Binh Duong not only has industrial parks but is also home to many beautiful attractions and entertainment that few people know about.
Binh Duong is the gateway to Ho Chi Minh City, with convenient access, with the capital being Thu Dau Mot city. This is an ancient battlefield with historical places such as Phu Loi, Bau Bang, Ben Suc, Lai Khe, especially war zone D, famous for Tuong Binh Hiep lacquer village, ceramics and gardens. fruit-laden tree.
48-hour journey to explore Binh Duong as suggested by Mr. Doan Cuong, specialist of the Provincial Tourism Promotion Center and a group of Ho Chi Minh City guests. The program is suitable for travelers departing from Ho Chi Minh City, with 1-2 free days combining work and fun in Ho Chi Minh City.
Day 1
Morning
Have breakfast and drink coffee in Thu Dau Mot city. Some popular suggested breakfast dishes here are Cay Tam Porridge, Moc vermicelli noodles, and Da pho. Dishes cost from 30,000 VND to 60,000 VND.
After breakfast, depart for Phu An Bamboo Village (also known as Phu An Bamboo Ecology Museum and Plant Conservation) located in Ben Cat town, nearly 20 km from Thu Dau Mot city. This is the first bamboo ecosystem conservation area in Vietnam, a familiar destination for those who like rural scenery. This place stores about 1,500 bamboo bushes with 300 bamboo samples of 17 varieties (accounting for 90% of Vietnam’s bamboo varieties). Among them, there are many rare bamboo varieties such as apricot, striped yellow, ivory, yellow bamboo, and strong tong.
In 2010, Phu An received the Equator Award from the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) for protecting biodiversity, serving community development and responding to climate change. In 2016, this place was also recognized as a member of the Association of Botanical Gardens in the French-speaking region of the world. This is also a place to take beautiful photos and relax.
One of the destinations not to be missed in Binh Duong is the 150-year-old ancient pottery village of Dai Hung and the lacquer village of Tuong Binh Hiep (about 3 km from the center of Thu Dau Mot). This is the place where Binh Duong’s oldest pottery is produced and preserved. Here, you will have the opportunity to explore the handmade ceramic production process, including steps such as shaping by hand, collecting firewood, mixing colors in a classic style, and exploiting raw materials at the mine.
Dai Hung ceramic kiln preserves and preserves traditional crafts, contributing to economic creation and development with typical products. “Coming to Binh Duong without visiting and experiencing pottery making is losing the value of the trip,” Mr. Cuong shared. Every day, this famous roller kiln exports products for consumption throughout Vietnam, with types such as jars, jars, and jars with traditional designs.
After visiting and learning about the handmade ceramic production process and lacquer village, visitors have lunch at restaurants in central Thu Dau Mot. Eel porridge – mangosteen chicken salad and rice dumplings are suggestions. These are three dishes of Binh Duong honored by the Vietnam Culinary Culture Association in the journey to find Vietnamese cultural values. Reference addresses: Vuon Xua restaurant, This Afternoon restaurant, Garden of bamboo shoots restaurant, Garden of bamboo shoots of Binh Nham.
Afternoon
Visit the ancient house of Tran Van Ho (Phu Cuong ward, Thu Dau Mot city), an architectural and artistic relic recognized at the national level in 1993.
The house was built in February 1890 in the style of three compartments, two wings, including 36 round columns, 6 rows of round columns from front to back, each row of 6 columns placed entirely on boulders, with a tiled floor. The front of the house faces southwest (Saigon River). This is one of the good directions in terms of feng shui that ancient Southern people often chose to build houses, especially wealthy families.
Hoi Khanh Pagoda is an ancient temple in Thu Dau Mot city, built in 1741. It has a statue recognized by the Asian Records Organization as the longest reclining Buddha statue in Asia. The highlight of this ancient script is its value in terms of cultural history, architectural art, especially the majority of relics and antiques that have been preserved for hundreds of years. Hoi Khanh is also considered a temple that represents the common characteristics of ancient pagodas in Binh Duong.
According to Mr. Cuong’s share, Hoi Khanh Pagoda is also associated with the activities of Mr. Nguyen Sinh Sac (father of President Ho Chi Minh). From 1923 to 1926, Mr. Sac, Mr. Tu Cuc (Phan Dinh Vien) and Venerable Tu Van founded the Honor Society here.
Buddha statue is located in Hoi Khanh Pagoda. Photo: Quynh Tran
Hoi Khanh Pagoda. Photo: Quynh Tran
Buddha statue is located in Hoi Khanh Pagoda. Photo: Quynh Tran
Hoi Khanh Pagoda. Photo: Quynh Tran
Buddha statue is located in Hoi Khanh Pagoda. Photo: Quynh Tran
Visitors can visit the night market and Bach Dang walking street, operating from 5:00 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. daily, with many stalls selling souvenirs, food and drink, regional specialties, and street food. In addition, the market also has an entertainment area for children.
Day 2
Morning and noon
On the second morning, visitors choose other dishes for breakfast such as Mrs. Huong’s Hue beef vermicelli, Aunt Ut’s duck bamboo shoot vermicelli, Ha Phat vermicelli soup, fish ball vermicelli noodle soup, Muoi Thanh fish sauce vermicelli with prices ranging from 25,000 VND to 40,000 VND.
The next journey starts with the destination of Vinh Loi War Zone relic (Tan Uyen town), about 15 km from Thu Dau Mot. “This place used to be an outpost of war zone D, considered one of the red addresses for tourism back to the source,” Mr. Cuong said.
Vinh Loi war zone was formed in 1946, is a land located between three large forests of Vinh Tan commune (Cay Bong forest, So Tieu forest and Thay Cai forest) larger than 300 hectares, surrounded by two streams: Cai stream (Tho Ut bridge stream) and Vinh Loi stream in the southeast direction. East and west, there are two traffic axes running north, creating a connection with war zone D and war zone Thuan An Hoa. Here visitors can visit the victory monument, the hall, and the memorial temple.
Have lunch at one of the restaurants in Tan Uyen City such as Tan Phuoc Khanh, Bep Nha 2, Bach Dang, Le Tuan seafood restaurant, Xua Cuisine. In particular, you should enjoy snakehead fish and river shrimp, which are specialty dishes in Tan Uyen.
Afternoon and evening
Near the relic is Bach Dang Grapefruit Island with 5 types of grapefruit (sugar grapefruit, orange leaf grapefruit, guava grapefruit, green grapefruit and green skin grapefruit). Bach Dang grapefruit is famous for its deliciousness, of which the orange leaf grapefruit variety is the most popular, almost every house in Bach Dang grows it. This grapefruit variety has fruit about 1-1.3 kg, shiny and thin green skin, and a sweet taste.
Back in the center, tourists should visit Thu Dau Mot market . This place was originally called Phu Cuong market, nearly 100 years old, and is still the largest market in Binh Duong. The market has French architecture with a clock tower similar to Ben Thanh market. Trading activities also take place on the streets surrounding the market. You can visit, or buy local products.
If you don’t like walking around the market, visit one of the most famous cafes in Thu Dau Mot – Gio and Nuoc . This is a garden cafe built with bamboo more than 15 years ago, and has won many major architectural awards at home and abroad. The shop has a large and airy space, with natural wind and water as the main elements. Construction materials are mostly from neem trees, with no cement columns. The shop is open from 7am to 10pm, drink prices range from 25,000 to 55,000 VND.
In the afternoon, enjoy delicious regional dishes at restaurants in the Chanh Nghia residential area such as Kill’s Grill, Tokyo Binh Duong grilled street, Chu SuKi, Sesan, The Palma, Huong Viet. In addition, there are also some snacks such as banh xeo, noodles, spicy noodles, tofu, banh beo, and snails with prices of only a few tens of thousands of dong.
Some alternative locations: Tibetan Pagoda, Phu Cuong Cathedral, Minh Sang Plaza Shopping Center, Traditional Medicine Museum, Thuy Chau Ecotourism Area, camping at Dau Tieng Lake. If going to tourist areas and camping, visitors should spend at least one day. Thuy Chau area is about 20 km from Thu Dau Mot (usually only open on weekends), while Dau Tieng lake is about 65 km away.
($1=24,000 VND)
Photo,Video: Internet (Vinlove.net)