It is a fifty minute flight from Ho Chi Minh to Phu Quoc and, therefore, a great favourite with expats wanting to get away for the weekend and for the more astute traveller. Phu Quoc is located in the Gulf of Thailand, closer to Cambodia than to Vietnam, on May 1, 1975, a squad of Khmer Rouge soldiers raided and took Phu Quoc Island, but Vietnam soon recaptured it. This was to be the first of a series of incursions and counter-incursions that would escalate to the Cambodian–Vietnamese War in 1979. Phu Quoc has had an interesting history
dating from the 17th century where the locals earned their living from sea cucumbers, through to the French occupation in the late 19th century when rubber and coconut plantations were cultivated, then being a base for a Prisoner of War camp for communist prisoners from the north during the Vietnamese War.
The propeller plane flew low over the sea as it approached the island and we could see the vibrantly coloured fishing boats sleeping peacefully in the harsh sunlight. It bounced down onto the tarmac amidst screams from the local passengers and then applause as the plane steadied itself and headed along the runway towards the airport building.
We were met by a representative of Chen Sea Resort and ushered into an air conditioned four wheel drive and supplied with ice cold water bottles. It is a twenty minute drive through Duong Dong (the largest town on the island) along narrow roads bounded by low lying scrub. Our arrival at the resort was like entering paradise, the turquoise sea glistening in the sun with the thatched buildings and large swimming pool in the foreground. The gentle waves were washing lazily onto the expanse of yellow sand, rimmed by dark green vegetation where banana palms and hibiscus tangled with unidentifiable creepers and shrubs.
dating from the 17th century where the locals earned their living from sea cucumbers, through to the French occupation in the late 19th century when rubber and coconut plantations were cultivated, then being a base for a Prisoner of War camp for communist prisoners from the north during the Vietnamese War.
The propeller plane flew low over the sea as it approached the island and we could see the vibrantly coloured fishing boats sleeping peacefully in the harsh sunlight. It bounced down onto the tarmac amidst screams from the local passengers and then applause as the plane steadied itself and headed along the runway towards the airport building.
We were met by a representative of Chen Sea Resort and ushered into an air conditioned four wheel drive and supplied with ice cold water bottles. It is a twenty minute drive through Duong Dong (the largest town on the island) along narrow roads bounded by low lying scrub. Our arrival at the resort was like entering paradise, the turquoise sea glistening in the sun with the thatched buildings and large swimming pool in the foreground. The gentle waves were washing lazily onto the expanse of yellow sand, rimmed by dark green vegetation where banana palms and hibiscus tangled with unidentifiable creepers and shrubs.