Wow, can't quite believe it. Our last night in Vietnam tonight, tomorrow we head home. This last month has gone by so fast, Halong Bay seems like such a long time ago now. .
Phu Quoc
Phu Quoc is an island off the West coast òf Vietnam. The tourist industry ís only a mểre 5 years old and so it ís one òf the few untouched and truly "real" experiences òf Vietnam. This will probably all change in the not so distant future as there are signs òf development in places, new hotels popping up and such like.
We left for Phu Quoc on Saturday 2nd July. On arrival at the airport in Ho Chi Minh city we discovered that the plane we were in fact going on was a small propeller plane. great!. However, the views flying over the Mekong delta and over the sea were amazing. The sea was so clear in approaching Phu Quoc you can actually see where the land drops down in the sea. Quite scary but also quite cool. We got picked up at the airport on the other side, (which consisted of a room for arrivals and then you are out the front door) and taken to our resort. We chose to stay at the Sea Star Resort, recommended by Lonely Planet. For once, Lonely Planet did well ( don't trúst them anymore), we had our own wee beach bungalow meters from the sea. Restaurant food wasn't great but we only ate there one night so it wasn't that much òf an issue. The first day we arrived we basically made the móst òf it and spent the afternoon relaxing on the beach under the sun, dipping in and out òf the sea when we felt like it. Our 2nd day, we decided to do a tour around the South òf the Island. Our driver took us to a pearl farm (amazing) , the coconut prison (where Americans held the VC in the war) it just so happened that day we went, old veterans in the Government on the Vietnamese side were visiting the prison, with a tv crew following. We also went to a fishing village and a beach club on Sao Beach on the east coást òf the island. Lovely lovely beach!. but was spoiled by the fact that whilst sitting having a drink in the cafe area , one òf the poor shark like fish was chosen by someone for lunch. Which involved staff whacking it's head off the stony path to kill it, in full view of all their customers. Now, i know Vietnamese like their food fresh, but really... they could have done it away from other customers . That night, we decided to go squid fishing.. Now that was interesting.!!! No1 managed to catch one, but the food we were served for dinner was definately unforgettable. There was squid porridge (did not try!), sea urchin, bbq'd squid, noodles. Needless to say, mainly stuck to the noodles.
After our fairly short stay in Phu Quoc, we arrived in Saigon again, back to our hotel and found our room had bêen upgraded, bonus! Today (5th July) we went to a cooking course which was great! we made crispy noodles with crunchy vegetables , chicken hotpot with ginger, chillies and rice and mustard leaf rolls with sweet and sour sauce. . Yum!, going to have to try make them again at home.
Anyways, can only write quick entry now as need to go finish packing my bag. Head home tomorrow evening, don't want to leave at all. But hey, hopefully will be back again soon.
sara xx
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