Binh Phuoc province
There are off-the-beaten track destinations, and then there are off-the-map destinations, and Binh Phuoc province is soundly the latter.
About 700,000 Vietnamese, including Hoa, Khmer, M'nong, Nung, Tay and Xtieng ethnic tribes inhabit the area, but according to the provincial tourism authority, they receive only about 900 foreign tourists in any given year.
At least that's what they told us. Going on the reaction of the locals during our visit -- utter shock and surprise punctuated by bursts of nervous giggling -- we'd wager they'd be lucky to get a handful a decade.
Part of the problem is the location. It isn't on the way to or from anywhere in particular. To the north, the province borders Cambodia, but there are no crossings -- only a lot of Vietnamese border guards trying to keep those rascally Cambodians from trying to sneak in and make a buck and any poverty-wracked minority groups from fleeing. That means that much of the northern portion of the province is off limits, or hard to visit without a permit. Extremely little English is spoken here -- there are no English menus and no English-speaking travel agents. We did find one guide who spoke French fluently. If you don't bring along a good phrase book, a good translator, or speak Vietnamese, Binh Phuoc can be a tough place to navigate.
But the problem is also that Binh Phuoc is hardly a cornucopia of travel destinations. The Ta Thieng Army Base is one of the better-preserved relics of the war against America, but its value as an attraction has to be weighed against the time and expense of getting there. War detritus sprinkled throughout the province could lure war buffs but other than that, there are only a few water falls -- the best of which, Dakmai, is off limits -- a nice mountain to hike up, some uninspiring "resorts", and vast rubber tree plantations stretching on for hectare after hectare.
While geographically a part of Southeast Vietnam, we've included Binh Phuoc in our Central Highlands coverage as if you're in the province, chances are you're heading further into the Highlands.
So, why visit Binh Phuoc? Well, maybe you've been practically everywhere else in Vietnam and you're looking to do it all. Maybe you really love war stuff. Maybe a stiff hike up Ba Ra Mountain is tempting enough because, after all -- it's there. Or, maybe you're tired of being sardined into buses and swindled at every turn, and you need to be reminded what the rest of the population of the country is like -- generous, welcoming, curious about foreigners, and hard at work doing things that have nothing to do with trying to empty your wallet.
