Phu Quoc Island
Okay, can someone please explain to us what fruit this is? Is it a durian, a jackfruit...we just don't know. We tasted it and it was pretty gross and mushy. Is it supposed to be mushy or was it rotten?
Sara posing in front of Ong Lang Beach
So we've spent the last 3 days on the beautiful Island of Phu Quoc, and had quite the adventure the first day. After our scooter experience in Taiwan, we figured it was time to upgrade to a motorcycle (standard). With a 3 minute lesson from a 15 year old kid who didn't speak English, we were on our way to cruise around the Island for the day. Dave had the first go, and after a little shakey start up a skinny road with trucks passing, we were okay. We headed to nearby Ong Lang Beach, a secluded section of beach that see few travellers. Then, the adventure began...Sara took the helm. With Dave behind her (tense the whole time, squeezing tight over every bump on the rainy dirt road) we were off..."Sara, look out for the cows...Sara, do you see the dog up ahead...oh know, a big truck is coming", but Sara was ever so confident and got us back safely. She did a great job missing the barb wire on the narrow road to our guesthouse, but forgot that turning the handle bar back wasn't the break but the accelerator, almost landed us in a nice concrete wall. "At least it wasn't the barb wire side, and to be fair, the concrete wall was only a foot high", she says. But alas, we made it out alive.
We were staying on Long Beach, a 20 km stretch of beach that is mostly undeveloped. The strip that was developed had some fancy hotels, one in particular, the Saigon-Phu Quoc Resort. Needing some Dong and since the hotel had an ATM, we paid it a visit. While we were using the ATM, we saw a really nice pool, so we took off our poncho and rain gear, combed the hair back to look as first class as possible, and glided through the entrance right to the pool. The lifeguard bolted from his chair, "oh no Sara, we've been caught", but nope, he ran to get us cushions for our chairs and two towels. So we had a nice hour of swimming and relaxing for about an hour before Dave's conscience caught up with him and thought it was time to go.
Our last day involved lazing around in our bungalow by the beach and relaxing...it was great. Oh, the seafood, the seafood, it was sooooo tasty and so cheap. Shrimp, squid, fish, eel, crab, snails, oysters/mussels/scallops (depending on what language you were looking at), and barracuda.
Sara posing in front of Ong Lang Beach
So we've spent the last 3 days on the beautiful Island of Phu Quoc, and had quite the adventure the first day. After our scooter experience in Taiwan, we figured it was time to upgrade to a motorcycle (standard). With a 3 minute lesson from a 15 year old kid who didn't speak English, we were on our way to cruise around the Island for the day. Dave had the first go, and after a little shakey start up a skinny road with trucks passing, we were okay. We headed to nearby Ong Lang Beach, a secluded section of beach that see few travellers. Then, the adventure began...Sara took the helm. With Dave behind her (tense the whole time, squeezing tight over every bump on the rainy dirt road) we were off..."Sara, look out for the cows...Sara, do you see the dog up ahead...oh know, a big truck is coming", but Sara was ever so confident and got us back safely. She did a great job missing the barb wire on the narrow road to our guesthouse, but forgot that turning the handle bar back wasn't the break but the accelerator, almost landed us in a nice concrete wall. "At least it wasn't the barb wire side, and to be fair, the concrete wall was only a foot high", she says. But alas, we made it out alive.
We were staying on Long Beach, a 20 km stretch of beach that is mostly undeveloped. The strip that was developed had some fancy hotels, one in particular, the Saigon-Phu Quoc Resort. Needing some Dong and since the hotel had an ATM, we paid it a visit. While we were using the ATM, we saw a really nice pool, so we took off our poncho and rain gear, combed the hair back to look as first class as possible, and glided through the entrance right to the pool. The lifeguard bolted from his chair, "oh no Sara, we've been caught", but nope, he ran to get us cushions for our chairs and two towels. So we had a nice hour of swimming and relaxing for about an hour before Dave's conscience caught up with him and thought it was time to go.
Our last day involved lazing around in our bungalow by the beach and relaxing...it was great. Oh, the seafood, the seafood, it was sooooo tasty and so cheap. Shrimp, squid, fish, eel, crab, snails, oysters/mussels/scallops (depending on what language you were looking at), and barracuda.
posted by Sara and Dave at 6/30/2006 06:07:00 a.m.
8 Comments:
Nice haircut Sara! Did you find yourself a nice little salon? Hehehe!
Did anyone else enjoy:
"Needing some Dong and since the hotel had an ATM, we paid it a visit"
that's a Durian i think.
it's supposed to be mushy. it's an acquired taste.
That is indeed a durian. Some even call it the 'King of Fruit'. It is best enjoyed when the yellow meat is tight and dry but the inside is mushy. Picking a good durian is somewhat of an art form; brushing your fingernails upwards over the spikes and listening to the charateristic sounds of ripeness. It's taste is something of it's own, a mix between cheese and a monkey's butthole. Personally, I don't like it too much. But congrats on trying it!
hmm, that solves that, we don't need to try the durian again. The comparison with cheese and a monkey's butthole was fairly accurate.
I got my hair cut at a 'salon', although they were trying to make it all straight and asian-like so I had to touch it up a little with the good ole Leatherman.
The spiky exterior of the Durian is a definate sign that the fruit is not for human consumption. Worst tasting fruit ever!
I see everyone has already settled on Durian.
The smell is supposed to be very strong, though I never noticed it that much.
In Singapore they were banned on the MRT (subway) because the smell makes some people really ill.
Now that I think of it, I never did try one while I was over there, but by the sounds of it, I didn't miss much. I used to eat a lot of rombotan (sp?) while I was there, did you come across any of those?? they're kinda spikey too, but much smaller. They're soo good! Keep an eye out for them.
That "Big tree taking root on the temple wall" photo is wicked. That's one of the coolest things I've ever seen.
J
It's rambutan season over here, but they aren't our favourites, they are kind of like the lychee's less tastier brother. Sara's favourite is the soursop! YUM!
Fun fact: in malay, rambutan means something like beard fruit, they call it that because the exterior is kind of hairy like a beard.
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