Phan Rang

Cham towers, Bau Truc clay and Vinh Hy bay in forty-eight hours

Two days in Phan Rang take in the Cham towers, the potters of Bau Truc and Vinh Hy bay. Ride out early to Po Klong Garai, on a hill west of town near Thap Cham station: built in the late 13th or early 14th century, it honours a king who ruled Panduranga from 1167 to 1205.

Its towers are still used for Cham rites. The photography gallery in the souvenir area is worth ten minutes.

Afternoon. Head south to Bau Truc, one of the oldest pottery villages in Southeast Asia, then continue to Po Rome, the tower in Phuoc Huu that honours King Po Rome. Ask in the village for the keeper. Back in town, April 16th Park is where locals gather at dusk.

Day two. Drive north past Ninh Chu and up into Nui Chua National Park, where the coast road crosses arid hills and dips to Vinh Hy bay, a working fishing harbour with boats offering trips around the headlands. Stop at the My Hoa lagoon on the way back to watch the kitesurfers. Spend the evening at a seafood shack on Ninh Chu.

With a third day, continue up to the cool pine hills of Da Lat, or north along the coast to Nha Trang.

Goat hotpot, banh can and the Ninh Chu seafood shacks

Goat is the dish to try in Phan Rang, from the herds you dodge on every road. Roadside places on the edges of town grill it, stew it with herbs or serve it as a hotpot; the meat is lean and quite gamey, eaten with rice paper, herbs and a fermented tofu dip.

Banh can, small rice-flour cakes cooked in clay moulds over charcoal and topped with egg, quail egg or squid, is the local breakfast and evening snack, sold from street stalls with a fish-sauce dip. Rice bowls are everywhere too: look for com tam with grilled pork, and for chicken rice at long-running shops in the centre.

For seafood, go to Ninh Chu. The stretch beside the older beach hotels is lined with restaurants keeping live fish, prawns and squid in tanks and bowls; pick, weigh and choose how it is cooked. Pho and bun stalls cover the basics in town.

The dry climate grows grapes, so you will see table grapes, grape syrup and local wine for sale along the highway, along with dried fish and squid from the coast. Further south, Phan Thiết and Mui Ne carry on the seafood theme on a larger scale.

Kate at Po Klong Garai and the dry-season coast

Phan Rang's year turns on the wind and the Cham calendar. January to April brings clear skies and a strong breeze almost daily, ideal for the beach and for kitesurfing on the My Hoa lagoon; summer stays hot and mostly dry; and the modest rains fall from September to November, heaviest in October and November, when the sea gets choppy.

The big date is the Kate Festival, the Cham Brahmanist new year, held in the seventh month of the Cham calendar, which usually falls in late September or October. Rites take place at Po Klong Garai, Po Rome and Po Nagar in Nha Trang. At Po Klong Garai the ceremony begins with a procession, led by Raglai villagers, carrying the king's costumes up to the towers, followed by offerings, singing and Cham dancing to Ginang drums and Saranai oboe. Villages hold their own celebrations for days afterwards, and visitors are welcome if they are respectful.

Outside the festival, the region is quiet. A day trip to Cam Ranh bay works well on the way to or from the airport, and the climb west to Da Lat makes a fine contrast to the dry lowland heat.