Phan Rang (8/11 – 11/11/2013)

Phan Rang is a lovely place some 300 kilometres from Ho Chi Minh City in southern Viet Nam, not really far from Nha Trang which is the bustling resort city of the south of the country. Phan Rang is therefore a small countryside town with a lot to believe. That’s where we spent our weekend in this first half of November 2013.

A couple of days ago, I was called by a Vietnamese friend who loves travelling, with the

question if I would like to join their group tour which they were organising. Answer was without doubt: Yes! First travel goal was to climb a mountain (which I will keep for myself and hope to tell you about a next time) but due to the approaching typhoon from the Philippines, super typhoon Haiyan, the local tour guide was finally unsure whether it would be a good idea to climb the mountain or not. New plan was to go to a beach and camp there overnight Robinson Crusoe style. Yet, we had our food with us and enough drinking water to hold on for 13 people in total over this 2 days lapse of time.

The day of leaving was finally there and we all head over to the bus station Ben Xe Mien Dong in Ho Chi Minh City to take there the night bus to Phan Rang which departed at about 22 hours or 10pm. The bus was a modern sleeping bus where, when small enough, you can lay flat. This means with my 1,87 m I was far over the average Vietnamese length and had to see to find another way to try to sleep a little before next day’s 2 hours motorbike ride from Phan Rang to the island where we would going to be dropped by a local boat. Upon arrival, we were all woken up by Vietnamese dance music at about 5 am while the bus arrived at its destination. We then took a taxi to the centre of town where we had some breakfast before heading to the motorbike rental shop and meet our local tour guide who would accompany us for those two days.

Once everything checked and loaded on the motorbikes, we took our way through a first

coastal way before heading higher into the mountains with roads steep as 12%. As the kilometres were passing by at a fast pace, we could see beautiful sea landscapes but also aquaculture and mountains landscapes along the way. The road is also quite adventurous with small river streams sometimes cutting off the road but on other places really dusty as they are (still on per Nov. 2013) rebuilding an entire new road over there which in the areas of 12% can be quite slippery if you don’t hold on continuously your handbrake.

Finally, we arrived safe and all at the parking near the beach where we would embark for a short ride to the island laying on the other side of the bay. The place was wonderful and my first thought was about the Seychelles where similar rock formations along with blue

crystal waters and white sand beaches can be seen. After a few minutes, all the luggage was loaded on the boat and we could depart for our Robinson Island where we would spend the rest of the day and a night. After about 15 minutes boat ride through aquacultures and floating houses, the boat landed on the beach where we would stay. After unloading the luggage, the camp settlement was build up and we could start to cook in a wonderful natural environment.

As the evening was coming and the sun sets down, while some continuing for cooking,

others went swimming. After an hour or so, we finally took all place around the camp fire and had a talk all together. Talks continued till late at night. The next morning, after breakfast, the camp was broken down and all stuff was packed while waiting for the boat to bring us back to the mainland. A 2 hours motorbike drive was awaiting us after a few cups of Vietnamese coffee to keep us awake as the night was short. After 2 hours driving back, we arrived back in Phan Rang, the main city, and had lunch over there.

At the end of the afternoon, a visit was planned to a vineyard, about a 15 minutes’ drive out of the city in the countryside.

More about the Vineyard soon as we are awaiting for some more information from the owner. This requires some time as everything needs to be well translated from Vietnamese into English. Thank you for your cooperation.

Other photos