Getting There & Our Accommodation: Taipei ➡ Ho Chi Minh ➡ Phu Quoc
GOOD MORNING VIETNAM!! 🇻🇳 It took us four years and one pandemic, but we finally made it on March 2, 2024 and..wow, are we were so very elated to be there as we already knew we were gonna love it! It was time to learn hello (Xin chào) and thank you (Cám ơn) in our third language in a month, it was time for sun and beaches, for healthy, crunchy food and fruit, exercise routines, and mostly, it’s time for SLOW travel again as we spend our allotted three months in the country!
We kicked it off with two weeks on the tropical island of Phú Quốc, on the southwestern coast of the country in the Gulf of Thailand.
We immediately settled into La Nube Residence, an resort-style hotel with the benefits of a hotel, like free breakfast, housekeeping, helpful staff and an inviting pool, but also our own kitchen area. ($26/night/Booking).
And…afters weeks on teeny Tokyo and Taiwanese beds…a super comfy jumbo king for us to squirm freely in. Also, a funny picture window into the bathroom so we can see every bit of each other’s business like any good married couple should.🤣
Our kitchen that had absolutely nothing in it when we arrived. Fortunately they brought us a hot plate and a few things we needed for cooking.
The bathroom…the kind where you can slide directly from the toilet to the shower without moving aside an unnecessary curtain and also do awkward dances for your spouse in the next room.
To get there, we made two free jumps on budget VietJet Airlines, an airline we really enjoyed thanks to their organization, kind staff and reasonable baggage fees ($19 and $8).
The first was a 3.5-hour journey from Taipei to Ho Chi Minh City (7,400 points each on the Capital One Venture card) and a one-hour flight from HCMC to Phú Quốc. Although we could have easily gone overland for less, we were in no mood for the city after our time in Tokyo and Taipei, so instead we cashed in $88 of our free $300 annual credit from Venture X.
We were happy to be done with Taiwan; the weather was miserable, like Seattle-miserable, so we were thrilled to now officially kiss winter goodbye for the heat and humidity of southern Vietnam!
The absolutely adorable uniforms of the Vietnam airlines flight attendants; and a non-cardboard version.
Travel days are so much more fun when you have free lounges! (Thanks again Venture X). And the totally vacant one in Taipei was even a rare 24-hour one which worked out serendipitously thanks to our 6:30 am flight. It also had a draft beer tap in the lounge. Too bad it was 4 am.
OOooo. But this latte machine will do the job! So many interesting things to eat in international lounges…shredded bean threads, bean paste buns, sweet potatoes and western options like eggs, hash browns and sandwiches too.
And lounge #2 in HCMC had an even superior selection, thanks to pho, curried veggies, heaping plates of crunchy salads, and yes, wine and beer (though none on draft.)
It was a bustling lounge, but Greg still managed to sack out in the complimentary massage chair for 20 minutes after a few beers.
As we usually do, we took this time to begin learning some very basic Vietnamese. It’s a level four language (most difficult) for English learners thanks to its unusual tones and rhythm, but we know even the basics can go along way.
Life in Phú Quoc
It’s not very often we take a beach “vacation” but we felt like our two weeks in Phú Quốc was exactly what we needed to feel relaxed, reinvigorated and a bit more routined for our next steps. The island of Phú Quốc is wedged between Vietnam and Cambodia in the Sea of Thailand, and is undoubtedly one that has gone through drastic changes over the last twenty years in both development and tourism levels. However, for the time being, it was still chill and quiet enough to make us fall in love, even more so than any Thai island we’ve experienced. Also, because of our extended visit, we were able to develop a home, begin cooking again, and make some connections which always makes us feel more grounded.
We lived down a peaceful alley draped with Bougainvillea about a 10 minute from the main drag.
Our favorite fruit seller and her daughter, a five minute walk from our place. The fruit was close to godliness with every piece tasting juicy and perfect, especially the mangoes for about $.40 each.
In addition to bougainvillea, the eye-catching Rangoon creeper, looking like a cluster of fireworks, lined the streets everywhere.
The Vietnamese flag flies proudly throughout the island. The red background symbolizes revolution and bloodshed. The golden star represents the five main classes in Vietnamese society—intellectuals, farmers, workers, entrepreneurs, and soldiers. (Wikipedia)
We got in regular routines of taking long walks on this wide powdery beach near our place. And upon returning, usually had a refreshing plunge in our pool.
The Main Street. From here we could walk to anything we needed or jump on the free shuttle bus.
One of the many many coffee/juice stands.
This sad reality is something we see in most cultures….just never while doned in gorgeous silk. 🙁
So many lush side streets to discover, endless beaches, and sunsets…
…and wait…who’s the peeping creeper taking photos of that woman?!
Our nearest supermarket was called King Kong, which is where everyone on the island seemed to congregate because it was always packed. We’d guess at least 75% of the tourists are Russian, followed by Europeans although we were surprised to meet one girl from Uzbekistan.
King Kong was a true SUPER market in every sense of the word. They had so many amazing products for amazingly affordable prices…
- TomYum cashews which tasted just like tomyum soup. OMG! And they cost $2 for this whole bag.
- Fish sauce galore. The island is home to one of Vietnam’s most important products.
- Baguettes for $.80 🤤
- Dried mango in the shape of a flower! Wow!
We know we’re living in luxury when our housekeeper makes characters out of our towels! And to think some people pay hundreds of dollars a night for such a service. Haha.
Heading into “town”
Our favorite spot on the beach quickly became “Tanktops and Flip Flops” which is exactly what it sounds like…a chill backpackery reggae bar. We didn’t realize the lounge chairs were free the first time so we sat on the rocks…
…but upon the realization they were free with drink purchase, we would soon become what we’ve heard are called “regulars.” (Something we know little about in this life.) Beers set us back about $1.50, and cocktails for $3.50. For the record, these were the overpriced white people wiggling-to-reggae-on-the-beach prices.
And although you can get a bikini wax for $4 or massages on the beach for $8/hour, we opted to pay $7 for a private room so we didn’t have to expose our bits and pieces to everyone on the beach…like this spotted tomatoed speedo guy. 🤣 Mandy caffeinating on another newfound Vietnamese pleasure…iced milk coffee!
Not a bad way to watch the day go by and blissfully uncrowded as well.
Greg models his clothes he got altered. Two pieces for $3 and Mandy’s dress was $1.
Nothing says SE Asia like eating at plastic child-size dinner tables.
As mentioned there a few ways to get around the island. In addition to the enjoyable two feet, you can take a Jumbo version of a tuk tuk, or the free super nice air-conditioned shuttle bus which runs all the way from the airport, through the town or Duong Dong and to the United Center. You can guess what we did. What’s the United Center, you might ask? We’ll get there…but for now, we’ll just drop one of these: 🙄
It was pretty easy to find a secluded spot on this beach. Politician palms…crooked
Even though the trunk was only 5 feet off the ground, and she has good balance, Mandy cautiously tries to maneuver into the elbow. Greg, on the other hand, pops right up.
Our hotel kitty who we named Stubby because of his tail and his chum, Ginger.
On one of our nightly walks into the “neighborhoods,” we stumbled on a tropical paradise of wine barrels! So if you’ve ever wanted to stay in one, and prefer not to pay ridiculous European or American vineyard prices, check out “Valley Sen Bungalows” for $17/night.
Unfortunately our super smiley laundry gal in Mickey Mouse pajamas was a bit too “shy” to have her photo taken, but we went to her twice and paid $2.20 to have about 4.5 kilos washed, dried and folded. Oh yes. We loved life in Phu Quoc.
Made for Motorbike Exploration
Nothing says Vietnam like hopping on a $6 motorbike for the day and going for some exploration across Phu Quoc’s 16 mile width and 31 mile length. Our day focused on the southern part of the island which offers some of the most beautiful white powder beaches in Vietnam, a disturbing museum home to a notorious island prison camp, another head-scratching hunk of artificial Italy featuring the world’s longest oversea cable card, and multiple slices of the real Vietnam.
A few highlights included: Bai Sao, or Star Beach, is well known to be Phu Quoc’s most gorgeous beach with perfect white powder sand, a jungle backdrop and several beach bars serving overpriced drinks and chairs.
Cinque Terre, also known as “Thị trấn Hoàng Hôn Sunset Town” is another area of ludicrous development brought to you by the multi-billion dollar tourism developer, VinPearl. We get to this in more detail below.
A real fishing village on south Phu Quoc island through which there is no direct access to “Italy” though they are right next door. We wouldn’t want the local riff raff mixing with the elite, naturally.
The fruit stands make us so happy! Everything we put in our mouths in Vietnam was not only good, but some of the best we’ve ever had. Especially the mangoes and mangosteens….
The day started with Luí, our sweet English-speaking hotel assistant helping us rent our motorbike. Upon giving us the keys, she asked Greg if he’d driven a motorbike before and he responded with our customary answer, “oh yeah, including a month in India” which generally produces a laugh and a general sense of relief from the bike provider.
Luí also shyly giggled and tossed her face in her hands when Mandy asked for her photo and then immediately popped into this customary Asian pose. We adored the time we got to spend with her at Nube.
20 minutes later we had zipped across the width of the island to Ham Ninh, a small, VERY sleepy seaside fishing community where we tried to buy a coffee at this restaurant in the shape of a boat, but couldn’t seem to get any service. They must have all been out in real boats.
So we scooted on to Sao Beach, where we had no problems buying an overpriced coffee for $2 on this gorgeous pristine expanse of sand.
Stairway to heaven?
These people seriously know how to beach…especially this real life Ken doll. 🤣
For lunch, we surprisingly found a vegetarian buffet, aka “vegetable food” on the east side of the island. Rather than having us try to point at what we wanted, the ladies running the restaurant shooed us foreigners around to the serving side and had us do up our own plates. Our cheapest meal yet….$2.50 for two plates. And it was pretty tasty too!
We then made our way to the significantly less cheery prison camp, which is mostly visited by Vietnam War vets. Long before foreign tourists thronged the famed tropical beaches, Phu Quoc was home to a notorious island prison camp. The prison was built in 1949–1950 by French colonialists as a place to detain political dissidents.
During the Vietnam War (called the American War here) it was used for detention of captured Viet Cong and North Vietnamese soldiers. According to a website called “Uncover Vietnam,” this museum displays the darker side of humanity during war and times of political upheaval in Vietnam. While simple mannequins are used to depict prisoners and guards, the barbaric methods that are portrayed are not for the faint-hearted so please proceed with caution.”
The website was correct. It was definitely very difficult to see and completely barbaric…
GRAPHIC WARNING for the following five photos‼️ SKIP TO THE DRAGON IF NEED BE!
We walked in the prison unsure what to expect but after moving past an expected creepy watch tower and having flashbacks from concentration camp visits, we saw rows and rows of completely impenetrable malicious-looking barbed wire.
In this barbed wire “tiger cage”prisoners were tortured at Phu Quoc Prison. The cage was made by thickly knitting barbwire on surrounding sides and on the top. According to museum plaques, there were many kinds of cages with different sizes, but usually included multiple prisoners in each cage who couldn’t stand, or sit without getting ripped by wire. Not only this, all cages were laid outdoors and prisoners were only allowed to wear shorts having to bear all weather and mosquitoes. They were provided with just a little rice, a few mugs of water and they had to go to the toilet in the cage. Other times the guards built fires next to the cages to torture them with heat and burns.
A row of haunting prison cells lining the property. The insides of the buildings were lined with wooden “beds” for the prisoners to be chained to. We walked the length of the cells as long as we could stomach it, but soon the mannequin images got to be too much to bear and we had to leave.
According to museum plaques which is copied verbatim: “WAYS OF TORTURING PRISONERS
“Phu Quoc Jail is a place that stores a lot of savage actions and crimes of American – Puppet Government. This is best reflected through many ways of torturing and killing prisoners. Apart from beating and shooting with impunity, they created lots of barbarous ways that could frighten common people when first hearing. However, our unyielding revolutionary militants never surrendered because of any extremely cruel way of torturing thanks to their great patriotic piety to their Party, their people, and their beloved homeland.
Following are some ways of torturing:
- “Imprisoning prisoners into tiger cage; solitary confinement.
- “Beating prisoners by rope made by skate’s tails.
- “Putting oil drums on prisoners and strongly knocking the oil drum by wood.
- “Carving and breaking prisoners’ teeth
- “Driving nails (all kinds) into prisoners’ body.
- “Carving prisoners’ kneecap
- “Plunging prisoners into boiling pan of water
- “Grilling prisoners like fish; stabbing through prisoners’ thigh by melting bars of iron.
- “Focusing lights into prisoners’ eyes until they went blind.
- “Firing prisoners’ mouth, genitals and lower part of the abdomen (pictured)
- “Burying prisoners alive.
- “Tearing prisoners’ finger nails and toe nails
- “Pouring soapy water into prisoners’ mouth.
- “Laying prisoners onto ironic grid.
- “Beating prisoners by pestles, canes.
- “Pressing prisoners’ chest by planks.
- “Forcing prisoners to crawl onto trees with sharply thorns..”
On a more light-hearted note, here’s a whimsical topiary dragon which Vietnam does so well. Ugh. Wow. Sorry…but we do try and show you all sides. 😳
Moving along, we went to find Italy. It was around here that our motorbike key slot got locked closed and we could no longer get our key in it. These problems seemed pretty minor after what we’d just seen so we texted the rental company and within 30 minutes they’d sent someone to unlock the bike.
In the meantime, we got to explore the REAL fruit and veg stands which seem to be lacking on the “touristy” part of the island. YUM. Full of gratitude indeed.
The Preposterous Side of Phu Quoc, Part 1: Grand World United Center
There seem to be three sides to Phú Quốc Island…real Vietnam, the chill tourist side blended with local life, and the over-the-top, preposterous La-La Lands, which seem to be Las Vegas meets Disney meets Italy with a tiny pinch of Vietnam. We visited two such places during our time on the island, mostly due to curiosity, and also because it was free.
The first was called “Grand World United Center,” which was an hour ride on the free shuttle from Duong Dong town, which we soon learned is clearly provided by the development. Along the way, we traveled down the old airport runway, where locals were selling Banh Mi for $.40 and walking and bike riding down the plastic-strewn dilapidated concrete strips for their evening community hour.
Anyhow, continuing on, we realized there are two areas to THIS part of the island…one which seems to be a Venetian wannabe resort-type complex on steroids, which we visited, and the other, an outright theme park. They are mega multi-billion dollar undertakings with a whole lot of over the top structures and very few people to fill it in, which, from the moment we disembarked that bus, kinda just left us wandering around muttering, “WTF?!”
According to Vietnam Pictorial, Phu Quoc United Center, which opened in April 2021, is the first “city that doesn’t sleep” in Vietnam, a new attractive and safe ‘must-visit place’ on the tourist map of Vietnam, as well as the world, for international travelers.
It is designed to have all the services, shops, resort-style accommodations, dining and entertainment you “need” so if you desire, you get to think Vietnam looks like this. (For the record, the rest of Vietnam is very, very safe and quite lovely.)
The project was managed by Vinpearl, a leading name in resort-entertainment tourism in Vietnam, with a total capital of about 66 trillion Dong (more than 2.5 billion USD). And apparently, though the project is called “Grand WORLD” the developers seem to mostly have an exclusive interest in…Venice. Or, at least some alternate reality version of the place. Each night in “Love Lake” there is Bellagio Style light and fountain show which doesn’t start until 9:30 so maybe that’s when all the people start pouring in? 😬 (We only lasted until about 8.)
One of the entrances to Grand World, made out of 32,000 bamboo trees.Greg wanders through the bamboo forest (though no pandas were around.)
Heading into (pun intended), the “art park,” which has a waterfall emerging from the crown instead of hair.
Facetiousness aside, the art park was actually quite entertaining….
Especially the Alice in Wonderland-esque playground structure, which provided a view of the art gardens and the “baroque-style” main entrance to the complex, as well as an entertaining exit route.
When you cross into the complex, you immediately encounter the gondola boats, aka water taxis, so you can glide down the canals and don’t have to tucker yourself out by pounding the concrete across Venice. The majority of the people in the complex were on the boats. Like in real Venice, the boats are quite expensive considering the reality of where you are (about $7/person for a 10 minute ride), which you are quickly reminded of when you see the Vietnamese ladies desperately trying to sell local food and massages for $10 or less to the few customers there are.
The buildings in this Venice look nothing like the ones in real Venice but the fact that it’s an open sky rather than painted clouds like in the Vegas version does add an authentic, dreamy touch.
Also, as you meander, you realize most of these buildings seem completely empty or are filled with construction materials. There are only colorful facades offering places to drop hotels, coffee shops and restaurants. Hopefully one day they will, and people will actually come. The infrastructure is undoubtedly here but the people are not. It’s so eerie.
The Rialto-Dong Bridge, which has the same Venetian shape.
Another bridge which looking nothing like Venice, looks like an even more massive waste of money.
The only other “world” within Grand World is devoted to Indochina, which is a fantastic concept considering where we’re located. Despite the impressive gate and beautiful display of lanterns to suck you in, what lies behind the gate is just sad….a very lackluster night market with more despairing vendors selling to no one. We’re not sure what these vendors were promised with this development, but we’re pretty sure this isn’t it.
More facades near a three-story polar bear chilling out in the heat and humidity by the teddy bear museum.
The only semblance of another “world.”
At the end of the complex near dejected Indochina was a very luxurious looking Wyndham. We looked it up on Booking and noted it was $50/night. You could find other hotels on “Love Lake” for $15/night. So, if this is your jam, book soon and you’ll have the whole place to yourself at a bargain price!!
The Preposterous Side of Phu Quoc, Part 2: Sunset Town
The second of the two La-La Lands is called “Sunset Town” on the very southern tip of the island. Unlike the Venice of the north, it does not have a free shuttle so can only be accessed by motorbike or taxi, which seems to make it even more empty. It has an even more massive number of empty apartment/hotel/retail facades, along with a peppering of out of place images and icons of Italy including Cinque Terre, gladiators, Venice’s Piazza San Marco and its iconic clock tower, the Colosseum, and Trevi Fountain blended with its own extra cheesy and Vietnamesy touches like a “Kissing Bridge.”
To be honest, this ludicrous rendition of Vietnam on Italian steroids was far more to our liking than the first one. Although it still was preposterous and bizarre, it definitely didn’t feel quite as Disney or Vegas-esque because it actually offered somewhat of a real natural setting. So, instead, it actually felt more like a Hollywood movie or Broadway musical set….it’s the kind of place you expect a crestfallen, yet bellissima damsel to start crooning mournfully on the bougainvillea-blanketed steps, followed by a slew of beefy dancing gondoliers to cheer her up. Except this did not happen because again, minus a few staff members, NO ONE WAS THERE!!!
It’s winding fairy tale streets are loaded with other peculiar things too like a wall of baby comic book or fictional characters doing questions things to “real” animals. Behind the gorgeous mottled facades on this “street,” we indeed discovered what some were used for…motorbike parking on dirt floors. TONS of them!!
And at the edge of Italy, you can find the world’s longest non-stop three-way cable car, according to the Guinness Book of World Records. It floats over the sea to another island and costs $25/person, which is simply absurd in a country like Vietnam. (The locals get a $5 discount which is also completely unreasonable for most.) And…each of its 69 gondolas has the ability to carry up to 30 people. It stretches 8 kilometers and launches guests to an island featuring a mega aquatics park and LOTS of buffets. Okay. Now we’re getting our Vegas back…
There weren’t even any coins in “Trevi Fountain” which definitely means few, especially Chinese people, their main target market, have been here. 🤣
Streets of….Italy?
The kissing bridge allows any lovestruck couple to walk quite a long distance…separately…up almost adjoining concrete sidewalks in the blazing heat to be reunited with their love for 50 Dong each ($2). If you want a sunset backdrop, and less sweaty lover, you can pay 100 Dong ($4).
According to John’s Tours website, “This is the new iconic structure of Vietnamese tourism – the latest world-renowned check-in point designed by architect Marco Casamonti, inspired by the love story of the Cowherd and Weaver Girl, blending the cultures of Vietnam and Italy right here on the paradise island of Ngoc.”
Hmmm. Yes, nothing says romance like some plexiglass border control!! 🤣
More images of Sunset Town. There was clearly enough space for thousands and thousands of people, but also very little beach access to accommodate those people. Also, we saw no indication of any pools….then again, Chinese people generally don’t like beaches and pools, so this could be premeditated.
They did have some of the most beautifully grafted bougainvilleas…
The only place that did have a few people congregated near it was the cable car, similar to the gondola boats in GrandWorld.
They also offered some opulent hallways featuring gladiators, some ridiculous marble columns…
…and the grand daddy of kitsch.
Along the waterside there were tons of (empty) restaurant and bars underneath the cable car. And more vibrant fake facades…which looked more like Disney than Italy.
We were at first glad to see signs of life and a touch of local Vietnam underneath with the brightly colored fishing boats, until we realized that not a single boat seemed to have a real person in it.
This perfectly polished place is seriously too weird.
Simply eerie. A friend who stayed at one suggested money laundering which makes complete sense.
The grand eight-lane boulevard going out of the complex is also lined with endless development, for at least 2 kilometers. The United Center and Sunset town were fun for a moment but we were very happy to head back to our land of chill Phu Quoc normalcy and to conclude that we’ve had enough of Vinpearl…and Italy…for this trip to Vietnam. 😅
Eating in Phu Quoc
Although Japan and Taiwan were both fun experimental taste adventures, the varied cuisine of Vietnam is one that truly makes our hearts happy and bellies sing (sometimes literally 🤣). Crunchy…fresh….a little spice, a little sweet, a little zing…and chocked with fruit and veggies. Oh, yes we’re gonna like it here.
The most commonly used ingredients that characterize Vietnamese cuisine are: rice, fish sauce, shrimp paste, soy sauce, fresh herbs and vegetables. Generally, in the south the food is more Thai/Cambodian in influence and in the north, more Chinese. They use an abundance of seafood in the south and fish sauce as well. The tastes change dramatically from south to north so we look forward to discovering it all.
And there was nowhere quite like the southernmost island of Phú Quốc for a simple introduction.
One of our first meals was at a restaurant called Linda where we had shrimp and veggie stir-fried noodles, watermelon and coconut juice, and a seafood papaya salad for $11.
We also did something we rarely do while traveling and this was return to a restaurant called Benz. Not, once or twice, but an astounding FOUR times because we liked the selection, prices and location near our place so much. On this visit, we had fresh veggie spring rolls, pineapple cashew rice, and a mango salad and drinks for $10.
A very happy Mandy. 🤣
Our hotel gave us six selections each morning to choose from. The options included a rich seafood soup, which we had once but can’t get used to the idea of having hot soup for breakfast. We usually opted for eggs, yogurt, and Greg also liked this chicken porridge. And all served with passion fruit juice.
One of our visits to the Phu Quoc Night market which was a 45-minute walk or 10-minute free bus ride from our place.
Here you could choose your dinner from the aquariums of seafood, which included geo duck, also known as Greg’s embarrassing college mascot. He wouldn’t eat the geo duck because he said that would be sacrilegious, but Mandy knew it was because they look like…well, you get the idea.
We instead decided to stop at a smoothie stand which is always a safe bet, and we also grabbed a seafood/rice wrap in the upper right though we probably should have sampled the sea urchin in the foreground.
Greg waiting like a man in his child chair. Our appetizer of a watermelon juice, avocado smoothie and seafood rice wrap for about $3.
Our smoothie seller happily posed with who she wanted to verify was…her brother.
The streets of the night market were the perfect amount of people. And, where there wasn’t food, there were sundresses and replacement elephant pants. Mandy wanted to hold onto her EGYPTIAN CAMEL pants so she wouldn’t look like a tourist. Ha. The vibe was definitely low pressure, chill and happy.
So many options for dinner that spontaneity kicked in and we decided to grab fresh fish, which we decided on a Red Snapper, although we briefly contemplated the frog. We probably would have if he weren’t all splayed open like a disrobed Kermit at the gynecologist’s office.
The salesgirl asked how we wanted our snapper grilled so we asked for garlic and spice before he was wrapped up in foil and tasked to this guy. The final product on a bed of added lemongrass flair was about $9 and more than enough food with rice for both of us.
At another Benz meal, Mandy grabbed veg/tofu curry for $4.
But one of our best truly affordable meals on the island was partially served by this adorable little lady at Phở Nam Định, who wouldn’t stop gibbering our ears off, (which is two fold when it comes to trying to understand a Vietnamese four year old.)
We also got introduced to her child’s TV program which included a purple haired white lady in a dominatrix ensemble trying to learn numbers with what appears to be, serious gastrointestinal issues.
At her expert recommendation, (the kid, not the dominatrix), we shared this PHỞ XÀO GÀ, or stir-fried Pho With Chicken, along with Pho Ga, or Chicken Pho. On the steel table, of course we also found as an accompaniment, a nice handful of coriander, basil, bean sprouts, and lime wedges not to mention the fiery touch of some peppers. And both dishes, were less than $4 together. And yes, it was our first pho in the country and yes, we realize we “overpaid.” But it was AMAZING, and we simply couldn’t put our chopsticks down eating well past the 80% full Japanese recommended stopping point, especially after Greg had just had a laughable $17 bowl in Portland. Turns out, this would be one of our best bowls of Pho in the entire country.
The menus in Phu Quoc are not a problem because they cater to so many tourists. After Vietnamese, you can typically find good ‘ol universal English, and then in order of the current tourist demographics: Russian, Chinese and Korean.
That is, until you get a bit more off the beaten path as we do. And then this is what Google Translate throws at you. 🤣 I’ll have three young peoples please!
A shrimp and veggie stir fry
Fruit juice is a true daily guilty pleasure in Vietnam. But it’s guilty not because of the lack of health benefits, but because of the over plastic-ing. Even if try and tell them your plastic cup and straw doesn’t also need a plastic carry holder, they seem to think it’s part of the service. Argh. Why is it like this in SO many places?!
And a proper guilty pleasure…3 scoops of gelato for $2. Two were coffee flavors. Mmmm. Have we mentioned how much we love it here? 😋
