Travelling to Phu Quoc in the lively summer days to enjoy blue sea, white sand, golden sunshine of Phu Quoc, a jade island where you create precious moments of young days with your friends and loved ones.
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VU TUAN ANH, 27, TV EDITOR
I visited Phu Quoc twice, the first time was for work so there was not much time to explore the island. The second time was in May this year, I travelled with my colleagues on a 4-day tour to Phu Quoc. On the island, our group visited many destinations such as Dinh Cau, Bach Dang night market, black pepper gardens, pearl farms, the Safari park, and took a boat to the sea to admire the coral. As a sea lover, what impressed me the most was the spectacularly beautiful sea in Phu Quoc. I have travelled to many islands and different seas, each of which has its own beauty; however, Phu Quoc’s sea is very special and easy to make the heart of anyone who has come here skip a beat.
The sea is a pellucid blue and jade colour, and the sky is so clear with bright golden sunshine. When the sun sets and seaside bars light up, you can take a stroll and enjoy the wind or drink a bottle of cold beer and listen to the sound of crashing waves. Whatever you do, it will bring you the most relaxed and refreshing moments by the sea.My trip was quite memorable and I am sure that if I could have another opportunity to come back here again, I will explore the destinations I have not had enough time to visit in previous trips.
CAO THI HUYEN, 27, SALES STAFF
I went to Phu Quoc in early March this year; it was sunny but not very harsh. My aunt and uncle settled here, so I stayed at their house in An Thoi town. An Thoi is mainly inhabited by local people, so I had a chance to experience Phu Quoc authentically as a local rather than a tourist. People from different regions come to Phu Quoc to settle down, but they are all warm-hearted and sincere people. When wandering around, you can park your motorcycles or bikes anywhere without fear of it being stolen, even when you forget the keys in the motorcycle.After the drive to explore Phu Quoc’s famous tourist destinations such as Sao Beach, Ho Quoc Pagoda, Tien well and many more, I often went back to my aunt and uncle’s home to have lunch instead of eating out.
We had seafood like squid, pelagic thresher, fried or grilled yellowtail and fried grouper at every meal. Phu Quoc’s squid meat is very tender and big. With no need to cook complicatedly, just adding lemongrass and ginger, boiling or steaming the squid will make a delicious dish. But the most distinctive specialty of Phu Quoc is sea urchin, and to me, cooking it with porridge is the best. At meal times, I liked to eat “BBQ grilled fish” with the neighbors. People gather, chat and enjoy the fresh fish just caught; the smell of grilled fish was so aromatic, which still makes me crave for it. In addition, I suggest that people try the fruit served with fish sauce and centella juice, which are very interesting local dishes.
DONG HUONG, 28, CONTENT EDITOR
As we were travelling with children, my family chose the self-sufficient Phu Quoc tour instead of booking an all-inclusive one. My first impression on Phu Quoc was its beautiful sea, jade green water, and long stretch of white sandy beach. However, on the day I went to the beach, the waves were rough and there was quite a lot of seaweed, which made us feel uncomfortable when swimming. Moreover, there were only a few services here and many places were very dirty. The beaches are also quite far from each other, up to 20 kilometres, so the travelling was actually inconvenient for my family when travelling with young children.
Phu Quoc cuisine is really delicious and cheap. In the night market, there are many fresh seafood restaurants where you can easily find shrimps, crabs, blue manna crabs, snails and mantis shrimp still crawling in the tank. The customers can choose whatever they want and request the restaurant to cook it the way they want. Among the seafood, I like blue manna crabs the most because it is small but the flesh is firm and sweet and wortha try.
Maybe the time I visited Phu Quoc, July, the weather was not ideal there. Also, many buildings in Phu Quoc were still under construction at that time, so the trip did not meet my expectations. I hope to go back there someday and explore more pristine places to have a more multi-dimensional view and be able to feel the full beauty of this famous island as many people have described.
THANH THANH, 26, BANK EMPLOYEE
I travelled to Phu Quoc with my family and this was a completely unexpected trip without any schedule in advance. I came to the island barely knowing anything about it. When I arrived at the airport, Phu Quoc welcomed me with a fresh and cool atmosphere; along the way from the airport to the hotel, the scenery looked so pristine with the mountain on one side and the stretching beach on the other side.
My most memorable experience when staying in Phu Quoc was diving and admiring the corals. I chose scuba diving and had to spend time training and practicing before taking the real deal. I did not know how to swim but still wanted to try it, so I took the chance and dived into the water. I felt really confident before jumping into the water but after that, all my courage seemed to disappear as I had to hold my instructor’s hand tightly and sometimes I even struggled and asked to stop. However, after being reassured by my instructor and gradually getting used to the breathing, I was able to experience true diving. The ocean world was so wonderful and I could not take my eyes off the coral reefs in unique shapes and brilliant colors. Perhaps I would definitely have regretted it if I had given up midway.
Van Ly | Wanderlust Tips