A NOOK OF UNSPOILT NATURE

We have already reported that the Vietnamese government has decided to offer visa-free travel to tourists. Visa-free entry into the country is to start next year. But there are already places in Vietnam where you can fly for two weeks without a visa. So, why not spend the New Year on the shores of the Gulf of Siam.

You can get to the island of Phu Quoc on a charter flight and also by changing planes at any Vietnamese airport. The flight to the island from Vietnam's southern capital Ho Chi Minh City only took our media group roughly an hour.

"You have been lucky…"

On the island we were met by torrential rainfall. Rainy weather is nothing surprising in these parts and is a normal phenomenon, but it is not true that rain lasts all day. After just a few minutes the sun appears from behind the clouds, so you can calmly go to the beach to sunbathe. But, if you do want to spend your holiday by the sea, then you should choose to go to Phu Quoc from November through April or, even better and by no means strange, in January or February. In these calendar months of winter are balmy autumn months on the island of Phu Quoc.

"You are lucky that it has started to rain. This means the island is pleased that you have come," the HG Travel agency's guide who met us at the airport joked, when he saw the obvious disappointment on the faces of the Azerbaijani journalists at seeing the rain. He went on to explain that, although Vietnam does not suffer from a shortage of rainy days, in this country rain has long been associated with kindness and abundance and if you "brought" it with you, it means you come here in peace. "Phu Quoc has survived many wars, which have been bound to have an impact on the life and popular beliefs of the people," our guide explained.

The islanders greatly value their peaceful life today, since they have suffered sufficiently from wars throughout their history. Three centuries ago, Phu Quoc belonged to Cambodia, but, after the latter's decline, the island was handed over to Vietnam. Cambodia has made periodic attempts to get Phu Quoc back, but without success.

In the years of French colonisation and during the Vietnam War, the island was used by the French and the Americans as a camp for political prisoners and prisoners of war. Even now the island's prison reminds tourists of the horrors of those years.

We did not have time to visit the prison museum on Phu Quoc. Our itinerary was so packed and interesting that we spent more time than allocated everywhere. But then we managed to go round the local Buddhist temple which was a no less interesting sight. There we were lucky enough to see a monk, who the guide explained, usually shuns tourists. The monk at the Phu Quoc temple not only came out to greet us, but was not averse to being photographed. Although, no matter how hard we tried, we were not able to capture any kind of emotion on his face. We would very much like to believe that the recluse really was pleased to welcome the visitors from a distant land who wished to learn about Buddhist culture for themselves.

The three pillars of Phu Quoc's economy

On Phu Quoc we were of course taken to the black pepper plantation as well. Vietnam is the world's largest exporter of black pepper. The incomes from the sale of this culture form one of the pillars supporting Phu Quoc's economy. The black aromatic pepper is probably found in every kitchen. But this was the first time that we had seen how it was grown.

Although there is nothing magical about it, the plant is just like any other plant. The bunches of green pepper berries [drupes] hang from tall green bushes like bunches of grapes. The farm has a little shop at which the peppercorns [dried pepper berries] and various spices made from them are sold. "Whereas Brazil is known for its coffee, Phu Quoc is known for its pepper," the guide told us delightedly and listed the nutritional properties of this culture.

Fishing is another main item of income for the islanders. Here they catch fish, seafood, and, what is most important, they make the fish sauce which is very popular in Vietnam. The islanders believe it is the best in the world. They are proud of their invention and always include a visit to the factory producing the sauce in the itinerary for foreign tourists. We also had to go to the factory, but we did not try the sauce as it had quite a pungent smell. 

Yet another specific product of this island is pearls. Set up in 1998, the main pearl-producing farm has become a popular tourist attraction on the island today. Here they told us how the pearls are cultivated in natural and artificial conditions and showed them to us. The main thing is that you get the opportunity to buy real sea pearls straight from the pearl producers 

In short, fishing, pepper cultivation and pearl production are considered traditional spheres, around which the economy of Phu Quoc has historically been concentrated. But the Vietnamese authorities have not restricted the direct incomes from these spheres, deciding to take advantage of the possibilities they offer to attract tourists to this island, which is in itself enticing anyway.

Beaches, mountains and coral reefs

The beautiful natural environment, the golden, sandy beaches, the crystal clear, clean sea and other beautiful attributes are attracting masses of tourists both from other parts of Vietnam and from abroad here every year. The island is particularly popular with tourists from Europe and of late with tourists from Russia.

The island's biggest tourist attraction is the beaches which have not been touched by the hand of progress. In Vietnam they assert that these are the cleanest and most beautiful beaches in the world.

Here you can not only bask in the rays of the tropical sun on the sparkling soft sand, but you can also get to know the extremely rich underwater world of the Pacific Ocean. The emerald-coloured clean water, the colourful underwater world and the coral reefs make the island attractive to diving enthusiasts as well.

Besides the breath-taking sea-scapes, Phu Quoc is famous for its low, but very picturesque mountains. It is not for nothing that they call it the "island of 99 mountains". A national park is located there, where you can enjoy all the splendours of the local natural environment. So you can dilute a sedentary holiday lying on the beach with climbing one of the mountains or taking a nature trek to the relict forests and to the rivers and waterfalls. 

As the largest of Vietnam's islands in area, Phu Quoc was inaccessible to tourists. But today the island's tourist infrastructure is undergoing its own renaissance. Phu Quoc's international airport, which can cater for seven million passengers per year, opened exactly three years ago, in December 2012. Many hotels, restaurants and new roads are being built. Phu Quoc is to get its own safari park very soon. At Vietnam's National Tourism Adminis-tration they say that it will be the second biggest safari park in the world. They feel confident that the number of tourists wishing to visit this nook of unspoilt nature will keep on growing more and more over the next few years.