As charming as that, the land was a sleeping beauty until the release of popular film “Yellow Flowers on the Green Grass”. Since then, travelers started to sprout. However, Phu Yen still remains unaffected by mass tourism.
I spent 3 days there and got lucky with the weather during my stay. Upon arrival in Tuy Hoa city in Phu Yen after a 10-hour train from Ho Chi Minh city at 5 early in the morning, I was a little surprised: The town is so lovely and quiet! Then, I decided to rent a motorbike with the price of only 100,000vnd per day (which was around US$5). It was not a difficult task to explore all corners in this province by motorbike since the population is not so dense, traffic was smooth. I was told by a local man that Tuy Hoa city was listed as city only around 10 years ago, that might be the reason why the city is still more like a countryside area.
I started to fall in love with this place once I sat on the motorbike and ran for the first few miles. Phu Yen is bordered by the sea on one side and endless rice fields on the other side. As a matter of fact, most of local people still depend on agriculture rather than tourism. I let myself and my motorbike get into every villages on the way, probing the local life before heading to the beach.
Below are some attractions sticks with the renown of Phu Yen:
Ghenh Da Dia (Da Dia Reef)
This is considered as a strange geological phenomenon of nature, locates in An Ninh Dong Commune, Tuy An District. Ghenh Da Dia looks like a giant jigsaw at a far distance. The rock structure includes large upright stone equally arranged in a star pattern. Reason for this natural masterpiece is when the mineral flows melting was frozen when they encounter water, making the solid breaks into pieces million years ago. Ghenh Da Dia is about 1km2 large, half lying under the sea and half above the sea level. The stones here are bazan stones of dark black and light yellow and coming in various shapes: round, pentagon, polygon and so on. Up to now, researchers have failed to count exactly the total number of stones and only come up with an approximate number of 35,000.
Mui Dien (Dien Cape)
Mui Dien is known for other names such as Dai Lanh cape, Ke Ga Cape or Cap Varella and is a part of Truong Son mountain range. Coming here, you will have an opportunity to see the sunrise first, which is the most enchanting part according to most of the tourists. After a short and easy trek on a rock road to the light house in Mui Dien, a magnificent sight opened up in front of my eyes: white sand and crystal clear, blue water. I chose to stay overnight there so that I can be able to witness the first dawn in Vietnam, and after all, it did worth the experience. I had to ask the permission of watchmen at the light house in order to sleep there. Actually, they are used to welcome guests like me and they were really hospitable and accommodating.
Green rocks in Ro Village
This is the place where rock shores are covered with green moss under the sun, locating in Ro Village, Phu Dong Commune, Tuy Hoa City. When I saw a picture of the rocks on the Internet, I did not think of how splendid it is until I came there. It is truly another masterpiece of Mother Nature! This coast was once a breakwater for coastal village in Tuy Hoa city, it helps obviate the high sea level. The rocks include square-shaped concrete blocks and hundreds of large and small rocks.
Apart from that attraction, Phu Yen has many beaches that are unspoiled by mass tourism. You can hardy spot tourists wearing colorful swimsuits and lying on the beach here. Instead, Phu Yen residents would flock to the beach in the afternoon, they just simply wear their short clothing and jump to the water. In one fine afternoon, I came across with a small local beach where only a few people usually come to relax. There was a lovely snack shop owned by 2 kind local women. After playing on the beach, I sat at the snack shop, with white sand under my feet, light breeze blowing through my hair, and enjoyed some of the specialties of Phu Yen such as: jellyfish salad, tuna’s eye and oyster soup. It was the best feeling I have ever had in my life when there was no hectic pace of life around.
It might take a decade or even more in order to develop Phu Yen into a top spot for both domestic and foreign tourists to come like Phu Quoc Island or Nha Trang. For that reason, you should pay a visit here before resorts and buildings take the place. If you are a real explorer and are seeking for a hidden place, do not miss Phu Yen.
Minh Vu
