Phu Quoc

We arrived in Phu Quoc yesterday. Phu Quoc is a small island a bit west of HCMC in southern Vietnam. I wasn’t totally sure of what to expect as some of the comments I had read about the island weren’t totally flattering. However, it didn’t take long to realize that this place is going to be really nice. The weather is good, the ocean is a fantastic temperature and the water is very clear: I swam out about 100m an could still clearly see the bottom. To top things off, the sand is super deep and soft bit not powdery enouh that it makes a mess of everything. Apparently some people don’t like the beach here that much - the sand is brown instead of white and the water is green instead of turquoise. It boggles my mind as to how some people think.

The trip here from HCMC was uneventful. Both kids managed to travel a few hours without puking. HCMC itself was interesting for a short visit. Highlights included spending an afternoon at a huge water park and eating a couple of meals at Pho Quynh. The water park trip was for the kids but they had a few rides there that were for adults only (I didn’t go on them). One was called the Kamikazee, and consisted of two near vertical 10m drops with a slightly flat spot in between. It was the kind of thing that would never be approved for use in Canada. I saw a few people land at the bottom of a slide beside it that wasn’t as steep, and they were absolutely flying. The bottom pool of the Kamikazee slide had walls and padding all over the place nowhere near the end of the slide, which gave me a good indication of what happens to people when they get to the bottom. As for the Pho Quynh restaurant, it was 20m from our hotel and only served Pho Bo. It was agreed by all four of us that it had the best tasting pho we’ve had. Grady gave it a 2 thumbs up with his tongue sticking out. I think that means it was good.