Flocking to Nghinh Phong cape to welcome the sunrise

Ba Ria - Vung Tau Many tourists recently flocked to Mui Nghinh Phong to watch the sunrise, not afraid to wake up at 3am to choose a place with a nice view.

Nghinh Phong Cape is now emerging as a "beautiful sunrise viewing spot" sought after by tourists. This is a long headland jutting out into the sea located in the south of Vung Tau peninsula, with mountains behind it and the sea in front. The cape is located between Sau beach and Dua beach, with strong winds all year round, many reefs and dangerous cliffs.

Ms. Thanh Thuy, a native of Vung Tau who is currently living in Ho Chi Minh City, said that 5 days ago she was lucky enough to "hunt" for the sunrise on Nghinh Phong Cape. She has known about this cape for a long time but always just drove past it and was not very impressed. Recently, she watched review videos on social networks and noticed it and went there out of curiosity. She arrived at Nghinh Phong Cape at 4:30 a.m. but the empty lots around this area were full of people sitting "waiting" for the sunrise.

Tourists drink coffee and watch the sunrise on Nghinh Phong Cape. Photo: Thanh Thuy — Tourists drink coffee and watch the sunrise on Nghinh Phong Cape. Photo: *Thanh Thuy*

"Many people come here from 3am to choose a nice view. People often sit on empty lots or on chairs at street cafes here. After 5am, there are no more seats, so they have to stand in bad corners," said Ms. Thuy.

Not all tourists are as "lucky" as Ms. Thuy. Ton Thoa, from Long An, said she traveled to Vung Tau at the end of October and also stopped by Nghinh Phong cape to check in because "this is a hot spot". Thoa arrived at this location at 5:30 am but the cape "had no more seats and could not catch the sunrise". Tourist Cam Nhi, living in Ho Chi Minh City, also "arrived at 4 am" and could not find a suitable seat, "surrounded by a sea of people".

Mr. Son Nguyen, from Ho Chi Minh City, shared that he has been to Vung Tau many times and Nghinh Phong Cape is a familiar place to him. In 2016-2018, Mr. Son went to this cape to camp, at that time this place was deserted, in the morning "there was almost no one" and tourists often came here in the afternoon.

"In the past 2-3 months, this place has become hot again thanks to the appearance of street coffee shops around the vacant land. The owners of these shops share videos of the sunrise at the cape on TikTok, attracting tourists. These street carts are open from 3am to about 7:30am, tourists who come to buy coffee are provided with chairs, which are foldable camping chairs," said Mr. Son.

Mr. Pham Khac To, Director of the Vung Tau City Tourist Management and Support Center, said that Nghinh Phong Cape is not currently an official tourist destination of the city, but only a spontaneous location. Before now, tourists "can freely come and go here, no one manages".

According to Mr. To, Vung Tau City has held many meetings to prepare for investment and renovation of Nghinh Phong Cape into a tourist attraction, "but so far there is no specific plan". If the renovation project is implemented, the road leading to Nghinh Phong Cape will be renovated, with additional barriers like the Con Heo Hill area to ensure the safety of tourists. In addition, some miniature landscapes will be built to serve visitors who want to take photos.

Mr. Pham Khac To said that street vendors operating in the Nghinh Phong Cape area are "against city regulations". The patrol team to handle street vendor violations of the city's wards continuously patrols but "it is difficult to thoroughly inspect".

This area is now just empty lots and dilapidated buildings, abandoned for many years, once owned by a tourism company in Ba Ria - Vung Tau province.

According to data from market research firm Outbox Company, Ba Ria - Vung Tau is rated by tourists as having "beautiful scenery and reasonable costs that suit the tastes of current Vietnamese people". This is also the number one favorite destination for Vietnamese tourists in the country in the third quarter.

According to a report from the Department of Tourism of Ba Ria - Vung Tau province, the whole province welcomed more than 11 million visitors in 9 months, It is estimated that there were more than 3 million overnight stays, an increase of 18.33% over the same period last year.

Bich Phuong

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