The heat in the country's large cities lures thousands of Vietnamese tothe beaches in the central region during their summer holidays.
However,large crowds at well-known destinations, such as Nhat Le in Quang Binhand Nha Trang in Khanh Hoa, discourage local backpackers from visiting.
Instead,they enjoy visiting unspoiled beaches with white sands and blue waterswhere there are only a few people. Binh Ba island, which is located inCam Ranh city's Cam Binh commune in the central province of Khanh Hoa,meets all their demands.
The island can only be reached by boats from Ba Ngoi port, which is about 15km from Cam Ranh airport.
Mostof its residents raise lobsters for a living, and this is why it isalso called "the Island of Lobsters". The seafood is included in awell-known saying on the specialties of Khanh Hoa people: Hon Noi bird'snests, Ninh Hoa's fetal duck eggs, Binh Ba lobsters, Dien Khanh's drieddeer meat.
Nguyen Huong Giang from Hanoi was impressed by awedding photo collection taken on Binh Ba and immediately booked flighttickets to see the beauty of the island in June.
As she hadlittle time to prepare for the trip, the inhabitants of the islandbecame her tour guides by outlining must-see places and interestingactivities.
Her day began with walking along the pristine Chuongbeach and watching the sunrise. After that, she and her friends drovetheir rented motorbikes to visit an old block house and a tunnel builtduring the French colonialisation, where they could enjoy another viewof the sea.
In the afternoon, they greatly enjoyed swimming onNom beach, and enjoyed eating seafood before going to Nha Cu beach tosee the sunset. Like other tourists, they organised a small party onChuong beach with special dishes cooked from lobsters, such as bakedlobsters and lobster soups.
"The beaches here are very beautifuland clean, which is hard to find in other places. And people are veryfriendly and willing to help us. They tell us childhood stories andmemories that make us become closer and more attached. I have not hadany similar experience in other spots," Giang said.
Last year,Dang Duy Khanh from HCM City spent two days with his friends on theoff-the-beaten-path island. A local tour guide took his group to Nha Cubeach to dive and view coral reefs, then visit lobster breeding groundsand have a barbecue on Chuong.
"Binh Ba has clean and beautifulbeaches, as does Phu Quoc, but getting there is easier and staying thereis much cheaper than in Phu Quoc. I've recommended Binh Ba to myfriends and I'm planning to go back to the island this summer," Khanhsaid.
At the moment, there are about 700 households with 5,000people living on the island. In recent years, it has seen an increasingnumber of tourists arriving on Binh Ba, as local residents developtourism services and open restaurants, build hotels and conduct tours.
IslanderNguyen Ngoc Huy has raised lobsters for more than 10 years. One yearago, he opened a hotel to meet the growing demands of visitors.Developing tourism services is what many of the island citizen, such asHuy, participate in, along with their traditional fishing and lobsterbreeding jobs.
"In the past, only a few backpackers visited BinhBa, then they went back and suggested it to their friends. Thanks toword of mouth, people know more about the island," Huy said.
"BinhBa is currently not part of the tourism development plan of Khanh Hoa,so tourism development is spontaneous and unsupported by theauthorities."
Although the tourism infrastructure and services onthe island are meeting the demands of tourists, people there have begunto worry about the future, when the supply cannot meet the demands.
Huysaid that Binh Ba's residents are seeking to increase the public'sawareness in protecting the environment on the island and develop waysto keep it clean.
"If the number of visitors keeps going up, it will deteriorate within the next five to 10 years."-VNA
However,large crowds at well-known destinations, such as Nhat Le in Quang Binhand Nha Trang in Khanh Hoa, discourage local backpackers from visiting.
Instead,they enjoy visiting unspoiled beaches with white sands and blue waterswhere there are only a few people. Binh Ba island, which is located inCam Ranh city's Cam Binh commune in the central province of Khanh Hoa,meets all their demands.
The island can only be reached by boats from Ba Ngoi port, which is about 15km from Cam Ranh airport.
Mostof its residents raise lobsters for a living, and this is why it isalso called "the Island of Lobsters". The seafood is included in awell-known saying on the specialties of Khanh Hoa people: Hon Noi bird'snests, Ninh Hoa's fetal duck eggs, Binh Ba lobsters, Dien Khanh's drieddeer meat.
Nguyen Huong Giang from Hanoi was impressed by awedding photo collection taken on Binh Ba and immediately booked flighttickets to see the beauty of the island in June.
As she hadlittle time to prepare for the trip, the inhabitants of the islandbecame her tour guides by outlining must-see places and interestingactivities.
Her day began with walking along the pristine Chuongbeach and watching the sunrise. After that, she and her friends drovetheir rented motorbikes to visit an old block house and a tunnel builtduring the French colonialisation, where they could enjoy another viewof the sea.
In the afternoon, they greatly enjoyed swimming onNom beach, and enjoyed eating seafood before going to Nha Cu beach tosee the sunset. Like other tourists, they organised a small party onChuong beach with special dishes cooked from lobsters, such as bakedlobsters and lobster soups.
"The beaches here are very beautifuland clean, which is hard to find in other places. And people are veryfriendly and willing to help us. They tell us childhood stories andmemories that make us become closer and more attached. I have not hadany similar experience in other spots," Giang said.
Last year,Dang Duy Khanh from HCM City spent two days with his friends on theoff-the-beaten-path island. A local tour guide took his group to Nha Cubeach to dive and view coral reefs, then visit lobster breeding groundsand have a barbecue on Chuong.
"Binh Ba has clean and beautifulbeaches, as does Phu Quoc, but getting there is easier and staying thereis much cheaper than in Phu Quoc. I've recommended Binh Ba to myfriends and I'm planning to go back to the island this summer," Khanhsaid.
At the moment, there are about 700 households with 5,000people living on the island. In recent years, it has seen an increasingnumber of tourists arriving on Binh Ba, as local residents developtourism services and open restaurants, build hotels and conduct tours.
IslanderNguyen Ngoc Huy has raised lobsters for more than 10 years. One yearago, he opened a hotel to meet the growing demands of visitors.Developing tourism services is what many of the island citizen, such asHuy, participate in, along with their traditional fishing and lobsterbreeding jobs.
"In the past, only a few backpackers visited BinhBa, then they went back and suggested it to their friends. Thanks toword of mouth, people know more about the island," Huy said.
"BinhBa is currently not part of the tourism development plan of Khanh Hoa,so tourism development is spontaneous and unsupported by theauthorities."
Although the tourism infrastructure and services onthe island are meeting the demands of tourists, people there have begunto worry about the future, when the supply cannot meet the demands.
Huysaid that Binh Ba's residents are seeking to increase the public'sawareness in protecting the environment on the island and develop waysto keep it clean.
"If the number of visitors keeps going up, it will deteriorate within the next five to 10 years."-VNA
