When we wake up on the first morning in Phu Quoc, we take a walk to the village of Ham Ninh and have breakfast at a soup kitchen.
Phó soup, made of very fine beef, rice noodles, spring onions and bean sprouts, can be seasoned to taste with fresh herbs (coriander and mint-like), lime juice, soy sauce and chili peppers, powder, and sauce. We find it delicious.
Since there is no public transportation on the island, Lilli gives us a crash course in riding a scooter to explore the island.
And off we go... Our first stop is along a coastal road with a beautiful view of the bay below. In the middle of nowhere, the huge Ho Quoc Pagoda suddenly appears. You won't find many Western tourists here, but instead a meditative stillness, beautiful architecture, and a bit of shade within the architecture, as it is oppressively hot. As we enter the pagoda, a monk strikes a singing bowl and immediately creates a meditative atmosphere. Below the pagoda is a beautiful, long, golden-yellow beach. It is completely deserted, which also means that no one clears away the trash that the sea washes ashore. Next, we visit Coconut Prison, a war prison of the South Vietnamese government where up to 40,000 people were held captive in its barracks during the peak of the Vietnam War. The barracks depict various torture methods that took place here, which we will spare you from here. Some prisoners were locked in metal containers or tiny cages as a special punishment. It's already unbearably hot for us, so one can imagine the suffering inside a closed metal container. To our surprise, we come across a cable car in the village of An Thoi at the southern tip of the island. A huge cable car. The largest cable car in the world is not found on any glacier, but on Phu Quoc in Vietnam. It is planned to eventually span the entire island. You can read more about how such investments change and will change the island here:http://www.zeit.de/entdecken/reisen/merian/phu-quoc-insel-vietnam-tourismus We are very fortunate to still experience much of the original, non-touristy island. After a small lunch break in An Thoi, we head to Bai Sao, which Lilly says is the most beautiful beach on the island. And indeed, we reach the beach only via a red dirt road, with only a few beach resorts. We are greeted by a bright white, wide, fine sandy beach, populated only by a few people. The forest directly behind the beach provides shade from the scorching hot sun. We plunge into the crystal clear water, enjoy the tranquility, and let ourselves drift in the water for an hour. Then we return to Ham Ninh, fully refreshed. After having a restaurant evening yesterday, we have decided to indulge in the abundant street food offerings tonight. For starters, we have freshly peeled corn sautéed in butter with spring onions and crushed shrimp.For the main course, we have crispy pancakes filled with eggs, minced meat, onions, and various fresh herbs, grilled over charcoal. Incredibly delicious! The ladies specifically requested a portrait of themselves. As an intermediate course, we have a kind of Vietnamese Cevapcici on coriander, which is dipped in a tasty chili sauce. And for dessert, we buy 6 mangoes for just one euro. Leonie is in paradise ;) We are going to enjoy them now and are already looking forward to tomorrow's snorkeling tour and whatever else the day has in store for us.
