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| Wind turbine on Phú Quý island There are 3 wind turbines and 6 generators to supply power to 26,000 people living on the island. |
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| A boat was under repair I rented a motorbike for a half day and traveled around the island. There are 3 communes and this shot was taken in the third commune. |
1 March 2013 – I arrived at the port in Phan Thiết city one hour earlier than the departure time. Every two days there is a big ship going to the island. This ship can carry 400 passengers and tons of goods. Only some people could buy tickets for bunk beds if they booked earlier. Most passengers sit or lie down on the floor (see photos No. 32 and 46) and I saw them everywhere as there was no fixed seat. I heard pig screaming so I went out and saw a lorry carrying pigs. Some people were pushing pigs into the ship, while the pigs didn’t want to travel to the island and they were screaming. During the whole trip, I heard pigs screaming, but there was no pig smell because they were put into the lower level of the ship.
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| Welcome to Phú Quý island! Welcome symbol near the pier |
Since the island is under military control, it’s difficult for foreigners to get a permit to visit it. There were four foreign tourists in my ship and they went to the island for surfing. When the ship arrived at the island, it was 7:30pm and I saw a crowd there waiting to meet their relatives or picking the goods sent from the mainland. I found a guesthouse near the port. At 9pm the road was completely quiet and there were only a few people going by motorbike.
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| Huỳnh Đế crab - local specialty This type of crab has red color (US$15 for a kg) and different with all crabs I've seen. |
2 March 2013 - I rented a motorbike for a half day and it only cost US$3. There are 3 communes on the island with population of 26,000 people. I followed the main road and went through 3 communes. On the way I saw people working on rooftop of a church, some pagodas, a school where pupils were camping, government offices, as well as beaches and local houses. In some military areas there is a board warning “No film, no camera”. There are three wind turbines and six generators to supply power on the island and the locals can get electricity for 18 hours per day (from 5am to 11pm).
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| Great view opposite to a military base camp I saw a few motorbikes of fishermen parked by a concrete wall, so I came and saw this great view. |
I also saw some locals boiling Huỳnh Đế crabs which are a local specialty and fishes. Oysters cannot live in this sea area. The locals can catch squid, shrimp, crabs, snails and various types of fishes. Most young people do fishing works or go to study in Phan Thiết city. Many people also have two houses on the island and in the city. Fishing works and exporting sea products are the major works and income for the locals. I also found a place where people were drying snail shells and packing them into boxes for export.
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| Motorbikes on the ship These motorbikes of the local people were put onto the ship for transporting from Phú Quý island to Phan Thiết city. They had to pay some fee for this service. |
The local people on Phú Quý island speak a completely different Vietnamese language. I couldn’t understand what they were talking, so I asked what language they talked to each other. They said “It’s Vietnamese”, but they have changed the language in their own way.
3 March 2013 - The last morning when I was walking down a street toward the port for going back to the mainland, some local people I talked with the days before waved goodbye to me and wished me good luck. When the ship was leaving the port, it passed by other fishing boats and I saw local men having breakfast. They beat bowls and pots and this sound made me feel like saying goodbye. It was another ship ride back to the mainland, but this time it only took five and a half hours. I got sea sick during the time so I lay down in one place. It was even worse than my last ship ride because the waves were even higher and things moved around me.
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| A pagoda on the island I just arrived at the island at 7:30pm. I had to travel for six and a half hours by ship. I was walking to find a guesthouse and saw this pagoda. |
I don’t know when I will go back to this island, maybe many years later when the island develops. I heard that a hydrofoil would be provided to the island at the end of this year. It will make the boat ride shorter (only 3 hours instead of 6.5 hours like now) and there would be comfortable seats for passengers.
Travel tips: Foreigners must get a permit to visit Phú Quý island because it’s under military control. You must contact a guesthouse on the island and they will help you get the permit in Phan Thiết city. There were hydrofoils in the past but now they don’t work, so the only choice is local ship which takes a long time to travel and dirty condition. Ticket for a bunk bed is VND 250,000 (US$12), ticket for a seat is VND 150,000 (US$7). I expected to visit Hòn Tranh island by taking a boat from Phú Quý island, but it was impossible. A military officer said it was allowed but the local fishing boat was unsafe without life jacket, and if something happens, the boat owners will be charged fine. Hòn Tranh is a small island which is under military control and no local people living there. A local man told me that there was no any foreign visitor to Hòn Tranh island during the last four months. Now both Vietnamese and foreigners seem impossible to visit
this island.
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