FUN TIMES IN PHU QUOC
Pronounced Fu Kwo, this Vietnamese island off the coast of Cambodia has temples, beaches and bees, writes Jill Jacques
As the plane begins its descent, I feel a thrill of excitement. A Christmas beach holiday on a tropical island! After a fairly hectic week in Vietnam, this is to be our relaxing break before hitting Saigon. Phu Quoc (pronounced Fu Kwo) is a Vietnamese island off the coast of Cambodia, in the Gulf of Thailand. Stepping out of the airport is like stepping into a sauna; the temperature is 29°C and the humidity 84%.
I am a little cheered when the driver of our air-conditioned combi assures us that the humidity is unusually high for that day.
In the evening, on Christmas Eve, we find tables laid out for dinner around the magnificent floodlit pool. The Vietnamese manager, dressed up as a diminutive Father Christmas, is trying manfully to be jolly in loud, American style. We grin surreptitiously then relax into the spirit of the evening and a seven-course meal.
The island has several beaches and “ours” is called Bai Ong Lang. A fairly narrow strip of sand curves in and out of a series of small bays, broken by outcrops of black volcanic rock. We settle down on loungers under the palms. The sea is like a millpond, waveless, with gentle, foaming ripples edging the sand. We wade out through the lukewarm water until it gradually deepens to shoulder level, and float there, soaking up the tranquility.
One day, we engage a driver called Hoi for four hours to explore some of the island (alternatively, you can hire motorbikes). First stop is a pepper farm with rows of vines 2m tall. The driver speaks little
English but takes us around the back to see “exotic” animals. A large snake, some birds and lizards are each enclosed in too-small cages. It seems we are meant to be impressed, but we quickly return to the shop, where I buy some chilli-flavoured pepper for my son-in-law.
After a brief visit to a bee farm, where we are dressed in protective clothing to view the queen bee, we climb out to walk through Ham Ninh Fishing Village. Street stalls sell fish of every variety, from catfish writhing in baskets to dried starfish and seahorses. Hoi says the latter are used in drinks. The mind boggles!
Next is the Ho Quoc Temple. This Buddhist temple is perched high on a hill and we enter at street level through the triple arched entrance (originally, the central arch was only for the emperor and the two side arches for his mandarins). In the lower courtyard, a fierce statue of a tiger guards the temple, near a large statue of a meditating, cross-legged Buddha. Bonsai trees, ancient and gnarled, grow in earthenware pots; an enormous water-filled urn holds pink and white lotus blooms.
Sixty steps take us to the next level and the temple itself. Although built in 2012, the architecture is true to type and built to last 700 years, with heavy, carved wooden doors. We add our own to the neat rows of shoes, and step barefoot over the high threshold into the cool interior. There are a number of visitors and worshippers inside. As if by common consent, no-one speaks. The silence brings the mind to a gentle stillness. Three lavish altars are fronted by gifts of fruit and flowers. Some people light incense sticks and pray to Bodhisattva Quan Am, the Goddess of Mercy.
More steps take us to the top of the hill. The view is breathtaking. Blue sea and sky on one side and lush green hills on the other (half the island is a nature reserve). Here, a pure white statue of Quan Am towers 9m above us, clearly visible from quite a distance. She stands on a sculpted lotus flower, a symbol of purity and enlightenment.
Our next stop is Bai Sao, reputedly the most beautiful beach on the island, known for its white sand and sapphire water.
Hoi pulls up and says mysteriously: “Nyum nyum wim.” It takes us a while to realise that here is where we should eat and swim! The beach is gorgeous — like a Tropika ad complete with coconut palms! We drift around in the soothing, tepid water.
That evening, our hotel recommends a “real Vietnamese” restaurant. Like many restaurants in Vietnam, its tables are outside, surrounded by greenery and hanging pots of orchids. We eat spring rolls, snapper with passion fruit sauce, sticky rice and shredded green papaya salad. Fresh and delicious! For dessert, there is a choice between banana cake, banana ice-cream and deep-fried banana with chocolate sauce. We order them all and share.
Next day, feeling a mixture of sadness and eager anticipation, we leave our tropical island and catch a plane for Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City).
The sea is waveless, with gentle, foaming ripples edging the sand. We wade out until it gradually deepens to shoulder level, and float there, soaking up the tranquility
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