About 150km from HCMC, and 60km northeast of Long Hai, is Binh Chau Hot Springs (Suoi khoang nong Binh Chau), Binh Chau Hot Springs Resort (Tel:871 130; www.saigonbinhchauresort.com) offers accommodation and restaurants, as well as massage, mudbaths and soaking facilities.
The main drawcard is the outdoor hot-spring baths. All private baths are for rent and each bath is on its own covered wooden and platform, complete with a small changing room. The baths range from 37oC to 40oC, and the minerals in the water are said to be beneficial to your bones, muscles and skin, and are also said to improve blood circulation and mental disorders!
The baths come in different sizes/prices. A 3-sq-meter bath for up to five people costs 100,000 and a 10-sq-meter bath for a party of 10 will set you back 160,000. A dip in a large, shared swimming pool costs 6000d per person, or 3000d for kids.
Until recently there was wildlife in the area, including tigers and elephants, but it seems humans have nearly won the area over. In 1994 six elephants were captured near the springs, but after a few months of keeping them as pets their captors turned them over to the zoo in HCMC. Nowadays, the only wildlife you are likely to spot are ceramic lions, cheetahs and panthers, which decorate the marshes around the springs.
The hottest spring reaches 82oC, which is hot enough to boil an egg in 10 to 15 minutes. Vietnamese visitors like to boil eggs in the bamboo baskets set aside for this purpose; you’ll find a couple of giant chicken statues decorating the springs there you, too, can boil up a snack for yourself. Raw eggs are on sale for 2000d each.
