Vietnam island's beautiful beaches lack trained lifeguards

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Thousands of visitors take a chance on to Phu Quoc Island's unsupervised beaches every day, hotel guards and provincial officials say.

Nguyen Phuoc Nghia, the deputy head of the island district's culture and information department, said no official agencies have conducted a survey of the safety of its beaches.

“Usually tourism firms study the risks themselves and alert the tourists on their own,”  Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper quoted Nghia as saying.

The paper reported that at least four have drowned on the country’s largest island so far this year--one of the victims was a hotel lifeguard.

On June 16, the 33-year-old lifeguard (identified only as N.T.H.) swam out into rough surf to save a drowning 51-year-old tourist from Hanoi.

But both ended up perishing in the rough waves.

A woman from the southern province of Dong Nai was swept away one evening less than a week later. Hotel guards only recovered her body the following morning when the waves pushed it back to shore.

Certain hotel and resort owners have hired guards to rescue tourists when needed, although they are not professionally trained.

Many of those guards told a Tuoi Tre reporter that they usually warn tourists against venturing into rough surf or swimming at night, but they cannot afford to maintain a round-the-clock patrol to prevent them from sneaking out.

Nguyen Thanh Nhanh, Phu Quoc's police chief, said hotel and resort licenses don't cover beaches, which are under government management.

Under current law, it's entirely up to the hotels whether they hire a lifeguard or not. 

The Saigon – Phu Quoc Hotel hired seven lifeguards in 2000 who have been active ever since.

The crew takes turns guarding the beach from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. every day, and puts flags up along the shore when they're off-duty to discourage people from swimming.

Tran Hoang Khai, the team leader, said they maintain a significant supply of lifebuoys and provide tourists with daily weather updates.

Many of the other 44 hotels employ far fewer lifeguards.

Dang Thi Ngoc Quyen, an employee at the Ngan Sao Hotel, said they have three beach guards, each in charge of one shift.

They can swim, but have only been trained in providing first aid, Quyen said.

“Our lifeguards need proper training, but there’s nothing like that in the area,” she said.

Nghia said that even the provincial government isn't authorized to issue sea rescue certificates.

However, the National Tourism Administration agreed to help organize a training course that's scheduled to begin on September 22, he said.

The problem, however, could persist as the district government lacks sufficient funds to maintain such a force.

As such, hotels and tourists may have to continue to help each other keep the beaches safe--the latter by obeying hotel lifeguard instructions and warnings.

Nghia said the district’s fire police have rescue expertise but are too understaffed to maintain a constant beach patrol.

Raw fish salad, a Phu Quoc delicacy

At this time of year, the adventurous fish aficionado can easily negotiate to follow fishermen to sea to catch cá ngân (yellowtail scad), bring the catch home and make the delicious dish.

Yellowtail scad season in Phu Quoc peaks in August.
To get in on the action, head to Khem Beach. Here, the sea's quite calm, almost entirely without waves. Local fishermen say that schools of the fish are literally leaping out of the water around the island.
They only need spread out their nets offshore and wait. When the schools of scad swim toward the island and pivot back, they find themselves caught.
At this time of year, a lucky fisherman can pull in as much as 20 kilograms in a single haul--naturally, scad are widely available at market.
But buying the fish just isn't nearly as fun as catching them yourself.
The fastest and easiest way to make a dish of yellowtail scad is to grill them.
Just toss the whole fish in a mixture of pounded chillis and salt.
All you have to do next is lay the fish out over some glowing coals and grill them medium to preserve the meat's sweetness.
The most delicious scad dish under the sun, however, is gỏi (raw fish salad).
Start by filleting each fish and macerating them into a bowl of lemon juice--ceviche style.
Then add them to a salad of sliced onions, chopped celery, rice paddy herb, coriander, shredded coconut and sliced chilli.
Finally, add a dash of ground roasted peanuts and fried shallots.
A few sprigs of wild vegetables ("forest herbs"), native to Phu Quoc Island, add a nice bitterness to the mix--but aren't absolutely necessary.
This salad has everything: the sweetness, saltiness and sourness of the fresh fish, the richness of the peanuts and coconut meat, a kick from the chilli and the tartness of the vegetables.

Yen Tu - the home of Vietnam's hero king-turned-Buddha

The Yen Tu historical relic occupies nearly 20 kilometers of Quang Ninh Province’s Uong Bi District. It was listed as national relic in 1974 and as special national relic in 2012. Most of pagodas, temples and towers are located on nearly 2,800 hectares in the Yen Tu Forest Natural Reserve which boasts a diverse tropical ecosystem. Photos: Minh Hung

The Yen Tu Mount is located 1,068 meters above sea level (the highest in northeastern Vietnam) and was founded by King Tran Nhan Tong (1258-1308). After successfully leading the Tran Dynasty to it final victories over two Mongol invasions, King Tran Nhan Tong gave the throne to his son and went to Yen Tu in 1299 to create the Truc Lam Buddhism Zen Sect, which had a significant impact on the development of Vietnamese Buddhism.

The Hue Quang Kim Tower is located near the Hoa Yen Pagoda. The tower was built in 1309 to store King Tran Nhan Tong’s sarira – the crystal-like bead-shaped objects that are purportedly found among the cremated ashes of Buddhist masters.

The Hue Quang Kim Tower also features a statue of King Tran Nhan Tong which crafted, following his ordination, during the Tran Dynasty (1225-1400).

Hoa Yen is the main pagoda of Yen Tu Pagoda Complex and is surrounded by three ancient trees, each more than 700 years old. Followers of the sect believe they were planted by the three patriarchs of the Truc Lam Buddhism Zen Sect, including King Tran Nhan Tong.

Situated at more than 1,000 meter above sea level you'll find a massive bronze statue of King Tran Nhan Tong. It is believed to weigh 138 tons.

At the cloudy peak of Yen Tu Mountains sits the Dong (Thien Truc) Pagoda which was built in 2007 out of bronze. The pagoda weighs 70 tons and is shaped like a blooming lotus. It is the largest bronze pagoda ever built in Vietnam.

Legend has its that the Giai Oan Stream was where King Tran Nhan Tong’s wives committed suicide after failing to convince him to return to the throne.

The stream flows under the Giai Oan Bridge, which leads to the Giai Oan Pagoda.

The Giai Oan Pagoda is said to be the place that King Tran Nhan Tong built to pray for the souls of his deceased wives.

The Truc Lam Yen Tu Monastery is the largest in Yen Tu and considered the headquarters of Truc Lam Zen Buddhism Sect in Vietnam.

In Yen Tu, tourists can hike 6 kilometers to the peak, which takes about 6 hours. Two cable car systems half the distance. Accommodation is available at the foot of the mountain foot along with a restaurant that plays traditional Vietnamese music.

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A top barbecue

I have had dinner at 3T thrice, and every time I thank my friends for showing me the place.

Six months ago my friends, coming back from Australia to visit Ho Chi Minh City, had asked me to take them to this barbecue place in the downtown area.

Some of their foreign friends, Australian and American, had told them about this place: “People say it does the best barbecue in town. Good food and good atmosphere.”

And so I took them to the restaurant, which is on the roof of a three-story building on Ton That Thiep Street (3T… see?).

The ground floor of the building is occupied by an ice-cream shop, and the second floor by a club named Temple Club.

There are no signboards for 3T. We see Asian elephants with paraffin lamps on their backs and a Buddha as we go up.
We step out of the quiet stairs into a noisy, crowded place. We were in 3T.

It is around 7:00 p.m. on a weekend, and the place is full. We have to wait for a while to get three seats. Lesson learnt. For my subsequent visits I made reservations.

3T makes the barbeque right at your table using a gas oven and grill. There is a wide selection with pork, beef, deer, goat, fish, and seafood at a fairly expensive VND100,000 – 200,000 per dish.

It all seemed a bit chaotic at first, but when we settled down things became smooth. Everything was good with the world: we were on a rooftop looking over Saigon, our food was being grilled, there was beer.

We tried beef with cheese, pork breast, shrimp with salt and chili, and all of it was outstanding. The pork breast was served with okra, eggplant, and bindweed.

What we liked about the meats was that they were well marinated in fragrant, tasty spices, making them delicious. They did not turn dry either and remained very soft.

The prawns were incredibly fresh.

The barbecued dishes were also accompanied by fresh vegetables and salt and pepper with lime, which was perfect for the prawns.

For the beef and pork, we ordered some tofu with chili.
I noticed some people asking for rice paper and rice vermicelli and rolling up their barbecue like a spring roll.

A dish of cabbage salad is also worth a try. It is quite spicy and looks like kimchi, “but tastes much better than kimchi,” according to one of my companions.

Apart from the barbecued stuff, we also had pork stomach stewed with green pepper in an earthen pot, a specialty of 3T.

3T RESTAURANT

29 - 31 Ton That Thiep Street, District 1, HCMC

It is a bit like a hot pot, and is served with soy sauce and watercress. We can order rice, vermicelli, or noodle to eat with it.

Apart from the food, the service was also very good.
We never had to wait for long for anything as the waiters were all eyes and ears despite the crowd. Despite being in a constant hurry, they were solicitous, especially with foreigners who were occasionally struggling with the Vietnamese menu.

They constantly tended to the barbecue, ensuring the food was not burnt or overdone.

The second time I went to 3T, someone was having a birthday party. The lights were dimmed, leaving the place dark, and the staff set off fireworks.

A word of caution if you plan to go to 3T – choose comfortable clothes and dispense with elaborate make-up since the food is barbecued right beside us and the smell of oil, smoke, and grilled food clings to us.

The waiter brings a plate of fruit for free after clearing up and leaves us, on a full belly, to contemplate what just went.

Mang Den is what Da Lat was

Kon Tang, an ethnic village, in Mang Den eco-tourism area, the Central Highlands province of Kom Tum / PHOTO: HIEU LAM

When I visited Kon Tum the other day, my friends there asked me to accompany them to Mang Den, which is about 50 kilometers from the province’s capital town and is being developed into a national eco-tourism area.

Given the record to date, the “development” did not enthuse me, but I was interested enough in the area, which is dubbed “the second Da Lat” of Vietnam, to accepted my friends’ invitation.  

The trip was not long, but it was quite challenging. We had to climb a 12-kilometer mountain pass, also named Mang Den, with 126 turns. If you do not enjoy cold weather, be warned that it felt very chilly to travel at a height of some 1,300 meters above the sea level.

Upon our arrival, the whole area was already dark, so we camped for the night (for decent accommodation, hotels in Mang Den offer a room at VND150,000-400,000 or US$7-19 per night).

The next morning we woke up early, and soon I found that Mang Den being compared to Da Lat was apt, but not in the present tense.

With a majority of its area still covered with forests, and the all year round cool climate (the highest temperature is 22 Celsius degrees), Mang Den reminded me of Da Lat during its prime time, decades ago, when it had not yet been invaded by “development” and the buildings and pollution that it brought in.

Mang Den, which means “flat land” in the language of the ethnic Mo Nam people, is part of Kon Plong District, almost 75 percent (130,000 hectares) of which is covered by forests.

My friends led me through a forest where trees looked centuries old. I was able to see two rare pine species: Himalayan yews (Taxus Wallichiana zucc), or thong do (red pine) in Vietnamese, which have almost disappeared from Da Lat; and Fokienia hodginsi, known as pomu in Vietnamese.

I was told that local people planted the trees more than 30 years ago, and now they are almost everywhere – in the forests, along the Mang Den mountain pass, and even home gardens.

Mang Den forests are also home to rare herbs like agarwood (Aquilaria crassna), categorized as “critically threatened” in the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List.

As we walked through the forest trails, we saw several animals like chamois and porcupine which are among hundreds of native species, including endangered ones like the northern white-cheek gibbons (Nomascus leucogenys) and sun bears (Ursus malayanus).

There are also springs that are home to eels and a species of small fish called ca nien, both famous for their tasty flesh. So, those who love fishing should not forget to bring the needed devices while trekking through forests in Mang Den.

Like Da Lat, Mang Den also boasts an array of waterfalls like Tram, Pa Si, and Dak Ke, and lakes like Ly Leng, Po, Jori, Sang, Dam, Ki, and Lu Rpoong. These waterfalls and lakes are located within 10 kilometers from the area’s center.

Around the lakes are lots of purple Melastoma flowers and wild orchids that bloom in April or May.

After spending a whole day in the forests, we visited a few ethnic minority villages.

Mang Den is home to at least three ethnic minority communities – Mo Nam, Ca Dong and Hre, who have their distinct cultures and customs, from the way they plan terrace fields, hunt, farm cattle, to conduct weddings, and observe religion. All these cultural aspects are worth exploring at leisure, if one has time to spare.

Since we, unfortunately, did not have time, we visited just a couple of villages, and joined locals in a night performance of traditional dances and cong chieng (gongs), enjoying ruou can (traditional wine that is made in the Central Highlands and does not go through any distillation).

As we left, I resolved to return soon, before the dreaded “development” takes its toll on Mang Den.

Mang Den is what Da Lat was

Kon Tang, an ethnic village, in Mang Den eco-tourism area, the Central Highlands province of Kom Tum / PHOTO: HIEU LAM

When I visited Kon Tum the other day, my friends there asked me to accompany them to Mang Den, which is about 50 kilometers from the province’s capital town and is being developed into a national eco-tourism area.

Given the record to date, the “development” did not enthuse me, but I was interested enough in the area, which is dubbed “the second Da Lat” of Vietnam, to accepted my friends’ invitation.  

The trip was not long, but it was quite challenging. We had to climb a 12-kilometer mountain pass, also named Mang Den, with 126 turns. If you do not enjoy cold weather, be warned that it felt very chilly to travel at a height of some 1,300 meters above the sea level.

Upon our arrival, the whole area was already dark, so we camped for the night (for decent accommodation, hotels in Mang Den offer a room at VND150,000-400,000 or US$7-19 per night).

The next morning we woke up early, and soon I found that Mang Den being compared to Da Lat was apt, but not in the present tense.

With a majority of its area still covered with forests, and the all year round cool climate (the highest temperature is 22 Celsius degrees), Mang Den reminded me of Da Lat during its prime time, decades ago, when it had not yet been invaded by “development” and the buildings and pollution that it brought in.

Mang Den, which means “flat land” in the language of the ethnic Mo Nam people, is part of Kon Plong District, almost 75 percent (130,000 hectares) of which is covered by forests.

My friends led me through a forest where trees looked centuries old. I was able to see two rare pine species: Himalayan yews (Taxus Wallichiana zucc), or thong do (red pine) in Vietnamese, which have almost disappeared from Da Lat; and Fokienia hodginsi, known as pomu in Vietnamese.

I was told that local people planted the trees more than 30 years ago, and now they are almost everywhere – in the forests, along the Mang Den mountain pass, and even home gardens.

Mang Den forests are also home to rare herbs like agarwood (Aquilaria crassna), categorized as “critically threatened” in the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List.

As we walked through the forest trails, we saw several animals like chamois and porcupine which are among hundreds of native species, including endangered ones like the northern white-cheek gibbons (Nomascus leucogenys) and sun bears (Ursus malayanus).

There are also springs that are home to eels and a species of small fish called ca nien, both famous for their tasty flesh. So, those who love fishing should not forget to bring the needed devices while trekking through forests in Mang Den.

Like Da Lat, Mang Den also boasts an array of waterfalls like Tram, Pa Si, and Dak Ke, and lakes like Ly Leng, Po, Jori, Sang, Dam, Ki, and Lu Rpoong. These waterfalls and lakes are located within 10 kilometers from the area’s center.

Around the lakes are lots of purple Melastoma flowers and wild orchids that bloom in April or May.

After spending a whole day in the forests, we visited a few ethnic minority villages.

Mang Den is home to at least three ethnic minority communities – Mo Nam, Ca Dong and Hre, who have their distinct cultures and customs, from the way they plan terrace fields, hunt, farm cattle, to conduct weddings, and observe religion. All these cultural aspects are worth exploring at leisure, if one has time to spare.

Since we, unfortunately, did not have time, we visited just a couple of villages, and joined locals in a night performance of traditional dances and cong chieng (gongs), enjoying ruou can (traditional wine that is made in the Central Highlands and does not go through any distillation).

As we left, I resolved to return soon, before the dreaded “development” takes its toll on Mang Den.

Filling for one, topping for another

Xoi cade, sticky rice topped with egg custard, is best eaten when it is hot or a little bit cold / PHOTOS: GIANG VU

If you love the filling of steamed egg custard buns, a common dim sum dish that is known as lai wang bao in Chinese, you should check out xoi cade – glutinous rice with the same custard as a topping – in Ho Chi Minh City.

Unlike banh bao cade (Vietnamese name for lai wang bao), which is available almost throughout the day and can be found in pushcarts that sell banh bao– Vietnamese buns with a savory filling consisting of pork, mushrooms and eggs, xoi cade is less prevalent.

In fact, it is only sold in pushcarts in and around Cho Lon (big market), the country’s biggest Chinatown area, and these only open late in the evening, typically.

I recommend that you visit a pushcart located at the crossroads between Tran Phu and Nguyen Tri Phuong in District 5.

While many other pushcarts add more toppings like grated dried coconut flesh and ground peanuts, this anonymous one serves sticky rice simply with the custard topping made with coconut milk, eggs, wheat flour and sugar.

Lots of HCMC residents apparently favor the simplicity, because it is now one of the most crowded businesses of its kind.

XÔI CADÉ

In front of noodle shop Giai Ký at 451 Tran Phu Street, Ward 7, District 5 Open hours: 8 p.m. – 2 a.m. Prices: xoi cade (VND12,000/serving), rau cau and cakes (VND4,000/piece)

The pushcart does not have stools or tables to serve its customers, so most of them order takeaways. The sticky rice is placed on a banana leaf, topped with the custard filling, and the leaf folded into a pyramid and kept in place with a toothpick.

Xoi cade is best eaten when it is hot or a little bit cold.

Besides the trademark food, the pushcart also sells different kinds of rau cau(jelly) like with chocolate, coconut, eggs, and longan fruit flesh or Long yan rou that are usually used as herbs in Chinese medicine.

There is also an array of cakes like banh da lon (steamed layer cake made from tapioca starch, rice flour, mashed mung bean, taro or durian, sugar, coconut milk and water), and banh khoai mi (made from grated cassava, sugar, coconut milk, and a small amount of salt).

If ever you feel like making a meal of desserts, you know where to go.