8. Walk to Mũi Nai Beach
12.09.2023 (Ha Tien, Vietnam)
Let’s start this post a bit differently with some random facts and thoughts about Vietnam:
Lottery tickets: they are sold everywhere, mainly by old or disabled people. They roam the streets and also walk into restaurants to offer them. Sometimes people blasting the lottery results over megaphones for sharing or whatever reason. Often they display them on a board on a stick. The tickets are in a plastic sleeve to be protected from the elements. - I regret not having taken a photo of that.
Sponsored stone/concrete benches: I estimate that every second house, business, hotel, etc. has a bench in front of it. They look pretty much the same wherever you find them. They might differ in colour but the design is the same. They must cost quite a bit so it is a clever move to use the backrest and seat as advertising area. Not sure if they come at a lower price with a company name or how it works.
I quickly went through my pictures I took in Rach Gia and marked the benches in some of them as proof.
Yesterday (11.September 2023) I walked 13-15km to reach Mui Nai Beach and return on a different path crossing a very rural settlement. The walk itself was probably more interesting than the actual beach.
On the road to the beach was a boom gate looking like a border check-point. I had to buy a ticket without really knowing what for but since it was only 30,000 Dong (AUD $2.00) I didn't mind. I asked two girls who bought tickets as well about it and they explained via google translate they were for “game skateboard.”
I was expecting an event, a show, but in hindsight they might have referred to beach activities banana boat riding, or parasailing. The ticket was simply the entry fee for the beach - nothing more or less. It was rainy day with overcast sky. Pair it with a Monday noon and the result is that you don’t have much beach life happening at all. All restaurants along the beach were empty and there were maybe a dozen visitors in total. It was an underwhelming sight. Technically the beach had everything you need for a postcard picture: palms, yellow sand, a slight lagoon-like curve, little huts and lounge chairs, etc. but for me it was a “Okay, this is how it looks like here. Let's take a few pics and move on”- experience. To make it worth my while, I sat down in one of the huts, snacked a Vietnamese rice cracker and had a pleasant Whatsapp video call with a friend in Australia.
I had come up with a different route for my return to Ha Tien but when I stood at the main road with the dirty beach shown in one of the photos above I couldn’t find the path displayed on google maps as thin white line that was leading to and through a rural settlement. I walked a 200m strip up and down three times before I finally spotted it.
Later on, after a few kilometres, I reached the shore again and wondered why they had built a rather new looking promenade and even a second one 30-40m parallel to the first one hugging the ocean. There was nothing around that justified such an investment apart from a single tennis court that had no parking spots. Clearly it was not created for the locals living close by. After strolling down the promenade for a kilometre I passed a big wanna-be-pompous gate, several sculptures and a mini plaza with a fountain. It didn't make any sense to me leaving me with some virtual forehead scratching. A few hundred metres further the mystery finally revealed itself: construction fencing with big banners advertising luxury hotels in Western architecture style showing Gucci, Dolce&Gabbana stores, Porsches and BMWs. The architecture firm responsible for this mind-boggling master plan seems to be German as the cars used in their computer 3D renderings display Munich car license plates and the people populating the streets look very European.
Rant Alert! - No positive vibes ahead, be warned! In my humble opinion absolute everything is wrong with this project: Creating a quarter for rich Europeans or people being attracted to living in classicist hotel buildings just outside a small Vietnamese border town is simply insensitive. I doubt that the planners have actually scouted the location in person to get a feel for the area. - The ocean isn't as blue and clear as depicted in their posh renderings, the whole quarter will heavily rely on imported things to satisfy the culinary taste and comfort requirements of the guests. The price for staying in one of those hotels will be really high – and knowing the Vietnamese mentality and lackluster maintenance of buildings I predict that already after a few years the hotels won't match the advertised flair of luxury and cleanliness which will lead to disappointed guests. By looking closer you will see that all the glamour and shine is only razor thin and painted on. I can't imagine that anything will be build to German quality standards. Yes, a few hotels are already there as a shell and construction is on-going but by the time everything is finished the roads probably need a make-over. Also I assume that not all hotels will be actually built with the consequence that you have an area with scattered buildings here and there. A lot of them might end up as investment ruins. At the moment, part of the infrastructure is used as a night market with colourful stalls. In essence, the entire project is a stupid idea of rich investors being out of touch with reality. Maybe there were financial incentives from the Vietnamese government hoping for a tourism boom that creates jobs transforming Ha Tien into “New Vegas” - as advertised…I just can’t see that happen.
The name of the project alone says it all: New Vegas. Pffft! Maybe my very pessimistic analysis and prognosis how this project will turn out will be proven untrue. However, even if the project will be a financial success, it is still wrong on so many levels and it upsets me a lot – it reminds me of what I wrote about Rach Gia with the difference that they only built huge parades without lining them with luxury hotels. In my view, the project is another attempt of what has already been tried (and failed) in China: creating European-styled cities with small Eiffel tower replica, knock off Disneyland, etc., etc. All it does is planting manifestations of stereotypes about foreign countries in unsuitable places where they can only be kept alive by pumping in an exorbitant amount of money and energy - think indoor ski areas with penguins in Dubai. Why are people so learn-resistant??? If you are reading this post in 2033, you will know if I was an only an uninformed doomsayer or a mini-Nostradamus.
Being back at my hotel room I just wanted to unwind and relax but my neighbours thwarted that idea. Thanks a lot!
