Phan Thiet Information

Located in Binh Thuan province, Phan Thiet is 200 km from Saigon and lies south of Cam Ranh bay on the southernmost stretch of Central Vietnam. Binh Thuan was once a part of the Cham kingdom. In 1692, Lord Nguyen Phuc Chu captured the area and named it Binh Thuan Dinh. Binh Thuan is quite important in Vietnam's history, as it was because of this area that in 1306 King Tran Nhan Tong agreed to the marriage of princess Huyen Chan to King Jaya Sinhavarman III of the Cham Kingdom. During the revolution against the French, it was in this area that the two patriots Phan Chu Trinh and Tran Quy Cap had their start. Furthermore, according to local lore, the area around Phan Thiet is where Han Mac Tu, the disfigured poet, spent his time forlornly as he waited for Mong Cam, the lady of his dreams.

 PHAN THIET BINH THUAN CULTURAL INFORMATION

Phan Thiet is the provincial capital of Bin Thuan Province. The total area of the province is 799,226 hectares, of which 553,534 are covered by forests and 63,273 are used for agriculture. The total shoreline is 200 km. The population is around 986,335 people, of which 192,045 live in Phan Thiet; the average population density is 188 people per km2. The neighboring provinces are: Ninh Thuan (Phan Rang), Khanh Hoa (Nha Trang), Lam Dong (Da Lat) and Dong Nai (Bien Hoa).


CLIMATE:

As in the rest of Southern Vietnam, there are two seasons: the Rainy Season from May to October with South-Westerly winds, and the Dry Season from November to April with North-Easterly winds. With an annual rainfall of 1,008 mm, Phan Thiet is well below the average of Southern Vietnam. The average temperature of 26.6 Celsius and an average humidity of 80% are comparable to the averages of Ho Chi Minh City.


PEOPLE:

In addition to the Kinh people (ethnic Vietnamese), there are an estimated 50,000 Chams still living in Binh Thuan Province today. They constitute the largest minority in the province, followed by the Raglai with 30,000, the Nung with 20,000 and the Co Ho with 7,000. Most of them reside in Bac Binh, Tuy Phong and Ham Thuan communes. There are also numerous smaller minorities living predominantly on the hills in the West and North of Binh Thuan.


ROADS:

Phan Thiet lies along National Highway 1, which runs the length of the country between Ho Chi Minh City and Ha Noi. It is 198 km to HCM City and 1,548 km to Ha Noi.


Other distances from Phan Thiet to:

Ca Na                 114 km
Phan Rang          146 km
Cam Ranh Bay    202 km
Nha Trang           250 km
Da Nang             770 km
Da Lat                 247 km


Apart from trqavel by car, there are numerous buses that leave in both directions several times per day from the South & North bus stations (Ben Nam & Ben Bac). Automobiles can be rented from, amongst others, the Binh Thuan Tourism Company.


TRAINS:

There is a railway station in Phan Thiet, but the three daily trains go only as far as Muong man Station (12 km from Phan Thiet). From there, daily trains go to HCM City at 8:20 AM and 11:30 PM. The express train toHCM City takes about four hours, providing there is no trouble on the way.


AIR:

Regrettably, no airport facilities exist in Phan Thiet at present. There is an old American airstrip in the South of Phan Thiet which has been closed down since 1975. There is a project to restore the airstrip, but no precise date is available at this moment.


SEA:

One of the most stunning beaches in the entire Southern part of the country os in Phan Thiet. The undeveloped area features pure white sand and clean water that you can have almost to yourself. The only regular ship leaving Phan Thiet is a boat making the six-hour trip to Phu Quy Island.


INDUSTRY:

Binh Thuan, being a coastal province, relies heavilly on the fishing sector. There are three centres for seafood processing: Ham Tan, Tuy Phong and Phan Thiet. The total capacity of these three plants is 20 tonnes per day of frozen seafood, 380 tonnes / day of refrigerated seafood and five-tonnes / day of dried seafood.

Mention must also be made of a Phan Thiet speciality known nationwide - Nuoc Mam (fish sauce). Few visitors will fail to notice the (at times) strong, but not unpleasant, smell of this fish sauce, of which 20 million litres are produced each year. Other key seafood products include Squid, Mackerel, Prawns and Sardines.

Salt production is also wide-spread in Binh Thuan, with average yearly production in the province being 40,000 tonnes.


AGRICULTURE:

This sector plays an important role in the province. Although Binh Thuan is very dry, a large number of crops are grown here, with rice, Cashew nuts and Dragon Fruit topping the list.


LEISURE ACTIVITIES:

Phan Thiet offers a library, two cinemas and a youth club. There is one stadium located in Phan Thiet used both for sporting activities as well as exhibitions. Numerous sand-football are spread throughout the town, whereas other popular sports such as Badminton, Taekwondo and jogging are practised wherever these is space available.