8- Phu Quoc, Vietnam

Tuesday, February 1st- Friday, February 4th: Phu Quoc, Vietnam

Phu Quoc is a tiny island south of Vietnam.

• On Tuesday morning, Quinn and I set out to catch an early flight to Phu Quoc, a small island off of Vietnam.
• Our trip started off a little rocky as Vietnam Airlines had bumped Quinn and I from our 8am flight to a 11am flight because of the New Year holiday, 'Tet", they had overbooked every flight about 20 seats.  I was not willing to accept this as an answer and went pretty crazy on the airline people.  I might be flagged in the computer in Vietnam somewhere...But, I did get us on a 9:30am flight instead, some money, and some of my sanity back.
• We arrived in Phu Quoc and made our way to "Amigos", a Mexican restaurant with four beach bungalows in the back that our friends who had arrived the night before had found.  The huts were perfect.  We were mere steps from the beach, had a bar and food right there, and beach chairs to lounge on.  I was very happy.

Amigos-  view with the ocean right behind.

Our beach :)

• Within about 10 minutes of arriving in Phu Quoc, I had my swimsuit on and I was getting a massage.  Trust me, I needed it after acting like a crazy person to Vietnam Airlines.

Thats a $3 body massage and pure bliss.

• The best part of Phu Quoc can be summed up in one word = motorbikes.  It cost only $6 a day and allowed us access to the whole island. So, with 6 people. 3 girls, 3 boys, we rented 3 motorbikes for a couple of days.  It really is the best way to explore Phu Quoc and in some places the only way as cars could not go down certain roads.  We spent about two days driving around the island, discovering deserted beaches, watching beautiful sunsets, finding beach side restaurants, and just enjoying the thrill of motorbikes.  I was on the back of Quinn's motorbike, as I can not be trusted to drive one of those things.  We really saw some amazing things and I really enjoyed it.
• Some parts of the motorbike rides got a little scary as we crossed tiny, shaky, wood bridges and avoided herds of cows and chickens as they walked along dirt roads and sand.

My expert driver.

A town we stopped in to check out.

All ours- completely deserted beach.

Sunset at another beautiful, deserted beach.

Pitstop.

Beach side restaurant/hut for Pho.

• Other highlights included:
• Lounging on the beach with a book, massages, and cocktails.
• A great night market where we ate a couple of meals.  The market had delicious, cheap seafood.  We also were able to enjoy fireworks there on the actual night of Tet (the New Year).

Seafood at the night market.

• We found the one hotspot on the island, "Kiki's/Paradise Resort".  It turned out to be a great time as we danced and made friends with many Vietnamese locals.
• One evening we ate dinner at a restaurant called Chez Carole.  From the outside, the restaurant looked like a winner as it had live music and was packed.  The restaurant turned out even better than expected as it was filled with Koreans!! One group of Koreans was so excited to talk to us that they were gracious enough to give us a bottle of Soju (Korean rice liquor) that they had brought from Korea to the restaurant!  It was hilarious and amazing.

Sam and Quinn posing with our Korean friends at Chez Carole.

• Phu Quoc is known for a large population of indigenous dogs that are living on the island.  None of the dogs are domesticated, but they are friendly and harmless.  However, their appearance says otherwise as they have sharp nails, fangs, and a distinct standing up hairline across their back.  There were a few that hung around our beach bungalows and were all very nice.

An indigenous dog (Google Images).

• Our last night in Phu Quoc we did have a semi-not-fun experience.  We were in a cab coming home and the cab driver had one last turn to make, but before we knew it our cab was surrounded by angry men who were banging on the cab, stopped it from moving forward, and were attempting to open our doors.  It was scary at the moment, but the people were more just trying to be a threat rather than harm us.  The cab was able to keep moving without anybody being harmed.  We tried asking what was wrong, but didn't get any answer.  From my perspective, it seemed like a bunch of rioters or men who had gotten in some sort of mob fight.

Last day of vacation, a great way to spend it.

To put it like the guide book does, Phu Quoc really is a vacation from a vacation.  This part of the vacation was all about relaxation and just enjoying ourselves.  It really was the best way to end a great vacation.

Well, there you have it.  The last seven entries have hopefully give everyone a little idea about how amazing my 3-week vacation in South East Asia was.  It really was an unforgettable trip and I hope to return to these places again in life.  Vacation made me appreciate this experience in Korea even more and how there are so many incredible places for me to discover in this world.