Vietnam forum

Posted from within Vietnam.

A protected Marine Nature Reserve, the Con Dao Islands (of whichCon Son is the largest and where you are likely to be staying) can be difficultto get to, with irregular flights from Ho Chi Minh City or an overnight ferryfrom Vung Tau.. but my goodness, it's worth it!http://www.flickr.com/photos/64446298@N03/5867933727/in/photostream/
I must confess, the highlight of any travelling around Vietnamfor me is usually the food, yet the lack of any real eating options outside ofthe main hotels didn't still manage to disappoint, as the scenery around ConDao is so spectacular you'll want to stay forever. I think of all the places Ivisited in Vietnam Con Dao was possibly one of the most beautiful I've seen.
The islandsof Con Dao have a tragic history - they lay completely unoccupied until theFrench occupied Vietnam and used the island as one large prison complex, whereprisoners were shackled, starved and beaten, forced into hard labour andsubjected to some particularly cruel and unusual punishment. Sadly when theAmericans arrived to 'save' Vietnam from Communism they kept the prisonsrunning, and made good use of one of the most barbaric elements, the 'Tiger Cages'; even oncetheir horrific nature had been exposed in the US media they simply builtanother set deeper in the jungle so the journalists wouldn't find them.
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Today the prisons serve as a stark reminder of the horrors ofwar, and many of the islands residents are ex-convicts who decided to stay onthe islands rather than return to the mainland. These days the main industriesare fishing and shipping, and life on the island is very simple andundeveloped, though there are plans to encourage more tourism to the islands inthe future.http://www.flickr.com/photos/64446298@N03/5868492348/in/photostream/
The entire area is protected by law, so much of the islands arecovered by thick forest. A visit to the rangers' station will explain a greatdeal about the wildlife living on the island, and they are very happy toarrange tours around the jungle or out to the other islands, to see endangeredspecies and to go snorkelling and diving. There are also a number of divingschools on the island, particularly Rainbow Divers.