Pearls, Pepper & Fish Sauce

We organised a tour of the south of the island through our resort. It was meant to be part of a group so when we found out the group was the two of us, plus our driver and tour guide we thought we had struck gold, a far cry away from the bus jamming of a few days ago. Our tour guide then told us she found out 30 minutes before that she would be our guide, it was her first ever tour, and second time of being in Phu Quoc. As you would expect it wasn't the most fluent of tours and sometimes we had difficulties communicating (she was a student studying English at university). We didn't really mind, she was friendly and we thought it was a good start for her and a good way to practise English. I do feel like we may have missed out of some interesting facts along the way though that a person with more experience can give you.

The tour started by visiting a pearl farm. I didn't really know how they were made so this was quite interesting. An Australian guy running the place said that you could buy a closed oyster for 5 million VND and have it opened. A lady a few weeks back brought two, got a small sized pearl in the first one and a huge 18mm in the second, at least 5/6 times the value of what she paid if not more.

Next up was a visit to a sim fruit farm, a small fruit about the size of a blueberry that they make into wine and honey. We tried some non alcohol juice which was really nice, and the honey was ok. The wine/liquor though was very potent and not something I'd want to try again! You can eat the fruit raw but I didn't think it tasted of too much.

The Vietnamese fish sauce 'Noc Mam' is world famous and we visited a factory that makes it. There was no information around so I'm not sure exactly how it's made, I think they do dry and ferment anchovies and you see the end product being filtered through to giant drums. Very stinky, infact my old house mates probably wouldn't question my minimal use of the sauce at home if they smelt this place! I did debate buying some but the thought of what it would smell like if it leaked stopped me!

We then visited Sao beach. White sand, clear water, lots of fish and it was still shallow even after walking out about 100 meters. The water was even warmer than Long Beach. Very beautiful but as usual with these types of places you could see where humans have already spoiled the place; lots of rubbish further up the beach and lots cigarette ends all over the sand (one of my biggest hates).

It was the wrong season to visit the waterfall we went to but we had a look anyway. Apart from being dry there were lots of interesting stone carvings and gardens to walk around. I'm sure it would be nicer with the water flowing through though.

After a visit to a pagoda we went to a pepper farm. I had read a lot about the pepper over here being of a good quality so I already knew I wanted to take some back. There were rows of pepper plants, if you pick off the green little fruits and pierce it you get that warm peppery smell climbing up your nose. I did buy a pot to grind down for when I am back.

As the sun was going down we walked down the shore looking at crabs and fish in the sea. Not sure what they are but we kept seeing these small white 'things' wash up on the beach then bury themselves into the sand. As we walked further down we started to comment again on some of the rubbish being left thinking that we had come across one of the 'plastic bag fish' again. Turns out it was a large jelly fish. At least the size of a football if not a little bigger. It was soon washed away into the sea again.

Dinner was on the beach, BBQ'd tuna and red snapper. I really do like this place!

Coconuts consumed in Phu Quoc: 5
Temple count: 60
Hours travelled: 62