Phu Quoc left its indelible mark on me on our first visit in 2011. The memories of the rustic feel of the province, the fresh seafood, and the warmth of its people make me want to go back. And luckily, our office chose PQ as it’s destination for this year’s 2015 retreat. 🙂

We stayed at the newly opened Salinda Premium which was just a quick 10-minute ride away from the PQ International Airport. But more on that later.

After devoting the whole of Saturday to office events, Sunday gave us an opportunity to explore the island. And since I brought my whole family plus mom, we decided to check out what PQ is famous for — 3Ps – pearls, pepper, and pristine beaches.

Pearls

Salinda helped get us a taxi with an English speaking driver, anh Xuan to take us around town. And first stop was the Ngoc Hien Pearl farm. Outside the showroom were a couple of people explaining the pearl development process.

An actual oyster was shown and out came the pearl from its gonad. 😛

The color of the pearl can be guessed from the color of the oyster’s shell.

The pearls are cultured anywhere from 3 to 6 years or longer. The larger the pearl, the more expensive it is, of course! Just check out their prices above!

You can also have your own accessory customized for you as Ngoc Hien is able to do so on site.

Prices start at 500,000 VND for a pair of earrings.

Pristine Beaches

There was a perfectly good beach out front Salinda which is Long Beach. But people visiting PQ ride to the white sands of Sao Beach. Unlike our first encounter of Sao Beach in 2011 — where the beach and waves were quiet, this weekend was the complete opposite!

There were tourists, tourists, and more tourists!!! Even the sudden rain showers didn’t scare them away.

The furious waves were a stark contrast from our last visit.

I just hope the tourists would take care of this beach. I’ve seen some trash here and there, but otherwise, the place is still beautiful.

See how clean the sand is? You can hardly see my writing of Phu Quoc 2015. 😀

Pepper

The kids — especially my youngest hates sand, so we didn’t get to spend much time at Sao Beach. Nor were we able to eat a sumptuous meal at the beach. Sigh. Kids.

So we were off to the Pepper Farm.

Anh Xuan said that it was the off season so as you can see, the vines were not that thick but we did spot a lot of pepper.

It was a treat for the kids —

The lady in the farm was sorting pepper for selling — must be an arduous process!

And of course we had to buy some for home.

They also sell other condiments too!

The friendly Vietnamese lady let us eat all the green mangoes we want dipped in their special fish paste blend.

Phu Quoc is also famous for its fish sauce, but sadly, we didn’t get to visit the factory. Oh well, all the more reason to go back!

You can read about our PQ adventure in 2011 here.