August 8th, 2011
China Beach, Vietnam is listed in Top Ten of Asia’s best beaches
China Beach, Vietnam is listed in Top Ten of Asia’s best beaches
AUSTRALIANS are royally spoiled when it comes to world-class coastlines. Yet still we travel, chasing sandier or sunnier shores. Here are 10 of the best beaches in Asia.
1. SAUD BEACH, PHILIPPINES
On the northwest coast of Luzon, little-known Saud Beach at Pagudpud is a 2km arc of blindingly pure sand bordered by the blue of the South China Sea. It’s like an uncluttered version of that famous Philippines shore, White Beach, on Boracay Island. Beat the developers, the hair-braiders and sarong-floggers – head to Pagudpud now.
2. KO ADANG, THAILAND
Thailand’s far south Andaman Sea coast has clusters of islands that are still off the radar for tour group invaders and full-moon ravers. The towering rock formations and crystal waters of Ko Tarutao National Marine Park, a 51-island group about 30km off the mainland, are a reminder of how islands such as Phuket, Samui and Phi Phi once were. Here you’ll find Ko Adang, a jungle island with pristine shores, empty beaches and not a beer bar in sight.
3. BENTOTA, SRI LANKA
At Bentota Beach, 60km south of Colombo, grand arcs of beach sweep north and south from a rocky promontory. The Indian Ocean massages this coast of granite headlands and uncrowded beaches that surfers and European sun-seekers discovered long ago. There is a choice of three, four and five-star resorts from which you can simultaneously contemplate Bentota’s fiery sunset and your of sundowner.
4. YALONG BAY, CHINA
At the same latitude as Hawaii, Hainan is where mainland Chinese come to get that Waikiki feeling without leaving home. While Yalong Bay, near Sanya on Hainan’s southern tip, may lack Polynesia’s heaving surf and swaying skirts, its broad white beaches are better than many in Hawaii. Fishing villages and rice farms once rimmed Yalong Bay’s 7km strand. In their place, quality resorts harvest the disposable incomes of China’s leisure class.
5. CHINA BEACH, VIETNAM
China Beach, on Vietnam’s central coast near Da Nang, is 30km long and has numerous resorts and restaurants, especially around Bai Non Nuoc. The specific section of the China Beach of Vietnam War and television series fame is known locally as Bai Tam My Khe. Here, you can see fishermen paddle out through its breaking waves in flimsy wicker coracles and then, after fishing, surf right back in again.
6. CALANGUTE, INDIA
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