Tết – To a remote island: Journey to Dao Phu Qui ❸ (Written by Ho)

The day before yesterday (February 7th), I promptly went out to get vaccinated and safely received my first dose of the Pfizer vaccine. Since I had COVID last July, I figured I probably had antibodies and would be fine, so I was taking it easy — but yesterday I was knocked out with fever, fatigue, and arm pain. I couldn't even get out of bed, let alone write a blog post. But having COVID itself was even harder — it brought back the nightmare from six months ago all over again. Still, now that I've recovered and am even able to travel again, I feel so happy!! So, with that said, here's the continuation from here. 【Feb 2–5, 2022: A 4-day, 3-night trip to a remote island】 To talk about the charm of Dao Phu Qui, three nights are nowhere near enough. The hunch I felt the moment I set foot on the island turned out to be right. The jet boat, scheduled to depart at 10:00, actually left around 10:20. It sped across the sea as if flying, rocking the hull left and right in an amusing way, as if playing a game of splashing waves against the window— white waves washed over the window again and again. Even my friend, whose hobby is diving and who dives all over the world, Enough to make you say, "This is insane, going this fast..." Having put myself under a kind of self-suggestion that if I felt sick, the worst that could happen is I'd just fall asleep, I let all the strength drain from my whole body each time it drifted gently up and down. The sensation of being toyed with by gravity gradually started to feel enjoyable, and come to think of it, sometimes it had been just like this before too, on a plane flying through bad weather — and as I recalled that moment with my eyes closed, I drifted in and out of sleep. When I carelessly opened my eyes, the rows of seats lined up ahead, and the TV monitors hanging from the ceiling... I could see it tilting at an outrageous angle. At times like this, don't we humans send a signal to our brain saying, "Pull yourself together! Straighten up!"? So here, I try to shut out my sense of balance by squeezing my eyes tightly shut. I was told as a kid that looking far into the distance helps, but even using the waves out there as a reference point, I still know my body is tilted right now, and it just confuses me. All I can do here is sleep. And when we arrived around 12:30, I felt refreshed. We moved to the villa and unpacked.

This time we're staying at a small villa on the southwest side of the island, right in front of the sea. It's run by a young female owner — the building is compact but has a real sense of cleanliness. The fridge is nice and cold with beer inside, and best of all, the view from the balcony is amazing. We took the room on the second floor, with our friends staying next door.

Arrival ritual ~ cheers! I brought both red and white wine, I was in such a great mood that I completely forgot to take photos. And so the feast begins ~ party time, party time Joy at having safely arrived, together with the most amazing view. We toasted with the Tiger beer that was in the fridge! Munching on beer and snacks, we discussed our plans for the afternoon. To get a feel for the island, we decided to first ride around on a motorbike for about an hour or so, and then figure out the rest from there. There are so many little alleys (hem) leading down to the sea. On both sides stand rows of single-story houses.

To block out the strong sunlight, partition curtains hang like sheets. The once-flashy printed pattern has faded, and the gentle texture is actually rather charming. Unlike Ho Chi Minh City, small houses line up throughout, and every scene that comes into view feels fresh and new.

Even riding along the main street, there aren't any tall street trees, dozens of meters high. I don't know if they're pruned so they won't snap in strong winds, or if that's just the kind of tree they naturally are, but here and there I saw kids not even old enough for elementary school casually grabbing a branch and hanging from it, swinging back and forth. When I rode my bike north and came out onto the coast on the east side, the wind really picked up, and my helmet felt like it might get blown right off. My neck kept straining from the wind, and I had to keep holding it steady. While I was saying something like "this kind of wind is just what you get on an island, huh~", I noticed about three wind turbines standing there, and thought, oh, Vietnam has these too.

I wonder if it's really being used properly... A place where nothing has been developed, wasteland as far as the eye can see. This kind of thing feels great. There are a few spots where you can go straight into the coast, so I strolled along the eastern shore. The wind was strong, but the shallow water made it just right for playing in the waves. Unfortunately, though, there was so much trash... Seashells everywhere.

But my husband Sei, who loves beachcombing, immediately went off for a walk along the shore. He seemed to be having fun finding all sorts of things. Apparently this island is scattered with all kinds of fun drifted treasures everywhere, and it's like a mountain of treasure.

They said it's a souvenir for their French artist friend. Since the concept of a treasure differs from person to person, it's a bit hard to wrap my head around, but they seemed happy, and that's what matters most. At the tip of the cape there's a shrine and a café (closed for Lunar New Year), and... a fishing ground? A fortress?

There were so many Instagram-worthy spots, and the Vietnamese tourists just kept taking selfies one after another — it turned into a real photo festival.

Napping in a cafe like this, with nothing around, is the best. I'm getting hungry, and the sun is starting to lean lower — dusk is coming on. We all headed home to watch the sunset from the balcony. On the way, we stopped at a general store (couldn't find a convenience store) and bought a case of beer to share among everyone. There's no wine. There's no whiskey either. All they had was something that seemed to be a shochu made from some kind of plant. I see — on a remote island, if you don't bring the alcohol you like with you, you simply won't have it. Lesson learned. Since English wasn't understood there, I had Vy interpret for me, and got a case of beer that was brought out from the back of the shop. With that, we headed back to the villa and thoroughly enjoyed the sunset.

Gazing at the horizon in a full 180-degree sweep, truly feeling that the earth is round, watching the sun set... what a luxurious way to spend time!! Vietnamese people walking along the seawall by the coast. Cooling down and exercising once the temperature drops—it's the same here. Children playing tag. Locals sitting on the concrete block wall, watching the sunset. It's such a beautiful scene. The best time of day. Then, in front of the villa, a group of Vietnamese people sitting in a circle wave us over. It looks like they've brought beer and snacks and are having a drink together. Well, we just have to join in! My husband, who loves drinking with the locals, happily joined them.

Now it begins. While enjoying dried barracuda and smoked squid, Vie-san acted as our interpreter and we all chatted and laughed together. Apparently it was a little get-together among the local fishermen. As expected, the seafood dishes were incredibly delicious! My friend absolutely fell in love with the dried barracuda and wanted some as a souvenir!! She tried to negotiate to buy some, but... they said they don't make much of it — only enough for themselves to eat. Hehe, this is exactly the kind of thing that makes traveling so wonderful. We parted ways after promising to go sea fishing together sometime, since they said they'd take a boat out. Though I have to admit, I did end up filling my stomach a little in the meantime. It's exactly these unexpected happenings that make traveling so much fun. Well then, we're heading out into town for dinner tonight — to the seafood restaurant recommended by the villa's owner. Ranking of relocation life