A rainy day in Duong Dong: pagodas, a museum and slow coffee

When the monsoon sets in, swap the beach for an old pagoda, a colourful Cao Dai temple, a collector’s museum of island life and a long coffee watching the rain.

Area

Duong Dong & west coast

Start from

Duong Dong town

Distance

a few km around town and to the north

Time needed

1 day

Best season

Wet season, roughly May – October, or any grey day

Difficulty

Easy

Transport

On foot and by taxi

Tickets & rules

Small fee at the museum; modest dress in temples

Why go

Phu Quoc in the wet season has days when the sky simply opens, the west coast turns grey and choppy and the beaches empty. I used to see these as lost days. Now I keep a short list of indoor and half-indoor places in and around Duong Dong for them, and some of my best memories of the island are from those afternoons.

The rain changes the town. Streets run like streams, vendors pull plastic sheets over their stalls, and everybody crowds into cafés to wait it out. Temples smell of wet stone and incense; the colours of tiles and roofs glow against the dark sky.

It is also the season when the island is greenest, the pepper vines heavy and the forest streams loud, so a dry hour between showers is worth using well.

The story

Chùa Sùng Hưng, in the middle of Duong Dong, is one of the older Buddhist pagodas on the island, rebuilt several times over the last century. Locals come to pray and make offerings, and the monks are used to quiet visitors. Inside, the halls are dim and cool, with gilded statues, carved wood and old photographs of former abbots.

Not far away is a small Cao Đài temple, painted in bright colours, with the faith’s famous ‘divine eye’ above the altar. Cao Đài, founded in southern Vietnam in the 1920s, blends elements of Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism and Christianity, and its followers hold ceremonies at set hours, dressed in white. Visitors are usually welcome to watch quietly from the back.

North of town, the Cội Nguồn museum is a private collection put together by a local enthusiast: fishing gear, old pottery, tools, shells, coins, photographs and models that tell the long story of the island from early settlers to recent times. It is a little eccentric and very personal, which is exactly its charm.

And then there is coffee. Vietnamese café culture was made for rain: strong drip coffee with condensed milk, iced or hot, served in a glass with a small metal filter on top, and a seat facing the street. Nobody minds if you stay for two hours.

Getting there

Sùng Hưng pagoda and the Cao Đài temple are both in central Duong Dong, within walking distance of the river and the night market. The museum is a short taxi ride north towards Ong Lang; check opening hours before you go.

Ride-hailing cars are easy to find in town even in the rain, though you may wait longer during a heavy downpour.

A suggested plan

1. 9:00Sùng Hưng pagoda while it is quiet, with incense smoke hanging under the roofs.
2. 10:00Walk or take a short ride to the Cao Đài temple; ask about the times of the ceremonies.
3. 11:00Taxi north to the Cội Nguồn museum; give yourself at least an hour.
4. 13:00A long lunch of bún quậy or noodle soup back in town.
5. 15:00Coffee and a book in a riverside café, watching the rain and the boats.
6. 18:00If the sky clears, the night market; if not, more coffee.

Where to stay

Duong Dong town is the obvious base in the wet season: everything is close, food is cheap and you are never far from shelter. Long Beach hotels are a short ride away.

Good to know

• Carry a cheap poncho; they’re sold everywhere and are more practical than an umbrella on a scooter.
• Wear sandals rather than trainers: streets flood briefly and dry quickly.
• Leave a small donation in the box at pagodas if you’re visiting.