Tuesday November 14th
No set plans for the day so we got up in a leisurely way (easily done in such a relaxing place!) and rented a scooter to get around. Tim first had to do a couple of test runs as he'd last ridden a motorbike in 1993 but was soon confident of manoevering Tracy over the bumpy dirt roads.
We decided not to cake ourselves in red dust with a trek into the interior, instead we headed for Long Beach where we relaxed and Tracy found a couple of ladies to give a massage and pedicure (for about $4.50). Tim took off for a look around town/ internet/ shopping and we rendezvoused for lunch before Tracy got a look at the town from the back of the bike. Tim will not be signing up for renting a bike in HCM: Duong Dong's market street was quite an adventure enough in dodging the crowds.
For a break in the usual routine we headed north from Mango Bay for dinner at Bo Resort (as suggested by the Brits we dove with and subsequently hung out with as they were in the adjoining room with shared deck). Tracy got a ride on the back of a motorbike for the 1.5 km/ 1 mile journey while Tim walked around the rocky and sandy shore (a challenge in the dark but a pleasant trip.
The food was good there and at the end of the night we spent a while talking to Regis, the Frenchman who co-owns it with his Vietnamese wife. He filled us in on development plans (apparently the number of Chinese going abroad is set to jump from 20 million/year to 100 million and Vietnam wants part of the action... with Phu Quoc occupying the place of the Balearics in Europe - warm, accessible - the island may suffer the same fate). These include a big golf resort in the north around his land. It is certain this island will be changing soon, already there are 3-4 times as many flights as a couple of years ago.
Regis got a couple of his staff to drop us back at Mango Bay on the ubiquitous bikes, and we would thoroughly recommend his resort to anyone. Interestingly the terrain just north of mango Bay was much different with Bo built on a steep slope while Mango Bay has a lot of grassy flat land.
We decided not to cake ourselves in red dust with a trek into the interior, instead we headed for Long Beach where we relaxed and Tracy found a couple of ladies to give a massage and pedicure (for about $4.50). Tim took off for a look around town/ internet/ shopping and we rendezvoused for lunch before Tracy got a look at the town from the back of the bike. Tim will not be signing up for renting a bike in HCM: Duong Dong's market street was quite an adventure enough in dodging the crowds.
For a break in the usual routine we headed north from Mango Bay for dinner at Bo Resort (as suggested by the Brits we dove with and subsequently hung out with as they were in the adjoining room with shared deck). Tracy got a ride on the back of a motorbike for the 1.5 km/ 1 mile journey while Tim walked around the rocky and sandy shore (a challenge in the dark but a pleasant trip.
The food was good there and at the end of the night we spent a while talking to Regis, the Frenchman who co-owns it with his Vietnamese wife. He filled us in on development plans (apparently the number of Chinese going abroad is set to jump from 20 million/year to 100 million and Vietnam wants part of the action... with Phu Quoc occupying the place of the Balearics in Europe - warm, accessible - the island may suffer the same fate). These include a big golf resort in the north around his land. It is certain this island will be changing soon, already there are 3-4 times as many flights as a couple of years ago.
Regis got a couple of his staff to drop us back at Mango Bay on the ubiquitous bikes, and we would thoroughly recommend his resort to anyone. Interestingly the terrain just north of mango Bay was much different with Bo built on a steep slope while Mango Bay has a lot of grassy flat land.
posted by Tim | 6:24 PM
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