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When autumn winds blow, and we know that summer has gone, it
doesn't mean we need to spend the weekends at home. A friend of mine made me a
bit envious when she showed me photos of her recent holiday at a Japanese onsen
(hot springs).
And I don't have to fly to Japan to wallow in the warm water. Right here, about
150km from HCM City, Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province has such a wonderful thing. The
Binh Chau Hot Springs, in Xuyen Moc District's Bung Rieng Commune, cover an area
of about 33ha, enclosed by forest and sea. In 1928, a French doctor named Sallet
discovered the hot mineral spring in his survey of southern Viet Nam, where a
cluster of 70 visible gushers spout water at temperatures ranging from 40oC to
82oC, forming a huge natural pool of hot water and mud.
With a view to develop a tourist attraction, provincial began to develop the
Binh Chau Hot Mineral Springs in 1988, and their efforts were recognised in
2003, when the World Travel Organisation named Binh Chau as one of its 65
sustainable eco-tourism developments in 47 countries and territories around the
world.
Walk on the wooden corridors through the flowing springs of the Sai Gon-Binh
Chau Resort, and you can feel the stimulating atmosphere of fresh air laced with
steam and the fragrance of the forest underneath the leafy canopy. The view is
miraculous in the morning, as the steam covers the natural scenery in a thin
dew.
The resort includes sports and recreation facilities for tourists on weekends,
such as golf, volleyball, a swimming pool, a romantic Moon Garden and a
thousand-seat theatre. Crocodile feeding, river fishing, billiards, tennis,
basketball, and badminton complete the card at the Sai Gon-Binh Chau Resort, and
younger visitors can visit the children's playground.
In the vicinity of Binh Chau, tourists can travel by foot or wagon to Bang
Spring, about 2km away, or visit the zoo with its menagerie of bears, monkeys,
weasels, geckos and eagles.
Most tourists who come to Binh Chau enjoy the fun of boiling eggs in the natural
80-degree springs in just ten minutes. Guests can buy eggs and lower them into
small hot pools built by the developer for the purpose.
After the fun with the eggs, there are hot mud baths, soaks and massage services
that are all therapeutic. According to researchers who tested the springs in
1975, the hot mineral spring source contains silica, sulphur, sodium and
chlorine, all of which have healing properties and can aid rheumatism and
circulation.
Sarah Elaine from the UK decided a little pampering was in order after a busy
year, and she decided to visit the hot springs. She intended a day trip, but
when she came, she realised that there wasn't enough time to enjoy all wonderful
things at the site.
"I was glad to get into the hot spring to sort myself out and at least look as
wet as everyone else," she said. "The resort was quite quiet because of the
rainy season. The hot springs were wonderful and I spent the rest of the day
soaking, having a massage and eating some very good tamarind fish broth."
Legend describes the thermal springs as a hot water pot that the Vietnamese
"Goddess of Boiling Water" spilled into the place in anger after her husband
went hunting and was a long time returning. She got angry and threw the boiling
water pot away, and it became the marvellous stream of hot water still running
now.
Binh Chau area is a wonderful place to hold retreats and team-building
activities. I saw a group of young people playing together with crazy fun. They
made their part of the site noisy, while not far away, many others enjoyed the
quiet water therapy and looked forward to a good night's sleep.
As the curtain of night covering Binh Chau fell, geckos and crickets began their
symphony on a stage of forest and mountains.
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Source:
VietNamNet/Viet Nam News |
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