Can Gio District

The recreation reserve at Can Gio, which is south of the city and west of Vung Tau, will appeal to those who want to run away from the hustle and dust of HCMC.

It takes a ten-minute ferry trip across the Nha Be River, and a longer two hour drive on a sunny road to reach the sanctuary.

The Car ride with local drivers is an adventure as they drive along the bumpy road lined with mangrove trees at a speed that is almost alarming.

It comes as a surprise to many to find the salt mashes and muddy coastal landscapes that are typical of Ca Mau and Kien Giang – so near HCMC.

For those who expect Blue ocean views, Can Gio is not blue.

Formed by mud and hard sand, the beach has a muddy look that might be a little bit disappointing.

But the beach is ideal for a long walk in the windswept natural surrounds, which seem as if all the winds in the world gather there.

The area is a popular picnic spot for Vietnamese families who enjoy their barbecues and rice wine with the customary gusto.

Can Gio is yet to fully develop into a tourist site; a few simple-looking restaurants line the beach, offering tasty and reasonably-priced seafood.

Hearty cheap meals along with a museum that contains exhibits of the forest wildlife and local war history, and a 2,100-ha ecological site, are some of the attractions besides the wind, sea and sand of Can Gio.

The ecological site, called Lam Vien, features hundreds of rather violent monkeys who jump up and down in the mangrove trees to welcome visitors or snatch away their hats and vanish into the forest.

Source: TN/QDND