Sometimes Life's a Beach: Phu Quoc Island (Day 1)

One of the first places that I visited outside of Saigon was Phu Quoc Island. An island that’s 71 miles from Vietnam and 10 miles from Cambodia, it is rich in history and beauty. The island specializes in black pepper and fish sauce as well as exporting fresh seafood to the mainland. Its early history consists of war. From the mid 19^th century to the US-Vietnam War in the mid 20^th century, Vietnam, Cambodia, and France have fought for claims to the island. During the Vietnam War, the island was used as a prisoner camp. After the country fell to Communist reign, the island was on the forefront of another battle between Vietnam and Cambodia in the mid-70s for ownership before it was reclaimed by the Vietnamese.  

This was a pretty awesome trip that I made with my mom. It started with a 7 AM flight from Tan Son Nhat Airport to Phu Quoc Airport. One step off the plane, the weather is immediately different from Saigon. The air is cleaner, the humidity lower, and there is actually wind. After claiming our baggage, we followed our all-inclusive tour to the hotel for check-in and breakfast. The view from our room was AMAZING!

After freshening up, we ventured to an outdoor market by the water and one of the things they specialize in is seahorse medicine. Seahorses are one of the rare creatures that carry the fertilized eggs instead of the female. Eastern medicine believes that if you soak pregnant male seahorses in liquor with other herbs you can drink the liquid to cure arthritis, Alzheimer’s, cancer, etc.

 Once we were done with that, we were off to a pepper farm. Unripened and unroasted black peppercorns are green and grow on a vine. It has the texture of a Granny Smith Apple but tastes like black pepper and not particularly good. The rich red soil of Phu Quoc Island has made it one of the exporters of black pepper for Vietnam. 

 Our day ends with a family style dinner where we get to know our tour group that consists of ten other people besides me and my mom. The rest of the group was native Vietnamese and a majority of them were from Northern Vietnam. Our meal consisted of a lot of the local specialties and it included some sort of seafood. The tour guide said the island has a saying that roughly translates to, “The rich eat vegetables and the poor eat fish.” Fish and seafood is so prevalent on the island but vegetables are harder to come by because the island’s soil doesn’t grow vegetables well so everything is imported to the island. At the end of the meal, we retired to our hotel for the evening.

The Art of Haggling

Haggling takes place in public markets in much of the world. From the street markets in Mexico to the markets of Vietnam, you will find a vendor and his or her current customer haggling. This exchange of words is like a courting couple where the vendor is boy to the customer’s girl who has piqued his interest. 

The vendor gives his starting bid. The customer balks at the high price and suggests that she found it for 75% cheaper at another stall. He tells her she will never find a better quality then his product and lowers his price. She still isn’t happy with the price and suggests a slightly higher price than her previous offer. This goes back and forth until the customer and vendor is satisfied. Or the customer walks away as a bluff. Much like a girlfriend who flirts with another man to make him jealous. It’s all a dance that I unfortunately have not and maybe will not ever master.

Thank goodness my mom accompanied me on my shopping trips otherwise I would be paying asking price for everything I purchased. Knock-off purses, scarves, and jewelry my mom haggled her way into spending exponentially less. $10 for 3 shirts or $2.50 for a pair of pearl earrings all you need is to hold your ground and be really good at bluffing.