Spontaneous travel…

Departing from Ho Chi Minh City and traveling to Phan Thiet in just over two hours, spontaneous (unplanned) travel to this coastal city is becoming a trend for some travelers who own their own cars…

Feeling stifled in her small apartment, Ms. Hanh (residing in District 4, Ho Chi Minh City) suddenly had the idea and discussed it with her husband about a trip to Phan Thiet for a change of scenery, as it had been quite a while since she had returned to this destination. Since they had a family car, her husband readily agreed, as he had been busy with work for the past few months, and their young child was on summer vacation and had no school commitments… The trip was arranged in a flash, and the next morning, the car carrying the whole family headed towards the Dau Giay - Phan Thiet expressway, arriving in the seaside tourist city before sunrise.

The rich cuisine with fresh seafood is also a "plus" that attracts tourists to Phan Thiet (Illustrative image).

Finding a seaside cafe serving breakfast right in the heart of Phan Thiet city, the family leisurely ordered food and drinks and enjoyed the lush green surroundings, feeling the cool breeze and the gentle sound of the waves… Ms. Hanh and her husband were surprised by how much fun their spontaneous trip brought. Besides experiencing the new highway for the first time, the whole family had a different kind of morning compared to their usual routine in the noisy, hot city. Furthermore, because they weren't bound by a tour, they had the freedom to plan their day: After breakfast, they headed to Mui Ne Sand Dunes and then visited Fairy Stream. For lunch, they stopped at a restaurant or eatery to enjoy delicious local seafood such as sun-dried squid, green crab, prawns, and sour fish hotpot. In the late afternoon and early evening, interspersed with visits to Van Thuy Tu and Doi Duong Park, the family chose to enjoy some local specialties such as banh can (rice flour pancakes), banh canh cha ca (fish cake noodle soup), and banh quai vac (shrimp and pork dumplings)... After satisfying their cravings with many delicious dishes, Ms. Hanh's family prepared to return to Ho Chi Minh City, but still regretted not having had the chance to swim in the sea, hoping that perhaps another spontaneous trip to Phan Thiet would follow...

Coastal areas of Phan Thiet City are a popular choice for young tourists when planning their trips (Illustrative image).

As for Mr. Tuan (residing in Binh Tan District, Ho Chi Minh City), upon hearing the weather forecast predicting rain, he was so worried about flooded streets that he immediately texted his friends to "vote" on a trip to Phan Thiet before the afternoon. It was a spontaneous decision, but due to the nature of his job allowing him to work remotely and the energetic nature of a fun-loving young single man, a few people agreed to go for it. Quickly stuffing beachwear, laptops, and cameras into their backpacks, Mr. Tuan and his friends arranged a meeting point to set off together in a friend's 7-seater pickup truck…

The main purpose of going to Phan Thiet was to enjoy the food , admire the scenery, and feel the sea breeze, so overnight accommodation wasn't too important to the group of young friends. If there were no hotel rooms available, a guesthouse in an alley would be "OK!". So the group discussed and designed a suitable itinerary for their relatively short trip: Arrive at Da Ong Dia beach before dark, then choose a restaurant with their favorite dishes such as raw fish salad, grilled oysters with cheese, grilled scallops with scallions and butter, dried stingray with tamarind sauce, steamed snails with ginger… Before dinner was even over, Tuan's friends were already planning for the next day and agreed to wake up early to go swimming, have breakfast with Quang noodles with duck leg or rice vermicelli with pork offal. Immediately afterwards, they headed straight to Bau Trang (Bac Binh district) to experience off-road driving on the sand dunes, and then return to visit Phan Thiet market and buy some souvenirs for relatives. Before leaving the seaside tourist city, Tuan's group of friends also enjoyed a hearty lunch with fried catfish, steamed squid, grilled shrimp with satay sauce, snail salad, hot pot, and more.

Back in Ho Chi Minh City and returning to their normal lives, the impressive photos taken during their spontaneous trip to Phan Thiet began appearing on social media, drawing admiring comments from Tuan's friends. And who knows, perhaps this group of young people will have many more spontaneous trips like this after a period of focused hard work to successfully complete their assigned tasks.

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