Detouring off the main coast road I explore an inland lagoon and emerald green rice fields before tackling an unavoidable stretch of Highway One. The end point is a remarkable white sands beach earmarked for luxury development.
Exploring Phu Yen
With a couple of sunny days a my disposal and a few long, hard, stormy weeks of touring behind me it was a no brainer to linger over Phu Yen and the south central coast.
A cruisier 45 kilometre route (made longer when I had to backtrack for a forgotten helmet) allowed me to spend an afternoon kicking back on Tu Nham beach, which will no doubt be a major tourist hot spot one day.
Right now, though, it is still just a little bit rough around the edges, though with one of the prettiest and most chilled out guesthouses of my entire trip, the Timothe Beach Bungalows.
A swarm of fishing boats
The day starts off with a ride along the gorgeous Phu Yen coast road, which I explored in more detail in my previous days’ ride. Plunging down to the bottom of the hill there is a cluster of friendly street vendors serving up a very tasty dish of banh mi op la (baguettes with fried egg).
From here I make a quick detour down to see the beach at Xuan Hai. This involves walking my bike down a narrow alleyway and parking it at a shop but I’m glad I made the effort.
I’m treated to the visually arresting sight of hundreds of colourful fishing boats up on the beach, with their owners working frantically to unload the morning’s catch. They are so tightly packed the sand in places is barely visible – and much too busy to pay attention to an awkward foreigner snapping some photos.
Cutting away from the main road I spend the next hour or two doodling around on small back roads though sleepy, attractive villages lined with palm trees and colourful roofs. I take a couple of pointless but fun detours, hoping to find vantage points over the lagoon.
The Xuan Hai Lagoon
Eventually my route meets the lagoon itself, a vast, blue body of water dotted with fishing boats and rimmed with the forested mountains of Phu Yen. A narrow bridge cuts over the water, lined with floating seafood eateries and fishing farms.
Unfortunately it isn’t possible to cycle around the full perimetre of the lagoon, but you can cycle around the western edge for a while just to admire the views.
At this stage of the trip I’ve seen hundreds of colourful fishing boats but for some reason they never get old, and I make another stop to admire some painting and maintenance at work.
Rice fields back road
The meandering spirit of the ride continues with another back roads detour through green fields and villages. Tis really is a VERY pretty part of Vietnam, its laid back quietness reminding me of the Mekong Delta. An old lady snoozes in a hammock outside a rustic farm cottage as I roll on past.
An unavoidable stretch of Highway One
Unfortunately all good things must come to an end, and that is especially in true in this land of extreme contrasts.
As much as I’ve taken pains to avoid the big highways, there are points along the coast where it is impossible to avoid, and this is one of those places.
The good news is that this particular stretch is only ten kilometres long, and there is a nice wide shoulder to cycle in (unless farmers are using it to make hay).
I stop for lunch at one of a string of eateries (Quan Gio Xuan Dai) overlooking the water and order Mi Xao Hai San (Fried noodles with seafood). It’s modest, friendly and a cool respite out of the sun.
The Tu Nham peninsula
The Tu Nham peninsula is yet another long peninsula forming the craggy outline of Vietnam’s south central coast. It would be a great place to cycle round and explore if you had an extra day to explore and wanted to visit some of the more remote beaches.
But for me it is enough to make a beeline for the main beach where I spend the afternoon reading, walking and swimming on the beach.
From Highway One, it is necessary to cycle a little way up a hill then double back to make the turn off. Once on the peninsula, the road is terrible, though slightly less terrible if you take the main road as (TIP: do NOT follow the signs and turn off to the road closer to the sea).
White Sands Beach
The beach is a stunning arc of powdery white sand set amongst picturesque green hills. Unlike the Phu Yen beaches further north, the water is pleasant and swimmable even in November rainy season.
As with almost all beaches in Vietnam, there is fishing trash (brought through by the rainy season currents) though its not enough to spoil the experience and I expect this would improve during the spring months.
The obscure location and terrible tiny village roads (this is obviously quite a poor area still) leading here makes this probably one of the quietest beach locations in Vietnam. Interestingly the two accomodation options here were set up by foreigners. The prices are a little higher as a result, but worth splashing out for.
I adored staying in this white beach bungalow, eating fresh fish and veggies cooked by the caretaker, and swinging in the hammock with my book.
But soon it was time to continue down the coast towards Tuy Hoa.
