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BINH THUAN - PHAN THIET - MUI NE
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Brief Introduction
Binh Thuan Province is located on the coast of the South Central Vietnam. It shares the border with Ninh Thuan Province to the north-east, Lam Dong Province to the north, Dong Nai Province to the west, Ba Ria - Vung Tau Province to the south-west, East Sea to the east and south-east.Binh Thuan has three types of topography: mountainous, plain and coastal. The coast longs over 192km with many capes: La Gan, Mui Nho, Mui Rom, Mui N e, Ke Ga. They create good seaports: La Gan-Phan Ri, Mui Ne - Phan Thiet, La Gi. The Phu Quy District offshore links mainland to Truong Sa Island. The main rivers which run through the province are La Ga, Quao, Cong, Dinh. The province lies in the monsoon tropical area with two distinct seasons. The rainy season: from May to October and the dry season: from November to April following year. The annual average temperature varies between 27ºC and the yearly rainfall is 800mm - 1,500mm.
Binh Thuan has many forests so that wood, cashew nut processing and handicraft are strong points of the province. The long coast-side is convenient for sea economy such as fish catching, salt and fish sauce processing, frozen seafood. Binh Thuan attracts tourists by lovely landscapes. The mountains lie from west to east and reach beautiful beaches. Famous tourist sites include Phan Thiet, Mui Ne, Doi Duong and Ham Tan. Coming to there, t ourists are able to have leisure activities as swimming, fishing, climbing, yachting, golf playing in many beaches and resorts such as Vinh Hao - Tuy Phong, Hon Rom, Novotel Ocean Dunes, Malibu, Palmira resorts... Apart of that, there are many great architectural sites such as Po Sha Nu Tower, Ta Cu Mountain, Hang Pagoda, Cham Royal Family Collection etc. Binh Thuan has a diversified culture of 30 ethnic groups. The stamp of Sa Huynh and Cham ancient cultures have been preserved include clothes, musical instruments, dances, and singings. The ancient architecture, archaeological relics, historic vestiges, traditional festivals of Viet, Cham are together for making the special culture of Binh Thuan.
Highlights

Phan Thiet is the capital of Binh Thuan province, lying in the south of Central Viet Nam, 200km away from Ho Chi Minh City, with nearly 200km of coastline which makes up beautiful beaches for tourists. This town is well-known for fishing industry and the popular Vietnamese fish sauce. Off Phan Thiet 24 km to the North East is Mui Ne, an ideal tourist site and a source of inspiration for artists.
Mui Ne Beach is found on Highway No. 706, and features sweeping sand dunes and beautiful rows of palm trees. The beach is shallow and sloped, the water is clean and blue and the sun rarely hides behind clouds. There are desolate and primeval beaches that have never witnessed human exploitation as well as imposing landscapes. There is also Doi Cat (Sand Hill), which has long been a creative subject of artistic photographs and paintings. Besides beaches and sand dunes, there are also beautiful landscapes such as Suoi Tien (Fairy Spring), the Ong Hoang Building and the Poshanu Cham Tower.
Mui Ne has long been considered the "Hawaii" of Vietnam. It boasts shady roads under coconut trees, a beautiful beach and cliffs battered by the waves of the sea. The typical scenery of Mui Ne lies in the moving lines of golden sand caused by the wind and when they are seen from afar they look like moving waves. The scenery looks more fascinating at dawn, when young Cham girls in green dresses go to work. That’s why no photographer fails to visit this area. Mui Ne is an ideal place for rest and relaxation. Visitors can certainly enjoy swimming in the blue water of the sea, climbing the sand dunes or relaxing by a swimming pool. In fact this oasis entertainment people of all ages, and furthermore, provides an endless inspiration to the artists’ creation.
Hon Rom - the beach is clean and beautiful with clear blue water. Calm winds sing lullabies unceasingly under cool shadows of coconuts trees sagging under the weight of their fruit. White sand dunes follow the yellow ones. The dunes keep changing their shapes as a result of wind blowing. All up a wild attraction, inviting tourists to this well-known field resort.Tourists often come here to sightsee and discover the unique beauty of the sand dunes. Newly built bamboo cottages on sand dunes and new forms of entertainment such as sand surfing, sea-bathing, fire burning outside camps, or boarding on fishing boats add greater charm to the resort.
Phu Quy Island lies at the junction line of the mainland and Truong Sa (Spratly) Island, 120km from Phan Thiet City. Phu Quy Island has an area of 16.5km². The island is surrounded with white sandy beaches and 9 islets, of which Hon Tranh, Hon Den (Black Islet), Hon Trung (Egg Islet) are attractive aqua tourist spots. Phu Quy is close to the international maritime route and an important in-between logistic destination linking the mainland to Truong Sa archipelago. It is a “floating base” providing services to ships fishing offshore. With such an important position, people built a light house guiding ships going out and coming in. The island is surrounded with white sandy beaches and 9 islets, of which Hon Tranh, Hon Den ( Black islet ), Hon Trung (Egg islet) are attractive aqua tourist spots.
Ke Ga lighthouse on Ke Ga Islet can be easily seen from the mainland. In fact, it is said that the beam can be spotted from as far as 22 sea miles (some 40km) away.
Made from granite, the 41m tall lighthouse was constructed from 1897 to 1899 on the small islet in Binh Thuan Province, 30km from Phan Thiet City and 200km from Ho Chi Minh City.
The lighthouse’s security guards take tourists around the artwork for free, showing them the nooks of the old tower. One of the attractions is climbing all the way to the lighthouse’s top to catch the breeze and have a magnificent view over the sea and the mainland’s hills, forests, valleys and long white sand beaches. Let your eyes wander to see a 500-year-old tree, which locals have named Sen.To get to the islet from there, you can just rent either a basket boat or a motorboat from fishermen. The resorts include Rock Garden, Da Nhay, Doi Su and Anh Duong. There visitors can see replica communal houses, typical of central Vietnam. Mud baths and swimming pools with water filtered from the sea are also on offer. For those who can get up early, it’s also worth going to a nearby market, which is crowded with fresh seafood sellers at 5 a.m. every morning.
Poklong Garai Cham Tower is a small group of Cham towers which sit by the roadside 7 km towards Dalat. These towers were built in the early 14 century as Hindu temples during the Cham Empire and they are beautifully preserved. The towers were named after the King who invented a system of irrigation used in local villages. As the tourist buses from Nha Trang to Dalat pass through Phan Rang, the Cham towers are seen as a convenient place to break the journey. The result is that the towers are periodically swarmed by travelers heading north and south. You can enter the largest temple, in the center of which there is an ancient linga (phallic symbol) with a human face painted on it. The other towers still retain their shape and some of the carved details are clearly visible. |
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