A few quiet days in Ho Coc

Well independent travel has its ups and downs. The trade off for the freedom to make your decisions on the fly is that sometimes the accomodations and flights to where you want to go are all booked up. Such was the case when we tried to find flights and accomodations in Phu Quoc, an island in the south of Vietnam. So we went with our fall back plan--a few days on a stretch of beach known as Ho Coc about 2 hours northeast of Saigon. So we hired a car and driver to deliver us for a few days of R&R.

On first arrival, we were a little dissappointed--the place was deserted, the wind was blowing and there didn't seem like much to do. It took us about a day to settle in and decide that we really liked the place. The little hotel where we stayed was owned by a wonderful older couple who were very welcoming--they even threw a New Year's party for their guests.

We spent an afternoon at the local hotsprings resort. Billed as an Eco-tourist resort, the place had nothing to do with ecological-correctness and everything to do with Vietnamese kitsch. Plastic animals roamed the forest and you could buy chicken eggs, rent a basket and hard-boil your eggs in the hotsprings! Apparently it's quite the thing to do for Vietnamese tourists. The place was nearly empty of visitors on the day we went save for a handfull of Russians in the hotsprings.

The highlight of this strange place, however, was coming upon a encaged habitat of 100+ crocodiles. At first we thought it was just more plastic animals, then they started moving. A little Vietnamese man who spoke no English unlocked the enclosure and invited us in. Thank goodness the bridge was sturdy. Anna and Courtney got to "angle" the crocs at 10,000 D each (about 60 cents). What magnificent creatures. Then we were beckoned over another wire mesh gate and got to see where the baby and juvenile crocs were kept. They made little baby noises when the guy got in the pen to feed them and all crowded in a corner. It is the little surprises like this that have made Vietnam so fascinating and unforgettable.

The next day the empty beach came to life as busload after busload of day-trippers from Saigon arrived at our beach. We were no longer the only table at our beachfront cafe--but we didn't mind. It was fun watching the locals relaxing and having fun--such a difference from the hardworking image of Vietnamese that we have seen so much on our trip.

We caught a hydrofoil up the Saigon River from the coast and now, we're back in Saigon for a night. The big plans for the evening are to visit a famous ice cream parlor known as Fanny's. Fanny's has a special on the first Friday of every month, you can get all the ice cream you can eat for about 65,000 Dong (roughly $4). The kids have been talking about it for the last few days and are already planning to each a very small dinner to make room for the good stuff!

And tomorrow we'll check out the Saigon Art Museum and then catch a late afternoon flight back to Hanoi for our final stop on our tour.