I write Volume 2 of the Hot as Phở series in conflict. If this were a baseball game, I would say that I will finish it, but I will finish it under protest. The league is going to receive a very strongly-worded letter about this article!
Alas, I am both team and league in this terrible analogy.
From whence doth my duress derive? Has an insidious warlord threatened my person? Have I sworn a blood oath whose severance would bestow upon me a fate worse than death? Have I foolishly chosen writing over snacking? Am I trying to save the baby turtles?
Yes to the turtles one, and this suggests the larger conflict: Con Dao, the most southerly point in Vietnam, is a gorgeous, relaxing, tropical archipelago in the South China Sea. As of the publication of this article, it remains largely unspoiled, and I want it to stay that way. I don't want it to turn into Phu Quoc, Phuket, Bali, or any other paradise ravaged by overtourism, so I hesitate to tell you about it. Yes, you. Keep reading, though. I told you I'm conflicted. There will be a quiz. There won't be a quiz. Aaagghh!
Tourism in Vietnam is growing rapidly, and it's not hard to understand why: food, geography, affordability, the tropical climate, and proximity to dozens of other attractive destinations top the list of reasons to visit Vietnam. However, the influx of foreign tourists as well as the uptick in domestic tourism finds many of Vietnam's nicest spots bursting at the seams. Wonderful places such as Da Lat, Hoi An, Sa Pa, and so many others are crammed with tourists. It's great for hotel owners, but it's aggravating for anyone who values any degree of personal space. Worse, it's damaging for some increasingly fragile ecosystems.
The Boss and I spoke with Con Dao locals who lamented increased development in Con Dao and specifically referenced Phu Quoc as a cautionary tale. Con Dao has a long way to go to resemble the less desirable points of Phu Quoc, but this is nevertheless a justified fear. I mentioned earlier that Con Dao remains largely unspoiled, but there are looming threats. Large resorts are under construction on tiny Con Dao, and offensively large tour buses carrying the high-heel crowd are beginning to appear with greater frequency. It's sad to feel prescient when one sees the high-heels tip-toe off the huge buses - it's a hollow-pit-in-the-stomach feeling, a true gut-punch. Fill in your own tummy pain analogy here as you like.
Ok. So. Good talk. Now that we've had this discussion on the perils of overtourism, I want you to know that I respect you and your right to travel and your right to eat all the treats. Before reading on, though, you must promise me you will be nice to Con Dao; you won't litter, poach a sea turtle, or tell anyone.
Right. Right? Right.
To be clear, most of Con Dao - which is made up of the main island of Con Son and several other smaller islands - is a National Park. We certainly like that. One can still hike through a rainforest past some brilliant orange mushrooms to a pristine beach and be alone on that beach for hours. We did that and did not see a single person all day. If that's also your dream, the official Globepouncing recommendation numero uno for Con Dao is to hike to Dat Tham beach.
Head to the entrance of Con Dao National Park on the main island of Con Son. You can take one of the electric cars - yes, the cabs here are big golf carts - or walk. It's not too long a walk from town. Bring small money. Vietnam. You know the guy at the park entrance doesn't want to give you change. You'll pay the equivalent of a couple USD per person to enter the park at the welcome center, and then you'll walk a bit further up the road into the park.
On the right, you'll pass an opening that looks like a driveway for a military installment. If you take a couple steps toward the compound, however, you'll see the trail you want on the left. The first sign marking the trail to Dat Tham and several other points of interest is a little bit past the military driveway/trailhead, though, so don't be confused by having to backtrack a few steps. Again, Vietnam. Once you're on the trail, it's about three kilometers to Dat Tham, and the other points of interest are along the way and clearly marked. The signage once inside the National Park is quite good. Be careful when hiking through the rainforest because the canopy is thick and the floor can be quite slick even when it's not raining. Watch your footing and enjoy the perfect beach.
There is also plenty to see in and around town. Colonizing forces apparently loved building prisons on Con Dao, so many of the sights involve decaying prisons with histories regarding French and American occupations. Most of the good prison ruins are along the main road leading back toward the airport. Again, you can take a golf cart or walk. They're not too far from the center of town. You have to purchase tickets for 40,000 Dong each outside the Bao Tang Con Dao history museum on the way out of the town center toward the airport. A ticket is good for the day you purchase it and will grant you admission to all the prison sites of interest. The oldest camp is actually right in town: the Trai Phu Hai/Trai Phu Son site. You could easily spend an entire day exploring all the prison ruins to which your ticket grants you access.
Heading the other direction out of the town center, you can find a lovely hilltop temple: Van Son Tu. This one's a bit of a stairmaster, but the climb isn't too long - it's no thousand-step cave like in Mai Chau - so work those buns of steel for a few minutes on the way up to the Van Son Pagoda. You'll find panoramic views and your standard Buddhist temple staples at the top.
I know what you really want, though: cute little baby sea turtles. These little guys are reason number one why I don't want Con Dao to become overrun. Nevertheless, read on, my brave ecotourists who would never never ever ever dream of damaging a fragile ecosystem...
A secluded, narrow, white sand beach with a shimmering, coral fragment-lined surf is apparently one of the best places in the world for endangered green sea turtles to nest - I mean, they swim there all the way from the Philippines every year to lay their eggs after mating for seventy-two straight hours according to our guide. Romance is in the water.
Con Dao National Park Rangers harvest the eggs once they are laid and bury them at a nearby incubation site where half the sand is shaded to produce females and half is left in the sun to produce males. Before visiting, we questioned whether this was tampering too much with nature for our taste. However, our guide explained to us that, with the size of the beach, incubating the eggs actually allows for many more eggs to hatch because mother turtles will destroy any eggs they find in order to lay their own. On a small beach like that, egg destruction would be rampant. Human intervention appears to result in far more baby turtles being born in this case.
We were quite lucky to be able to experience a baby sea turtle release when we visited in late July. Normally, that time of year, we learned, is high egg-laying - not egg-hatching - season; the hatching and releasing usually happen around September. However, we visited in the magical year of the golden rat, 2020, and it appears that the significant reduction in human activity due to Covid-19 led to one of the earliest and most fruitful turtle mating seasons in memory. By mid-July, the hatchery was already almost at capacity, and release tours were being run a full two months earlier than normal. Thanks, Covid?
We went to Con Dao with only a rough understanding of what to do. We knew, for example, that much of Con Dao was a National Park and that there were cool prison ruins. We did not know we would be able to see baby turtles be released, and we weren't really sure about much else, either. I tell you this to introduce our final recommendation for Con Dao - find yourself good accommodations.
The Boss, as you might already know, is an accommodation whisperer, and she found us a perfect boutique hotel with outstanding food, comfortable rooms, and great bathrooms: Villa Maison. Virtually all our activities came by recommendation of the Villa Maison staff, and they never tired of our questions. We recommend staying there or somewhere like it.
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