Falling Fairies

Entrance to Suoi Tien

Fairies
Suoi Tien is a commonly used name for a water-like attraction in Vietnam. Suoi meaning stream, Tien meaning fairy. So in English not as straight forward as commonly thought. Fairies are an often recurring theme in Vietnamese legends and with Suoi Tien, Khanh Hoa province the legend goes as follow:

'Legend has it that a giant from Binh Dinh Province visited Suoi Tien thousands of years ago. Enchanted by its charm, the giant accidentally slid into the stream. One of his feet landed on a boulder on the bank of the river, flattening it to create a smooth surface in the middle of the stream. The flat stone served as a place for fairies from heaven to play after coming down to earth for a swim. The flat stone is now an ideal resting point for visitors who want to conquer the upstream flow of the river'.

Note that the website from which I gained this insight has a photo of another stream (possibly for fairies) presumably more south (Mui Ne?).

The stream at entrance, with man-made pool.
Note the extensive scarring beyond, a sign of times to come

Getting There
Anyway, this Suoi Tien is located not so far from Nha Trang, the provincial capital. Passed the 17th century citadel of Dien Khahn one takes a left and continues towards the hills, sign boarding is unpredictable. There is also a number of internet sites that imply taking a turn from highway 1, south of Nha Trang in the village of Suoi Dao.
And finally a new by-pass is being built which will alter the directions altogether. The final 1 km up to the foot of the mountain is a poor road , though small scale repairs were underway. A total of 20-25 km from Nha Trang (45 min.).

Plans are being drawn up, according to this reference:

'under a 15 year plan to build hotels, bungalows, regenerate forest, etc'.

So by then it should be less difficult to find!
Considering the amount of scarring this process (construction) is already resulting in (see photo above), the regeneration part will probably entail a long term restoration of what they had initially undertaken. Sims [1] adds:

'Past the parking area a bar, restaurant, and tourist office are under construction. This once hidden gem is under wraps no more!
…
The downside to tourism is evident in all the litter seen strewn about, despite the odd rubbish bin'.

Other references are less expansive. LP [2] has a short paragraph on Suoi Tien:

'This enchanting spring seems to pop up out of nowhere.
…
It has been earmarked as the next big ecotourism site, which paradoxically probably means massive over-development, but it is still peaceful if you hike upstream'.

Anyway despite the nearness to Nha Trang and the obvious attractiveness for recreation, a week day mid-morning, March 2011, sees little or no crowds at all, quite sleepy.

Experience
An entrance fee is required (10,000 VND; ~ US$ 0,50) and then ione can wander up the stream. Despite aforementioned plans, there's still hardly anything to be had, at the entrance; even buying a drink is only just do-able.

The first set of falls which have been enhanced see a large crowd of drunk local teenagers, but continuing onwards through the stream bed one can seek solitude easily.

Enhanced

There's a passage below an overhanging rock and at a certain place an inlet for drinking water. Continuing through the bed stream brings one in still quieter places, though refuse still bears witness to a superior (?) civilisation.

Finally I find a nice sun drenched sandy pool and take an au-naturel plunge and reconnect with my inner-self. Birds everywhere, a nice place indeed.

More
Though not a waterfall in the strictest sense, it does contain many drops of a meter or more. There are a lot of pools to cool off in and if motivated one can continue onward up the mountain. Sims [2] describes continuing as follows:

'Locals say that if you follow the stream to its source, about a two day hike, you’ll reach a magical chess board used long ago by fairies’.

Closeby is another stream, Suoi Nguon which according to Sims [1] misses the extensive development of the other nearby sites (see Ba Ho and Yang Bay) and signifies

‘it’s peaceful atmosphere with little to no other people around’.

Suoi Nguon can be reached by taking the road up Hon Ba mountain. Some pictures of Suoi Nguon are to be seen from this web album.

Notes:
[1] Sims, A. (2010) Nha Trang Guide Book 2011-2012 Edition EBT Media, Nha Trang, Vietnam.
[2] Ray, N., Y.-M. Balasingamchow, I. Stewart (2010) Vietnam. 10th Edition. Lonely Planet, Footscray, Australia

Wondering in the Kingdom

Flowers in the hair, waterfall in the background, another pic for the album.

Cambodia likes to see itself as a nation of natural beauty as exemplified by it’s waterfalls. And there is ample evidence of beautiful waterfalls in outstanding areas. However what they often neglect to inform visitors of, is the fact that the management of these waterfall areas and other areas of outstanding natural beauty contradicts the very reason why visitors may come. Or am I missing something?

K’bal Chhay (Kbal Chhay), Kompong Som province (yes you may refer to it as Sihanoukville) ranks high on Cambodia’s must see waterfalls. With the possible Bou Sra waterfalls in Mondulkiri having the edge, these falls are seen as something not to miss. Even though they aren’t the highest nor have any other qualities which would seek to attract visitors. But being close to the coastal resort of Sihanoukville seems to be the premier reason to visit here. And the reason why I have avoided visiting them.

Until this morning. Located 8 km up a dirt road from a turn off on the main road out of Sihanoukville, access is good. Entrance fees are $1 per vehicle (up 100% with 3 years ago). Along the way one passes the municipal water reservoir as well as some clear cut forest just above the reservoir. Only in Cambodia is one allowed to denude the hills surrounding it’s number 1 drinking water source. Another wonder.

There is a wikipedia page on Kbal Chhay. It mentions that the fact of the upper part of the stream being the fresh water source of Sihanoukville. That the road was constructed by a company which somehow is not responsible for the fee collection anymore, the government has moved back. None of this though I believe is transparent.

Car park galore.

At the end of the road is a gigantic car park, which I imagine can spare enough space for upwards of 1,000 cars. Luckily today there are only a dozen. Along the edges are a number of stalls, selling drinks, foods and tourist nick nacks.
Access to mid way the falls is from a small corner of the car park, but most visitors opt to cross the river and seek out a nice shaded hut on the opposite bank above the falls. There are quite a few of these stalls, fanning out above the falls. Oddly though there seems no access to below the 15-25m high falls, where one can easily see a nice pool to swim in.

Overall it all seems pretty dangerous, I for one would not be surprised at children being swept off the waterfalls or just falling. On the other side is another smaller stream which joins the falls but with it’s own set of beautiful falls.

Not the main falls.

Again it certainly is a beautiful place, but the obscenity of all the stalls above the falls takes a major part of the enjoyment away. At least for ourselves. Naturally on holidays business will be roaring so no doubt I am one of the few who resent this development. Beyond the stalls huge piles over rubbish exist and closer to the falls much rubbish has been allowed to accumulate, but that seems to concern no one. It’s a pity how a beautiful area can be destroyed in humanities never ending search to make a quick buck.

The thing to do I believe, is to see if one can extend the visit by finding a path below to the lower stream and seek out a waterhole there.

We opted to follow the brook which enters the falls site. After some 10 minutes of scrambling through the forest we come to a very small waterfall, jungle enclosed and up to half a meter deep. No crowds. No noise. No rubbish. No need for clothes. Just pure nature.

Nearby is Iball, another delitefully peaceful area where one can zorb from a slope (apparently if you’re drunk naked zorbing is allowed …), swim or simply relax. A good idea to combine the two?

Halfway down the falls. The water drops here another 15m.

Elsewhere Andy B has as always a good blog entry. He attributes Kbal Chhay's popularity to it featuring in a 2000 local movie. More photo's too and from the rainy season, a fact which also the province guide mentions as well as more of the development history.