Four years ago, I and my wife had a trip to a very beautiful island - Binh Ba Island. The trip was our short reward to be ready for our marriage life. As you may know, starting a new journey is never easy although it may be good or bad, joyful or painful. Que sera sera... but we have started our new chapter with a wonderful trip.
Binh Ba island is located in Cam Ranh Bay, about 30 km to South from Nha Trang City. We booked a car to go to a harbor at rate $35 round trip from Nha Trang city so the driver would pick up us when we were back.
We arrived the island on a speedboat whose tickets can be purchased at the harbor. We were also required to register with our ID before departure. Because of military reasons, Binh Ba island is only opened for Vietnamese citizens. On the way to the island, we saw many warships and patrols in Cam Ranh Bay.
We went there in April, so the weather was very good. It was windy with salty fresh air. We could not wait to fulfill our lungs with such nice Vitamin SEA! Although my wife often has seasick but she had no problem in a calm day. Therefore, it is fine for those who are nauseous on boat.
The homestay owner told us the way to find his place via phone so we walked through a narrow road to get it. There are many homestays on the island which we can book in advance with rate at $30 per night. Most of homestay are made of environmentally friendly materials with in-room bathrooms. They are not soundproof but it is so good for us to dip ourselves in the sound of sea.
The view here is spectacular with nice beach in front and mountains in the back. From our room balcony, we could enjoyed both and it was perfect to read a book or chill out with a drink.
It was so relaxed to play at the beach and swim in such a clear blue water - but no "clear blue water" between us. There is no shark in the water so it is safe. For who want to discover more under the sea, you can rent a jet-ski to go snorkeling off the island. We did rent one from the homestay but later on we figured out that the price was higher than we could be offered from services nearby. However, coral in our snorkeling was very beautiful. It was more colorful than what I had seen in Cham island with many coral fish. I found Nemo!
In addition, seafood is very good and fresh. The island is famous for lobsters which are farmed on the island an surrounding area. We could enjoy oysters as well as grilled lobster with garlic and lobster porridge. They were so yummy! Ask the price before you order because the price can be different in different seasons.
In the next morning, we rented a motorbike to discover the island. There is a concrete road winding around the island which also lead us to the high mountain behind our homestay. However, the road is up and down so you need to be a good rider.
The view from mountain is spectacular. It has perspective of Cam Ranh Bay. The green is so good which harmonize with blue of water. It creates "fifty shades of green". :D We could see fishing village and their lobster farm down there as well.
We also passed by the gate of a navy base on the island. We were asked to turn around and when we got the other side of Binh Ba island, we found a beautiful view of rocky beach. There is an abandoned house facing to it.
The island is not far from mainland, therefore we could easily see cross the sea. I am not a fan of selfie but either is my wife. So if you want to have a good place to pose for photo, you find the right Kodak point!
I really love the photo below of the pink grass over the bay view in the morning. I found me lost in this breath-taking view and in the feelings of a new life chapter.
As a result, I painted this to remember one of my favorite place with my beloved.
"Take you to a hill,
Grass on the feels
Take you to a hill
A promise until..."
Happy life is not a destination but a journey. Indeed, when I paint, I find out that sometime the landscape may not be beautiful at first look. However, paying attention to details can turn a simple thing show its beauty. It is the same to our life, it looks normal and routine until we find beauty in the simplest things. And for some, it would become the most important thing to us when we have lost it...
[//]:# (!pinmapple 11.838784 lat 109.239652 long d3scr)