Introduction
Phu Quoc is the largest island in
Vietnam located in the south of the country. Being an island district of Kien
Giang province, it has many islands and islets scattered around the main island
– Phu Quoc. Due to beautiful landscapes associated with famous beach or
romantic forests, Phu Quoc is also known as Pearl Island and was recognized as
world biosphere reserve in 2006 by
UNESCO.
Geography
Phu Quoc belongs to the Gulf of Thai
Land, the south of the Cambodian coast. It is 48 kilometers in length from the
south to the north. This district has a total area of 574 square kilometers
containing island itself and 21 smaller islets. Phu Quoc island is very
highlight in the Southeast Asian as it is do close to some big cities such as
Bangkok, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Ho Chi Minh City... and even Hong Kong.
History
The name Phu Quoc was called by the
Chinese who went here to settle. It has the meaning ‘rich land’.
Population
Before 1975, the island's population
was only over 5,000 people. After 1975, this number increased rapidly despite
of the migration. By 2003, according to statistics of Kien Giang province, the
residents living on the island has risen upto 79,800 people, with the average
density is 135 people / km².
Sightseeing
Tranh stream is an ideal visiting for
travelers, 9 kilometers Dong Duong town to the south. With the length of 15
kilometers, it originates from Ham Ninh mountain, flows through diverse terrain
in the forests to create beautiful waterfalls with the smooth, white flows.
These waterfalls pour down the greenery of the forest that certainly draw a
picturesque scene. Therefore, the name Tranh (painting) comes from this
feature. Visiting Tranh stream, you can swim or mash you foot into the water
and listen to the sound of the quiet flow as well as birdsongs or enjoy fresh
air. Close Tranh stream, there are many mysterious caves such as Bat Grotto
which locates on the mountain, being about 200m high and 50m deep, having many
majestic stalactites. Furthermore, this is also a great place to camping and
see a strange species of fish with the weight of 10kg which has three points on
the head like the sacred points on the head of the bonzes.
Magic well which is also known as Ngu well or Gia Long
well, belongs to An Thoi town, 50 meters in depth, is an interesting tourist
destination attracting the attention of many travelers when arriving in Phu
Quoc island. This place associates with a magic legend: in the 17th
century, when prince Nguyen Anh (later been king Gia Long) and his army
sheltered Tay Son rebels, they were out of food and fresh water so his soldiers
were fluctuated. Then he plugged sword into the stone and prayed ‘if the god
want me to become king, please provide food and fresh water’. Immediately,
water and fish erupted from the place where Nguyen Anh plugged his sword. This
kind of fish having delicious taste so nowadays, the inhabitants use it to make
‘nuoc nam Phu Quoc’. Particularly, the
well’water is always good, sweet and never unfailing.
Phu Quoc prison is an historical sites
located about 5 kilometers north of An Thoi town. In the Indochina war, it was
called coconut tree prison. It was constructed by the French colonist from 1949
to 1950 in order to detain many Vietnamese high ranking leaders. This place
covered an area of 40 hectares so it can contain tens of thousands of
prisoners. Indeed, it had 12 sectors numbered from one to twelve (in 1972). At
the end of 1972, 13 and 14 sector were built. Each sector could consist about
3000 inmates. Particularly, Phu Quoc prison existed many brutal tortures such
as crucifixion, boiling people till death or directly breaking one’s teeth with
hammer or buried alive…Nowadays, it is restored these macabre scenes and opened
for visiting from 1996 with the aim is help every people know more about the
destructive war in the past and appreciate the peaceful life we all have now.
Sung Hung pagoda is the the oldest pagoda in Phu Quoc situated on Tran Hung
Dao street, Duong Dong town. Having no exact information about the time’s
construction this pagoda. It was said that it was built in the early 20th
century. Sung Hung pagoda has an unique structure including Buddha hall, main
hall and surrounding buildings. Around it, there are many huge old trees. The
main entrance conforms to a traditional three-gate style (Tam Quan) which leads
to a white statue of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva (Goddess of Mercy) in the
middle of the yard. The main hall places an altar on which the three Buddhas
sit: Amitabha in the middle, Mahasthamaprapta bodhisattva on the right and
Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva on the left. A building worships Ba Chua Xu Nuong
and other one worships the national hero -
Nguyen Trung Truc. Besides, Sung Hung pagoda has lots of different decorations
such as a big bell, horizontal…Visiting this pagoda, you will have a great
chance to learn more about its ancient architecture as well as to gain some
knowledge of the most popular religion in Vietnam.
Ham
Ninh commune is far from 20km to the
northeast of Duong Dong town. This place is renowned for Ham Ninh fishing
village with its breathtaking
natural scenery and peaceful daily life of local fishermen. At first, villagers
earn a livelihood by catching pearls, sea cucumbers and fishing but some recent
years, tourist is their main income because they sell seafood, or souvenir made
from sea objects…Moreover, you can taste fresh and healthy drink like seaweed
water, mushroom, sea-horse soaking in the wine or eat some dishes of delicious
boiled crab…And it is so wonderful to walk on the sand and contemplate sunrise
or sunset. Therefore, before turning back your home, you could buy crabs,
special wine, souvenir as gift for your family and friends.
Gastronomy
Being an island district, certainly Phu
Quoc’s specialty is mostly made from seafood which is not only fresh but also
delicious in taste. Eating dishes here is really delicious because fresh
materials are processed immediately after being caught directly from the sea,
for example shrimps, fish and other shell species.
Furthermore, Phu Quoc is also famous
for pepper because it has a special taste not similar to one in other region.
Particularly, you can buy
a kind of fish sauce that made from ‘ca com’ especially delicious when you leave
this beautiful island district.
Climate
The weather is cool, is characterized
by monsoonal sub-equatorial climate. It includes 2 distinct seasons: dry
(December to May) and rainy (June to November). In the dry season, Phu Quoc is
influenced by northeast monsoon, the highest temperature is in April and May,
about 35°C. In the rainy season, Phu Quoc is the gateway to welcome
west-southwest monsoon, high humidity from 85 to 90 %. The annual rainfall is
high, averaging 2,879 millimeters . In the northern mountains up to 4,000
millimeters (13 ft) has been recorded.
Get it
By plane
Dong Duong airport
belongs to Phu Quoc. So it is very easy to travel by this transport
- From Noi Bai airport: 1.438km, 145-minute flight.
- From Tan Son Nhat airport: 300km,
55-minute flight.
- From Rachgia airport: 131km,
30-minute flight.
- From Can Tho airport: 198 km,
40-minute flight.
By boat
Due to
natural topographic, the residents here exploit another quite convenient being
boat.
v
From
Rach gia port: 120km, 150 minutes of high speed boat.
v
From Ha
tien port: 46km, 90 minutes of high speed boat.
However,
when travelling by boat, it has some disadvantages such as crowd, stink
