Kitesurfing Distributors and Shops in Mui Ne

Since it’s opening in 2006, Sea Links has been the topic of conversation of many golfers in Vietnam. Located in the popular tourism area of Ham Tien, Mui Ne, Sea Links has been voted on many occasions as the most challenging golf course in Vietnam.  The writer has been involved with Sea Links since the appointment of the golf architect, Ron Fream of Golfplan. 

Ron reckoned that this was one of the last golf courses he would design – he was well into his 60’s by then and had already designed over 150 golf courses world-wide – and would make it the most challenging he has ever designed.  And he certainly has achieved that!

As a golfer who has played this links style golf course on many occasions, I can tell you I have lost many golf balls and for sure played well over my handicap most times.

So what makes this championship course so demanding?  When you first arrive at Sea Links, you have no idea what you have in front of you.  Your first view of the golf course is undulating fairways with beautiful views of the ocean.  The impressive club house and welcoming receptionists greet you with a smile.  You change in the large, well equipped locker rooms and then meet your caddie, waiting for you by your buggy. 

The driving range is to hand and provides the opportunity to warm up before you set out on your adventure.  The caddie will automatically take you to the blue tees, because, regardless of playing ability, these are the “Asian” tees – the ones which all Asians play off.  You do not want to appear inadequate and you make no indication to go to the fairer and more enjoyable white tees.  The forward or red tees are the least demanding, by the way.  You see in front of you fairways the like of which you have never seen before.  Severe undulations, huge bunkers and then the fear factor comes in.

Your caddie will tell you where to aim and you do your best.  Having got over your nerves, you then view the enormous greens, with awaiting bunkers.  And the greens are huge!!  The distance from the front to the back of the green can be a difference of two or three clubs.  But it is the bunkers that can destroy your game, especially the monster on the right hand side of the second green. 

When you arrive at the seventh hole, you will be amazed and delighted at the view over the East China Sea and with clear visibility, you can see the famous Ke Ga lighthouse.  The views will take away the difficulty of the hole, a dog leg right with out of bounds on the right and a bunker just where you would like to hit your drive to.  The eight hole, a par 3, has been voted as best par 3 in Vietnam and the sea breeze makes club selection very difficult.

There are no easy holes at Sea Links but I have to say, it is well worth the experience of playing.  Forget the rows of villas that make it look like a housing estate, ignore the condominiums that block the views and let yourself in for the challenge of a lifetime and I bet you will do like everyone else – come back and play the golf course again.

Because the next time you know you will do better, the same as everyone else.  One day I am going to tame this course and afterwards raise a glass of beer to the devil himself, Ron Fream.

It is heaven or is it hell?  Play the course and decide.  Let us know your thoughts!

Sea Links is located in Mui Ne and is part of the Sea Links City Group, with a hotel, villa and condominium complex.
www.sealinkscity.com

Tourism Activities Shift in Phan Thiet

I am often careful when interpreting the feedback received from local actors about the status of their business activities for the season - this year was no different. In November, December and late January, some well known restaurants on the “Muine Strip” rang the bell stating that their business was down substantially, and Santimati restaurant said, “it was down 40%,” at some point. I did wonder if everything mentioned was factually accurate.

To clarify the situation, I picked a panel of chosen owners and managers working in well-known restaurants (international and local), mid-level and high-end shops as well as small and large hotels and resorts in the three to five star category. Following these interviews, visits and discussions, I realised that opinions varied per activity and that the most stable estimations came from hotel and resort professionals.

In terms of markets, most hotels and resorts recorded a steady flow of FIT (Foreign Independent Travellers) Russians originating from a wider range of destinations than ever before. Most resorts also documented growth for the UK, French and Chinese market - the latter being up 400% at some resorts. Most others recorded double digit growth.

Pandanus Resort, who is tracing substantial growth in this market as well.

Apart from Germans, who mainly travel in large groups at a lower price point, Phan Thiet still remains a FIT driven destination. This is good news for the many small businesses on the “Muine Strip”.

Even the Chinese travel individually for the most part, and the documented booking growth is largely channeled by OTAs (Online Travel Agencies) such as Booking.com and Agoda.com. This is good news as it positively affects the bottom line of resorts.

Private small business owners of restaurants, shops and bed & breakfasts, on the other hand, had mixed feelings about their business activities status. Pascal from Jibes recorded good growth in the last three months for his shop and restaurant while Kim Shop reported a 25% decreases in average spending year on year.

To better understand the market situation of these actors (restaurants, shops and activity providers) in Phan Thiet; allow me to list some of the key influencing business activity factors that were reported by many of the interviewed parties.

1. The number of travellers in Phan Thiet is stable or growing.
2. Market diversification is increasing.
3. Behavioral and consumption pattern for each market may differ.
4. The number of qualitative outlets is on the rise.
5. The quantitative growth of small outlets out-numbers the increase in demand.
6. Native Russians tend to spend money at places with Russian speaking staff/owners.
7. Some Russian travellers do follow instructions given by their travel operators.
8. Trip Advisor reviews affect the turnover of many travel related businesses.
9. Travellers are wiser with their shrinking leisure budget.

If small businesses begin to understand how each of the above listed factors can affect their business activities, they may choose to adapt accordingly, adjusting the way they operate in order to tackle challenges and potential business available in their destination.

Kitesurf Championships: A lot of travel and hard work

Kitesurfing has become a competitive sport with a number of different championships.  Participating in kitesurf championships often involves hard training during the winter months and lots of travel during spring, summer, and autumn, when the circuit is in full swing.

The most important tournament is “Kite World Tour” organized by the “PKRA” (Professional Kiteriders Association) and is considered by many as the Formula 1 of kitesurfing.

The championship is organized as a circuit around world with locations like Morocco, China, Germany and France. Riders compete in three different disciplines:  freestyle (jumps and tricks), course racing (similar to a regatta in sailing), and wave riding.

They accumulate points at each event, and at the end of the year, the rider with the most points becomes world champion.

Professional riders participating in the Kite World Tour tend be young and most are less than 20 years old.  The current world champions in freestyle are Alex Pastor (Men) and Gisela Pulido (Women), both from Spain.

The KTA (Kite Tour Asia) is a regional competition in Asia, and spans a number of Asian countries such as the Philippines, Thailand, China, and Indonesia.  In the past, Mui Ne in Vietnam was also part of this circuit.  The current Asian Champion in Freestyle Men is Nguyen Duc Long from Vietnam (the local hero in Mui Ne), and Aya Oshima from Japan.

A native Muine, born in 1992, this young man has already had several years experience in such a sport that is still very new to many Vietnamese. Well-built, young and daring to challenge the nature, Long is widely considered an icon in Muine as he brings hope and opportunities to other youngsters

With a broader acceptance of kitesurfing, it is likely that it will become an olympic discipline and it may even replace windsurfing, which is considered a declining sport.

As of date, Mui Ne has yet to see its own local competition.  A lack of sponsors has impeded any organisation of anything more than some friendly face-offs on the water.

Kitesurfing has become a popular sport and the equipment has become increasingly safe over recent years. Like any sport, safety should be the number one priority for any rider. In Mui Ne there are sometimes more than 150 kiters on the water, and thanks to commonly accepted rules, accidents are kept to a minimum.

The most important authority issuing security rules is the International Kiteboarding Organization (“IKO”). IKO also accredits and sets guidelines for kite schools and kite instructors. No wonder, that safety is prominent when learning kitesurfing. Even before flying a kite for the first time, students will learn how to properly take care of the equipment, the right of way rules, and other safety tricks.

All kiters should wear appropriate safety gear, which include a helmet, a life jacket, booties when needed, and also have a line cutter (to cut kite lines should the kiter become entangled in them).  Kiters are advised to never use a board leash (a line that connects the kiter with the board).

Should a kitesurfer get detached from her board in the sea, she should know how to “body drag” in the water with the kite only and recover the board.

It is also important that every kiter know the practice of “self-rescue”. This is a technique used to reach the shore in case of a mishap on the water, like a broken kite line, a deflated kite, an injury after a trick, sudden drop in wind strength, or acute fatigue. The kiter needs to roll the lines around her bar in this case and use the kite as some sort of sail in the water in order to drift towards the shore.

Photo by: Frolova Elena - Shutterstock

Most accidents happen actually on land, and not on water. That’s why it is important to never fly a kite with power on the beach. After launching the kite, it is important to im/mediately proceed and go on the water with the board.

The kiter must also make sure that there are no obstacles or people “downwind” when launching or landing a kite, as wind turbulences may make the kite drift downwind and hit them.

Of course, advanced riders should not do any tricks or high jumps close to the beach: when the kite gets out of control, it might hit bystanders.

Photo by: Shutterstock

Every kitesurfer also needs to learn proper right of way rules. The most important rule is that the rider who is going out on the water and is near the beach has priority over the rider who is coming towards the beach.

Then, when two riders are crossing, the rider “upwind” needs to put her kite high in the sky, while the rider “downwind” should lower her kite. This way, the 25 meter long kite lines will not get entangled.

Kitesurfing also has several hand signals. This is important in particular when launching or landing the kite. With hand signals, the kiter and the launch helper can communicate properly.

For example, the kiter will tap on her head in order to signal that she wants to land her kite. While intuitive, the “thumbs up” signal means that the kite is fine, the kite lines are in order, and the kiter is ready to launch.

Finally, taking good care of the equipment is important, in particular in the tropics like in Vietnam--salt water and hot temperatures may cause rapid degradation of the kite, the bar, the board, and the safety systems.

Once a kiter observes the safety rules, she can enjoy the sport with peace of mind and progress in all safety in this fascinating sport!

While kitesurfing is still classified as an extreme sport, it has become easier and safer to learn over the last years.  The International Kiteboarding Organization (IKO) has developed standards for instructors which are globally accepted (similar to the “PADI” courses for scuba diving). Schools which are accredited by the IKO only employ instructors who have passed difficult exams in both theory and practice of kitesurfing along with first aid training.

Starting out, it will take on average around 10 hours of practice to get up on the kiteboard and harness the wind.   Interestingly, there is no marked difference between students who have prior experience in windsurfing or other watersports and those who have never practiced any watersports.

A kiteboard student starts out with a couple of theory lessons that provide information about wind, waves, and basic kitesurfing safety rules.  Then, the student will learn how to steer a kite with a smaller “trainer” kite on the beach. Once the qualified instructor feels that the student has some practical experience flying the trainer kite, the student will move up a real kite on the beach.  This allows the student to explore not only how to steer the kite to the left and right but also how to increase and decrease its power.

Once the instructor feels that the student is comfortable flying the kite on the beach, the instructor will bring the student out on the sea without a kiteboard. The student will learn how to “body drag”, that is, to master the kite in the water.

After some practice in the water, the student will go out on the water strapped to a kiteboard with the kite. The first couple of tries may not be successful but it takes only little practice to coordinate the kite and the board, and the formerly novice kitesurfer will have a huge smile on their face by the end of the day!

While learning this fascinating sport is easy, one shouldn’t underestimate the potential hazards associated with kitesurfing.  We recommend taking classes with an IKO approved school with qualified instructors.  In Mui Ne, there are two such IKO approved schools, Kiteboarding Ananda (KBA) located at Ananda Resort and CSky located at Sunshine Beach.  Some of the non-IKO approved schools in Mui Ne will employ IKO accredited instructors, so students are encouraged to verify the diploma of his or her instructor before committing to a kitesurfing course.

These schools aren’t only for the novice kiteboarder. Many kite schools also offer courses for inter/mediate or even advanced riders teaching skills such as jumping or jibing (changing the direction).

If you are not sure if kitesurfing is for you, just go ahead and take a couple of lessons.  It might change your life like thousands of others before you.

Writer: Michael Mahe