Why did An Nhut rice field suddenly become popular during the golden rice season?

The road through An Nhut rice fields in Ba Ria - Vung Tau - Photo: NGUYET PHAM

An Nhut commune in Long Dien district, Ba Ria - Vung Tau province has never been named on the Vietnam tourism map. But now people are excited because of the image of peaceful golden rice fields along the road, sometimes straight, sometimes winding, extremely impressive.

The day I went was a weekday, not a weekend, because I was afraid of the heavy traffic. According to the instructions of young people who had gone, An Nhut was about a 4-hour drive from Ho Chi Minh City, but in reality it was only about 2.5 hours.

At 12 noon, after finishing work, we departed from Ho Chi Minh City on the Long Thanh - Dau Giay highway, at the Long Thanh intersection, we turned right onto Highway 51 towards Vung Tau.

The rice fields at noon will be very sunny, there are also very few restaurants so we decided to go straight to Phuoc Hai embankment, 12km away, for a late lunch.

An Nhut Bridge turns into a very hot road through the fields - Photo: NGUYET PHAM

Phuoc Hai embankment - a paradise of affordable seafood

In recent years, tourists from neighboring provinces and districts tend to go to Phuoc Hai embankment to enjoy seafood. The seafood is quite delicious and the price is reasonable, so on social media platforms, there are many articles and video clips about culinary experiences in this area.

Tran Hung Dao Street - also known as Phuoc Hai embankment - along Phuoc Hai beach, the roadside is lined with many shops. According to the instructions of many people who have gone before, Kim Tien, Be Chi, Chi Oanh... restaurants all have delicious seafood quality.

However, we arrived late at lunchtime so only Quy Map restaurant was open and it was very crowded. Phuoc Hai is famous for its oysters and various types of snails, shrimp, and squid. Steamed oysters are plump and sweet, and a kilo is only 35,000 VND. In addition, grilled oysters with cheese and grilled oysters with scallion oil are all delicious, but perhaps the simple steamed oysters are still the best.

The embankment is located right next to Phuoc Hai fishing village. On the beach, basket boats are moored close together, fishermen mend nets, arrange nets, and laugh happily while working. The beach is also airy and clean, you can stroll, take pictures, and check-in.

However, we did not forget the purpose of coming here to admire the ripe rice fields, so after being satisfied with seafood, we set off to find An Nhut fields.

Sunset on An Nhat field

Tourists try rice husking - Photo: NGUYET PHAM

An Nhut rice field is only about 12km from Phuoc Hai embankment. The road is deserted and beautiful, with trees on both sides. Houses here are quite sparse. Going on D.55 road, you will see a very large rice field. From here, you can stop anywhere to admire the scenery. Occasionally on the small dirt roads, you will see farmers harvesting early rice.

The strong aroma of ripe rice, the smell of stubble mixed with the smell of drying mud filled the air around us. The locals were very happy to see strangers coming, asking for all the information and not hesitating to invite you to try the rice, or even lending you "props" to take pictures.

Taking pictures with 'props' in the rice field - Photo: NGUYET PHAM

Go on D.55 to An Nhut bridge then turn in. This is the road that has been "causing a fever" on social networks all week. This is the best place to watch the sunset and take pictures, because the road is small and not much higher than the rice fields. On both sides of the road there are only ditches and no houses, so the view is not blocked.

The black asphalt road stands out in the middle of the golden rice fields, and is also winding, making it great for taking pictures. There is also a moderately tall tree that netizens call the lonely tree. Under the shade of this tree, countless "muses" have posed, and countless beautiful pictures have been taken.

There are also many tourists from Vung Tau, Dong Nai and Ho Chi Minh City who come here. Mostly young people, sometimes there are three-generation families coming together to enjoy the wind in the fields. The rice fields are cool in the afternoon, the road is quite long so even though there are a lot of people coming to see the rice fields and watch the sunset, it does not cause any noise or inconvenience to each other.

An Nhut rice field in Ba Ria - Vung Tau - Photo: NGUYET PHAM

An Nhat Countryside Market

An Nhat Countryside Market - Photo: NGUYET PHAM

An Nhut rural market in Ba Ria - Vung Tau - Photo: NGUYET PHAM

From the sunset viewing point, follow D.55 road for about 1km to reach An Nhut rural market. When we arrived, we thought the rural market was only open on weekends, and if it was open during the week, there would probably be only a few stalls. With that mindset, when we arrived, we were surprised by the large number of customers and stalls.

According to the traders, the rural market has existed for half a year and in another place, but later the government saw that there were too many visitors causing traffic jams so they planned the market here. The market is about 1km long, has two reasonable and very large parking lots for motorbikes and cars, and has a very dedicated security team to guide.

The market sells a wide variety of food from savory to sweet, from traditional to modern fast food. The quality is also average. People come here just to enjoy the atmosphere, without too many expectations, so everyone is happy and comfortable.

Cool field breeze, large space, sitting in the middle of the country market eating something small and talking about endless stories suddenly feels light.

Lonely tree in An Nhat - Photo: NGUYET PHAM

Many people think that An Nhut only has fields with nothing special, so why does it cause such a "fever"? It's not necessarily the psychology of tourists who like to follow "trends". We personally found the half-day experience very enjoyable, a change of pace to feel refreshed without having to spend a lot of time, money and effort planning, so the trip is very worthwhile.

An Nhut field is not only beautiful in the golden rice season. I think after the rice season, we can come to fly kites, and in the next planting season, the lush green color still gives a fresh beauty.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/vi-sao-canh-dong-an-nhut-mua-lua-chin-vang-bong-nhien-gay-sot-2024033019494011.htm