We took a scooter out for the day to visit some of the caves and beaches, including Duong Beach to the south and north of Ha Tien.
After we arrived in Ha Tien we quickly found ourselves eating a Greek salad (real cheese finally!) and drinking cheap beers in Oasis bar, run by Brit Andy since 2009 . But we were also there to get some advice about things to do in the area. We were pointed in the direction of Mr The who seems to organise whatever it is you need – from transfers over the Cambodian border to scooter hire for discovering the caves and beaches around Ha Tien. Given that we had a single-entry visa for Vietnam, scooter hire it was.
So the next day we showed up at the agreed 8.30am for breakfast at the bar before starting our day on the bike. We paid 200,000d (7.56 EUR) to have the bike for 10 hours. He said he’d leave us a bit of gas in it but actually we started out with half a tank. We still filled it up (for 40,000d – 1-51 EUR) as soon as we could as we didn’t know how much we’d get through. In the end we only really needed half a tank for this day of sightseeing.
Morning – caves and beaches south of Ha Tien
Our first stop of the day was Moso Cave, about 25km from Ha Tien. Getting just that far was hair-raising enough. Trucks, buses, other bikes all whizzing narrowly past us. We arrived at the cave where we were shepherded to bike parking (it had been a while since we got talked into this one). The lady asked for 5,000d (0.19 EUR) so we didn’t mind too much. But then she seemed to want to give us a tour even though she didn’t speak a word of English so we started doing the assertive shaking heads routine. As we set off to walk to the cave another woman tried to do the same. More shaking heads. We walked along a path for a bit and we think we found the cave but it wasn’t that obvious or particularly impressive. But hey it was nice to feel my bum and knees again.
If you need a place to stop and stretch/rehydrate then this is a good enough cave near Ha Tien, but otherwise an unremarkable one and I wouldn’t have wanted to go any further out of the way to see it. It did lead us down quite a nice road though. A blowy road too, which resulted in my helmet flying off and cracking on the tarmac. Better than my head, I guess. Back at the bar in the evening we decided to do the honest thing and fess up to Mr The, saying we wanted to give him money to buy a new one. He tried to tell us it didn’t matter but he was clearly a bit annoyed and so we handed over the 150,000d he suggested. Helmets are cheap in Vietnam then…
Onto the cave pagoda, at 37km north of Ha Tien. This time we avoided the parking fee and pulled over a short walk from the entrance. And this time there was a ticket office so we pinned our hopes on this being better than the last stop. And it was. It cost just 10,000d (0.38 EUR) to enter but then we got to visit some quite different places:
A deserted temple in need of some TLC
…Dong Kim Cuong Cave, which involved some crouching, wriggling and taking a leap of faith. It wasn’t quite clear whether we were supposed to go in it, but once we were in bits were lit up nicely. It was also so quiet my ears hurt.
…the best views of the “father and son” limestone peaks from a shoreline which had a bustling walkway lined with fish restaurants (think fish in buckets thrown onto a BBQ rather than anything involving tablecloths or candlelight…)
…and a chance to stroll along a pretty tidy (for Vietnam) stretch of golden sand, Duong Beach. This is where we met some very excitable locals including two little girls claiming to both be called Tao, who followed us all the way back to our bike. We figured they might know the word ‘selfie’ and they did so we took a few snaps for them to squeal over and make heart shapes at us.
We’d been advised by Mr The to have lunch in Hon Chong so we stopped at Nhà Hàng Tấn Phát which had some very nice views of the boats even if the food didn’t wow us.
Afternoon – caves and beaches north of Ha Tien
Onto the afternoon session, and we drove the bike back the same way we came but this time through Ha Tien and out to the north, stopping at Thach Dong Cave Pagoda, the most famous cave around Ha Tien. This was another 10,000d ticket place and involved a climb up a staircase to reach a pagoda tucked into a cave. It was pretty busy and the pagoda itself wasn’t that special, but the views from the top were worth it.
We then popped around the corner to Mui Nai beach – another locals public holiday hotspot so it was very busy. We sat and watched the sun drop into the sea from our deckchairs then headed along the coastal road back to Ha Tien. It was on this trip back that we noticed a huge construction site out to the north of Ha Tien. Ha Tien Venice Villas will make this a very different place over the coming years. The Phu Quoc effect is starting to reach the mainland, and we’re not sure the Ha Tien locals are ready for it.