Phu Quoc
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Phu Quoc, Viet Nam's biggest island, lies in the Gulf of Thailand and has an area of 573 square kilometres. The island belongs to Kien Giang province whose headquarters is in Rach Gia Town.

Phu Quoc has a diverse terrain, with mountains, forests, a plain and beaches of many kinds. It has about 100 mountains, some of which are more than 550 metres high. The island has temperate weather, so trees are abundant. Forests cover a big area. The jungle has many precious hardwood trees. Next to the jungle is a cinnamon forest. Phu Quoc's cinnamon is thick and contains a lot of oil. In the lower hilly regions, people grow pepper, coffee, rubber and coconut. Phu Quoc's pepper is fragrant and hot and is a valuable export item.
Animals are another resource. Phu Quoc dogs are famous for their cleverness. Phu Quoc's honey is as pure as amber and has the smell of cinnamon because bees build their hives in the cinnamon forest.
Apart from pepper, another specialty of Phu Quoc is fish sauce. The fish sauce is produced mainly from anchovies and has that fish's special flavour. The sea of Phu Quoc is stocked with fish, squid, shrimp and crabs.
Phu Quoc has many beautiful pristine beaches. The sea water is pure and has the colour of sapphire. The marine life at many of the southern beaches is fantastic. Several islets are suitable for swimming, diving and fishing.
From Saigon, tourists can get to the island's Duong Dong Town on a 40 minute Vietnam Airlines flight. They can also go there by boat from Rach Gia or Ha Tien, another town of Kien Giang.
Phu Quoc has rich tourism potential. Hotels of various kinds are available, and Saigontourist has a luxury hotel there.

Geography
Located in the Gulf of Thailand, the island lies just 62 nautical miles from Rach Gia and nearly 290 nautical miles from Laem Chabang (Thailand). It covers an area of 567 sq. km (about 62 km long and between 3 and 28 km wide) and is situated at 10o01'-10o27' north latitude and 103o51'-104o50' east longitude. Its population is approximately 85,000 (2001).
Phu Quoc is called the island of "99 mountains" because of its many sandstone chains gradually descending from the north to the south. The longest one is Ham Ninh which stretches for 30 km along the eastern edge with its highest peak called Mt. Chua (603m).
Phu Quoc has a monsoon sub-equatorial climate. There are two seasons in the year: the rainy season (October only) and the dry season (November to September). The average annual rainfall is 2,879 m and the average temperature is 27oC. Trips to Phu Quoc can be made all year round, but the best time is dry season when the sky is always sunny, clear and blue.

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Traditional Products
Phu Quoc has been famous worldwide for its two traditional products: the pepper and fish sauce. The numbers are quite surprising: hundreds of fish sauce workshops (annual output: 10 million liters) and countless pepper gardens (total area: 500 ha). Visitors to pepper gardens will be captivated by word of "itsy-bitsy teeny-weeny pepercorns" of patient growers while at fish sauce workshops, they will be amazed at the sight of dozens of bulky barrels being lined up and waiting to be jammed with fresh fish. You will be tempted to try a few pungent green peppercorns and half a spoonful of the tasty salty sauce.

Traditional Customs and Festivals
Like special events everywhere, the local festival days are based on the lunar calender and fall on Oct. 16 (Dinh Cau Temple); Nov. 20 (Thuy Long Thanh Mau Temple); July 15 (Temple consecration ); July 30 (Sung Hung Ancient Pagoda consecration); Ham Ninh Lady's spirits memory; Oct.7 & 8 (Su Muon Pagoda); Sept. 25 & 26 (Suoi Da Pagoda; Sept. 26 & 27 (Ganh Gio Pagoda); August 27 (Nguyen Trung Truc monument's day) ; July 27 (Phu Quoc jail martyr Vietnamese monument's day); Jan. 15 (Gia King's Temple day); From Oct.3, 1997 (Many local people died in the Storm no. 5 ); May 16 (Bon Canh Temple day).
Tourist entry and exit procedures passport/visa
Citizens of south-east Asian countries don't need certification when entering Duong Dong town for up to 15 days. If they want to go to other places from here (except restricted areas), they can get immigration certifications given by the immigration and emmigration management Offices of Duong Dong town. Foreign-tourist ships can arrive or leave Duong Dong harbour due to projects signed with Vietnamese tourist companies. Foreign tourist ships which visit Duong Dong area & other areas(except restricted areas) have to obey the laws mentioned above.

Foreign cargo ships are allowed to arrive or leave Duong Dong town to deliver or receive cargoes as stated in contracts signed by business on manufacturing organisations. The crewmen on these ships can use their passports or sailor's registers to enter Duong Dong area. If they deliver or pick up goods in other harbours of Kien Giang province, they have to obey Vietnam's current laws.

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