The end of October to the beginning of April is the most beautiful time on pearl island. Clear sky, blue sea, gentle sunshine are ideal conditions for tourists to visit. Most of the beautiful beaches and tourist services here are concentrated from the south of the island to the north of the island along the west coast, on a very easy-to-navigate road.
This is my first trip after the break. Instead of finding new and exploratory schedules, I chose a safer option, going to places that are definitely safe in terms of epidemic prevention methods.
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| The scenery of May Rut island in the south of Phu Quoc. |
Day 1: Lost in “little Bali”
Before the epidemic, I heard that this area was crowded with foreign tourists, but now it is quite desolate due to the influence of the epidemic.
Along the way, there are many shops with foreign-language signs that remind me of Bali’s West Kuta Street.
The resort is located at the end of the road, in front of me is a wooden gate wide enough for cars to enter. The gate opens to a scene that resembles a harsh jungle.
If the road to the resort is like Kuta, then stepping inside, I feel like I’m in Ubud (Bali). This place seems to be separate from Phu Quoc.
Instead of planting a lot of trees, forced to bring nature back, this place refrains from clearing waste to keep the wild look. The bungalows are nestled between the immense green space. Many rooms even make me feel like treehouses.
My room is garden view type. Entering, what impressed me was that the room had a lot of doors to take advantage of the wind and natural light. All items in the room are made of recyclable and compostable materials.
After resting for a while, I couldn’t contain my curiosity to explore this place. As I thought, exploring the resort is like short trekking. All the paths here are kept intact as trails.
There are roads looking up only to see sunlight seeping through the foliage. If you don’t pay close attention to the signposts, you can easily get lost.
Sometimes I even see a few squirrels crossing the road and disappearing on a tree branch, or geckos lying motionless like statues on some rock. The sound of birdsong mixed with the sound of waves crashing makes me unable to confuse this experience with any other place.
Lucky for me, the weather was quite nice that day, I borrowed a SUP and spent the afternoon enjoying the atmosphere of the sea after a long time of separation.
In the evening, I moved to the resort’s restaurant for a meal. I was initially hesitant to dine at accommodation establishments’ restaurants, because of the price and I wouldn’t have had a complete local culinary experience.
But the North Island is very rare, so I had to eat at the restaurant. Fortunately, this place made me somewhat remove the prejudice about the resort’s restaurant.
Welcome me is the poetic scenery of the Gulf of Thailand. It is around 5 o’clock at this time, the sky is still bright, the seawater is still blue and there is no hot sun. I chose a seat next to the beach. Looking down from here, you can see the rocky reefs, where the crabs are trying to find a place to avoid each wave.
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| Photo: On The Rock. |
I choose seafood dishes to have the best assessment of the quality of the food. As I expected, the grilled dishes keep their freshness by direct charcoal grilling. I suddenly thought this place is quite ideal for couples to have dinner together while watching the sunset.
When the sunset has just passed, the space is engulfed in darkness. The restaurant area now only has dim candlelight. I went back to my room, ended my day while some other guests stayed, sipping cocktails in the dreamy night-sea space.
Day 2: Impromptu trip to Ganh Dau beach
Because I did not prepare a schedule for the trip, I wondered if I should go out of the resort, explore new destinations or not. In the end, I decided to rent a motorbike to go further north of the island. Specifically, Ganh Dau.
Ganh Dau Beach is one of the beautiful beaches in Phu Quoc. Here gather many famous architectural works such as the first amusement park or casino of the Mekong Delta… to the beaches that captivate visitors at first sight.
When I arrived, the sea at Ganh Dau was calm, the waves were clear, you could see boulders and coral reefs hidden in the blue water. I suddenly thought, if there is a kayak here, it will be over. The beach is quite deserted, I breathe comfortably the fresh morning air.
If you have come here, of course, you cannot ignore Rach Vem fishing village, where there are floating restaurants, serving fresh specialties caught on the spot.
I choose any restaurant because the prices here are not competitive. Each raft house has a menu with a clear price, there is no guillotine for tourists. I skimmed through the menu and chose grilled squid and umami.
The food and space are simply decorated differently than at the restaurant, but the taste is not inferior. Next to me, I saw a person who looked like a raft owner, lifted a board from the floor, and used a racket to directly pick up fish swimming below to make dishes for guests.
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| Photo: Rooty . |
The sea in Rach Vem has a lot of seaweed, which at first glance is not clean, but this is a feature of this sea. From late October to April, Rach Vem will have starfish. However, I did not choose this place as a check-in point because I wanted to limit the impact on starfish.
After struggling all day, it was time to return to the resort, prepare luggage to move to the south of the island. If I have time, I will stay to watch the sunset at Ganh Dau beach, on the diverse rocks stretching to the end of the cape.
I have no special criteria when choosing a hotel in the south of the island. This place is crowded with tourists, so it is not difficult to find a good place to stay.
After resting, it was just in time for me to watch the sunset of Phu Quoc. At this time, I feel the difference between the south island and the north island. While the beaches in the north of the island are always quiet and quiet, in the south of the island, the bustle of tourists makes my mood very exciting.
I ended my 2nd day with a bowl of vermicelli on Bach Dang street. This is also an address you should not miss when coming to Phu Quoc.
Day 3: See the coral under 5m of sea water
To save money for the 3rd day, I decided to buy a tour to visit the small islands. The attraction for me in the schedule was the visit to the undersea coral park.
I woke up early to prepare. My group has quite a few guests due to limited people because of the epidemic.
The first destination is May Rut Island. This is one of the most beautiful islands in Phu Quoc because it still retains its wild look with fine white sand, long coastline, rocky beaches with many interesting shapes…
In addition, the straight rows of coconut trees create a background that visitors can check in freely. When my group arrived on the island, there were several groups of guests swimming in the sea, enjoying fresh coconuts.
Unfortunately, I didn’t get to hear the detailed explanation of the coral species. The process of approaching the coral seems to be more important because visitors will have to go 5 meters below sea level so there can be no mistake. Leaving May Rut island, the group will come to the coral farming center. Here, I can directly admire the rare coral species by walking.
You will be wearing an “astronaut” hat with a weight of 3 kg underwater, equivalent to 38 kg onshore. The process of going down must be very careful under the supervision of the accompanying guide.
The colorful coral world appears when you set foot on the seabed. Here, the coral reefs are carefully cultivated by the center. Some species can touch it but others can’t, as the heat of the human body can cause corals to die. I put my hand on a reef that is allowed to touch, a few fish hiding in it were alarmed so they swam out.
Around me, schools of small fish swam around, unconcerned with the appearance of humans.
Next on the tour is Nail Island. I heard some guests in the group call this the Maldives of Vietnam. This area has just been exploited for tourism recently, so it still retains its wild look.
Stepping on the island, I see mostly luxuriant trees, the sea has a characteristic dark jade green color, different from other areas. This is also a stop for lunch. On the island, there is only one restaurant and a few households, who are also serving staff here.
In addition to the dishes prepared according to the menu, the group also enjoyed “pearl”, a type of cockle related to pearls that live in the natural environment and cannot be kept in captivity. Ngoc Nu has a characteristic sweet taste, grilled to retain the original flavor of oyster meat, when eaten, it feels lumpy. The price of each female pearl is 50,000 VND.
After resting and walking on Mong Tay island, the canoe continues to carry passengers out to Gam Ghi island. This is the most special destination in the itinerary because it is the only island without a beach. The canoe will be anchored for guests to freely swim in the sea, watching corals at 2-3 m water level.
At the end of the exploration of the southern island at the harbor, the group’s car came to take us back to the resort.
So the end of the 3rd day is also the last day of the trip. I went back to the resort to rest and wait to return to Ho Chi Minh City on the flight at noon the next day. Follow (zingnews)