First of all, I will say that it was absolutely worth all of the hassle and terror of getting here. Second, let me tell you that that's really saying something. It was HELL to get here.
Windy came and got us at 6:30 am on Friday morning and got us out to the Mien Tay bus station, about an hour and a half from our hotel, via two city buses. THAT was the easy part.
The bus ride to Rach Gia should have been a no brainer, too, except that they had this damn VIDEO playing at EAR DRUM BREAKING VOLUME (can you hear me NOW????) the entire ride. Six blissful hours of screaming Vietnamese comedy at 53 on the volume button. I know. I watched him turn it UP.
So, around 2:30, we got into Rach Gia only to find out that we missed the last ferry to Phu Quoc by an hour. The Phuong Trang bus shuttle guy dropped us off at a hotel a half a block away from the ferry terminal. Good part: very kind, nice, English speaking girl working there; great coffee at only 50 cents a cup; cheap hotel with hot water (sometimes an issue in these parts; never had it in the Mekong Delta "hotels",) at only $13 a night; girl could book our ferry seats right there; wireless in the 'lobby' with the couch and the parked cars.
Bad part: SOOOO many mosquitos, and, did I ever mention that the Doxycyline for malaria gave me a huge rash, so I had to stop taking it? Did I mention that my hotel in HCMC decided that the zip-lock baggie containing my Super DEET filled 'mosquito rebellion' (a term on a website for a tour we considered taking) was garbage and threw it out? Not such a great situation once I got back into this, the edge of the Mekong Delta.
We found mosquito rebellion at a drug store and covered ourselves with the mosquito netting in the closet as well. I think one still got me.
Other bad part: LOUD people until about 9:00 pm. Once they shut up, though, it was OK.
Rach Gia, however, is my LEAST favorite town in all of Vietnam because when Anthony and I went out for our usual exploratory walk I was accosted by a man who wanted me to eat at his restaurant. He literally grabbed my wrist (and I could not get away) and dragged me across the street to look into the pots of 'lau' that were cooking. I dragged Anthony by the arm with me, asked him, "Look like something you want?" and when he said no and shook his head, I told the guy no. He then, finally, let go of my arm.
I was safer on the public bus in Ho Chi Minh City. If you ever try to get to Phu Quoc, either fly or make sure you get a bus that gets a ferry, which leaves at 8 am or 1:30 pm. DO NOT sleep there. ICK.
SO.... at 7:15 the next morning we made our way down to the ferry and got on. We had GREAT seats. They were right next to the door, so we had lots of leg room. I also thought that it meant that we would be the first people out the boat, but at unloading time 2 1/2 hours later, a HUGE batch of men shoved their way to the door just before docking. They were total twits, let me tell you. One finally decided that he would let us in front of him to get out.
Anyway, the ferry ride was choppy, and a lot of people got sick, but I thought it wasn't a problem. In fact, I had a great time watching the water and the waves. I actually saw the water change colors about 3/4 of the way through the ride, from brown into a beautiful dark blue. I was SOOOO excited!! It has been fabulous ever since. The only issue with the ferry was, again, THE NOISE!!!!! Again, the vidoes at TOP VOLUME. I'm serious. I put in earplugs and could still hear the screaming and singing as though the people on TV were doing this in my ear. Vietnam is a lot of things, but quiet ain't one of them!!
After all that, though, we arrived at our hotel (by a very expensive but QUIET taxi), and it has all been worth it. Our bungalow has the BEST bathroom we have had in the whole country (a big deal for both of us) and we SO lucked out. Anthony noticed that we had an internet cord hanging in the corner of our little deck. Sure enough, if we leave the window open we can run the cord through and use an actual internet connection in our room. SO if you stay at "Beach Star" (Sau Bien in VN) ask for bungalow 39. Wah-hoo. Oh, yeah, this place got rave reviews in traveladvisor.com for good reason. OMG they are SOOOO wonderfully accomodating, and man, that is really, really something coming from this crazy lady who always wants extra soap, extra towels, to book this, to ask about that..... I am a pest, and I know it, and they have been wonderful.
Tonight, we went for a walk as the sun went down on the beach and discovered that the beach is infinitely cleaner than Mui Ne, but our little stretch is absolutely groomed. No, really, I watched a guy sweep it on and off for the better part of 2 hours while I read a book this afternoon. It was impressive.
Tomorrow we go on a snorkeling/fishing/beach sunbathing trip through the southern tip of the island and throughout the little archipelago down there. If it works out, we'll book another tour with this guy. He actually came to the beach to get my money when I called him to book our tour. I didn't have to leave my chair!!! You have GOT to love this place!
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