A Day Trip In Phú Yên
As we were staying two nights in Tuy Hoa, we had a full day to spend exploring and adventuring in and around Tuy Hoa and Phu Yen Province. One of the highlight attractions in Phu Yen is the Ganh Da Dia, or Da Dia Reef, a cluster of dark grey and jet black rocks, some forming hexagonal structures, and others in other geometic shapes with 5 or 6 (or more) sides. This is known as columnar jointing, the most famous example of which is found off the coast of Northern Ireland and is called the Giant's Causeway. Located approximately 30 kilometers away from Tuy Hoa, out on the end of a large mass of land jutting into the sea, it is a geologic wonder and a rare sight in Vietnam.
When we were planning our South Coast Vacation, there was a number of things Kelsey wanted to do, and number of things I wanted to do, and a number of things we both wanted to do. This was very high on my list of things to do. Unfortunately, given it's distance from Tuy Hoa, it was going to be necessary to rent a motobike and drive out there ourselves. Renting a bus or car would just be too expensive, and we really didn't want to take a packaged tour. So, Kelsey begrudgingly agreed to brave Vietnam's roads to go see it.
It's no wonder Kelsey was scared- the roadways of Vietnam are a terrible menace, with the highway we would be traveling on on, Highway 1- the main north-south roadway in the country, a clearly delineated line of death running down the length of the continent- being our route of travel. Still, I promised to go slow and take it very easy so that we could both enjoy the day. So with some trepidation and a very slow Google Maps on my phone, we turned onto the highway and started our day trip on a cold, grey day.
The first stop on our tour was actually just over the hill from Tuy Hoa, at a large bay called the O Loan Lagoon. Though technically part of the ocean, this large body of water was almost closed off from the sea, and was a strong pool of biodiversity before overexploitation began to deplete the local fauna.
There are plans to develop areas around the lagoon, but as Phu Yen is still quite poor it will be some time before those are finished. We just stopped on the side of the road for a few minutes and snapped a couple pictures. There are actually several lagoons of various size and salinity between Binh Dinh and Tuy Hoa, the O Loan just happens to be the most notable. |
Back on the road and back north, we headed for a turn that I had spotted from the van ride the day before. It came along shortly, and we were off. The coast was actually 15 km away at this point, out on the point of a large mass of land that stuck out into the East Sea. So, we had to drive through several small villages, over some hills and across the rice paddies. As we drove through one town it was clear the central market was obviously the “chicken market”, as there was numerous women with a whole array of chickens available for purchase. Looked like a good place to get H5-N1 if you ask me. We kept driving, eventually finding ourselves on a point overlooking the sea. We parked, walked over the edge, and laid out before us was the Ganh Da Dia.
I have seen columnar jointing before, most memorably on CO highway 114 between Gunnison and Saguache, and in the Pacific Northwest, but I had never heard of any in Vietnam before. Although Vietnam does have some volcanism in it's past, it hasn't had a lot of it, and most of the action is limited to the highland plateaus around Kontum and Pleiku. What's more, while the exposure was somewhat small, it had been folded and warped over time too, leaving both clean, vertical columns, as well as sideways, horizontal columns. There was one pile of “columns” that had obviously been contorted in many directions and was understandably weird shaped. The whole exposure amounted to several fingers of columns jutting into the water, and one massive, twisted and folded battleship sticking up above the rest. In either direction the columns slowly petered out until there was none left, and from end to end it couldn't have been more than a hundred yards long, and never more than about 10 yards wide at it's widest.
We stuck around and explored the reef for about 30 minutes. I took way too many pictures and we sat down and cuddled in between the rocks to keep warm for a little bit. On our way out, we stopped to admire the other side of the point from the reef, and basically stumbled across an amazing sight- the coastline just north of the reef is rugged, rocky, and looks like the coast does in such places as New England or Oregon. Jagged chunks of granite stood everywhere, and the rough winter seas were plowing into them, throwing huge amounts of spray into the air. It was an incredibly beautiful, and rugged, scene, and we wandered along it, enjoying it, for another 30 minutes, before we got back on the bike and headed off.
On the way back to the highway, we slowed down and were able to watch a cockfight for a handful of seconds. The cocks were pretty poor, and it was really just sad more than anything. The chicken market was just breaking up and Kelsey was able to score a nice photo of one of the chicken ladies leaving.
We had to get back on the highway then, which was terrifying. As Phu Yen is quite poor the roads have zero maintenance so they are in extremely poor condition. Our poor Attilla took quite a beating on that drive. As we got back to town, we stopped and found out we could take a side road back into Tuy Hoa, allowing us to stay off the Highway for a long spell and enjoy the beauty of yet another Vietnam back road.
We had to get back on the highway then, which was terrifying. As Phu Yen is quite poor the roads have zero maintenance so they are in extremely poor condition. Our poor Attilla took quite a beating on that drive. As we got back to town, we stopped and found out we could take a side road back into Tuy Hoa, allowing us to stay off the Highway for a long spell and enjoy the beauty of yet another Vietnam back road.
All photos copyright Kit Davidson unless otherwise noted.