Wandering in the sunny land

Not too noisy, the southern land of Khanh Hoa has the appearance of a "faraway land" full of sunshine and wind, with wild scenery, honest and kind people. There, you should slow down to explore the brilliant Cham culture present in the thousand-year-old Cham towers, in the Cham villages with rich identity... and many other interesting things.

Tourists visit and experience Mui Dinh sand hill. Photo: THAI HUY

Enchanting seaside road

After the merger, Khanh Hoa tourism has expanded. One day in early July, we went to the southern land of the province - where many people often joke: "What a land with wind like a whip, sun like a roasting stove". It is this harsh "specialty" that creates this land with beautiful natural scenery. Right at the beginning of the journey, we were treated to a feast of scenery as the car rolled on the Binh Lap - Vinh Hy route, with the deep blue sea on one side and the wild rocky mountains mixed with the green of the forests and wild grass of Nui Chua - Phuoc Binh National Park on the other. Each bend opened up a beautiful wild beach: Kinh Beach, Chuoi Beach, Nuoc Ngot Beach, Thung Beach... At Vinh Hy Pass - the highest point on this coastal route was a beautiful picture. The golden sunlight poured like honey. The wind blew wildly. The fishing boat was like a dotted stroke on the blue sea stretching as far as the eye could see, in the distance was the fishing village on Binh Hung Island. Here, many groups of tourists stopped to check-in, everyone wanted to capture the magical moment when the sea and sky met. Just that was enough to make me feel proud of the beauty of the land and people of Khanh Hoa on a new day.

Tourists take photo on Vinh Hy Pass.

The car drove again! In front of us was Vinh Hy Bay nestled next to the majestic Nui Chua range. Tourists often come here to visit the fishing village, dive to see corals, walk on the white sand beaches or enjoy fresh seafood from the ocean. On that day, we did not stop at Vinh Hy Bay but went to Hang Rai - a breathtakingly beautiful landscape in Nui Chua National Park - Phuoc Binh. Hang Rai is a million-year-old ancient coral reef, rising above the sea like a giant rock with rocky pits and jagged spikes. Below the edge of the ancient coral reef is another rocky shelf to the north, also known as Da Muoi beach. Every time the tide rises, water overflows onto the rock surface, meets the slope and flows back down to the sea, creating the image of amazing waterfalls on the sea surface.

Whisper of sand

Not only does it have unique scenery, the southern land of Khanh Hoa also preserves a thousand-year-old Cham cultural treasure. After lunch, we went to Po Klong Girai tower when the sun was still low. As soon as we stepped through the archway, we saw the towering tower rising against the deep blue sky. Po Klong Girai Tower today was no longer as quiet as when we had arrived many previous years. Many Korean tourists were visiting and learning about the mysterious and unique Cham culture. “I am especially interested in the architecture of the towers here, it is very special, it looks majestic. According to the tour guide, the towers are built of baked bricks with natural adhesives, not cement, it is very interesting”, said Kang Min Jun (a tourist from Korea).

Tourists playing at Mui Dinh sand hill

A researcher said that earth, water and fire are the fateful elements that created the Cham culture. Along with Cham towers, Bau Truc pottery is the embodiment of the harmony between earth, water and fire through the talented hands of Cham artisans. In the late afternoon, we visited Bau Truc pottery village (Ninh Phuoc commune), talked with the artisans and understood that behind those rustic ceramic jars is the unique art of pottery making. Artisan Dang Thi Gach shared that the Cham people take clay from the rice fields along the Quao River, combined with fine sand from the Quao River to create a mixture of raw materials to make Bau Truc pottery. Unlike most pottery villages in Vietnam and the world, the Cham people make pottery entirely by hand and move around the product to shape it, instead of rotating the product on a turntable. After drying, the pottery is fired with firewood or straw outdoors, instead of using a closed kiln like other places. The firing process usually lasts several hours and creates the natural color typical of Bau Truc pottery - usually reddish brown, ash gray and shiny black. Each ceramic jar becomes a unique and enchanting work of art.

Sweetness on the sunny land

The southern land of Khanh Hoa has the lowest rainfall in the country, almost all year round sunny. That is what creates a rare semi-desert landscape in Vietnam, with sand dunes, grasslands, dry steppes - ideal for growing grapes, apples, raising sheep, goats... On this trip, we had time to visit the vineyards in Thai An (Vinh Hai commune) to enjoy fresh grapes, grape juice right in the garden, and chat with the locals.

Tourists visit the vineyard in Thai An, Vinh Hai commune.

After a long day of wandering, we rewarded ourselves with the specialties of the sunny land. "It would be a mistake to come to Phan Rang without enjoying grilled goat, grilled lamb, grilled lizards with salt and chili", a travel colleague invited. The goats here are raised on rocky hills, eat forest grass, have firm meat, little fat, and a distinctive aroma. While the men were sipping grilled goat with glasses of wine full of the aroma of new grapes, the group of women had time to borrow a motorbike to go to the famous banh can restaurant in Phan Rang. "Phan Rang people eat banh can with fish sauce, not with fish sauce like in Nha Trang", a friend in the group recounted with excitement.

Dam Nai wind power field

Not flashy and splendid, the climate is not pleasant, but anyone who has set foot in the southern land of Khanh Hoa will surely want to come back - once, and many more times. So do we! This land not only has ancient Cham towers, beautiful beaches, but also Mui Dinh sand dunes, green Dam Nai wind power fields, pure white Ca Na salt fields, majestic Nui Chua - Phuoc Binh National Park... and many other destinations waiting to be discovered!

Xuan Thanh

Translated by T.T