Travelling to Phu Quoc Island

After spending four days at the Research Institute of Marine Fisheries (RIMF) in Hai Phong, it was time to head south towards my research location. I was teamed up with An, one of the RIMF staff, who would accompany me for my first three weeks in Phu Quoc. An speaks great English, and can also scuba dive, making him the perfect research assistant!

We flew from Hai Phong to Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) on a rainy Saturday morning. Or at least we were supposed to fly in the morning – the plane was delayed by nearly four hours because of the weather. I wonder what would happen if flights were delayed in Vancouver because of rain …

In Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), we met up with Tse-Lynn, a post doc with Project Seahorse, and her RIMF assistant, Thien. We enjoyed a scrumptious dinner and perused the night market. I was a frizzy-haired, sweaty mess, still acclimatizing to the heat of the south – I was thankful to have air conditioning that night!

War stuff at the war museum. 

 I guess the French built this while they were here. 

The next day, An and I took a six hour bus ride from HCMC to Rach Gia, a province on the coast of Vietnam. We lay on the upper floor, in fairly comfortable, reclined seats. Most people just passed out the whole time – my eyes were glued to my tiny window as I watched the Mekong Delta go by, and tried to ignore the blaring Vietnamese music videos that played the entire time. No, earplugs didn’t help.

Ready for my six hour camp out!

We spent a night in Rach Gia, then early on Monday morning we boarded a ferry to Phu Quoc. It took about two and a half hours to get to the island, and I could feel my excitement increasing as we got closer. When we finally unloaded on the dock, I was surprised by how big the island was – the dock was lined with taxis to take everyone to the main town, Duong Dong. An and I hopped into one, after being greeted by Thanh, a dive guide who would be helping us out for a little while.

The island is beautiful. Ringed by white sand beaches and covered in lush forests, it’s becoming an increasingly well-known tourist destination. Indeed, on an exploratory bike ride of the island, we saw several massive resorts under construction, and many signs with plans for development.

I became a bit disenchanted by Phu Quoc the first time I went to Long Beach; it is swarming with sunburnt tourists sprawled on recliners. I can’t quite relate to them; I’m not a tourist, I’m here for a reason – and yet I can’t communicate with the people I’m here to research. It’s frustrating and isolating, but I think as time goes on, I’ll find my niche in this beautiful location.

As An and I motorbiked back to the hotel we stayed in on our first night, I looked up in awe at the sky. It was the first time since I’d been in Vietnam that I’d seen the moon and the stars.