The Mekong Delta Hà Tiên

Picturesque Hà Tiˆn, set on the Gulf of Thailand amid a landscape of rolling hills dotted with intricate cave temples, is a favorite Mekong stop for many travelers. Colorful houses, cheerful residents, a small-town atmosphere, and a well-kept appearance add to its appeal and render it a sweet relief—Hà Tiˆn is the southern hospitality you were looking for. During the American War and the subsequent transition to Communist rule, many southern Vietnamese used Hà Tiˆn and its offshore islands as a point of escape (by boat) to other countries. Travelers today use it as an escape from the bustling, business-minded Mekong.

Transportation. Buses arrive at the station across the floating bridge from the town center and head to C<n Th£ (4hr.; 5:30am, 10pm; 25,000); Chñu #c (4hr.; 4 per day 6:15am-2pm; 25,000); HCMC (8hr.; 8, 9pm; 50,000); Long Xuyˆn (3hr.; 11pm; 30,000); Råch Giá (3hr.; every 30min. 6:30am-6:30pm; 15,000). There are also minibuses to HCMC that depart in the early morning from in front of ®ng H· Hotel. Slow boats to Phú Qu#c (4hr.; 8:30, 9am; 120,000) run from the nearby port town of Bà Hòn, 20km away; the journey often involves a short motorized canoe ride past the bridge police before boarding the larger ferry. Ask your hotel receptionist for information about high-speed ferries to Phú Qu#c Island, as availability depends on the season.

Orientation And Practical Information. Hà Tiˆn is a small town, and many tourists enjoy exploring it by bicycle. (Rentals available for 20,000 per day at ®ng H· Hotel.) The main thoroughfare, Tr<n H<u, runs along the front of the harbor, past the floating bridge (C<u Phao), the main market, and the ferry station. Just west of the town center, Highway 80 runs north toward the nearby Cambodian border. Effective January 2007, foreigners can cross the border here (see Border Crossing).

KienGiang Tourist Office runs the ®ng H· Hotel (☎951 031); the staff gives out free town maps and answers general questions. Trinh Ngoc The rents out bicycles and motorbikes with complimentary hand-drawn maps. (☎0918 574 780; tinhngocthe2000@yahoo.com.) Vietcombank, 4 Ph™£ng Thành, has a 24hr. ATM, changes traveler’s checks, and does currency exchange and MC/V cash advances. (☎951 065; fax 951 067. Open M-F 7-11am and 1-4pm.) There is a hospital on Måc C¸u and a pharmacy (open daily 7am-9pm) at 32 Tr<n H<u. Internet is at 33 Tham T™øng Sanh (4000 per hr.; open daily 9am-11pm) and 21 Tr<n H<u (3000 per hr.; open daily 7am-11pm). The post office is located on T® Chñu and has phone and fax services. (Open daily 6:30am-9pm.)

Accommodations And Food. Hà Tiˆn offers a range of accommodation choices, from scrubby to snazzy. H=i Vñn 1, 55 Lam S£n, is one of the most attractive hotels in town, and offers luggage storage and free safe deposit box in addition to quality budget rooms. The English-speaking manager C™£ng will happily give you a personal tour of the city and its surrounding sights. (☎852 872. Rooms 70,000-220,000.) Dú H™ng 1, 17A Tr<n H<u, has clean rooms and a professional, English-speaking staff. All units are air-conditioned. (☎951 555; fax 852 267. Rooms 50,000 per person.) Hoàng Dü 1, 30 Lam S£n, is a spiffy mini-hotel with clean and fragrant rooms. TVs are included. (☎851 463. Rooms 90,000-180,000.) Ngßc Quan 2, 24 Måc C®ng Du, is another mini-hotel with high standards. The triples are a bargain. (☎852 652. Rooms 120,000-150,000.)

In accordance with the town’s congenial ambience, restaurants in Hà Tiˆn are usually full of chatty locals and well-served, laid-back meals. Shrimp is especially popular on menus, and the little orange critters are set out to dry all over the city streets before being put on your plate. Giang Thanh 2, 36 Tr<n H<u, offers a clean, white-tablecloth-covered eating terrace alongside a bustling market. Portions are quite filling, and it serves the best ice cream in town; try the milk and coconut or grilled rice milk flavors. (Ice cream 7000; entrees 35,000-50,000. Open daily 8am-10pm.) Xuñn Thånh 2, 20 Tr<n H<u, offers a great view of the market and is always bustling with locals. (Most entrees 28,000-40,000. Open daily 6am-10pm.) H™£ng Bien 2, 974 T® Chñu, is a popular place to sample local seafood dishes. (Entrees 15,000-30,000. Open daily 6am-8pm.) Cafe H=i Âu 1, 80 Lam S£n, is a nice stop for the wandering pedestrian. Its second-floor terrace gives a decent view of the town. (Drinks 4000-6000. Open daily 7am-10pm.)

Sights And Entertainment. Each of the following sights lies north of town and is a 20,000-30,000 motorbike ride on Hwy. 80. The most famous attraction in Hà Tiˆn is Thåch Dÿng (Stone Cave), 4km northwest of town. This large outcrop of granite contains several Buddhist shrines and is home to a colony of small bats. Openings in the rock provide lovely views of the town, the surrounding rice fields, and the Cambodian border. There are several staircases and lookout balconies within the cave—one immediately to the left after the entrance, one to the right midway through the cave, and one at the very end of the inner walkway—so be sure to explore thoroughly. In front of the site, a fist carved in stone memorializes the massacre of 130 Vietnamese by invading Khmer Rouge forces here on March 14, 1978. (Open daily 7am-6pm. 2000.) The Müi Nai Peninsula, 7km west of town, offers two popular beaches: one has shallow water and a long strip of dark sand, and the other has a deeper swimming area and an attractive waterfront shaded by palm trees. Follow the local trend and rent an inner tube for 3000. For the more adventurous, kayaks (10,000) and jet skis (25,000) are also available for rent. (Open daily 7am-11pm. Beaches 1500.) The Temple and Tomb of Måc C¸u, about 2km northwest of the town center, commemorates the beloved father of Hà Tiˆn, a Chinese governor appointed by the Khmer who shifted his allegiance to the Vietnamese Nguy[n Lords. You can climb the hill from the temple to view the decorative tombs of Måc C¸u and his family members. Not far from here, the town’s renowned four-headed coconut tree (Dùa B#n Ngon) stands in a front yard on Lñm Vn Quang. From the base of the tree, four separate trunks emerge, a biological rarity. It’s near the intersection of Lñm Vn Quang and Phåm Vn KÅ.

At night, the brightest neon signs in town come from Cafe Nhåc Trë, 1 Ph™£ng Thành, which offers karaoke, bar, steambath, and jacuzzi. (Beer 12,000-15,000. Steambath and jacuzzi 60,000. Open daily 6pm-midnight.)

Border Crossing. By 2007, travelers will be able to pass from Vietnam to Cambodia by road at the border crossing, about 10km northwest of Hà Tiˆn. Foreigners who do not yet have a Cambodian visa can obtain one at the border for US$22. The best way to get there is by motorbike (45min.; 50,000).

Daytrips From Hà Tiˆn. Nearby caves and cave temples are really what set Hà Tiˆn apart from other Mekong towns. Visitors in the area should not miss the chance to explore these natural formations. It is helpful to take along a flashlight. In addition, check out the beautiful beaches and archipelagos in the region. All sights are south of town, and can be reached by taking Hwy. 80 toward Bà Hòn.

 Chùa Hang (Pagoda Cave) . This pagoda consists of a series of shrines built within and around a cave. Walk into the outer shrine to pay homage to several different Buddhist figures, as well as a statue of Shiva. Behind the Shiva is the entrance to the inner shrine and central cave temple. Several large Buddha statues sit in these dark and dank quarters. Follow the recessed neon lighting through to the back of the cave. On the right, you will see a spiral staircase leading up to another temple room. The back side of the cave sits alongside the beach, which is lined with a boardwalk. The beach sands are inhabited by millions of tiny crabs, and you can see the many small holes burrowed into the sand’s surface. Offshore from the cave are the Father & Son Islands, identifiable by two large peaks; the father is on the left, and the son on the right. Legend has it that after a torrential storm, the local fishing communities all fled the coastal islands. When his son got stuck in the midst, a father allegedly swam out into the sea to save him, but neither of them returned. Their spirits are now embodied in these islands. Ferries (10,000) shuttle visitors to the islands from the dock behind the cave. (37km south of Hà Tiˆn. Open daily 7am-5pm. 5000.)

Moso Caves. This sight is composed of two white-stone (“moso” in Khmer) caves, one short and one long, which were the site of daily bombing and constant US surveillance during the American War. Inside the short cave are two giant stalactites, measuring almost 10m in height. Clumps of incense sticks also adorn the cave as altars to the deceased soldiers. The long cave stretches on for two kilometers and opens out on the other side of the mountain. A wooden-plank walkway, lit by a string of light bulbs, leads visitors through the cave. Be sure to alert the cave-keeper of your presence and pay him to keep the lights on (10,000). A warning: the keeper is very old and very anti-American. It might be a better bet to pay 5000 at the entrance to borrow a flashlight. (30km south of Hà Tiˆn. From the highway, take a left onto the paved road just before the Swiss cement factory. Open daily 7am-5pm. Free.)

Crocodile Caves. Visible from the highway, these hollow caverns are marked by Swiss-cheese-like base rocks. There is usually at least half a meter of water on the ground of the cave as well. Locals insist that two large crocodiles once inhabited these caves, but when their seven crocodile children were killed by fishermen, the parents grew sullen and whiled away their lives on the inside, never again emerging. A few ladders and steps cut into the rock allow visitors a means to climb inside. Be very careful during the rainy season. (22km south of town. Free.)

Shrimp Farms. Eighteen kilometers south of Hà Tiˆn, travelers will notice large rectangles of water aerated by churning metal fans. These shrimp farms allow visitors to tour the farms and observe the shrimp-breeding process—a process we simply don’t want to think about. (Open daily 7am-6pm. Free.)

Hòn Chong Peninsula. A fantastic beach and calm waves await visitors to Hòn Chong. With cafes aplenty and pedestrian traffic at a minimum, you could easily spend an afternoon mulling about these shores. Nearby are the Hang Tien Islands, 2km north of Hòn Chong and 4km off the main road. Inland and southeast from the peninsula is the 2km long D™£ng Beach, a great stretch of yellow sand. The star hotel of the area is Hòn Trm Resort 5, which has large, private, balcony-laden villas radially spread out along a jutting outcrop’s periphery. The resort includes a salon, sauna, karaoke, and a large restaurant, and offers tours to the nearby Ba Lua archipelago. (☎854 331; www.hontremresort.com. Rooms 400,000-450,000.) Even if you’re not planning to stay the night, the road toward the resort is worth a quick ride—it ascends to the top of a cliff and provides a beautiful view of the whole peninsula. (32km southwest of town. Free.)