Prosperous Phu Quoc —  I am American, and You?

Prosperous Phu Quoc — I am American, and You?

At the Skyline Hotel, there are a few staff that take turns doing different shifts in the day. The ladies bring their child with them to work sometimes. And I try to talk to the children, in whatever simple Vietnamese that I am able to 

Prosperous Phu Quoc — Local Phu Quoc in An Thoi

Prosperous Phu Quoc — Local Phu Quoc in An Thoi

Phu Quoc is a beautiful island with countless beaches. Its tourism revolves around the beach towns that it builds to attract foreign tourists. Of course, for the sake of a holiday I could just stay in the “nice” parts of Phu Quoc and be wilfully 

Prosperous Phu Quoc — The Food of Phu Quoc

Prosperous Phu Quoc — The Food of Phu Quoc

One reason why I love traveling to Vietnam is that I love Vietnamese food. Every region of Vietnam has its own uniqueness being part of the full repertoire of Vietnamese delicacy. In Phu Quoc, seafood is the star of the show and I had one 

Prosperous Phu Quoc — Let’s Learn Vietnamese!

Prosperous Phu Quoc — Let’s Learn Vietnamese!

I was waiting for the driver to pick me up at the Dinh Cau Temple. In the open area outside the Dinh Cau Temple, I saw some snack vendors and I was curious. Besides that they were apparently sweet snacks, I had no idea what 

Prosperous Phu Quoc — The Dinh Cau Temple

Prosperous Phu Quoc — The Dinh Cau Temple

It is no surprise that the Goddess of the Sea is the long-revered deity for the people of Phu Quoc. That is certainly the commonest worship in the coastal regions of southern China as well. I wanted to visit heritage and religious sites in the 

Prosperous Phu Quoc — Rach Vem Fishing Village and the Starfish Beach

Prosperous Phu Quoc — Rach Vem Fishing Village and the Starfish Beach

There is never enough ocean time for me and I was very excited about the visit at the Starfish Beach. I was done at the Pepper Farm and Rach Vem was next. At around noon hour, my driver took me to the Rach Vem Fishing 

Prosperous Phu Quoc — A Family of Zest at the Hai Duong Pepper Farm

Prosperous Phu Quoc — A Family of Zest at the Hai Duong Pepper Farm

Being an island, Phu Quoc’s economy was heavily dependent on fishing before the people realized that the pristine waters by the creamy beaches bore enormous potential for tourism. Besides fishing, Phu Quoc was known for agriculture and pearl culture as well. I managed to visit 

Prosperous Phu Quoc — Island Hopping in the Southern Waters of Phu Quoc

Prosperous Phu Quoc — Island Hopping in the Southern Waters of Phu Quoc

One of the most looked-forward to tour in this trip was Island Hopping in the southern waters of Phu Quoc. From the scenery to the activities to the food, this one-day shuttling between the open sea and beautiful islets served every purpose for which I 

Prosperous Phu Quoc — The Khem Beach

Prosperous Phu Quoc — The Khem Beach

I always think that the ocean bears enormous powers of healing. I would be coming to the Khem Beach many times during this trip. In my first evening in Phu Quoc, I took a walk and arrived at Khem Beach a little before dusk hour. 

Prosperous Phu Quoc —The Horrors of the Coconut Tree Prison

Prosperous Phu Quoc —The Horrors of the Coconut Tree Prison

The Coconut Tree Prison is the most unhappy place in Phu Quoc, and that is an understatement. It stands testament to the ubiquity of political division that haunted the nation during much of the 20th century.  In the Coconut Tree Prison, this political division manifested