Here comes the sun to Phu Quoc.
The sunny day in the video above looks very nice and peaceful, but during this trip to Vietnam we learned the hard way that the southern islands have a sub-equatorial climate and there is a reason why september is considered part of the low season: The "Wet Climate" is a reality. We arrived last Sunday and from Monday to Wednesday it rained non-stop.
You might be thinking how a refreshing shower is nice on a warm weather and I agree, but here we were experiencing torrential rainshowers with strong winds, so no chance of enjoying a "tropical shower".
We are staying in a very nice hotel close the beach but it was hard to enjoy it because of this climate conditions. When it was not raining, we had an overcast sky like this one:
Some of the brochures explain this is the monsoon season therefore it can get wet "at times". We experienced those "times" with a vengeance: On Monday we were saying "let's wait, probably it is going to get better", on Tuesday we changed to "come on, it has to get better" and then on Wednesday with some resignation and somber mood we switched to "let's go to town to do something different because it's not getting any better!".
Later on we found out on the internet that we were dealing with the tail end of the Typhoon Kalmaegi that was hitting hard china and the north part of Vietnam.
But then on Wednesday after dinner, when we came back to our room, it was dry and I noticed a clear starry sky. I told my girlfriend "look up in the sky. it's full of stars. Maybe we will be lucky with the weather on my birthday!". And indeed yesterday we had an amazing sunny day that really made a difference. Everything was nicer:
1. Watching the fishermen work at dawn
2. Having a nice breakfast on a table with a sea view
3. Chilling out and reading in a sunny beach
4. Grabbing a cocktail on a sofa next to the beach
5. Getting a nice dinner next to the sea, including a yummy b-day dessert :).
6. The luxury to enjoy an amazing sunset:
Today we had a second sunny day in a row so we can't complain. This was the type of vacation we were expecting when we read the information about this island and we booked the hotel for a week.
On a separate note today we found out this "Eco Resort" comes with a "Geckoland" incorporated :), plus a nasty spider that reminded me my days in southern France. Judge it for yourself:
1. Blackish gecko on the toilet next to the swimming trunks:
2. Colorful gecko inside our mosquito net covering the bed:
Getting him out of the bed / bedroom without causing him any harm was quite a story. It required: a torch, an umbrella, an empty glass and a broom. Proudly no gecko was harmed during this operation.
3. Giant gecko (~30cm) we found next to the roof.
This one was a bit scary because we found it as soon as we entered the room and turned on the lights!!
We are crossing our fingers for another sunny day tomorrow. We would settle for a cloudy but dry day.