11. Phu Quoc, Long Beach, South
If you are an active person who does not like to lie on the beach, to see the wonderful sunsets, and enjoy a chat in a chill out cafe, this island may not be for you.
You won't find many things to do here, besides relaxing. I looked for a place to do kite surfing when I was here, but there is not any surf school in the island (yet). If you have your own kite surf (or windsurf), you will find some nice places to practice wind sports on the other side of the island -- East side. The days I spent on Long Beach, I hardly saw a strong wind, but the days I visited the beaches on the east side I experienced very strong winds.
12. Phu Quoc, Long Beach, fishing
One of the people I met while in Phu Quoc island, was an oversea Vietnamese. He had arrived just an hour before meeting me, and he told me he was already bored. He had worked all his life, and he just could not lie under the sun and do nothing. He asked me what could I suggest him to do. I told him to go for a swim, relax on a bed and order a juice. He told me this did not looked very fun to him. He needed action, he told me. Someone suggested him to go on a fishing tour, he liked that. I did not meet him again. I do not know if he enjoyed his stay on the island in the end.
I guess everyone has its version of paradise, mine is very similar to what I found in Phu Quoc: nice people, perfect weather, warm crystal clear waters, very good food, splendorous landscapes, and many other things you will see on the following pages.
13. Phu Quoc, Long Beach, palm trees
One of the things I recommend you to do is renting a motorbike, and go on an island tour. As you lie on the beach, or as you walk on the roads of Phu Quoc, you will be approached by strangers offering motorbikes for rent. Many of them are local people who own a bike and work as taxi drivers. -- Yes, Vietnamese have motorbike taxis. Most of these people are nice, you won't have problems with them. But if you want to be safe, rent the motorbikes in your hotel. Or ask someone in your hotel where you can rent a bike. If you ask your hotel, they will also give you a map of the island, or draw it on a napkin, and tell you where to go. You can go to the North, to the east or to the South (in case you stay in Long Beach).
14. Phu Quoc, An Thoi
From Long Beach there is a road that goes straight to the south of the island. At the Southern tip of the island there is a town called An Thoi, famous for its fish sauce.
While you travel south -- which you can do on a motorbike, on a taxi or on a mini bus --- you will see how long Long Beach actually is. Most part of this beach has not been spoiled by tourism (yet). You will see that as you leave your hotel, there is still a lot of virgin land. Most hotels and tourists resorts are located next to Duong Dong, the farther south, the less hotels you will see. I was told that big tourism companies are spending big dollars in buying plots of land next to the beach, so things may change in the coming future.
In Anthoi there is not much to see. You can visit one of the sauce companies, go to a local market, and visit its harbor. It is here that you take ferries to the continent. It is also here where you can take a boat to visit one of the smaller islands south of Phu Quoc.
15. Phu Quoc, Bai Sao
On the east side of Phu Quoc lie some of the most beautiful beaches on the island. Nowhere else I have seen sand as white as here!
Getting to the coves on this side of the island is somewhat tricky. You will need a map, and, most probably, some local help to get here. If you take a taxi, it won't be so difficult to find the place. The roads leading to these beaches were not in very good conditions, when I visited. And I am almost sure they will be more or less the same when you visit.
While I was on this beach I had a strange sensation. It looked almost perfect, but the fact that there were not many visitors made me question that maybe there was something wrong with this place. There was a bar, with very reasonable prices, there was shade, there was a shining sun, the waters were shallow and crystal clear. Where were the tourists? I only saw a few of them. Ten? Fifteen? Was I a privileged? Yes, I think this was the right answer to the mystery.
16. Phu Quoc, Bai Kem
You can see what Bai Kem Beach looked while I was here. You can see a couple of people swimming. I think there were a couple more lying on the sand. There were also some locals and some foreigners having something in the bar.
17. Phu Quoc, Suoi Tranh Waterfalls
In the middle of the island of Phu Quoc there is a tourist attraction you should not miss, the Suoi Tranh Waterfalls.
Although Phu Quoc is rather small, there are many rivers on the island. I guess it is because it does rain a lot after all -- although, I did not see a rainy day during my two week stay on the island.
The Suoi Tranh waterfall is currently being promoted. You will see a not very fortunate construction on the right side of one of the roads that link the east with the west side of the island. This is the Suoi Tranh Waterfall. You have to pay a fee to visit the waterfalls, but it is well worth the money. I did not have time to get to the top of the water falls because my friend was tired, but what I saw was really nice, a brook that in some parts became a small water fall. I specially liked the sounds I heard, the sound of the water and birds singing. The tour may take you more than one hour. I still wonder what sits at the end of the path.
18. Phu Quoc, Northeast coast
The northwest part of the island has less interest for foreigners, but I wanted to see it. For this reason one day I rented a motorbike and followed the roads I found on my map. It should have been possible to go all the way to the North and get back on the roads on the other side of the island, but I could not complete the tour. The conditions of the roads were getting worse, and I hardly found any people there. For this reason at one point I decided to go back. Although I could not complete the tour, it was a nice ride. On the Northeast Coast I could not find any tourist facilities. All I found were some fishermen houses (like the ones in the picture) and some workers repairing the roads. This part of the island was pretty windy the day I visited. I wonder if some day someone will open a windsurf school here.
19. Phu Quoc, Ganh Dau
One of the things I liked more during my stay on the island was the tour we did to the Northwest with our rented motorbikes. Landscapes were much more virgin than I could ever have imagined. There were almost no tourist facilities here either. Villagers earned their living with their fishing boats. We did find a bar in one of the beaches in Ganh Dau, but it looked more like a local thing.You can see some fishermen working with their nets.
20. Phu Quoc, Bai Dai Beach
Bai Dai Beach is a several miles long beach completely unspoiled Northwest of the island. There was absolutely nothing on the beach: no tourists, no bars, nothing!
Later I learnt that the government has postponed any developed plans for the place. I think it is only a question of time before someone brings a "big plan" to build a wonderful resort that will "respect" the nature and bring money to the locals. Meanwhile, come before it disappears one of the loneliest beaches on planet earth.
Tiêu đề: Phu Quoc Island part 2 