Tabi Tales: Serious Destination: Phu Quoc Island

After my somewhat self imposed exile on Koh Phangan, I traveled north back to Bangkok, a 12 hour trek by boat and bus. The following morning I flew to Viet Nam, where I spent a week on Phu Quoc, the country’s largest island located southwest of the mainland in the Gulf of Thailand. I arrived in Phu Quoc after a 50 minute flight from Ho Chi Minh City to a brand new international airport that opened less than a month ago. The island appears to have a fast growing tourism sector though it is still quite undeveloped, possessing dense emerald coloured forests, the Ham Ninh sandstone chain of mountains and small vibrant fishing villages. Here you’ll find long quiet stretches of sugary sand combined with temperate water that is both turquoise and tranquil. It’s naturally a wonderful place for water activities like snorkeling, sea kayaking or diving. It’s also a great place to do a whole lot of relaxing in a hammock with a good book and of course…you can also cruise around the red dirt roads on a motorbike.

Road near the national park

My friend rented a Sirius motorbike and we immediately personified the bike, referring to her as “Sirius” (or perhaps the spelling should be “Serious”.)

Here she is....It's Serious!

During a long afternoon ride on one of the aforementioned roads, Serious suffered a punctured tire. It wasn’t long before we were taken in by a local family who realized our predicament and gave us rides to their home to fix the tire. It’s really amazing how much you can communicate with hand signals, a vocabulary limited to a couple of words and stick figures drawn on a map. In the process of the tire repair, we were each offered numerous shots of homemade rice whiskey accompanied with fragrant leaves and thick slices of boiled sea snail. The kindness and generosity extended to us that afternoon turned Serious’ wounded tire experience into one of my sweetest travel memories.

If you’re planning a trip to Southeast Asia in the near future, I highly recommend adding Phu Quoc to your itinerary. With all of the extensive development plans, the island is certain to be a very different place within 2 years.