The bee hive beach (Ghenh Da Dia)

Around 37km away from Tuy Hoa city, a strange beach formed by columns of rock that were once, millions of years ago, molten from an active volcano cooled down and solidified by the ocean. The surfaces of the rocks are in polygon shapes, reminding of a bee hive.

We decided to hire a motorbike and bike all the way there. It was sunny, and the road go through all the countryside life of people in Phu Yen province. It was a small country road, not a highway, first of all going through the lands of the up coming resorts. Then it went through villages and rice fields. There were a lot of sugar cane juice stalls on the way, you can just take a rest once in a while. As I am a slow driver, it took us so long to reach the destination.

Rice field on the way, with a lot of white storks

We arrived at some simple restaurant bungalow by the sea, which sells strange sea food and local fruit. We parked the bike there and started walking with other people who also came to visit the site. The tourists were mostly local. And there it was, the bee hive beach. I love these geographical sites that remind me of how old the Earth is.

It was amazing to imagine back in the days when there were still active volcanoes around, throwing out the balzane collumns that were immediately cooled down by the ocean and turned into the rocks that are still around nowadays. It is really majestic. But not so much with tiny pieces of trash here and there left by the tourists.

The water was crystal clear and cool. It was really a relief to soak the legs into the refreshing ocean but I wonder if swimming was a good idea because it was wavy and the depth of the surrounding sea changes due to the rock formation. The whole area was big, there was also a vast area of rocks on the right side beach.

The tourism promotion here is not to the same level as how wonderful the place is. There is only one souvenir shop that sells rock and beads chains souvenirs and drinks. Often people come for only half a day to see the rocks and then go back or go somewhere else. However, on the right side of the rock formation, is a small fishing village that lays on a long, wild and empty beach. The beach was sandy in cream color, totally empty, as tourists would not expect to come here for a bath I guess?! We walked quite far away from the rock site and the fishing village, and we had a whole beach for our own.

Again, it was very sunny and it was perfect to get a sun tan.

The fishermen in the fishing village were building up a kind of boat house that they can live on and farm fish in the ocean water at the same time. In the next article, I'm going to show you an experience with a fish farm like that in the Vũng Rô Bay (I'd rather call it the Pirate Bay though, it looked like one) in the same Phu Yen province.

Ghềnh Đá Đĩa looking from the above and you can see that long, wild, untouched beach in creamy white color running around. And I have to say again that the tourism here is not being handled quite well, as this location with the perfect panorama of the land is actually a toilet. I don't feel like it's worth it. The landscape is so beautiful, I wish someone could do a good job of promoting it without destroying it.

After swimming and sun bathing around, it was time to head back to Tuy Hoa. On the parking lot, we met a very little boy trying to give me a sea shell. I turned him down knowning that he was selling things, and then he spoke some very adult language to me.

Our intention was to find a local eating place in the countryside on the way back to the city, to eat some farm food. But there was nothing like that, so we had to hold our hungry stomach all the way back to Tuy Hoa and back to the famous chicken rice place that fed us several times. That was Cơm Gà Thiên Hương, 211 Lê Thánh Tôn, Tuy Hòa. We almost fainted for hunger, so when the chicken arrived it was such a joy.

The owner of the restaurant developed his own dish with fried chicken and fried rice with a special mayo sauce to mix up with the rice. That is a whole chicken, with feet, but you can order only a chicken thigh or breast. The rice itself is excellent. Chicken has a very crunchy skin. We finished everything in such a short time.

Chicken Vietnamese style: nothing is left behind

We spent 4 days in Tuy Hoa and the surroundings, and it was a very beautiful and still untouched place to visit. You should be quick, before all the big resorts are finished and the urbanization spread out. Next article, an adventure in the (Pirate) Bay of Vung Ro in the same province.