Phu Quoc Island

Greetings from Phu Quoc! This is a lovely spot--a small island just south of Cambodia and off the SW coast of Vietnam. It is undeveloped and development is slow at this point. There appear to be some larger hotels under construction. We are staying at a place called the "Seastar" which has bungalows on the beach. It's lovely because the air is clear, warm and sunny. The water is clear, warm and sunny too!--85 degrees perhaps. So, we've been swimming a lot. Our boat trip yesterday was fun, but a bit sad to see that the reefs off the islands are not in good shape. This could be because of global changes in water temps, but our impression is that many tourists swim around and trample on the coral. The tours go out to the islands but nary a word was spoken to us about not standing on the reef and coral. Perhaps the locals are unaware. That said... they were very proud to prepare a lunch treat of some sea urchins that we ate in the shell (once it was de-spiked) and then again in some soup. Not bad--I gobbled down both options. Jesse "flipped" over the snorkeling and loved it--so I'm sure there's more of that in his future. Of course now talking about wanting to do some SCUBA. Also--his impression of the driving regulations aren't quite accurate. Despite what he may say...I've been letting him ride around a bit with me, but he's underage and it's not allowed. Peter Traver will appreciate this fact since he and I drove around illegally on our Hondas for years! Anyway--this is a special place. We'll visit the northern part of the island tomorrow and tell you more about the history and their claim to fame--fish sauce! BTM