The island is also known as “Pearl Island” (Image: Getty)
This beautiful island in Vietnam, with its stunning buildings, white-sand beaches, and emerald waters, has captivated many travelers. But beneath its tropical exterior lies an eerie and almost surreal sight: some areas seem abandoned, with empty buildings and vacant streets.
, a stunning island off the coast of Vietnam in the Gulf of Thailand, is known for its white-sand beaches, emerald waters, and dense tropical jungle. The island is also famous for its production of fish sauce, pepper, and pearls but there’s one strange and eerie side to this paradise. Josh Snaith, a UK traveler, recently shared a TikTok video that has gone viral, with over 1 million views showing empty streets and buildings with just Snaith walking around alone without anyone around.
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Snaith said in the video: “Everywhere around me, there’s big lavish buildings- all empty. I just don’t get it, I really don’t get it.
“Every building along here is just empty. It just seems to be the case around here and in Phu Quoc.
“It’s just a ghost town. I don’t understand it. It’s such a nice place as well.
“They thought we’ll build it and they’ll come and noone’s ended up coming. There’s noone here.”
TikTok user, Erik Porter commented: “Definitely one of the weirdest places we’ve been. 10 years ago it was empty, no buildings. Now it’s empty + buildings. What’s going on there?”
Don’t miss… [EXPLAINER] [TIPS]
Sunset Town on Phu Quoc is an Italian inspired town (Image: Getty)
Another TikToker wrote: “Phú Quốc isn’t a ghost town, but some areas feel abandoned! Huge resorts were built, but many stay empty.”
According to Josh Snaith, the mystery could be linked to overdevelopment before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Snaith told : “I wanted to visit the island because of the beaches. I was expecting sandy shores and built up resorts with many tourists but then I found the empty town.
“There are some open buildings, but inside is just a shell, concrete walls and concrete stair cases with nothing in. There is currently one hotel operating in the town, but I don’t know if anyone actually lives there.
“I think the main reason it isn’t used is due to over development before Covid and the impacts are still taking their toll now.”
The TripAdvisor reviews of the island are quite mixed.
Some visitors like , wrote: “Turns out we had a great time, traveling from north to south, hitting sunset town in the south and enjoying the various shows. Grand world was packed, contrary to a lot of Youtube blogs. We stayed in the south and the hotel resort was amazing.”
However, another TripAdvisor user said: “We were shocked by how quiet it was, especially the the beach front restaurants – night life was also non-existent. There were many half-built skeleton hotels and to be honest, it felt a lot like travelling during Covid.”
The island is also home to the world’s longest non-stop three-rope cable car to Hon Thom (Pineapple Island), offering views of the islands and fishing boats.