It is with mixed feelings that I write about Phu Quoc. Whilst we had a great few days on the island, we were saddened and angered by what we saw.
Phu Quoc is about the size of Singapore and is very developed. Unfortunately with the development has come a lot of rubbish and pollution. The island must have been stunning about 10 years ago but now resembles a dirty construction site. It was frustrating and sad to see the amount of rubbish littering the beaches, river and sides of the road and we fear as development continues it will only get worse.
In saying that, we did enjoy our time on the island. We stayed a short walk from the main beach on the island, Long Beach.
There are many hotels and restaurants lining the beach but surprisingly it didn’t feel too crowded. Most of the hotels rope off their section of the beach for their guests but there are still public sections where you can put down your towel. We liked the public area near Phuong Binh House and spent quite a bit of time there either on the beach or in the bar/restaurant. It’s a good spot for lunch and/or a beer or two at sunset.
Although we had a few relaxing days in Kampot we were pretty knackered when we arrived on Phu Quoc (what can I say travelling is tiring?!). We therefore decided to be very lazy and our activities were limited to swimming, sunbaking and napping (in our air-conditioned room).
The majority of our time of was spent around Long Beach but we did venture to Mango Bay Resort (about half an hour’s drive). Mango Bay is a beautiful resort with its own little beach and we managed to get a waterfront spot at its beach bar for sunset (where we also stayed for dinner rather than heading to the main restaurant where the waterfront seats are reserved for guests only).
We loved the Mango Bay Resort and the following day decided to come back to a nearby public beach, Ong Lang Beach. The beach was lovely and mostly clean (apart from a small section near the road) and the water was much clearer than at Long Beach. We found a shady spot and spent a wonderful morning swimming and reading. The water on the island is so calm and great for laps!
We ventured to a nearby resort for lunch planning to spend the afternoon back on the beach. However, on our return the beach was full of smoke from fires lit up on vacant land. Originally we thought it was only dried palm leaves and pine but then noticed the burning plastic bottles and rubbish. This brought our beach time to an abrupt end! Unfortunately, the burning of rubbish is something that we have come across a lot on Phu Quoc and, to a lesser extent, also in Cambodia.
There is of course more to do on Phu Quoc – hiring a motorbike and exploring the more remote beaches is very popular. There is also snorkeling and diving. Maybe we should have been more active and maybe (probably!) we should have splurged and stayed at Mango Bay Resort (or similar). It is unlikely that we will return to Phu Quoc but we have had an enjoyable stay and leave the island more rested and a little more tanned (even Daz!).
Next: back to the big smoke…Ho Chi Minh City/Saigon.
[Edit: I read an excellent article on the rubbish problem in Phu Quoc and Vietnam in general, a great read: http://vietnamcoracle.com/trash-talk-litter-in-vietnams-beauty-spots-2/]
