Good morning and we're at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok.
And today is a special day because I'm going to fly direct flight by Bangkok Airways to Phu Quoc Island,
a rising star in Southeast Asia.
Let's follow me!
Phu Quoc island is in the west coast of Vietnam.
Travelers around the world come here for its beautiful nature and local culture.
Let's go around the island together.
My local friend told me to come to this place. It's called Ho Quoc Pagada.
It's the largest Buddhist pagoda on the island and it was just opened back in late 2012.
Alright. We're going to explore around the area today.
Wow! This is a wide-angle view of the sea.
I've never seen religious places that is this close to the sea and it's surrounded by statues of gods and goddesses,
especially the highest one 'Guan Im', who is the goddess of the sea whom local people really respect.
And, please note that you have to dress appropriately, not sleeveless shirt or too short pants.
You have to pay respect a bit the local place here.
And when entering the main building where there are a lot of holy statues in it, please take off your shoes.
Wow! Ha....The air is so fresh here!
It is so refreshing.
Here I am on 'Sao Beach' or 'Bai Sao'.
This is probably the most famous beach on the island.
It's so beautiful. Especially... I really love the sand. It is really white.
The powdery white sand beach.
It's connected to the Bay Area. It's called the Emerald Bay.
This is the southern part of the island and people usually come here to hang out .
And it is, of course, a great spot for photos.
'Bay Sao' means 'Star Beach'.
It is because we can find a lot of starfish around here especially in the morning and the evening time.
It's quite a peaceful beach.
Yeah.
Around here, not many people, not many boats.
So, we cannot hear any noise. Very peaceful.
The weather is good too.
So, this is called what? The Beach?
Vung Bao Beach.
Vung Bao Beach?
Yeah.
But in Vietnamese language, you say 'Bai'?
Bai.
Bai Vung Bao.
So, 'Bai' means ' Beach'?
Yeah. 'Bay means 'Beach'.
This is in the north part of Mango Bay?
Yes, northwest part. Near Mango Bay.
A-huh.
So, this is one of the most famous beaches?
Yeah. One of the most famous.
So, there are only a few hotels around.
Yes.
Are you thirsty?
Yes.
OK. May be we can order some drinks?
They have some soft drinks?
Yes, they have.
In the southern part of the island, it is called 'An Thoi' town or 'An Thoi' region.
There's a lot of history to learn around here.
The Navy base is also located in this area.
Here I am right now at the port. It's called 'An Thoi' port.
And, you can see two kinds of boats - fishing boats and also tourism boats or boats for travellers
because nowadays, there are more and more tourists coming to Phu Quoc Island for snorkelling, for fishing, for diving,
or just for relaxing on the islands that you can choose from.
Around here, there are fishing villages, local shops, restaurants and cafes.
And not far from here, there are famous beaches like 'Sao Beach'.
Here in Phu Quoc, there is a historical site that you should come to learn about the history of the island.
Here I am at the Coconut Tree Prison.
This is where you will learn a lot of stories during the time of the war in Vietnam.
This is one of the saddest things I've ever seen.
It is the thing that was used to torture prisoners at Phu Quoc jail.
This was called 'Tiger Cage'.
Any jail branch had two or three cages.
The cage was made by thickly knitting barbed wire on surrounding sites and on the top.
There were many kinds of cages with different sizes like one prisoner cage or three to five prisoner cage.
If you want to spend your holiday in boutique style,
on the west coast, there is a French seaside mansion called 'La Veranda Resort'.
I love the design, the people, the tropical gardens,
and the best thing is we can watch beautiful sunset every day from here.
In the morning, there is Yoga activity here.
Oh! Really?
Yeah. I think it's really good for our health.
Ah. I saw a lot of people swimming. It is very calm. No waves.
And, the sun is just setting in front of us. So, this is the west part of the island.
Yeah.
where the hotel is located.
Not only the guests inside, I see many outside quests come here to enjoy the beach and the sunset.
Ah.
You see. It is very beautiful.
On the western part of the island, there is a small local temple called 'Dinh Cau Temple'.
And, because it's on the west, the most beautiful time is, of course, in the evening
because the sun is setting just behind the temple.
Along the way to the temple, you can see local people hanging around here.
They are buying food from local food vendors.
And, there are a lot of people swimming in the sea or just chilling on the beach, seeing the sunset together.
Some also climbing a little bit onto the temple to pay respect that to the Buddha images over there.
Also, there are a lot of fishing boats around here.
So, this is a very local spot on Phu Quoc Island.
Fly to PHU QUOC with Bangkok Airways, Asia's Boutique Airline.
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