Before joining the group, I made my first overseas trip (eight days and seven nights in Japan) thanks to the posts of group member uu. I was extremely satisfied and grateful!
This time, we completed the seven-day tour of Vietnam's National Day based on the group's posts about Phu Quoc Island. So I'm posting here to update the group.
Picture by Me:
I finally chose the alternative paper visa as recommended online. The prices were similar across different providers, and I picked one with a good service attitude. One more thing to mention is that this visa is very important. Whether it's for entering or exiting the country, or for staying at hotels in Ho Chi Minh City, it needs to be checked. Make sure to keep it safe.
SIM card: The visa-issuing company said that adding ten or twenty more yuan would give you a free one. However, after some research, the signal of the one they gave was not good, so I gave up. I bought one from the online recommendation, and the signal was okay. Then I set up a hotspot for another person to use because most hotels have Wi-Fi, so one SIM card would be enough. But if you often travel separately, it would be more suitable to each of you buying one. PS: There were also quotas for activating the SIM card, and originally I was supposed to activate it on October 1st, but when the SIM card arrived, the merchant said it was full, so I could only activate it on October 2nd or choose a less favorable package. I chose to activate it the next day.
Travel insurance: Last time I went to Japan, I didn't buy insurance. Later I realized that it's necessary to buy insurance for every trip to avoid risks. I bought the Asian version of Allianz, but this time everything went smoothly, and the flight was not delayed much. If the airline was VietJet, it would be recommended to buy a more lenient delay insurance.
Slippers, sun hats, and other miscellaneous items: This time we used flip-flops throughout, which was very convenient. But since I didn't go out much during the day when lying down, the sun protection items didn't get much use. However, it's still recommended to bring them. Many people on the beach were tanned.
Cash: Some banks in China also allow exchanging cash, but the exchange rate was poor. This time we brought 2,000 RMB in cash to exchange locally. But we didn't exchange it all at once.
Taxi and food delivery: I registered Grab in China in advance, which is a combination of domestic taxi and food delivery platforms. If you have a Visa credit card, you can link it. If not, you can choose to pay in cash.
Translation: Actually, the English skills of the hotel staff in Vietnam were decent, but some had accents. So I downloaded the [Tencent Translator] app in advance, and it was quite useful. I used it for taxi rides and chatting. I relied on this translation.
Maps: Outside, we still relied on Google Maps, including searching for restaurants. I felt that Google was slightly more reliable.
Medicines: We prepared some common medicines. Painkillers, allergy medicine, stomach medicine, etc. This time we didn't eat anything from street vendors, so we haven't used them yet.
Itinerary:
10.1
Beijing to Ho Chi Minh City (Always on the way)
10.2
We landed at the airport in the early morning and there were an extremely large number of people. Someone on the internet said that giving money could get you a faster entry process, but we didn't want to do that, so we just queued up honestly. It took about an hour to enter the country. Following the guide on the internet, we found the place to take a taxi, entered the hotel address and took a taxi to the hotel to rest.
PS: For the first time, when using Grab, you can either use your membership or purchase a coupon package for a tourist. This way, you can enjoy significant discounts when taking a taxi or ordering food online later. Before leaving, create a reminder to remember to unsubscribe.
10.2
After checking out, I took a taxi to the gold store to exchange the money. When I went there, the exchange rate was 1:3650. But later I heard that the exchange rate for US dollars was better, so I could also consider withdrawing US dollars in cash to exchange the money. There were such services available in the local guidebook. At first, I considered it, but I was afraid it might not be reliable. Thinking that it wouldn't cost much anyway, I decided not to take the risk.
Gold store address:
Ha Tam Jewelry 2 Nguyễn An Ninh, Phường Bến Thành, Quận 1, Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam
After exchanging the money, make sure to count it and check for any damages. We discovered that one of the 200,000 bills was missing a corner when using it on Fuwu Island later. However, it could still be used, but the other party wasn't very happy about it.
After exchanging the money, I strolled around the area. The food at the stalls smelled delicious, but our stomachs were weak so we didn't dare to eat. So we just randomly searched for a rice noodle shop on Google. When we went there, we found it was a popular restaurant. There were a lot of people, but the queue wasn't too long and it was quite tasty.
After finishing the meal, we took a taxi to the airport. We didn't need to check in by luggage. Using the VietJet self-check-in machine, the check-in process was very smooth and the security check was very easy. Water could be brought through the security check, and it was quite lenient in inspection, but slippers were required (I have no idea why)
The flight was delayed for about an hour, so it was already past seven when we landed. We took a taxi to the hotel and checked in.
10.3
The hotel we checked into was a resort in the central area, offering a buffet breakfast. So we got up very early and it was definitely worth it! Having breakfast facing the sea was extremely blissful! And the breakfast options were numerous and extremely delicious!!
After having breakfast, I went over to the nearby beach chairs and lay down to enjoy the sea breeze. It was very comfortable.
I checked out at noon and went to the largest Jiong Jing supermarket in the central area to buy some water, snacks, etc. It turned out to be very necessary. Things in the south are sold too expensively. Then I took a taxi to the south, but unexpectedly it was so far, about 20 kilometers. Then I checked into the hotel in the south.
The hotels in the south are all located in Dayou Town. The hotel we stayed in has a view of the sea outside the window, and the view is quite good. However, the service was just average. We left around four o'clock in the afternoon and went out to enjoy the sunset and the colorful sky. It was quite comfortable.
Then I'll go back to the hotel and lie down again. Later in the evening, I'll go out to the night market to buy some food. At 9:30, I'll watch a fireworks show. It lasts for only five minutes, but it's very enjoyable.
10.4
The hotel still included breakfast, but the portion was very small. After having breakfast, I went for a walk by the seaside. The weather was really nice. I checked out at noon and then took a taxi back to another hotel in the central area. It turns out that we shouldn't have behaved like this. Either we should have stayed in the south area from the beginning and stayed for a few more days, or we should have stayed in the central area. Otherwise, it would have been too troublesome. Maybe we were just too lazy.
Checked into the hotel 1 hour in advance. The view was great. Although it wasn't a sea-view room, you could still catch a glimpse of the sea. The tree scenery outside was also extremely beautiful.
Lying in the rocking chair and enjoying the view outside is extremely comfortable.
I lay down and went out to look for food around 4 p.m. The seafood rice noodles recommended by the girls from Xiaomou Book were quite tasty. But in the night market, there were too many people promoting things, and I ran away in panic.
I strolled from the night market to the supermarket to do some shopping. After I finished, I noticed that the sun was about to set. So I didn't go to the beach. Instead, I went to the top floor of the hotel to watch the sunset. I drank some beverages, breathed the evening breeze, and it was very comfortable.
10.5
I still got up very early in the morning to have breakfast. I found that when in a relaxed state, one can wake up painlessly.
After eating, I went back to lie down. I ordered takeout for lunch. The seafood porridge was super delicious! At around 4 PM, I went to the beach to wait for the sunset and watch the sunset colors. At around 7 PM, I returned to the hotel and continued to lie down. I also went to the rooftop to drink beverages and enjoy the cool evening breeze.
10.6
Had breakfast in the morning, ordered takeout for lunch. Ordered the seafood porridge from the previous day, it was extremely delicious. Extended check-out time to 4 PM. The hotel is really great.
After checking out, I went to the supermarket to buy some souvenirs for my friend. The chicken feet were very delicious and I really liked them. Then I took a taxi to the airport.
The airport on Phu Quoc Island doesn't have self-check-in machines. You have to wait in a long queue. However, the check-in process and security check are quite quick. The plane lands in Ho Chi Minh City at night.
I took a taxi to the hotel to check in, then ordered takeout. But the restaurant closed and they cancelled my order. So I gave up. I bought instant noodles at the convenience store, but they weren't tasty.
10.7
I woke up very early in the morning and got up to order two takeout meals. One was rice noodles, and the other was a very popular French bread. As it turned out, the two of us ordered two of each, and we simply couldn't finish them all. After checking out, since it was a night flight, we needed a place to rest. So we booked another room to relax. Haha, it was so funny. So I'm lying in bed writing this guide.
Let's take a few more pictures, please.
