Day 3: Can Tho to Phu Quoc August 1st, 2009

I slept for only a few hours until 5:30 AM. This same employee took me to a friend of his, who was willing to take me around for 60,000 VNDs, a little over $3. I thought that was fair since she has to row for an hour.
We almost got there too early. People lived on these boats. Some started smoking and brushing their teeth, peeking out the windows of the boats.
This could be romantic.I had porridge (10,000 VNDs) and ice coffee (5,000 VNDs). It was awesome.
So after this little adventure, we came up shore at 7 AM. This woman then took me to her home and woke up this girl still asleep. Through small gestures, I discovered that she was trying to hook us up.
Before I knew it, I was surrounded by 15 people. Through speaking to a couple that understood a little English, I discovered that the girl is sister-in-law to the woman and sister to hostel employee. The couple asked me for my address and phone number, where I am from, what I do for a living and whether I was married. The husband claims to be a businessman and might travel to the US. Moments later, the girl asked me for my contact information as well. I laughed out loud and asked the husband for the cause. He said she will write to me. I asked in what language. He said she will write me letters in Vietnamese.

That was rather interesting. I left the families and the neighbors and got on another bus to Phu Quoc, the rather unknown but gorgeous island just south of Cambodia. The bus left around 9 AM and we got to Rach Gia, a port city, at 12 AM. I met a local about my age. I then found it was a huge mistake not buying the ticket for the boat to Phu Quoc. These tickets are harder to find than a ticket to the Yankees! The local boy spoke only few words of English. He was kind though, as he paid for my moto driver (~15,000 VNDs) and the 500 VNDs for the bathroom. Well, he gestured that we would eventurally sneak onto the boat. But judging by his facial expression when he talked to the gatekeepers, it seemed impausible. I made my own effort sneaking on the boat. I walked into the boat wanting to find an opportunity to argue with the captain. Well, I thought I was through when I got to the second level. But they found me and kicked me out without letting me through the captain. The local boy then told me that we should eat and still at Rach Gia for the night until the boat runs again at 8 AM next morning.

I just could not do that, which meant I were to stay here and waste a day of time. I found a moto driver and explained my situation to him and the local boy. He found someone who was scalping the tickets for 350,000 VNDs while the 240,000 VNDs. I had no choice but to take it. The gate crew let me in without problem this time. Just 15 minutes later, the local boy also showed up. I found later that as a local, he did not have to pay.

So we left around 2 o'clock and arrived at the island at 4:30 PM. I paid 20,000 VNDs to arrive at the middle of the island with the boy, who introduced me to some friends that own a family restaurant. I had a fruit and a Sprite before I departed for the beach. An elder man who is friend to the boy took me to a resort with only president's suites (1,400,000 VNDs). I was never going to stay there! I walked around and found a hotel (200,000 VNDs) in the shortest amount of time. After checking into Khach San A74 Hotel, I walked out to find the beach, which was nice, but a little disappointed as it was a little overhyped in my head.

I was famished. I found a moto driver to take me to find snakes, which was hard to find. We turned into a road on a hill without lights and I thought for a moment I was being robbed. Well, not really. I had one snake for snake soup and another for fried snake. They total to 400 mg and costed me 180,000 VNDs. To be honest, it was disappointing as well. Snake in China were mediocre but satisfactory compared to this. They do not split the meat and the skin here, making it impossible to eat without prying the skin off the meat using my hands.
He is the main chief.

I have no idea what this is. May be one of you can enlighten me about this fish with feet.
I then looked for the famous Rainbow Bar on the beach, only to find it closed. I met a couple of German guys on vacation with their fiancees. We had a cocktail called Phu Quoc at a small bar up the beach. Phu Quoc is really not a party town. Nearly all the bars are closed by 10. They stayed at a bar called something Blue and I took a moto to another bar 2 Kms away, only to find it closed also. Finding wondering around only resulted me conversations with French owners to empty bars, I then finally went home at around 2 AM. It was funny. I did not realize it was only Saturaday and not Sunday night, which meant I had one more day at Vietnam. I was to wake up at 6 tomorrow morning to see Suoi Tranh waterfalls before I leave for My Tho, a town I was going to skip but had the river canals that I really desired to see.