Vietnam TravelTravel Special FeaturesVietnam - A Coastal JourneyDo Son - Games of Chance

Do Son - Games of Chance

Vietnam’s third-largest city, the northern port of Hai Phong has served as a sea port since the rule of the Tran dynasty (1224-1400 AD). It was on the Bach Dang River, which lies on the outskirts of Hai Phong, that the Vietnamese navy fought two of its most decisive battles-both of which employed the same brilliant, if risky, strategy.

In 938 AD, the forces of General Ngo Quyen embedded hundreds of steel-tipped bamboo stake in the riverbed, then waited till high tide to lure the invading fleet upriver. When the tide turned, the Vietnamese forces turned to attack, driving the enemy boats back down-river and onto the non-exposed stakes.

Tree centuries later, General Tran Hung Dao employed the same technique to destroy an invading feet of 300,000 Mongol warriors led by Kublai Khan. The Vietnamese forces fought and then retreated, luring the Mongols father upstream. At low tide, a surprise Vietnamese counterattack, push the Mongol boats down-rive, where they were impaled on hundred of bamboo stakes.

Given that Hai Phong is an industrial port town, its city centre is remarkably gracious. Wide boulevards are lined with elegant French colonial buildings, including a miniature copy of Hanoi's Opera House-itself a scaled-down version of the Paris Opera. At least in its downtown core, Hai Phong feels more like a sleepy provincial town than a busy port. In the summer, the city's ochre-painted villas form a warm backdrop to the blazing red flowers of the flamboyant trees, the Vietnamese name for which translates as "phoenix trees".

Most visitors view Hai Phong primarily as a gateway to nearly beaches and islands. Boats and hydrofoils regularly ply the 20km between Hai Phong and Cat Ba Island. And Do Son, the most popular beach resort in northern Vietnam, is just 21km from Hai Phong.

Set on the rocky, four km-long Nine Dragon Peninsula, Do Son's beach resort wraps around tree sandy bays. In the summer months, this palm-fringed sand are packed with day-trippers from Hai Phong and Ha Noi but, comes autumn, the area is all but deserted.

On the ninth and tenth days of the eighth lunar month-the date of the killing of the leader of an 18th century peasant rebellion - Do Son village hosts an annual ritual buffalo fight. Each village in the area breeds and trains its own fighting buffaloes, which represent the village in this much-anticipated annual contest. The fighting buffaloes charge each other from a distance of 650 feet, cheered on by a large and enthusiastic crowd. Following the contest, the surviving buffaloes are all slaughtered, and the head of the winning animal is thrown into the sea as an offering to the sea gods.

A more recent source of excitement is Do Son's casino. Opened in 1994, this hilltop casino attracts mainly Chinese visitors with its slot machines, roulette, blackjack, baccarat and Tai siiu.

While serious sun-worshippers will prefer the emptier beaches in southern and central Vietnam, there is plenty of fun to be had in and around Do Son. To get away from the crowds, rent a boat and head out into aquamarine seas. Or throw yourself into Do Son's festival fray: chow down on copious amounts of fresh seafood, warble some karaoke, and try your luck at Vietnam's only casino.

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