The Road to Vung Ro Port

Phu Yen province is the easternmost province in Vietnam and Vung Ro is it's easternmost point. A peninsula and offshore islands create a protected bay with a very small port which will probably grow as the province develops.

I went to the port by riding down the main road to the south through the rice paddies; a broad plain that gradually narrows until it confronts a row of mountains.


A large stone outcropping at the top of the pass is visible for many miles.

The road winds up the mountain over one of the 5 "passes" in Phu Yen province. This pass divides Phu Yen from the next province to the south. At the top of the pass is a small, winding road which descends to the port.

We had come to this area before on an Orange Helper mission, but that time we followed a beautiful paved road along the coast that ended at the town just north of the port. When I looked for the road from the port to the town, I was surprised that I couldn't find it. I followed a dirt path punctuated by mud holes that did lead to the town, the streets (street actually) of which are also unpaved and broken by deep, mud-filled pot holes. Just beyond the town the beautiful paved road back toward Tuy Hoa began.

The coastal scenery is beautiful, but curiously, the paved road continues only for about 5 of the 10 miles back to town. I am totally confused about this beautiful stretch of road, with sand or gravel roads at either end.



The road descends from the mountains back down to the plain which runs to the sea at a beach which extends for dozens of miles to the north.
It was quite overcast today and I watched squalls about 1 mile offshore and was grateful that they were there and not here.....until they moved and drenched me.