Phu Quoc

It's the second day of Tet and unsurprisingly there's plenty of activity at HCMC airport, with this being a popular time of year for wealthy Vietnamese to take the family holiday. Although the flight is due to last only 35 minutes, it takes just as long to board the large plane, as we have a full load of nearly 400 passengers!

The base for the next seven days is a small 'boutique' resort located in a quiet part of the island, away from the hustle and bustle of the main town Duong Dong. It's a beautiful spot, with our little bungalow separated from the large pool by an attractive assortment of plants and trees. It's not too busy, and we generally don't have too much company in the pool for our daily 4pm-ish swim (timing dictated by the shade coming across the pool area).

Given the rural location and abundance of greenery, it's no surprise that the insects have left their mark on us this week, and we even need to be careful when putting on our sandals!

Away from the pool, Ong Lang beach is ten minutes walk down a dusty road. It's west-facing, so a great place to watch the sun descend in the evening. Unfortunately the sun disappears behind the haze just before it meets the horizon, but it's still a beautiful sight. And like the pool, the sea temperature is very pleasant for swimming!

With the focus of this week being relaxation, we only have one daytime outing planned, to take a trip on one of the world's longest over-sea cable car routes. Starting at a terminal at the south of the island, it journeys above the bay full of fishing boats before crossing over three islands en route to its destination at the fourth, an island called Hom Thom (Pineapple Island). We're happy just to take the aerial round trip, but the ticket also allows us to explore the local Sunworld theme park, which is still growing and gradually taking over Hom Thom. There appears to be a pacific island theme, as indicated by giant head statues and a welcome dance by an appropriately dressed dance group. Other than that, the main amenity is a large waterpark, which is not on our agenda, so we stroll around the gardens and take a ride on a large rotating viewing platform before heading back to the mainland in the cable car.

Although our resort doesn't have its own evening restaurant, there are plenty of options directly across from the entrance. Most of them are housed in open wooden structures, giving you the feeling of eating outside whilst enjoying the cooling benefits of a ceiling fan. Favourite dish of the week is the 'pork in claypot', although we both enjoy excellent chicken dishes in our last night. The less said about the wine however, the better.

Outside of the local area, we do venture into Ong Lang village a couple of times (mainly to catch sporting events at the Drunken Monkey pub), and also to Duong Dong, which hosts a busy night market each evening.

It's time to say goodbye to a Vietnam for now (although we do return for the flight home), and onwards to Cambodia!