While many tourists visit the Chong Rocks on the promontory, very few foreigners make to the perfectly shaped crescent bay of Chong Beach, referred to locals as ‘Second Bay’. It’s often crowded with locals in early mornings and late afternoons, but blissfully missing is the litter in the surf and the runoff from the Cai River after heavy rains on Nha Trang’s main beach. Cafés and a few bars now sit opposite the flat stretch of sand, and it’s only 10 minutes from Nha Trang’s city center. There’s easy access for snorkeling, and you’ll occasionally see people body-surfing in the gentle waves. Be mindful that Chong Beach is both more shallow and rocky than Nha Trang’s main beach. The flat expanse of sand that you see as you approach it can be alluring, but soon after wading into the water you’ll start feeling the bite of rocks along the sea bottom. It’s best to come at high tide when you don’t have to wade out so far from the sandy shore.
Heading north along Nha Trang’s Tran Phu Boulevard you’ll cross Tran Phu Bridge, built in 2002, and the brightly decked fishing boats floating peacefully in the Cai River. It makes for a great bicycle ride, and while the road is busy, you won’t see many big trucks spitting out dust and debris. Beach volleyball nets are set up just south of the bridge in a manicured park, with pickup games with locals often being played. Atop the bridge you can almost always find about two dozen of Nha Trang’s die hard fishing enthusiasts casting lines into the mouth of the river far below. It’s also a great photo spot for the islands at sunrise to the east, or at dusk with the sun setting over the western mountains casting brilliant rays over the Po Nagar Cham Towers in a heavenly light, and catching the fishing fleet in its full colorful glory.
On the north side of the river, between Tran Phu Bridge and Xom Bong Bridge, is the new road of Cu Lao Ha St. What was once a ramshackle cluster of houses packed around the city’s main fish market, is now a very nice quay overlooking the mouth of the river. Within days of the road’s opening, entrepreneurs set up lounge chairs in the park, and every month there are new restaurants and cafés springing up. It has fast become one of the city’s favored places to relax in the evenings with a cold drink.
As you cross the bridge you’ll start bearing towards a headland, atop which sits Nha Trang University. Formally called The Fisheries University, it moved to Nha Trang from Hai Phong in 1977. It’s now one of the country’s better schools and boasts 23 disciplines, and is the nation’s leader in the studies of fisheries and aquaculture. From the bridge the twin islands of Hon Ho and Hon Dung appear far out to sea, often through a salty mist on the horizon.
After the bridge Tran Phu Boulevard becomes Pham Van Dong street, and you’ll pass some of the most popular seafood restaurants for locals and tourists in the know. Just north of the bridge and resting, quite literally, a stone’s throw from the coast, is Hon Do (Red Island). Too small to be developed, it’s now a cluster of Buddhist shrines with a resident monk acting as caretaker. At low tide you can actually walk to the isle, and you’ll often see locals playing “tip toe through the tide pools”, searching for rock crabs and shellfish. Numerous seafood restaurants line this stretch of road, and are some of the most popular in town with locals.
House of the Bay
Past Red Island the large Hon Chong Promontory comes into view, with a small bridge going over the road that connects the point with the university. A newly paved access road leads up to the headland, with spectacular views of the beautiful arch of Hon Chong Beach and the northern line of low mountains. At the top of the promontory rise is a lovely structure called House of the Bay. Built in 2005, it’s in the traditional Ruong style found in the ancient dwellings of Hue in central Vietnam. Typical Ruong houses are made up of spacious multi-windowed rooms, separated by rows of columns, and compartmental sidewings with wood dividers. Admission is 5,500 VND.
The Ruong houses of Hue were made from indigenous timbers, and the building of this traditional house was done by taking apart and transporting an entire 100 year old Ruong home and putting it back together in Nha Trang. There are some concrete pillars painted to resemble the original, but in general it’s an excellent example of an ancient architectural style of the central coast. One room of the house contains a massive mural painted by French artist Bouvier Cloude in 2005 for the Sea Festival, with an emphasis on ocean conservation.
In addition to some sea-related souvenirs inside, you’ll find examples of wooden block art, plus photos of Khanh Hoa’s coast and islands. The local sculptor Doan Xuan Hung has samples of his handmade Cham designs in a small display.
A new form of art that has become quite popular in Nha Trang is sand art. The young artisan Tran Thi Ngoc Anh, together with her mother Tran Thi Thu, have made a name for themselves by painting pictures or calligraphy in either picture frames or wine glasses, then layering different colored sand within. They have a small workspace inside the House of the Bay where you can watch them at their craft, or take an example of sand art home as a souvenir.
There’s a drink stand next to the motorbike parking lot, and around the structure are assortments of flowers and fruit trees. Behind the Ruong house there are breathtaking views from the top of the promontory. Straight east are the faint bird’s nest islands, the untouched northern slopes of Hon Tre (Bamboo Island) are to the south-east, and Hon Rua (Turtle Island) is the small green dome to the north-east. From here it’s an easy walk down the steps to the Chong Rocks to the left, or a short scramble down a rocky path to the Vo Rocks to the right.
Stacks of round granite boulders lie strewn about and on top of one another, with the cool sea washing over large submerged rocks. There is even a small patch of sand if you want to get your feet wet, and nice views of Hon Chong Beach and the Fairy Mountain. As you gingerly make your way over the boulders you’ll pass under Heaven’s Gate, a precariously positioned boulder wedged between rocks the size of village huts. Most don’t linger long as they get out from under it.
A Tale of Fairies and Giants
The main draw of these rocks is the giant hand-print found on the far eastern side of the last boulder of the site, and harkens back to folklore. Long ago in the days of dancing fairies and vengeful gods, the area around Nha Trang was a place of idle play amongst the fairy folk. They would swim at the northern Fairy Beach, play chess at the Suoi Tien stream, and generally act like the little sprites that they were all around the area.
So the story goes, one fairy of particular beauty was the center of attention of a giant who had been passing through. One day, the fairy maiden was bathing in the waters of a nearby beach when her secret admirer crept up the rocky slopes and dared to spy upon her. Besotted by her beauty and youth, and maudlin on wine, he became careless and slipped on the rocks. In the place where he caught himself he left a massive hand print burned into a granite boulder. Later the fairy and the giant fell in love with each other, but the gods disapproved and cast the giant away. Wracked with sorrow the fairy waited for her love to return. Growing despondent, she lay down and became what is now Fairy Mountain.
As you look north of Hon Chong Beach you’ll see three peaks just to the north-west of the shore. The peak on the far right shows her head looking heavenwards with her hair forming the hillside going towards the sea, the middle peak is her breasts, and the crest on the far left form her crossed legs. There is a second story to go with the Chong Rocks about a fisherman lost to a typhoon and his mourning wife waiting for him on the rocks. The largest set of rocks on the promontory are called the Chong Rocks, and the smaller set to the right are called the Vo Rocks. Chong and Vo in Vietnamese mean ‘husband’ and ‘wife’.
A Peaceful Cove
Leaving the Hon Chong Promontory, you’ll coast down the access road with the gentle arc of Hon Chong Beach laid out before you. An entrancing sight, you’ll want to make the 30 second bike decent last as long as possible. The beach itself lacks the larger sand dunes of Nha Trang’s main beach and is more protected by the mountains, so it’s easier to enjoy the view of the low waves lapping the shoreline from the road. Beneath the surface of the water are rocky outcroppings buried in the sand, which makes for excellent snorkeling, though watch your step as you head out.
Due to the calmer water you’ll see locals harvesting the seaweed that forms in the lagoon, and the flat sand is constantly being used as a make-shift football pitch by local youngsters.
There’s a few seafood restaurants and some new coffee bars on the road opposite the beach, the most popular being Garden Music Coffee (GMC). With A/C inside and a nice patio fronting the boulevard, this is a great place to relax any time of the day, and it turns into a music-thumping disco at night.
In a few years time this area may be as developed as the main stretch of sand to the south. With its dozen hotels this is also a nice alternative if you want to get away from the tourist scene.
Another plus to its location is the fact that this beach lies north of the Cai River, which empties into the sea and gradually flows southward. After rainy days this sometimes makes the main beach choked with brown runoff water, both an eyesore and not a place you’d want to take a dip. In contrast, Hon Chong Beach is always crystal clear and calm, making for an easy escape just 10 minutes drive north if you happen to be visiting when a brown wash on the main beach is mucking up your holiday.
Parking your bicycle or motorbike can be tricky, as there aren’t the designated lots found on Nha Trang’s beach. Most people choose to get something to eat or drink at one of the coffee shops and arrange with the guards to have their transport watched while they take a swim. Another alternative is to catch the No. 4 local bus on Nguyen Thien Thuat St. in the tourist area, and get off when you reach Hon Chong Beach. The bus cruises through parts of the city center that you might not otherwise see, and at only 4000 VND each way, it’s a great option and only takes about 25 minutes.
