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vietnam
photo album
Phan Thiet | Mui Ne
| Most of the photos were taken during the 8th Annual AmCham Family & Golf Outing at Novotel Phan Thiet, 30 April through 2 May 2005. The remainder date from the earlier 2004 APCAC Executive Directors Forum, 22 and 23 October, and were my first nights in Phan Thiet since early 1967. Because the shadow of the past is present and the pace of the place is slow, Phan Thiet exudes not only charm but much warmth and hospitality from the local residents. I would find it very easy to live in the environs of Phan Thiet, and of course its crawling dunes and sprawling beaches might just be the best in southern Vietnam. To boot, standard amenities that Westerners take for granted are plentiful even though you are in the countryside, making every stay, short or long, as comfortable as home. Thus the three postwar times that I have been there -- September 2005 was the last -- I never wanted to pack my suitcase and say goodbye. I will certainly go back. | |||
| To the immediate left, just out of sight, is an unpaved road that leads to the SW end of the abandoned Phan Thiet airfield, which, after my time, was known to many as LZ Betty. The view is S on what becomes the coastal road to Thuan Minh, Van Ka and Hon Ba. | |||
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| Ocean view from the northeast escarpment beyond the northeast end of the abandoned Phan Thiet airfield. Particularly in early 1967, everybody in my unit, the 129th Assault Helicopter Company, swam in the sea below. | |||
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| Novotel Phan Thiet. It sits on the dune fields that I occasionally flew over in 1966-67. | |||
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| The view from the balcony of room 415, Novotel Phan Thiet, which I highly recommend. Due to stunning sunlight on sunny days, guests in rooms higher than the fourth floor might feel the need to wear sunglasses even when indoors -- I checked it out and the 24-karat glare was not for me (upper rooms, BTW, have a different layout from the lower ones, and are especially suitable for long-term stays). But during the NE and SW monsoons, go for it. | |||
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| Pool view from the balcony of room 415, Novotel Phan Thiet. | |||
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| Looking north, the immaculate beach in front of Novotel Phan Thiet. It is reserved for hotel guests but townies tramp across it during morning callisthenics and what not, which is a lot of fun to watch. At sunrise, go out and strike up conversations with the locals -- you will be surprised by how many speak English. | |||
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| The Cham towers -- Po Sa Nu or Pho Hai -- beyond Phan Thiet. Some historians claim the towers in Phan Thiet outdate all the others in Vietnam. | |||
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| Walk beyond the Cham towers and you will come to this fabulous WSW view of Phan Thiet and its harbor. | |||
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| From lookout point 08, the view is ENE. | |||
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| The coastline beyond Phan Thiet but short of Mui Ne. From left to right, notice how the dunes sweep down to the sea; even the road descends with the dunes to the beach, afterwards winding its way parallel to the high-tide mark, until it reaches Mui Ne, popular for kitesurfing and windsurfing. White Sands Resort is in the foreground. Phu Hai Resort is in the distance. I lifted the photo from a Russian website -- Nikita, wherever you are, thank you. He caught the perspective more dramatically than I did. | |||
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| The beach in front of White Sands Resort. | |||
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| About halfway between Phan Thiet and Mui Ne. View is towards Phan Thiet. | |||
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| In the distance, Ap Long Son, which is not far beyond Mui Ne. On the extreme right, note the broken macadam of the original coastal road. | |||
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| Only 6 kilometers to go before reaching Mui Ne. By the bridge, in late-morning shade, Phuong Phan, my motorbike taxi driver from Novotel Phan Thiet, leans against his “xe om,” Vietnamese for motorbike. His father, who had been an ARVN soldier, said to him, “If you can, get an American friend. They are the most dependable friends you can ever want to have.” Considering that America abandoned South Vietnam in 1975, I not only smiled but laughed at the father’s remark. Just the same, I knew what he meant. (The photo was taken on 3 May 2005.) | |||
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| From the Phan Thiet side, entering Mui Ne. | |||
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| Same spot as 15 but looking in the opposite direction. | |||
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| This is why I paid Phuong Phan US$15 to take me beyond Mui Ne. I wanted to see where resort development stopped. In the far distance, at the base of a mountain, lie Lac Tan and Lac Nghiep. Phan Rang is 81 kilometers north of Nui Ho Ba Be, the mountain, which rises 468 meters. | |||
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| Several kilometers beyond 17, swept by dunes, the old coastal road, now bypassed by a newer one. Phuong Phan and I reversed course at this point and headed back to Novotel Phan Thiet, where he worked in F&B, food and beverage. Beyond Mui Ne, I had seen what I had come to see: still pristine, primal dunes and beaches. Exactly, from four decades ago, everything was as I remembered -- not a single grain of sand was out of place. | |||
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