After returning from Cambodia we had one turn around day in HCMC before heading to Phu Quoc Island - the largest island in Vietnam located off the south western cost of the county in the Gulf of Thailand. It was a short 1 hour plane ride from HCMC. Due to its proximity, the island has become an accessible getaway for many expats, vacationers and locals as well. Increased tourism has brought massive development and from travelling around the island we seemed to get the impression that it was literally "under construction" with massive resorts popping up everywhere.
We did however manage to find some quiet, beautiful beaches for relaxation, and touring the island gave us a sense of all it has to offer. We spent a week here. ..ringing in the New Year 2016...
We did however manage to find some quiet, beautiful beaches for relaxation, and touring the island gave us a sense of all it has to offer. We spent a week here. ..ringing in the New Year 2016...
At the airport, ready to go!
Beautiful walk to the beach in Ong Lang on Phu Quoc Island.
In paradise.
Fishing boat coming ashore at sunset.
Walking back to the Seaside Homestay. A beautiful quiet 10 min. walk through tropical landscape.
At Seaside Homestay
The second beach we stayed at on Phu Quoc Island. Right in the town of Duong Dong. Busier and not a quiet, but lots of places to explore and interesting things to see.
Chillin'
Phu Quoc is famous for its pearls.
We went on a day tour around the island and visited the pearl center and learned about the process of cultivating pearls. Then we went on to the fish sauce factory, Sao Beach for some time to relax and finally hiked through the jungle to a waterfall and quickly stopped by a pepper farm. It was interesting to learn about the Island and all it has to offer. Lets hope development doesn't destroy it all....but I'm not holding my breath.
Fish sauce, a staple in Vietnamese cuisine...it has a really STRONG smell, along with duian, it is banned on airplanes...
Dried sea creatures of all sorts...YUM????
Bai Sao, beautiful blue waters, white sand, and very quiet when we were there...almost no one in sight.
We loved the swing.
View of the shoreline of Bai Sao (Sao Beach), in places it was littered with waste, such a shame, but from what I have learned this is a very common problem in most areas in Vietnam and South East Asia...humans are not good for the earth!
I love this picture of Viktor helping Eva step down from the rock.
The pepper farm - so interesting to see how pepper is grown. Phu Quoc is famous for the pepper it grows and it is exported into all of Vietnam. They even have special pepper mixes. We bought a delicious pepper with salt and garlic...makes you want to lick your fingers!
Peppercorns
Delicious seafood dinner. Kids weren't too impressed, but they embraced it after the first few bites.
Grilled squid
Random mermaid on the beach...lol...maybe she had something to do with one of the hotels, but we didn't figure it out.
Snack time: pineapple, mango and watermelon.
Great spot for jumping
Found this interesting bench outside the temple in Duong Dong...
View of Duong Dong from the temple.
On New Year's Day we decided to visit Vinpearl. An amusement park in the north of the island. We had such a great day. The park was almost empty for the first half of the day, because most people decided to visit the Safari, which had just opened, and we literally had the park to ourselves. No lineups, no crowds. We rode rides (especially the bumper cars) in circles and had the luxury of no wait time at the water slides. It was amazing!
Yep. It's just us.
The aquarium was great. We saw the sharks and stingrays during feeding time.
View of the park from the top of the ferris wheel.
The water slides were amazing and HUGE. We even saw a dance show.
Night time water music. Beautiful.
We really loved Phu Quoc Island. It was such a great, relaxing way to spend the New Year. We'd love to go back, but there are so many places to go and so many things to see that I'm not sure we will be able to fit it in!
