AsiaLIFE

Time was that travelling to the beautiful island of Phu Quoc involved an arduous bus journey, or expensive flight, to Ho Chi Minh City. The opening of the ‘Ha Tien’ border crossing to foreigners has changed all that. Words by Mark Bibby Jackson and Nathan Horton, photos by Nathan Horton.

Anyone who has visited Kep and stared across the sea towards the large island to the south can hardly fail to be impressed by the majesty of Phu Quoc. So close as the crow flies, but frustratingly far for man, that is until recently. Now that the border at Prek Chak has opened to international travellers, it takes only five hours to get from Phnom Penh to Ha Tien on the southern Vietnamese coast. From here it is a two-hour ferry crossing to Phu Quoc.

The easiest way of getting to the border is taking a taxi from Phnom Penh. This should cost around US$50, depending on your negotiating skills. Alternatively you can take a moto-dop (motorbike taxi) from Kampot, but the last 10 kilometres is on a pot-holed dirt road. Either way Kampot is the ideal place to break up your journey from the capital, especially if you pop into Rusty Keyhole on the riverfront for one of its famous ribs.

Leaving Cambodia

Gradually, as you approach the border, the landscape becomes more like you might associate with Vietnam. Isolated rocks jut out of paddy fields. Unlike the main border crossing at Bavet, the streets are not paved with gold – or at least not golden casinos. Clearly this crossing has yet to make its way onto the international gaming map. This is rural Cambodia with all its rustic charm – in spades. The checkpoint resembles an out of date railway crossing.

Ignore the many moto drivers telling you there are no taxis on the other side of the border. Although they might be telling the truth, they can only take your bags as far as the Vietnamese checkpoint anyway. The crossing is almost inevitably slow. Be prepared for casual conversation about where you come from, what you do for a living, and the football team you support. Exercise patience as it takes at least half an hour to do what need only take a few minutes. The Vietnamese side follows in a similar vein.

Taking a xe om (Vietnamese for moto) seems to be the only way of getting to Ha Tien. Despite drivers claiming it is a 10-kilometre ride, the journey is barely half that, so US$3 is a more than a reasonable fare. Once in the town, you should be able to find accommodation for around US$11 (200,000 VND). We stayed at Hu Dong guesthouse. Next to the ferry office, it was clean and functional. Home door to hotel door took less than five hours even allowing for all the time we wasted at the border crossing.

Ha Tien, is a pleasant enough town to stroll around especially if your expectations are not too high in the first place. About the same size as Kampot, it has an interesting fishing port. Although a faster pace than Phnom Penh’s favourite weekend getaway town (excepting Laos is there anything slower?), here there is absolutely no pampering to western tastes.  Good, fresh, local food can be had at Huong Bien Restaurant, which has the added bonus of a menu written in English. The town also seems to have adopted Vietnam’s national pastime of opening coffee shops with a vengeance. Just to the left of the ferry office, air-conditioned and with free WiFi, ‘Blue’ is one such place. Apart from the half-interesting night market there is little reason to stay out much after 10pm.

The Island

Day Two started with an early call for the speedboat to Phu Quoc. Although advised to get to the office at 7.20am for the 8am departure, you can probably hit the snooze button as the departure point is only a two-minute walk from the office. Bullet-style, like the boats that ply their way from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap, the main difference between this and its Cambodian cousins is that you ‘have’ to sit inside. Although comfortable the journey was slightly claustrophobic for anyone accustomed to sitting on the roof.

We arrived to be greeted by smiling staff who took us the half-hour trip across the island to our chosen resort. With bungalows right on the beach, Chenla is the perfect place to relax with your partner and get away from life in the Penh. The spacious rooms have just the right mix of natural hardwood and stone, playing the traditional with some sympathetic modern touches. Choose between taking the plunge in the infinity pool or bathing in the sea. If the weather discourages sunbathing take advantage of the spa. Everything here exudes calmness and health.

The size of Singapore, there is more to Phu Quoc than its beaches and resorts. There are pepper plantations to be visited, waterfalls to be sought out, hills to be hiked up, deserted beaches to be swum to and coral to be ogled at. Don’t worry if you just feel like relaxing, very few visitors ever actually manage to do any of them. If you do feel more adventurous Rainbow Divers is an established dive centre offering comprehensive service and courses ranging from one-day snorkelling trips through to night diving, PADI courses and rescue diving. Ask at your hotel for details of excursions into the jungle, treks to hidden waterfalls, pepper plantations and island hopping. You can even visit a fish sauce factory. The extensive national park is a protected area and cannot be visited without a registered guide.

Across the Delta

Leaving the island followed much the same course as arriving, with an 8am boat to Ha Tien. Although bigger than the one that brought us, there was no extra legroom. The Vietnamese comedy on VTV was blasted out at a decibel level akin to karaokes on Cambodian buses, so ear plus are advised. The trip took three hours instead of the advertised two-and-a-half. Finding a taxi as Ha Tien port was easy. Just look for the smartly dressed guys in white shirts and green ties. They work for a radio taxi firm and have smart large six-seater Toyotas at hand. We managed to negotiate them down from 1,100,000 to 1,000,000 VND (US$55), for the trip to Chau Doc from where we would take the ferry back to Phnom Penh. The journey was much more comfortable than on the Cambodian leg, due to the better condition of both car and road. It only took two-and-a-half hours.

Chau Doc itself is a pleasant enough town with a long promenade along the front leading onto a busy market. Best during the day when there is a distinct buzz about the place, its inhabitants tend to go to bed pretty early. What the town does have is probably the best hotel in the Mekong Delta. Situated on the Bassac River, the Victoria Chau Doc has great sunrise views across the water. The rooms are luxurious and the swimming pool is a delightful place to forget about Phnom Penh. The third floor spa has even better views of the river than the pool’s and although not on the cheap end of the price scale, the hotel’s signature massage is an incredibly effective way to de-stress.

Once in town it is easy to arrange a trip along the river to visit the town’s floating market – just ask at your hotel’s reception. It’s best to time your arrival at the market before 7am when it is in full flow. The river’s boat people come here to buy and sell fruit and vegetables, although some of the boats seem also devoted to basic household goods. A good hour-and-a-half is needed to take it all in. Elsewhere, more permanent, stilted houses encompass small fish farms, where thousands of red snapper dazzle in the sun, especially during a fish pellet induced feeding frenzy. There are apparently over a thousand floating houses.

The Return Leg

Another early morning boat, this time the Victoria’s express one departing at 7am, took us back to Cambodia. Either arriving or leaving as the river snakes its way between the neighbouring countries, the contrast between the Cambodian and Vietnamese side is striking. In Vietnam, stilted homes are devoted to fish sauce production and fish rearing. Standing at the back of your boat on the initial stretch from Chau Doc, the stench coming from the small processors is not for anyone with an acute sense of smell. In Cambodia the river is wide with open green fields stretching from its banks, and only the occasional Wat breaking the horizon. Once the border is crossed the river narrows and the banks are littered with small villages spilling out into the waters. Two-and-a-half hours later the familiar sight of the Royal Palace comes into view as you enter the waters of the Tonle Sap, just in time to catch a late breakfast at the Green Vespa, opposite the ferry landing.

Information:
Rainbow Divers, Phu Quoc, http://www.divevietnam.com/phuquoc.shtml
Chenla Resort, Ong Lang Beach, Phu Quoc, www.chenla-resort.com, Phnom Penh Sales office, 42AB Street 288, Tel: 023 210 831.
Victoria Chau Doc, 32 Le Loi Street, Chau Doc, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , www.victoriahotels.asia. Special offers until Sep. 30.