Phu Quoc March 2008
I recently visited Phu Quoc and stayed in the Thien Hai Son Resort, which was far less appealing as compared to Sasco Blue Lagoon. At Thien Hai Son, the seaview bungalow I stayed in cost roughly $50USD a night. Last year, a Sasco Blue Lagoon beachfront bungalow cost $48USD — this year, a whooping $103USD. The beaches were also less appealing than a year ago, as everything seemed to erode much quicker in Vietnam. Luckily, the ocean was still almost as clear as what I remembered. Airfare from Saigon to Phu Quoc was roughtly $600K Dongs.
One thing worth mentioning was Bun Ken, which is very similar to Bun Cari, but it tastes so good. Interestingly, five of these bows, four dishes of Banh Khot, and three fresh coconuts total up to $26K Dongs, not even $2USD. What an amazing deal!
Saigon River Tour
On Wednesday March 5, we had dinner on the Saigon Boat, touring the Saigon River for an hour. The weather was perfect and we were seated on top deck, so the views and the breeze were very appealing. The boat had three levels, each with a different type of music. Menu items ran from roughly 50K to 150K, but we spent just 315K for tickets (13K each), a Lau Hai San for two, a Fried Rice with Crabmeat, and drinks. They don’t serve ice teas here, but the waiter was nice enough to make me three glasses of Vietnamese ice tea — they were good.
Regarding schedule, the tour boat leaves at 8:30PM and returns at 9:30PM, but I suggest you get there at about 7:00PM, order your food, and finish you meal early, so that you can have dedicated time to enjoy the breeze and the views surrounding the Saigon River as soon as it leaves dock. By the way, the dock is Ben Bach Dang right across from the Majestic Hotel.
There are four or five boats from which you can choose, but we chose the one that didn’t have marketing people pester us. I think they are all comparable, because they all take the same route. Listen to the music they play to see whether you like it and just get on the one that looks appealing to you. Bon voyage!
Salon Prices
I’ve briefly blogged about the hotel and food prices, but after a few days in Saigon, I can attest to the fact that everthing seems to be much more expensive as compared to a year ago. I went to a salon to get a face and hair wash, and it cost me 140K dongs, which is more than twice as expensive as compared to a last year. Last year, it was 60K dongs and they even serve you fresh fruits. Fruits are of the bygones now.
Actually, $25USD for a night at a hotel next to Ben Thanh Market is considered competitive now, because after checking around, comparable rooms go for $35 through $70USD.
I think this trend will continue.
Phan Thiet and Mui Ne
We left Saigon for Phan Thiet on Monday afternoon. The drive was roughly four hours, taking Quoc Lo 1. We stayed in a pretty nice resort (I’ll get the name later). Compared to Blue Lagoon in Phu Quoc, it’s older but it has live entertainment nightly. I got a feel of Cancun here, though nowhere nearly as nice. The beach at this resort is less than desirable in terms of cleanliness in the morning, but by noon workers have removed the majority of trash in the ocean — not a simple task.
We stopped at a seaside restaurant called Cay Bang, which I highly recommend. We had Cua Huynh De and some huge snails (I’ll try to get this name later) whose pearls, which are rarely found, can worth up to several hundred thousand dollars, as explained by the owner of Cay Bang. At this restaurant, I also tried fire bananas, which are simply delicious.
One place of significance was a small temple of Ong Dia, naturally formed from a rock off the ocean shore. We were told that one lady won a big lottery by praying to this statue, so she created a small temple for Ong Dia as a token of thanks.
It’s also in Phan Thiet that I tasted the best Banh Beo in all of Vietnam. The sauce that they make for this Banh Beo is simply delicious and only found in Phan Thiet.
Binh Chanh
Yesterday, I took a cab to Quan Binh Chanh in Saigon about thirty minutes from the New World Hotel to have lunch at my friend’s house. We had awesomely fresh seafood, including clams and fish, right off a backyard pond. Along the way there, I saw so many new developments, especially high-rise condos, built on land that was used to be rice patties. This city is really booming. Realestate here has not gone down at all.