Features

Castaway In Con Dao

30 Sep 2011

Maida Pineda relaxes in style at a southern Vietnamese island retreat

In a mere 25 minutes I have been transported from Ho Chi Minh’s honking mass of motorcycles to a tropical paradise of barely 6,000 people. I am cast away at the Six Senses in Con Dao, an archipelago of 16 islands on the southeast coast of Vietnam.

Summer, my butler, ushers me to a private villa where the general manager is hosting a cocktail party for the resort’s six guests. Tim, a British doctor, recounts his father’s comment on learning he was going on holiday to Con Dao: “I hope they treat you better than how the prisoners were treated.” Tim had chosen Con Dao due to the Six Senses, unaware of the island’s 113-year history as a French prison.

Tim’s father had no need to worry. We are basking in idyllic island decadence. The ocean view villas have their own private pools, butler, cappuccino makers, and sleek teak interiors. A total of 1,200 wooden doors from all over Vietnam make up the panels that create a traditional fishing village ambience for the restaurants. At night, we dine under the stars eating Vietnamese hand rolls, organic rocket salad, and grilled seafood paired nicely with the best wines of Spain, Argentina, Chile and South Africa. In the morning, the breakfast spread turn us into kids in the candy store with an impressive selection of breads, egg dishes, fresh juices, cheeses and fruit.

Curious about the island’s past, I sign up for a historic tour to see the museum, the prisons, and the controversial Tiger Cages. Many Vietnamese groups fly into the islands just to pay their respects to prisoners who served time here. Con Dao is included in Vietnamese schoolchildren’s history lessons and even tourists visiting the archipelago will easily learn of its bitter past. A leisurely stroll along the wharf quickly brings the realisation that it is named Quay 914 after the number of prisoners who lost their lives building it.

Despite its dark history, or maybe because of it, Con Dao is among the most stunning of Vietnam’s islands. With 83 percent protected by the Con Dao National Park, including 129 sq km of the country’s first marine sanctuary, it is teeming with wildlife: black squirrels can be spotted on land, while sea turtles and dugongs are easily spotted underwater.

Getting too great a dose of reality, I prance back to my perfect villa to don my swimsuit. I cool myself down by taking a dip in the pool. I keep thinking this is a dream.

In the afternoon, I take a cooking class in the outdoor kitchen with Chef Len. I learn how to make traditional Vietnamese dishes such as goi cuon (the ubiquitous rice paper rolls), a classic fish sauce for dipping, and a lotus seed dessert. After many cooking classes in my life, this is the first I have taken dressed only in my swimsuit.

In a conversation with two British and Italian divers who previously worked in Nha Trang, Phu Oc and Hoi An, they both tell me Con Dao offers the best diving in the country. I am torn; I wanted to spend a leisurely morning on my extra comfy bed looking out to sea, indulging in the opulent breakfast spread, swimming off the beach and enjoying the outdoor shower with banana trees. But somehow, I feel compelled to see the best of Vietnam’s marine life. In truth, it pales in comparison with the rich waters of the Philippines, so I squeeze in a quick dip in the pool and a sumptuous meal before my holiday time on this decadent island comes to a luxurious close.


GETTING THERE

Fly from Ho Chi Minh City to Con Dao on Air Mekong (www.airmekong.com.vn) or Vietnam Airlines (www.vietnamairlines.com). In September Air Mekong also started flying the Hanoi-Con Dao route.

WHERE TO STAY

Six Senses (www.sixsenses.com) offers the most luxurious accommodation in the island group. There are a few resorts in the town
of Con Son, popular with Vietnamese tourists and backpackers. Six Senses has 50 ocean view villas with private infinity pools, starting at US$600 per night.

WEATHER

Con Dao is warm and sunny from November to February, though the seas are calmest from March to July.

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