The bus to Ha Tien was correct. To cross the Cambodia-Vietnam border, apart from having to pay 1 dollar for the “medical check-up”, which consists in taking the temperature with an infra-red pistol … everything was correct and without mishaps or injustice. To leave Cambodia, the bus itself took care to have our passport stamped at no cost (although it cost us to get rid of the passport … one of our maxims to be avoided), and then they returned it to us to pass one by one for control Vietnamese.

And after changing from bus to van, we arrived at the port of Ha Tien. There a ferry to reach the island of Phu Quoc. We read that the prices of ferries range between 185,000 and 230,000 Vietnamese Dongs. In the end we had to take the one that cost 230,000 because there was no way to tell us where the other ferry was, and the fast one (230,000 dongs) left in 20 minutes … So nothing, we were practical and we paid a little more (now 1 euro is about 25,000 dongs, or 22,500 dongs the dollar). Of course, the SuperDong IV, name of the ferry, was the most luxurious and comfortable. It took 1 hour and 50 minutes, aprox. to arrive, a joy.

Once on the island, suddenly there was a hurricane of transports, taxis, vans, motorcycles, that wanted to take us to the city, everyone around us was accelerated, and we who like to reach the sites and make decisions with the calm we prefer to relax and comment quietly … for once, this was a shit (or so we thought), because suddenly we found that there was only a taxi and motorcycle taxi. The first one charged us 8 dollars, we discarded it, and the bikes did not make us much excited about the backpacks …

After a few moments of crisis traveler, we decided to make a stop … Right! they caught us instantly! a truck that was part of the trip took us, and then a pick-up ended up leaving us in the capital of the island, Duong Dong.

Duong Dong is a tourist city full of hotels, guesthouses and restaurants of all kinds. In the center of the city there is a Night Market and tons of seafood restaurants, cool fresh! although quite expensive, or at least for pale faces … And the city itself does not have much more …

We found a churrería with some pasta stuffed with minced pork with cooked quail eggs that were delicious! and as I started to be able to say the prices in Vietnamese they charged us the local price !!!! What an illusion!!!!

In the first instance the island did not like anything, we even thought about leaving the next day … all full of monstrous buildings, entire cities in the form of a mega-cruise resort, giant hotels such as the Marriot, and construction everywhere. They have even just made a mega airport that seems bigger than El Prat …

But luckily we had patience and went to find their little places and small experiences, and we were not disappointed.

On the entrance road to the village by the beach, Tran Hung Dao, we found a reasonable price to sleep in a Guesthouse next to the A74, for 200,000 dongs, with air conditioning and private bathroom, however the hygiene was slightly limited. Right there we rented the motorbike for 120,000 dongs a day.

We pretended to stay a few days on the island, so with the bike we went in search of a better and cheaper accommodation … We went through Long beach, south of Doung Dong.

There we got a bungalow near the beach for 12 dollars (272,000 dongs). Long beach is a long beach of fine brown sand with palm trees, it is completely occupied by medium quality resorts. It is not the pump, at least not to spend $ 12 … (you see how detailed we look at expenses …). We are still looking for a better place. We looked north and most places cost more than $ 15 without increasing the quality or the landscape.

We headed east of the island, to Ham Ninh, a small fishing village where we had read about a cheap guesthouse, Hai Anh guesthouse, with fan rooms for 150,000 dongs, the best price so far. The room was simple but acceptable. The nearest beach was coco beach, a mini beach without living or enabling … hahaha … quite left but at least clean …

The food menu was very economical and the very large portions, the soups and rice are worth between 25,000 and 30,000 dongs, and the meat and fish menu for dinner costs 50,000 dongs but you end up on the brim with food.

And here we went back to the addiction to coffee … that strong coffee with ice and condensed milk must be sin … We also discovered Phu Quoc pepper, one of the best in the world, and here they mix it with salt and a few drops of lime juice for flavor … great!

The owners are a peculiar couple, well, she is a jewel that will do everything possible to make you as happy as possible, and he, Mr. Hai, is the most peculiar, friendly and ideal for a good conversation. They also leave you free bikes !!

The bike left us for 100,000 dongs, although they are a bit dusty and the second day they left us, we believe, with the wheel already blown … and it cost us 80,000 dongs to fix the puncture …

One night with Hai and a couple of Belgians we went to the town market and bought more than a kilo of crabs for 200,000 dongs, in the guesthouse we were cooked, along with some clams, rice and vegetables (to explode food). Everything was divine …

but above all the crabs, like my big hand, it was exceptional how rich they were … so much so, that two days later we bought another half kilo to repeat the experience …

The best beach on the island is Sao beach, a long beach with turquoise waters and white sand flanked by palm trees. The central part, its access, is full of restaurants (and shit everywhere). When we went there was overflowing with Vietnamese on vacation …

If you walk a little to the north, just where the last resort ends is the best point of the beach, the north view is the curve of the bay full of jungle, and better not to look south … (jet skis, boats one on the another, and Vietnamese packaged).

The truth is that it is very a gustito, and I devoted myself to look for clams buried in the sand, in the sea, to make spaghetti (or noodles) with clams and crabs to dine! Walking this same beach a couple of kilometers to the south is Khem beach, very lonely but less beautiful.

At the northwest tip of the island, there is a rather curious fishing village. It has covered corridors, to cover the rain, and pretty shit everywhere.

And if you cross the houses to go to the beach you are horrified by the amount of crap that can accumulate without flinching … it’s frightening !!!!! they want to take a bag, wear gloves and pick up … what an impression … besides, this does not come alone, the rats are used to walking around too …

The northeast part is an exceptional place. To get there, you drive along a road that crosses a natural park, a dense forest, with pepper plantations at its sides. Once you reach the end, there is an island that is accessed by a small wooden bridge improvised, although it is safer to walk the 100 meters separated by the water.

The island has a path made of stone and cement that surrounds the island between the jungle. It is spectacular!!!! the vegetation is impressive, and we could see birds similar to a toucan !!!! yes, it was full of mosquitoes … hehehe … everything in life is a Yin & Yang …

When we returned from the island we met a family singing karaoke, eating seafood and drinking rice whiskey. They called us and invited us to drink and to eat crabs, we who are educated people, we did not say no … ole ole que majos !!!!

The people here are very friendly and they love that you share a moment with them. Of the several times they invited us to share a time with them, one was at a restaurant in the port, a very drunk group, they invited us to beer while we all danced and they took pictures … very funny! and we are delighted!

The days we did not rent a motorbike, we moved by auto-stop, and it was very easy! They stopped very fast, they even deviated from their journey to get closer to the place where we were going … very nice!

Mr. Hai had told us that we could go to Hon Thom by ferry for 30,000 dongs per head. So one of the days we got up in the morning “soon” (we anticipate horrors early) and went out to hitch a 20 km to the southern tip of the island to catch the ferry to Hon Thom. We did not have much luck, in the sense that we had to take 5 vehicles, because none, except the last, reached the end of the journey. But the collections were very fast … a love of people …

Once there we had to find out where the ferry was taken … shit !!! this is not obvious to us … and every time we asked we were directed to someone who offered us a private boat tour for the reasonable price of 600,000 dongs … are we crazy !!?

Finally, after an hour up and down the port, a lady showed us where the ferry was taken. It was a very old turquoise blue wooden boat. There were only places that sat side by side on the two sidewalks, while in the middle there were boxes of cargo for the island.

And indeed the price was 30,000 dongs per way, great !!!!! We sail through all the small islands of the archipelago. The wharf of one of the smaller ones was a boat that took you from the beach and took you to the boat in deeper waters or to an improvised floating platform … very picturesque.

Once on the island, the water was crystal clear, even in the harbor !! which is where the waste accumulates. We asked where the beach was and they told us that it was through the only road that crossed the town and took you to the opposite coast.

Once there … uff … all full of crap … among the debris washed away by the tide and the debris thrown by the villagers …

We kept looking for a better place, there had to be a beach not touched by the town. Walking along the beach we saw everything, even a dead dog, in decomposition, there, on the sand, at the gates of one of the “houses” …

We continued crossing rocky areas, climbing, at some point we lost hope, but finally … we saw … a long white beach, completely empty, flanked by palm trees and vegetation … turquoise waters … our paradise !!!!! at last!!!!! There we were enjoying what we were looking for on the island, a small piece of paradise … And we started recording the video for the wedding of Soraya and Ingo, sister and brother-in-law of Mayra, we could not miss the place.

Diving on the rocks, watching curious fish … what a pleasure it is when you are at ease … Sprawling on the hot sand, enjoying eternal baths in crystalline waters … aaaisshh (a silent pause to enjoy the image …).

To visit in Phu Quoc, the markets that are usually close to fishing piers, beautiful turquoise blue wood, to know how many centuries ago … You can find all kinds of fish and seafood, all alive, fresh, rich rich! !

You can also find live snakes for cooking … aishhh … that’s disgusting … Jaume was delighted to see and touch up close!

And on the main road we find the Phu Quoc Prison Landmark Museum, a former American prison during the Vietnam War. You can see the prison as it was with statues that simulate the reality of that time.

Although the Americans were cruel and unjust, declared and confessed, this prison is pure anti-American propaganda. There is one of the barrancones that the figures show how the Americans torture the Viet Cong, while in the other barracks the figures of the Viet Cong are dedicated to making sculptures, artistic drawings and musical instruments … from one end to the other … in short …

And after 6 days on the island of Phu Quoc, we went to the jetty to take the ferry. Watch out!! when we arrived, the tickets had run out and that became a struggle to sneak in without any regard (usual Vietnamese practice), until a local girl helped us get two of the so precious tickets for the ferry that left at 8:20 A.M.

So better if you buy the ticket a few days before. This was not the fast ferry, although it took very little else, aprox. 3 hours, and it cost 185,000 dongs, the price we had read before arriving on the island.

Ho Chi Minh city !!! here we go!!!!!!