Where swimmers can touch corals

Where swimmers can touch corals

On calm days, vacationers may opt to travel by boat to Hon Do Island in Van Phong Bay just before or after their lunch to touch and see a world of coral reefs exposing their colors and shapes under the sunlight.

The corals may not be as colorful as those at the seabed near the shore of Hon Mun Island in Nha Trang Bay in the same central coastal province of Khanh Hoa, but they grow so near the water surface that people can touch them when swimming.

Even those who cannot swim can easily explore the world of coral reefs in Van Phong Bay. All that is needed is a life jacket, a pair of swimming goggles and a snorkeling tube. When the boat arrives at the coral habitat one can jump from the boat and float freely on the water to see the world of coral reefs. As one nears the shore the corals are close enough to touch; they feel like a piece of velvet cloth.

For stronger swimmers and divers, there are more chances to discover the underwater world, where schools of fish in different colors and types shelter or wander and dart around the corals. Other creatures of the sea will accompany the divers on a wonderful tour that is more or less the same to "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland."

When swimming and diving at the waters of Hon Do, remember not to stand on the coral reefs as it will hurt the corals.

The best time to dive and see coral reefs at Hon Do Island is when the sun is high in the sky because the scorching sunlights will shine through the bobbing turquoise water and reflect the color and beauty of the corals.

Hon Do is less than an hour by boat from Dam Mon, a beautiful lagoon nestled at Van Thanh Commune in Van Ninh District. The area located at the end of a newly built road leading to Hon Gom Peninsula is a retreat, where vacationers can rest in hammocks tied to coconut trees along the beach to enjoy the sweet sound of gentle waves lapping against the shore after swimming in the sea.

From Dam Mon, visitors can hire a boat for a cruise around Van Phong Bay, which is 50km from Nha Trang City. Considered a tropical paradise, Van Phong Bay in Van Ninh and Ninh Hoa districts is home to beautiful white-sand beaches, sand dunes, islets and peninsulas featuring a diverse eco-system with almost untouched forests and various species of plants and animals.

Experts rank the 15,000ha bay Van Phong as one of Asia's most ideal sites for eco-tourism and scuba diving. It also boasts magnificent mountains with many rocks carved naturally into art works.

Visitors to the bay can shrug off the worry of their daily chores and enjoy the many activities available, including windsurfing, snorkeling, mountain climbing, rowing and fishing for squid and cuttle-fish at night.

Around Xuan Huong Lake on a cool evening

Around Xuan Huong Lake on a cool evening

Visitors to Dalat should not miss the beauty of Xuan Huong Lake. Located in the city center, surrounded with a pine-tree forest and flower gardens, the lake is the perfect destination for a stroll in the “city of flowers”.

As night falls couples gather at the lake to enjoy the cool and romantic evenings, a unique feature of Dalat. While it is popular by day to tour the lake in a horse-draw carriage, on the tramway or on a tandem, at night the tandem is definitely the favored choice. Riding around the lake, going up and down the hills of Dalat, warms up the riders on a cool evening and gives them an appetite for the local snacks available from the street vendors on the banks of the lake.

The booths of these vendors are small, consisting of rattan loads on a carrying pole and some small low chairs for guests and lighted with oil lamps, yet, it is exotic to be at the booths, waiting for a grilled corn, grilled squid and cuttlefish, boiled eggs or shellfish and drinking a glass of hot soya in the cool evening. For those seeking something more cozy and private there are a number of coffee shops around Xuan Huong Lake.

Saturday and Sunday are the best days for a stroll up the Hoa Binh pedestrian area from Xuan Huong Lake as no vehicles are allowed to enter on the weekends.

This is the site of the Dalat night market, known as the Market of Underworld by locals, which is open from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Here one can shop for souvenirs and clothes, especially second-hand sweaters and pullovers which are very inexpensive, and enjoy some local snacks.

Vinh Hy - beautiful virginal bay of Ninh Thuan

Vinh Hy - beautiful virginal bay of Ninh Thuan

Around 40km northeastern away from Phan Rang – Thap Cham City is Vinh Hy Bay, one of the most beautiful natural landscapes of Ninh Thuan Province.

Nestled between two popular tourist destinations of Nha Trang City (Khanh Hoa Province) in the north and Phan Thiet - Mui Ne in the south, the bay still reserves its rural beauty with white sand beach, steep rocky mountain ranges, caves and spectacular waterfalls.

To reach the bay, tourists from HCMC have to pass over 350km by land. There are two routes for tourists to choose: the first and easiest one is from National Highway 1A to the north and then turn right.

The second, longer yet more interesting one is the newly open coastal road from Binh Chau - Phuoc Buu (Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province) to Lagi Town (Binh Thuan Province) then tourists follow National Highway 1A to Phan Rang City and turn again to the coastal road, passing Nui Chua National Park to the bay.

Oc gao of Phu Da

Oc gao of Phu Da

The beginning of the fifth lunar month is the season of oc gao (a small edible snail) in Phu Da in Cho Lach District, Ben Tre Province. Visitors who row to an island might witness the lively scene of people searching for snails, for this special food has created many jobs for Ben Tre residents.

Alternatively, a visit to Ba Ngoi garden in Vinh Binh Commune, Cho Lach District will reveal how locals classify snails with a home-made machine or cut shipworms from the snail shells.

Typically there are about 20 workers cutting shipworms, however, around 50 are at work at peak times in the Doan Ngo Festival (the fifth day of the fifth lunar month), according to Nguyen Van Nho, technician of Phu Da snail cooperative.

Classifying snails pays VND250 for each kilogram. Shipworms are bought at VND500 per kilogram by the cooperative for duck food. The season of oc gao lasts until the seventh lunar month.

At Ba Ngoi garden, visitors may also enjoy oc gao boiled with citronella for just VND10,000 for a large serving. The snails here live in muddy soil and are smaller and fatter, and more delicious, than those other places. Other foods to try are rice pancakes filled with mussels and bamboo sprouts for only VND8,000 each.

Crispy cake skin, greasy coconut milk and peanut-and-rice cake flour, sweet mussels and bamboo sprouts used with many kinds of garden vegetable are all well-known dishes of southern Vietnam.

The other interesting side of Dam Mon

The other interesting side of Dam Mon

Most leisure tourists leave Dam Mon (Mon Lagoon) in Van Phong Bay after they have cruised to some of the attractions in the wonderful bay in Khanh Hoa Province. But for the few who opt to go trekking, the sand dunes and bushes in this beautiful region of Central Vietnam will be a satisfying adventure.

The sand dunes are located in Van Thanh Commune, Van Ninh District, on the other side of the road to Dam Mon from National Highway 1A. Trekking through these yellow sand dunes is a hard but interesting walk as there is much to explore in the half-desert area.

Along the 4.5km-long path from the road are some ponds which provide water for the wild bushes to grow and bear their clusters of flowers, even in the dry season. The path cuts across these ponds so trekkers have to take off their shoes to wade through in order to keep their shoes dry for the tough hike ahead.

Further along the path trodden by fishermen are hills of stones which have been carved by strong winds and sand into natural wonders of different shapes. Near by is the highest slope on the path so this is an ideal place to stop for a rest and enjoy this natural work of art at the same time.

The wild apricots always bear their bright yellow clusters of flowers in spring, particularly in late January or February when Vietnamese people celebrate their Lunar New Year or Tet, the biggest and longest holiday in this country. Occasionally the plants will surprise visitors with late blossoms in early summer. The apricot plants and other trees grow well in the half-desert area of sand dunes, providing shade for passers-by looking for a place to rest out of the scorching sunlight. Sometimes, the birds will provide entertainment with their songs as they fly around the forest.

Magnificent views of the mountains and waters of the East Sea come into view near the end of the path, which is a good spot for taking pictures of the sea sparkling in the light of the sunset or sunrise.

The path leads to Bai Na, a nun touched white-sand beach and a breathtaking reward for trekkers as they wash away the sweat, dust and exhaustion. This arch-shaped beach is one of the most beautiful beaches that I have ever seen anywhere.

A trek across the sand dunes should be planned for either in the early morning or after 3 p.m. when the sun is not as hot. It takes about two hours or more to complete the hike.

The best way to return to Dam Mon is by boat. The journey takes approximately two hours and on route the boat passes Mui Doi (Twin Cape) of Hon Gom Peninsula in Khanh Hoa Province and stops at Van Phong Bay. The cape is where the morning sun first shines on Vietnamese land.

Tam Giang Lagoon - a place for explorers of indigenous culture

Tam Giang Lagoon is where three rivers - Huong, Bo and O Lau - meet before they flow into the sea through Thuan An Estuary in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue.

Many traditional craft villages along the three rivers, natural beauty and nearby mangrove forests have made the lagoon a popular destination for tourists.

Sailing down the Huong River from Thuan An Estuary, tourists can visit Dia Linh Hamlet in Huong Vinh Commune, where the craft of wood carving is still preserved.

Thuy Tu Village consolidated by the silt of the Bo River and characterized by the red-roofed houses is recommended as the next stop. The villagers earn a living by making tiles.

An Thuan Village is also worth visiting. There, tourists can learn more about the process of making green rice flakes with the added hot and tasty flavors of ginger, sesame and peanuts.

Thin fishing boats in the transparent water and the fishing nets here and there add beauty to the lagoon.

Tourists could tour Thai Duong Ha fishing village where locals still preserve their traditional lifestyle, rituals and festivities like Cau Ngu (a festival in which fishermen pray for the best catch) and the burial of the whale.

Ru Cha is a very rare primitive mangrove forest in the lagoon, just opposite Thai Duong Ha Village, in Thuan Hoa Hamlet in Huong Phong Commune.

Ru Cha was mostly leveled during the war but now the 5ha area is well restored and protected. Tourists can spend some time trekking this wetland reserve through the short Cha trees with big roots.

Many small caves which small crab use as shelter can be found at the roots of these trees. Be careful when approaching the trees whose resin makes your skin a little bit itchy but the leaves of Mop trees nearby are good for rubbing away the itch caused by Cha resin.

Lu Cam - a 200-year pottery village

Lu Cam - a 200-year pottery village

There is a pathway of which both sides are lined with Cai and Kim Dong rivers leading to a 200-year-plus pottery village, a 10-minute drive from central Nha Trang City.

Lu Cam Village in Ngoc Hiep Commune is known for baked-clay stoves. Despite great social and economic changes, the craft still exists there.

Nearly 200 years ago when trade by sea was active, the village on the bank of the Cai River made various kinds of pottery such as jars, stoves and vases and these products were sold to many places, including the coastal areas of Phan Rang and Phu Yen.

However, waterway transportation ate into profit, so pottery was taken to the marketplace mainly by bike or people.

Lu Cam stoves are still favored although other kinds of stove like electric and gas stoves are dominant on the market. Vietnamese families often use a clay stove to grill meat or cook some dishes.

When the traditional Lunar New Year holiday comes, the pathway is full of stoves that are dried under the sunlight before they are put into a big charcoal oven for baking.

On a 1,000m² area is a house where Lu Cam pottery has been made for generations. Ten years ago, there was a charcoal oven in front of the yard used for baking several thousand stoves at a time. The oven was then over 50 years old.

Due to the fall in consumption, it was replaced by two smaller ovens that are able to bake 500 and 1,000 stoves at a time each.

There are many steps taken to produce such a simple stove. Clay is mixed and stuffed with water and divided into small parts and each is enough to make a stove. The outer cover of the stove is made from galvanized zinc sheets to prevent clay from sticking on the mould. After finishing the first mould, artisans will design the stove shape, and attach handles and other parts. After that the stoves will be dried under the sun for 24 to 48 hours and then put into the oven.

The final step is to wait for the stove to cool, then stick the grid and bring it to the market. A finished stove costs VND8,000. Resellers can cover it with galvanized zinc to increase its durability and sell it for VND18,000 to VND20,000 per unit.

Lu Cam pottery village is a recommended destination for foreign tourists. In this tour, tourists can take part in the stove making process.