Nha Trang-Doc Let, Vietnam

The Salt of the Vietnamese Land


Vietnamese queue
Workers at the Hon Khoi saltworks transport salt to previously formed mounds.
Double salt
The reflection of one of the women reflected in the shallow water of the Hon Khoi saline.
A blue Doc Let
Retail of Doc Let beach, considered one of the most attractive in Vietnam.
A well-marked silhouette
The strong shadow of a worker imprinted on a large heap of salt.
boat of love
Asian couple have fun in the warm waters of Doc Let beach.
back on track
Women go up to one of the elevated paths that lead to the salt heaps.
On the way to the warehouse
Father and children on an overloaded oxcart, on the way between Nha Trang and Doc Let.
Po Nagar Tower
Vietnamese woman walks through the Cham tower complex of Po Nagar, on the outskirts of Nha Trang.
Vietnamese Row II
Workers on another of the round-trips with which the piles of salt increase.
Armed maneuvers
A battalion performs military choreographies in front of the Nha Trang Concert Hall.
Inverted course
The color image of saltwork workers reflected in Hon Khoi's salt stew.
bathing pite
Asian bathers examine seafood sold by a vendor on the long beach of Nha Trang.
doubling of light
Reflection of a worker in the hyper-salty water of the Hon Khoi salt marshes.
Boat or Basket?
An inhabitant near the beach at Doc Let washes the inside of a round bamboo boat.

In search of attractive coastlines in old Indochina, we become disillusioned with the roughness of Nha Trang's bathing area. And it is in the feminine and exotic work of the Hon Khoi salt flats that we find a more pleasant Vietnam.

Our determination to enjoy the still little-known Vietnamese coast was far from pioneering. Even in the fictional sphere, memorable examples occurred to us. In one of the most iconic scenes of “Apocalypse Now”, captain and special operations veteran Benjamin Willard (Martin Sheen) becomes aware of the crazy intentions of Lieutenant Colonel Bill Kilgore (Robert Duvall) and, under countless helicopters, fighter jets and a rain of shells from shells and other explosive devices, asks him: “Are you crazy? Damn it! Doesn't it seem a little risky for fun?” To which the lunatic Kilgore replies: “If I say it's safe to surf this beach, it's because it's safe to surf this beach! I'm not afraid to surf this beach, I'm going to surf this whole place!”. The scene proceeds to a sequence of military eccentricity. Kilgore drops the megaphone he used to make his commands heard, strips off his shirt, picks up a radio transmitter, and orders a napalm bombardment of the enemy's forest. It ends, thus, with the attack that had almost killed the unfortunate soldiers who, by his order, surfed the small waves in the surrounding delta.

The names Francis Ford Coppola gave to the river that Willard then ascends in search of Colonel Walter E. Kurtz (Marlon Brando) and those of several other places he portrayed in the Philippines were fictitious. But that didn't turn out to be the case in Nha Trang, a city in southern Vietnam that hosted one of the most important American military bases during the war and which we had decided to visit also with the purpose of taking even a single day's rest from the bath.

We arrived at dawn from a long night journey from Hoi An, more than 500 km to the north. guest houses from the bus company that had brought us and we slept with no time to wake up.

Around 1:XNUMX pm, we woke up already well recharged, had a robust breakfast and went out to take a look at the seafront that delimited the city to the East. On the outskirts of the South China Sea, we skirt the large Concert Hall building. At the top, the red and star-yellow flag of Vietnam flies, and straight ahead a battalion of soldiers in old-fashioned green troop uniforms.

The combination of these visions once again brings us back to the imagination of the nation's wartime times and leaves little doubt as to the unexpected and sacrificed triumph of the former north. Vietcong. Above all, we needed some more peace and quiet. We crossed the last marginal road and a coconut forest considerable to the municipal environment in which it found itself. On the other side, we come across a sand with more than 6 km in length.

It's still mid-afternoon, the tropical sun burning as it almost always does in the dry season in southern Vietnam. The conditions were right for a flood of bathers, but as was to be expected in such a demure Asia, only a few Western outsiders were subjected to the slow torture of ultraviolet radiation.

Around them, veritable swarms of masseuses, seafood vendors, hammocks, handicrafts, pirated CD's and DVD's, protected from the big star to their fingertips, did what they could to torment his rest. Even lying far from the logistical center of the beach, we soon attracted attention and were included in the list of targets.

For more than an hour, we relaxed as much as we could, approached every three minutes by commercial proposals that were quite objectionable. Until a front of dense clouds takes us away from the sun and, little by little, some young bathers from Vietnam and other parts of Asia flock to the beach, satisfied that they can have fun without staining their sacred skin.

We use the rest of the day to reorganize the trip from Nha Trang to the south.

The next morning, we start by visiting the main archaeological heritage of the region, some towers known as Po Nagar built between the XNUMXth and XNUMXth centuries in honor of the Hindu goddess of the Cham kingdom, but which were eventually adapted to the Buddhist faith that, however, would conquer the people's preference viet. We lingered long enough to appreciate the historic sumptuousness of the place and the fluvial scenery formed by the river Cai, right next door.

By that time, we had already rented a motor scooter and determined that we would head to Doc Let's beach. Several publications dedicated to travel claimed to be the loveliest in Vietnam. 

We advanced along roads full of craters, in a computer game reality that forced us to dodge over and over again other motorbikes overloaded with passengers, objects and animals. We also dodged carts and ox carts, dogs, ducks, pigs and even bamboo falling from a truck.

In Doc Let, again with our feet refreshed in the South China Sea, we confirmed the strong turquoise blue that we had read and a sand so white and reflective that it “blinded” our eyes. We also noticed that the Vietnamese had replaced part of the coconut forest with a species of juvenile cypress which, according to our cultural standards, gave the beach a certain tropic-funerary look.

We take a few swims and swims and, for a good half-hour, rest our legs battered by the trip. But it's still 8 am and we're pretty much the only Westerners in Doc Let. We have been targeted again and again by sellers, now for cloths and fresh fruit. We soon lost patience.

We return to the motorbike pointing to some salt pans that we had passed before. When we arrive, dozens of workers walk along the overhanging walkways in harmonious rows, each loaded with two baskets filled with salt that they balance, in Vietnamese fashion, on a pole over their shoulder.

We approach with subtlety. As we take a closer look at the scene, we realize they are women. They have the body and face covered to protect them from erosion combined with the sun and salt. We watch them put up with the hard work with stoicism – as often happens to Vietnamese, rather than their husbands, when it comes to heavy tasks. On one occasion or another, they removed the masks from their faces to show effortful smiles and let out any remark or question that was imperceptible to us.

On our way back to Nha Trang, we found out that these were the Hon Khoi salt pans in charge of “salting” a good part of Vietnam. Its workers from the commune of Ninh Hai got up every day at three in the morning and cycled 4 km to get to work there. From 4 to 9 in the morning, they repeated round trips, loaded with 20 kg of salt, thus increasing the countless piles already formed.

From 9 am, the sun turned the salt pans into a real furnace that, like them, we could no longer withstand. From that time onwards, the trucks that distributed the raw material throughout the country arrived. We didn't wait for the first one. We got back on the scooter and faced the painful return to Nha Trang with a well-seasoned Vietnamese lunch in mind.

Hue, Vietnam

The Red Heritage of Imperial Vietnam

It suffered the worst hardships of the Vietnam War and was despised by the Vietcong due to the feudal past. The national-communist flags fly over its walls but Hué regains its splendor.
Arduous Professions

the bread the devil kneaded

Work is essential to most lives. But, certain jobs impose a degree of effort, monotony or danger that only a few chosen ones can measure up to.
Hi Ann, Vietnam

The Vietnamese Port That Got to See Ships

Hoi An was one of the most important trading posts in Asia. Political changes and the siltation of the Thu Bon River dictated its decline and preserved it as the most picturesque city in Vietnam.
Hanoi, Vietnam

Under the Order of Chaos

Hanoi has long ignored scant traffic lights, other traffic signs and decorative traffic lights. It lives in its own rhythm and in an order of chaos unattainable by the West.
Ijen volcano, Indonesia

The Ijen Volcano Sulphur Slaves

Hundreds of Javanese surrender to the Ijen volcano where they are consumed by poisonous gases and loads that deform their shoulders. Each turn earns them less than €30 but everyone is grateful for their martyrdom.
Ho Chi Minh a of Angkor, Cambodia

The Crooked Path to Angkor

From Vietnam onwards, Cambodia's crumbling roads and minefields take us back to the years of Khmer Rouge terror. We survive and are rewarded with the vision of the greatest religious temple
Amboseli National Park, Mount Kilimanjaro, Normatior Hill
Safari
Amboseli National Park, Kenya

A Gift from the Kilimanjaro

The first European to venture into these Masai haunts was stunned by what he found. And even today, large herds of elephants and other herbivores roam the pastures irrigated by the snow of Africa's biggest mountain.
Annapurna Circuit, Manang to Yak-kharka
Annapurna (circuit)
Annapurna 10th Circuit: Manang to Yak Kharka, Nepal

On the way to the Annapurnas Even Higher Lands

After an acclimatization break in the near-urban civilization of Manang (3519 m), we made progress again in the ascent to the zenith of Thorong La (5416 m). On that day, we reached the hamlet of Yak Kharka, at 4018 m, a good starting point for the camps at the base of the great canyon.
Visitors at Talisay Ruins, Negros Island, Philippines
Architecture & Design
Talisay City, Philippines

Monument to a Luso-Philippine Love

At the end of the 11th century, Mariano Lacson, a Filipino farmer, and Maria Braga, a Portuguese woman from Macau, fell in love and got married. During the pregnancy of what would be her 2th child, Maria succumbed to a fall. Destroyed, Mariano built a mansion in his honor. In the midst of World War II, the mansion was set on fire, but the elegant ruins that endured perpetuate their tragic relationship.
The small lighthouse at Kallur, highlighted in the capricious northern relief of the island of Kalsoy.
Adventure
Kalsoy, Faroe Islands

A Lighthouse at the End of the Faroese World

Kalsoy is one of the most isolated islands in the Faroe archipelago. Also known as “the flute” due to its long shape and the many tunnels that serve it, a mere 75 inhabitants inhabit it. Much less than the outsiders who visit it every year, attracted by the boreal wonder of its Kallur lighthouse.
Kente Festival Agotime, Ghana, gold
Ceremonies and Festivities
Kumasi to Kpetoe, Ghana

A Celebration-Trip of the Ghanian Fashion

After some time in the great Ghanaian capital ashanti we crossed the country to the border with Togo. The reasons for this long journey were the kente, a fabric so revered in Ghana that several tribal chiefs dedicate a sumptuous festival to it every year.
Executives sleep subway seat, sleep, sleep, subway, train, Tokyo, Japan
Cities
Tokyo, Japan

Tokyo's Hypno-Passengers

Japan is served by millions of executives slaughtered with infernal work rates and sparse vacations. Every minute of respite on the way to work or home serves them for their inemuri, napping in public.
Meal
Margilan, Uzbekistan

An Uzbekistan's Breadwinner

In one of the many bakeries in Margilan, worn out by the intense heat of the tandyr oven, the baker Maruf'Jon works half-baked like the distinctive traditional breads sold throughout Uzbekistan
Impressions Lijiang Show, Yangshuo, China, Red Enthusiasm
Culture
Lijiang e Yangshuo, China

An Impressive China

One of the most respected Asian filmmakers, Zhang Yimou dedicated himself to large outdoor productions and co-authored the media ceremonies of the Beijing OG. But Yimou is also responsible for “Impressions”, a series of no less controversial stagings with stages in emblematic places.
Spectator, Melbourne Cricket Ground-Rules footbal, Melbourne, Australia
Sport
Melbourne, Australia

The Football the Australians Rule

Although played since 1841, Australian Football has only conquered part of the big island. Internationalization has never gone beyond paper, held back by competition from rugby and classical football.
Kayaking on Lake Sinclair, Cradle Mountain - Lake Sinclair National Park, Tasmania, Australia
Traveling
Discovering tassie, Part 4 - Devonport to Strahan, Australia

Through the Tasmanian Wild West

If the almost antipode tazzie is already a australian world apart, what about its inhospitable western region. Between Devonport and Strahan, dense forests, elusive rivers and a rugged coastline beaten by an almost Antarctic Indian ocean generate enigma and respect.
Creel, Chihuahua, Carlos Venzor, collector, museum
Ethnic
Chihuahua a Creel, Chihuahua, Mexico

On Creel's Way

With Chihuahua behind, we point to the southwest and to even higher lands in the north of Mexico. Next to Ciudad Cuauhtémoc, we visited a Mennonite elder. Around Creel, we lived for the first time with the Rarámuri indigenous community of the Serra de Tarahumara.
Sunset, Avenue of Baobabs, Madagascar
Got2Globe Photo Portfolio

days like so many others

Dominica, Soufriére and Scotts Head, island background
History
Soufriere e Scotts Head, Dominica

The Life That Hangs from Nature's Caribbean Island

It has the reputation of being the wildest island in the Caribbean and, having reached its bottom, we continue to confirm it. From Soufriére to the inhabited southern edge of Scotts Head, Dominica remains extreme and difficult to tame.
Santa Maria, Sal Island, Cape Verde, Landing
Islands
Santa Maria, Sal Island, Cape Verde

Santa Maria and the Atlantic Blessing of Sal

Santa Maria was founded in the first half of the XNUMXth century, as a salt export warehouse. Today, thanks to the providence of Santa Maria, Sal Ilha is worth much more than the raw material.
ala juumajarvi lake, oulanka national park, finland
Winter White
Kuusamo ao PN Oulanka, Finland

Under the Arctic's Icy Spell

We are at 66º North and at the gates of Lapland. In these parts, the white landscape belongs to everyone and to no one like the snow-covered trees, the atrocious cold and the endless night.
shadow vs light
Literature
Kyoto, Japan

The Kyoto Temple Reborn from the Ashes

The Golden Pavilion has been spared destruction several times throughout history, including that of US-dropped bombs, but it did not withstand the mental disturbance of Hayashi Yoken. When we admired him, he looked like never before.
Victoria Falls, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Zambezi
Nature
Victoria Falls, Zimbabwee

Livingstone's Thundering Gift

The explorer was looking for a route to the Indian Ocean when natives led him to a jump of the Zambezi River. The falls he found were so majestic that he decided to name them in honor of his queen
Mother Armenia Statue, Yerevan, Armenia
Autumn
Yerevan, Armenia

A Capital between East and West

Heiress of the Soviet civilization, aligned with the great Russia, Armenia allows itself to be seduced by the most democratic and sophisticated ways of Western Europe. In recent times, the two worlds have collided in the streets of your capital. From popular and political dispute, Yerevan will dictate the new course of the nation.
Camiguin, Philippines, Katungan mangrove.
Natural Parks
Camiguin, Philippines

An Island of Fire Surrended to Water

With more than twenty cones above 100 meters, the abrupt and lush, Camiguin has the highest concentration of volcanoes of any other of the 7641 islands in the Philippines or on the planet. But, in recent times, not even the fact that one of these volcanoes is active has disturbed the peace of its rural, fishing and, to the delight of outsiders, heavily bathed life.
Jingkieng Wahsurah, Nongblai Village Roots Bridge, Meghalaya, India
UNESCO World Heritage
Meghalaya, India

The Bridges of the Peoples that Create Roots

The unpredictability of rivers in the wettest region on Earth never deterred the Khasi and the Jaintia. Faced with the abundance of trees elastic fig tree in their valleys, these ethnic groups got used to molding their branches and strains. From their time-lost tradition, they have bequeathed hundreds of dazzling root bridges to future generations.
now from above ladder, sorcerer of new zealand, Christchurch, new zealand
Characters
Christchurch, New Zealand

New Zealand's Cursed Wizard

Despite his notoriety in the antipodes, Ian Channell, the New Zealand sorcerer, failed to predict or prevent several earthquakes that struck Christchurch. At the age of 88, after 23 years of contract with the city, he made very controversial statements and ended up fired.
New South Wales Australia, Beach walk
Beaches
Batemans Bay to Jervis Bay, Australia

New South Wales, from Bay to Bay

With Sydney behind us, we indulged in the Australian “South Coast”. Along 150km, in the company of pelicans, kangaroos and other peculiar creatures aussie, we let ourselves get lost on a coastline cut between stunning beaches and endless eucalyptus groves.
Engravings, Karnak Temple, Luxor, Egypt
Religion
luxor, Egypt

From Luxor to Thebes: Journey to Ancient Egypt

Thebes was raised as the new supreme capital of the Egyptian Empire, the seat of Amon, the God of Gods. Modern Luxor inherited the Temple of Karnak and its sumptuousness. Between one and the other flow the sacred Nile and millennia of dazzling history.
Chepe Express, Chihuahua Al Pacifico Railway
On Rails
Creel to Los Mochis, Mexico

The Barrancas del Cobre & the CHEPE Iron Horse

The Sierra Madre Occidental's relief turned the dream into a construction nightmare that lasted six decades. In 1961, at last, the prodigious Chihuahua al Pacifico Railroad was opened. Its 643km cross some of the most dramatic scenery in Mexico.
Nissan, Fashion, Tokyo, Japan
Society
Tokyo, Japan

Tokyo's fashion

In ultra-populous and hyper-coded Japan, there is always room for more sophistication and creativity. Whether national or imported, it is in the capital that they begin to parade the new Japanese looks.
Women with long hair from Huang Luo, Guangxi, China
Daily life
Longsheng, China

Huang Luo: the Chinese Village of the Longest Hairs

In a multi-ethnic region covered with terraced rice paddies, the women of Huang Luo have surrendered to the same hairy obsession. They let the longest hair in the world grow, years on end, to an average length of 170 to 200 cm. Oddly enough, to keep them beautiful and shiny, they only use water and rice.
Maria Jacarés, Pantanal Brazil
Wildlife
Miranda, Brazil

Maria dos Jacarés: the Pantanal shelters such Creatures

Eurides Fátima de Barros was born in the interior of the Miranda region. 38 years ago, he settled in a small business on the side of BR262 that crosses the Pantanal and gained an affinity with the alligators that lived on his doorstep. Disgusted that once upon a time the creatures were being slaughtered there, she began to take care of them. Now known as Maria dos Jacarés, she named each of the animals after a soccer player or coach. It also makes sure they recognize your calls.
The Sounds, Fiordland National Park, New Zealand
Scenic Flights
Fiordland, New Zealand

The Fjords of the Antipodes

A geological quirk made the Fiordland region the rawest and most imposing in New Zealand. Year after year, many thousands of visitors worship the sub-domain slashed between Te Anau and Milford Sound.