travel-Nha Trang in a different light

Should you ever get tired of diving, swimming and sunbathing on Nha Trang’s beautiful shore, you can set out to explore the capital of the central province of Khanh Hoa in a different way, taking a horse-drawn carriage to rural villages on the outskirts of Nha Trang.

Nha Trang Villa Tour Company offers such a one-day trip. The company now has seven carriages and plans to raise its fleet to 15 soon to meet the increasing demand. The tour not only teaches tourists part of Nha Trang’s history but also is imbued with a romantic atmosphere, particularly for young couples.

Decades ago, horse carts carried goods and people from Dien Lac, Dien Son and Dien Dien communes in the suburban district of Dien Khanh to downtown Nha Trang via present-day October 23rd Street. Now, few people remember those times.

Villa Tour’s trip takes people back in time, letting them enjoy the peaceful rural scenery as the horse trots along the small paths. In the morning, the company picks visitors up and transports them to Ngoc Son Wharf by the Cai River, about one kilometre from downtown Nha Trang.

Then visitors board a small boat that takes them to a small wooden bridge, from where they walk some 300 meters to the 150-year-old house of Nguyen Xuan Thanh in Vinh Thanh Commune.

After going through the house and learning more about its history, tourists receive fruit and tea from a teapot covered with a coconut lid to keep the tea warm. Then, they take the well-decorated horse carriage, waiting in the shadow of a big mango tree in the front garden and start the journey.

The horse, guided by an experienced postillion, pulls the carriage along roads lined with rose-mallows on both sides. Here and there are betel trees, vegetable gardens, orchards, and tile-roofed and thatched houses.

The first stop is Lu Cam, a former pottery-making village. More than a century ago, the village was famous for its fine pottery, which was sold in many central provinces.

However, the villagers now are specialised on making earth ovens. Visitors can see rows of ovens of different sizes, drying along the bank of the Cai River, and can buy a few tiny ovens as souvenirs.

The next destinations are villages that make sedge mats, incense and bronze products. If visitors want to finish the journey, they can take a boat upstream to Song Tranh Restaurant on the riverbank for lunch.

Those who want to go further can take the horse carriage across Vinh Phuong Bridge to Cai Road, then to Dien Son Commune, where they stop by Dai An Mountain for an excursion to Am Chua.

The pagoda on the mountain is dedicated to Po Nagar, the goddess of the Cham people and the wife of Shiva, the god of war. She’s also known as Ba Chua and as Thien Y A Na.

Legend has it that the child Po Nagar descended to earth here and went to live with a couple of woodcutters.

To honor the goddess, the locals hold a festival on the 22nd day of the fourth lunar month. In addition to rituals and a procession, the festival features the Flower Offering Dance and other dances connected to the legend of Thien Y Ana.

After Am Chua, the journey continues to the murmuring Lo O Stream, where tourists can rest before eating lunch.