Phu Quoc Island, Kien Giang

Phu Quoc Island, Kien Giang - Dec 2012 - Photo by An Bui

Phú Quốc is a very mountainous and densely forested Island of 1320 sq km; it is 48 km in length from south to north and has a population of approx. 80,000 people. Situated in the Gulf of Thailand 45 km west of Ha Tien on the Vietnamese mainland and 15 km south of the coast of Cambodia, Phú Quôc is ringed with some of most beautiful beaches in Vietnam, and offers the best seafood in the country.

Phú Quôc Island served as a based for French missionary Pigneau de Behaine from the 1760-80s and at one time he provided shelter here for Prince Nguyen Anh (later Emperor Gia Long) when he was being hunted by the Tay Son rebels.

Phú Quôc is not really a part of the Mekong delta and also doesn’t share the delta's extraordinary ability to produce rice & fruit due to its soil quality and inaccessible terrain. It is, however, home to the best Fish sauce (nuoc mam) in the world, also reputedly known to produce high quality pepper and fantastic seafood. Another point of interest in Phú Quôc is the island's native dog; this dog was originally a wild animal and later trained as a hunting dog by local people. These days they are very domesticated and it's unusual to go anywhere on the island without seeing one of these dogs! These animals have unusually sharp teeth (as they tear their food when they eat it rather than bite) and have claws that over the years have been conditioned for catching their prey and are razor sharp.

Phú Quôc is still what Phuket would be if it hadn't been overrun by development. Phú Quôc island and its beaches was voted to be "The Most Cleanest and Beautiful Beach of World" by ABC News as from the end of February, 2008. However, this is about to change. Insiders call the island "The world's first rubbish dump on which tourism is run" or "the island, where nature and rubbish grow together" because of the excessive pollution (mainly by plastic bags) outside the tourist resorts.

There are extensive plans to develop Phú Quôc, including high-rise residential areas, several new towns and suburbs, complete rebuilding of Duong Dông' city center, and replacing the existing small PQC airport. The new international airport south of Duong Dông is under construction and expected to open in 2013 or 2014. The main north-south road between Bai Thom and An Thoi is already being upgraded to a 2+2 lane highway, a new tared road from Duong Dông to Gan Dau is ready as far as Cua Can, which has a new bridge. A golf areal is planned as well as a casino in the north. A ferry connection to Sihanoukville (Cambodia) an visa-free-entry have been discussed in the past. Phú Quôc will be something completely different in 10 years if the current plans do materialize soon.

Article from www.wikitravel.org