Our getaway from the gray: Phu Quoc Island

I think the best advice we have received since we moved here is "Hanoi can get really gray, don't let it get to you, get out of the city and travel."

So last weekend, we did. We went to Phu Quoc island, a Vietnamese island just south of Cambodia. We stayed at the Eden Resort, which was not our first choice, but it was pretty nice.

We were greeted with watermelon juice.

The view from our balcony

Another view from our balcony

The pool

After we checked in, we did exactly what everyone should do when they arrive on an island: we went to the beach...

Not too shabby...

The boys enjoying the sun

Fishermen reeling in the daily catch: MANUALLY, there were two sets of them

Hubs joined in the fun...

Hubs helping reel in the daily catch

After a few hours on the beach, we decided to walk up the beach to see what we could see..

American priced jet skis, no thanks!

The Aroma Spa, surrounded by trash...not so aromatic...

We stopped for a happy hour at a nearby resort and enjoyed the sunset...

There are fishing boats everywhere

Hubs enjoying coconut juice

A view of our resort at sunset

Can you believe we left?!

Even the ocean is peaceful: it was so quiet and lovely

I drank several fresh mango daquiris over the course of the weekend

That evening, we went to the night market for food and shopping...

There were several restaurants with FRESH seafood

Oysters anyone?

(No I did not eat any)

Grilled garlic bread: YUM

Lemongrass clams

Mi Xao Hai San: Seafood noodle stir-fry...mmmmmm!

One of the island specialties: blackened fish

Banh Xeo and Spinach and the remnants of grilled vegetables which we devoured

For dessert we had fried bananas: 50 cents each, Hubs and I shared one

We also tried some sugarcane juice, which is what this machine makes

Our fried bananas.....mmmmm....so sinful, I am glad we shared!

What's a night market without Facebook flip flops?! 

The only thing we purchased in Phu Quoc at the night market was some Phu Quoc pepper, which is amazing!

We went back to our resort for a nightcap and we all got to bed early. It was perfect. 

My first Vietnamese coffee in Vietnam, I had one every day, they are amazing.

Good Morning Vietnam!

(I like to say that as much as possible, it has not gotten old yet)

Our group decided to rent mopeds and ride around the island, they were a whopping $10/day for 7 hours!

Hubs and I and our awesome helmets

We stopped on our ride to enjoy a quiet beach

We saw many crabs at the beach, and thought they possibly mating, so we googled it. The rest of the weekend, the boys imitated the crab mating dance....

Sassy moped riders

We stopped at a Pearl Farm and met a new friend there

I could not take enough photos of the water, so peaceful

Large oysters from the Farm

A live demo pearl harvest, it was pretty neat!

We went in search of the coconut prison and found this monument, but no prison...

The only surfing done in Phu Quoc

We stopped at a quaint little corner store at port on the south of the island after riding motorbikes for two hours. This was some of the best Nem I have ever had. So delish!

On our way back, we discovered the prison! Coconut tree prison was a US backed prison for Viet Cong fighters in the Vietnam war. It's now more of a museum with statues and more....

The boys climbed the tower to observe

The translation was "American Puppet Government"...interesting....

Some scenes were pretty brutal..

Javi made a friend....

The conditions of these prisoners were terrible, 4,000 prisoners died here

More statues are being made for exhibits

In the kitchen

Role call

After we found the prison, we headed north to find a waterfall. However, the waterfall is without water from Nov-April, so we missed it. Luckily we made it back in time for the sunset.

We enjoyed some sunset cocktails....

We love a good prom picture!

We went back to the night market, to the same restaurant. There was a cute kid that worked there who told us he was 15, however he looked 11. His name was Thinh. I thought it was cute that he worked with his family, until I found out he wasn't working for his parents, but someone else. He was having a great time....and so were we....

Pineapple chicken stir fry

After dinner, we stopped at a "Resto Lounge" called Itaca, it looked nice from the road, but even nicer inside.....

It was so peaceful

We asked for the classiest table, and we sure got it!

The menu looked incredible, so we ordered dessert. This is their brownie with dragonfruit coulis.

The sangria was delicious, made with clove and cinnamon sticks

Did I mention I fell off my motorbike on Saturday? Well, I did, and as you can see, I scratched my leg just a bit. Luckily I was slowing to a stop on gravel and just tipped over.

 

Hubs and I woke up early the next day and took a walk on the beach before breakfast. We found all kinds of cool shells....

I am so lucky to have such a romantic hubs

The breakfast bread was crab shaped and delicious!

We spent the entire day laying by the beach reading our kindles and magazines, it was bliss

After a day on the beach, we all got $5 massages(most of our party got them all three days, I got them one day), we got ready for dinner and....

The boys matched without planning it. They are so cute.

It was another gorgeous sunset

This is a photo of two fishing boats, reeling in one giant net

Wonderful sunset and company

Banana and Mango daquiris AND great friends!

We decided to go back to Itaca and try out the tapas for dinner, we were a bit sad to miss the night market, but we all think that this place is one of the BEST restaurants in Vietnam.

 

Cheers to great company!

Spinach au gratin and risotto balls

Baked goat cheese: so amazing, we ordered another plate of it!

Potatas bravas

Seabass green curry: my fave

Croquettes

Dessert: chocolate coulant(which was so good we ordered another, Javi and I considered ordering a third but we got vetoed) and banana tart 

This bar is so hott it has a pool to cool off in

Pool party!

Such a fun night! I think the best part about this vacation is that we were in bed by midnight every night and woke up early to enjoy the sunshine every day!

Our last day on the beach

A beautiful view

We will be back...

The boys and the crab mating dance, no, they are not mating with one another

We found this guy washed up and threw him back in the sea before we left

We were feeling pretty melancholy for leaving the sun to come back to gray Hanoi, until we saw....

Burger king! Wahooo!!! Yes, we have one in Hanoi, but it's not that close. 

Soft serve ice cream=a blissful ending to a wonderful vacation

It was exactly what we needed, an escape from the gray and a big dose of Vitamin D and rest. I am looking forward to going back to Phu Quoc as soon as we can!