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April 27, 2007
Back on the main land
Going from the quiet and very relaxed Beach Club hotel where our bungalow looked out to the beach, to the town of An Thoi was brutal. We hadn't gotten off the motorbikes and we already had two girls shoving postcards in our faces asking for 20,000 dong. I don't think Josh and I were ready for it and we got into the ferry as quickly as we could, just to get away from them. Unfortunately for us, they followed us in and kept trying until finally they gave up.
Phu Quoc is the most relaxed place I've seen in Vietnam. Sometimes while reading a book on the beach, I had to remind myself where I was because it felt like Thailand. Although it's getting busier according to hoteliers we talked to, it's still very mellow and under developed.
Getting around can be tough since you have to rent a motorbike and brave the dirt roads but it's worth it. Just be warned, getting on a motorbike means you'll be covered in red dirt in no time.
Yesterday, we went diving with Coco Dive Center. The visibility this time of year isn't the best, 5-8 meters I think, but diving is always a cool experience. Rodolphe, the manager, is a friendly French guy who worked as a baker in New Zealand for a few years and came to Vietnam and fell in love with diving so decided to become a dive master. The two dives were mellow, just 10 meters, and the coral although not as plentiful as in Nha Trang was very colorful.
Phu Quoc was also nice because Josh was able to relax a little more. He beat me at Bullshit more times then I care to count, and we were able to ride around on a motorbike several times to check out the island. We also visited some fish sauce factories, which was pretty interesting, with the help of Tony, a Vietnamese guide who speaks English with a New York accent because he was raised by a American colonel during the war.
After researching for two months, Josh almost done and I think today we're both feeling a little sad that this trip is quickly coming to an end. I say almost because tonight we're staying in Rach Gia, on the main land, and we have a few restaurants to check out still.
Tomorrow we're flying to Saigon and it's back to our comfy California guest house for a few days before we fly back to San Francisco.
It's getting hot in this Internet place, time to go.
Helene
Posted by insideoutmag at April 27, 2007 04:30 AM
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