Vomiting on a plane is not fun.....

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6th - 9th October 2010 Phu Quoc Island

Wednesday morning came too early for some of us - one very sick boy (self inflicted though!). Upstairs to the restaurant we went for omlette and bacon before it all came back up again for Chris.... Anyway, onwards and upwards we went. Managed to catch a cab to the airport and find the domestic terminal. We found Vietnam Airlines ok and were bumped on to an earlier flight to Phu Quoc Island. Chris stepped onto the plane and straight into the toilet to have another look at his breakfast! Anyway, we landed on Phu Quoc and were standing around waiting for our bags when Chris saw his name pop up on a computer screen for the hotel we were staying at. We splurged a little at Phu Quoc and stayed at a beach side resort called Saigon Phu Quoc for $72 a night! Very expensive for Vietnamese hotels but well worth it. We had our own driver take us to the resort and checked in. Most of the day was spent just recovering from the night before until we ventured down to the beach and pool. We had a beer and watched the sunset over the ocean. Very pretty.

The next day we ventured out onto the streets of Phu Quoc Island and walked blindly around until a Vietnamese man who spoke perfect English stopped on his motorbike and informed us that we were going the wrong way into the city. We said thank you and subtly turned around and found the markets. We decided to go back to the sanctuary of our hotel and go for a swim. We stopped to buy a six pack of beer and a packet of pringles for $6 - happy shoppers. The rest of the day was spent planning what we were doing for the next day. The decision was made to go scuba diving down the southern end of the island with Rainbow Divers. We were in the foyer area of the hotel and the tour desk advised that a guy from Rainbow Divers was in the resort waiting for people to sign up to go diving. We went and had a chat to him - he was a French dude who had just arrived in Phu Quoc himself a few days earlier. We organised to be picked up from the hotel at 6:45am ready for the 2.5 hour boat trip down the the southern islands. Off to bed early that night...

The bus picked us up and the instructor told Chris that he couldn't find his details on the diving database to say that he has his open water certification so Chris had to do the same as me and do a 'try-dive'. A try dive is a one on one with an instructor holding onto you and controlling your BCD/Tank. Chris wasn't entirely happy that he had to be babysat for the first dive but was happy to go with it. As I had never dived before, I was more than happy for someone else to guide me around and control the BCD while I concentrated on breathing underater and through the regulator thingy you put in your mouth. We got to the marina and jumped onto a boat, then stepped over the railing onto another boat that was tied up right beside it. The boat was pretty cool - it had a downstairs area and a deck upstairs with hammock type chairs that you could lounge around on. There were three instructors, one other dude who was learning to instruct, a chef and two other staff members who stayed on board and another couple who were diving. So in total, there were seven staff members to four divers - talk about quality service! We got out to the reef and had a quick lesson with the regulator and off we went. It was fantastic!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The visibility was pretty good - about 10 - 12 metres and there were some awesome fish and coral reefs to check out. We both loved it but Chris wasn't happy to be controlled by the instructor. We jumped back on the boat and had some fresh fruit that had been prepared whilst we were under water and then went for the second dive. Chris was a lot happier this time as he was allowed to dive on his own and the instructor went along as his buddy. The dive lasted for almost an hour and then when we jumped back on the boat the second time to head back home, a full cooked meal was waiting for us - delicious! All up, it was a perfect day!

On Saturday morning, we woke early to catch the plane back to Saigon before heading off to Nha Trang for our next couple of days in Vietnam. Phu Quoc was awesome and we loved our time there!

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Comments

[Natalia]

Have you seen a happy couple?
Hey guys! You look so incredibly happy on the pictures! Looks like a great honeymoon! I just wish, that you would have been like that on Cat Ba Island. Smiling and having fun and not arguing and complaining and beeing in a bad mood all the time. ;-) No, t o be honest, we really miss you! It was a great time with you and we are looking forward to visit you in Australia and get there on your nerves!! Huggs Natalia