The team at Năm Châu Boutique Resort are an active group (#ActiveIsTheNewSexy) who love nothing more than keeping busy. Whether that's activities at the beach or exploring the local sites, we know all about the most exciting things to do here in Mui Ne. For this reason, we have put together The Năm Châu To Do List, and this week's edition is all about visiting local wonderland, The Fairy Stream...
Getting There Known locally as Suoi Tien, The Fairy Stream is located about four kilometers west of the Năm Châu Boutique Resort, in Ham Tien ward. If you decide to go to the Fairy Stream by taxi, it will cost around 100,000 VND (USD $4.00) and ‘Xe om’ motorbike taxis will charge about 50,000 VND (USD $2.00.) Should you be in possession of your own motorbike and want to drive to The Fairy Stream yourself from Năm Châu Boutique Resort, you would need to turn left out of the resort entrance, turn right at the traffic lights and right again at the next traffic lights. Continue on this street - Huynh Thuc Khang - for just over three kilometers until you see a small bridge across a creek. Park your motorbike here and follow the path on the northeast corner of the bridge which will bring you to the entrance of The Fairy Stream.
What to Expect As a foreigner, you are likely to be approached by an attendant who will offer to watch your shoes while you are walking in the stream. This is by no means a compulsory requirement, you can simply hold your shoes as you wander through the water. There may also be a group of young boys offering their Tour Guide services as you make your way through the stream. There is no admission fee, so don’t let the boys fool you into paying them for admission.
A Real Life Fairy-tale The hardened sand walls of the Fairy Stream stand tall in a plethora of different shades of red, orange and brown. The surrealistic shapes and contrasting colours make this a photographers paradise. The stream usually runs gently with ankle-deep water level, but it may be deeper and move more swiftly after a storm. Under the water is smooth white sand, so the walk in bare feet is quite comfortable and soothing on the soles of your feet. After the first couple of hundred meters, the embankment of the stream looks like something from a children’s fairy-tale, which is how the stream got its name. Made up of sand pillars that were carved by the wind and water over centuries, the terracotta fixtures give the impression an artist had fashioned them into weird stalactites. Some of the pillars point straight up into the sky. Continuing up the stream, a row of green coconut trees appear on one side, while the oddly shaped multi-colored embankment exhibits even more unusual shapes on the other side.
Further upstream is a small waterfall that is nothing but a few lonely drops of water at the end of the dry season, but is more impressive during the rainy season. After walking up the stream, many people stop at an adjacent farm to ride ostriches.