Culture of Phu Quoc Island. Places to visit - old town, temples, theaters, museums and palaces

In Phu Quoc, you can visit two farms, where the pearls are cultivated. One farm belongs to the Americans, another one – to the Japanese. On each of them, you can see how the pearls are cultivated, visit a small museum, and visit a shop, which is actually the reason for this free excursion. You can also go to the plantation, where the black pepper grows. Here you can go to the shop, where they sell this fragrant spice and watch the rows of plants. There is no reason to come here for a 30-minutes walk, but if you are nearby, you should definitely go there.

Those, who are not very sensitive to strong smells, can visit the fabric, where fish sauce Nuoc Mam is produced. The biggest production is in Duong Dong city. If you don’t speak Vietnamese, use the services of a guide-interpreter as they don’t speak English here. Fish sauce is a traditional Vietnamese dish and they even export it to Canada, Japan, and the USA. Here you can watch the production process of the sauce and of course, buy one or two bottles for yourself. Those, who like dogs, can visit the kennel of Ridgebacks, the local breed, known for a stripe of hair on the back, which grows in the opposite direction from the rest of it. Here you can see the living and breeding of dogs, and buy a puppy that you like.

Near Duong Dong there is the biggest museum in the island — Coi Nguon Museum. What is interesting, is that this is not a state museum, but a private one. Six floors of it contain the collection of documents, photographs, animal carcasses, and artifacts from different eras. Here you can learn a lot about the history of Vietnam. The museum has convenient working hours – from 7.20 a.m. till 5 p.m. with a lunch break from 11 a.m. till 1 p.m. In Ganh Dau fishing village it seems like history comes to life: they are still fishing here as they did hundreds of years ago, without changing the concept a lot. And in An Thoi harbor, you can see modern battleships. Copyright www.orangesmile.com

Near the city there is another landmark of the island – Cay Dua Prison or Coconut Tree Prison. This is the biggest local prison, which is now open to the public. There is a small museum on its territory, and the barracks and the watchtowers are full of manikins, representing the brutality of prison guards against the prisoners. Those, who were against the official government, were sent here during the civil war. The scene is peculiar, to an acquired taste, but it shows the truth about the penal system quite vividly.

Night market is also a kind of a landmark. Nowhere else in Duong Dong the Vietnamese culture can be seen as well as it is here. It opens its doors at dusk. Cau Castle is another cult building. Built in 1937, it is something between a lighthouse and a sanctuary. The locals pray here to the Goddess of the Sea Thien Hau and bring her the gifts. In a way, the Cau became a symbol of the island, so everyone should visit it. Moreover, there is an amazing view from the top of it.

You can see a great view from Ho Quoc Pagoda, one of the Vietnamese Buddhist temples. It is quite beautiful, and the entrance is free. Those, who like the East, should also visit Dinh Ba Temple, the second temple on the island. It is a bit smaller but also remarkable. You can also find the sanctuaries of the followers of the syncretic religion Cao Dai. In the whole, Phu Quoc is better for those, who prefers active leisure, then for those who likes the sightseeing, but there are things to see here anyway.