out, turns on the light, the squid is attracted by lights and you catch a boatload. That's the theory. We never caught any, 2 Vietnamese girls were puking the whole ride, so overall it was a miserable experience and we got the captain to cut the whole thing short 😊
One day I went snorkeling off of my beach by the rocks, saw some coral and fish. Was getting out of the water, when I saw something dark on the sandy portion. Put my mask on and it turned out to be a cuttlefish! I've only seen them once before when diving. This one was big, about a foot long. It was dark brown, I kept swimming closer to take a look and it kept turning to face me. They are very intelligent. They have a body of squid and a head and eyes of octopus. So I got too close, about a foot away, when it changed color to white, and started swimming away. I kept trying to swim after it, but it didn't like it, and it squirted black sticky ink out to cover its tracks. That worked as I didn't want to swim into a dark sticky cloud. Wow, what an experience. I tried to find it again the next day, but it was gone.
Overall all, squid trip notwithstanding, I really enjoyed my stay on Phu Quoc. I got a flight back to Saigon, and spend an afternoon there waiting for my bus to Mui Ne. Went to Hoh Chi Minh museum, which was just full of his photos and other crap. I guess you have to be Vietnamese to appreciate it. Then I went to Botanical Gardens and the Zoo, which was really nice. The Zoo was OK, but it is housed in a Botanical Garden built by the French - really nice and cool, considering how sweltering Saigon is.
Next stop - Beach town of Mui Ne - 4 hours outside of Saigon.

---

Comments

[Paul]

The name of the bungalow in Phu Quoc
I'm a stranger and I understand well that you are busily traveling. Perhaps you don't have much time to reply to me, perhaps you don't remember the name of the bungalow you'd stayed in Phu Quoc. I really enjoy reading your trip and wish to know the name of that $13/n bungalow. Happy travels! Paul

[arctangent]

The name of the place is Nhat Lan Resort. I highly recommend it. Don't forget to bargain with them. The A/C bungalows were $20, but when I was there you wouldn't need A/C. Good luck.