Phu Quoc Island – going back in time

As a last jaunt to the beach before heading inland and then uultimately to the Himalayas we decided to take a short break on Phu Quoc island, off the south western edgae of Vietnam. Basically this place is in the bay of Thailand, in the same seas as Kho Tau, Kho Samui and Kho Phanang. It is a large island but has a small population, right now the tourist industry is still pretty underdeveloped, but the sealed roads and new ‘jet capable’ airport are on the way at which point things are likely to take off big time.

Visiting Phu Quoc is a bit like going ‘back in traveller time’ as it feels the way thailands islands probably were like 20 years ago. The infrastructure is fairly limited and things are really still very innocent however the islands possesses the key ingredients for a memorable stay – amazing lan beauty, great beaches and a killer sunset. It is really breathtaking to watch the sun dip under the horizon and then set the whole sky alight in a show of colours that you just cant describe and shouldn’t even try!

We are all running out of time before the sights and sounds of our world get taken over, all we can do is see as much as we can now before the time runs out and all the uniqueness disappears from the world.

We were in Phu Quoc for 4 days and the overriding thought that i had as we travelled around and also spent time at the beach, was do the locals know about the tsunami of tourism thats on the way?? This is the first time i have been to a place before it has become developed, and i am glad we came. The lack of coffee shops, and pizza was really refreshing, all you got was fresh local food that gave you a sense of living like a local. The locals were so warm and friendly always waving and smiling at us, it was so nice. What will Phu Quoc be like in 10 or 20 years time, when our kids go on their world travels will they be overwhelmed by resorts and scuba diving joints everywhere? I amm sure the travellers to thailands islands felt the same way! Our kids will have to find their own piece of yet to be discovered paradise.

(Source: http://urvianandworldtrip.blogspot.com)