Those of us who worked missions in Phan Thiet remember it as a sand-covered fishing village with the all-pervasive ‘aroma’ of the nuoc mam produced there. Some will remember the beaches. Today, those beaches and the tourists they attract are Phan Thiet’s primary sources of revenue and employment.
Phan Thiet, like Mui Ne on its north side, was originally a fishing village. (Mui Ne was a separate fishing village but is now considered to be a part of Phan Thiet City.) It remains one of Vietnam’s most important fishing ports and fish processing and marketing centers. It is, in fact, the headquarters of the Vietnamese fishing cooperatives. A portion of the fish brought into port here, primarily anchovies, are sold to local factories, which ferment them in a brine to produce nuoc mam, the fish sauce that is used in and on many Vietnamese foods. Phan Thiet also has a substantial industry in making of brick and tile, although this industry does not trigger the olfactory senses.
During the Indochinese colonial period, the French established some beach resorts in the area of Phan Thiet and Mui Ne. On October 24, 1995, thousands of people gathered on the beaches here to witness the total solar eclipse. That day, Phan Thiet’s beach-based tourism was born. Since then, hundreds of hotels, restaurants and resorts have been constructed along the coast. Along with this have come guesthouses and shops of various kinds. Each part of Phan Thiet and each of the various area beaches has its own character. Some are peaceful and tranquil, made for relaxing and swimming. Others are livelier, offering surfing, wind surfing, parasailing and other water sports. Yet others provide a choice of beach-side bars and restaurants.
Recent years have seen substantial beach erosion in the Phan Thiet area. As a result, some resorts lack a high tide as the water reaches the sea wall. A number of resorts have installed geotechnical tubes (Geotubes) to prevent further erosion of their beaches. Geotubes are somewhat like long tube socks with about a 12-foot oval cross section. They are filled with silt, laid parallel to the shore, and covered with sand and plants.
The resort operators consider there to be two separate and distinct tourist seasons in Phan Thiet. During the winter, most of the tourists are from Russia and Northern Europe, trying to escape their own harsh winters. In the summer, tourists come primarily from Australia and North America, as well as from other parts of Vietnam itself.
When one thinks of Vietnam, thoughts of damp jungles often come to mind, but never deserts. The Phan Thiet area, though, is very much like a desert beside the ocean. Sand dunes are expansive and numerous in the area, complete with cactus plants. The more southerly dunes are of white sand, while those to the north are red. Some towards the middle are orange, and in some places, erosion reveals bands of different colors of sand. One notable such place is referred to as the “Fairy Stream.” This small stream, over the years, has carved a canyon in the dunes, revealing colorful bands of sand and limestone.
Beaches, bars, hotels and restaurants are not all that can be seen in Phan Thiet. In the city itself, there are museums, shopping malls and a school where there was once a 20-year-old teacher named Nguyen Tat Than. Over the span of his life, Nguyen adopted a succession of many different names, most famously Ho Chi Minh.
The area around Phan Thiet was once part of the ancient Kingdom of Champa. The Chams built towers in many places throughout Vietnam, and Phan Thiet is no exception. The Poshanu Cham Tower northeast of the city center was built over 1200 years ago. Only three towers remain on this site, the main tower and two lesser ones. The main tower contains stone altars with carved and sculptured patterns reflective of the Cham culture. Even today, people come to these towers annually for religious ceremonies. Fishermen come here to pray for safe voyages, and others come to pray for rain.
Seventeen miles west of Phan Thiet City is Ta Cu Mountain. Sitting 563 meters up Ta Cu are two pagodas. To reach them, there is a choice between a two-hour trek through the rain forest (jungle?) or a ten-minute ride in a cable car. A Buddhist monk named Tran Huu Duc led the construction of the upper pagoda in the 1870s and 1880s. After his death in 1887, his followers constructed the lower pagoda. In 1958, a man named Truong Dinh Tri began construction of the 7-meter high, 49-meter-long reclining Buddha, the largest in Vietnam, and three other smaller Buddha statues, referred to as the “Three Buddha Postures,” each of them 7 meters tall. The Ta Cu Mountain site is replete with rainforests, wildlife, caves, and ornate statues. The view from the top of the mountain takes in all of the surrounding countryside.
During the four months I worked in Phan Thiet, all I knew about it was the sandy roadway between the James Way we stayed in and the little store near the runway. I can’t help but wonder whether it the Army’s intent that we never knew what was there around us to see or it was just up to us to figure it out. I regret that I didn’t learn more about the country and its culture while I was there.
