14 KATHERINE TIMES, WEDNESDAY MARCH 26 2014 www.katherinetimes.com.au

HOT DEALSNORTH TO ALASKADI Travel has a great deal on anorth-west coast North Americanholiday. Spend five nights inVancouver, Canada, beforeboarding the Celebrity Centuryfor an 11-night cruise of Alaska'sinside passage. The tripconcludes with a stay in SanFrancisco. Included is five nightsat the Landmark Empire Hotel,Vancouver, the 11-night cruisefrom Vancouver to San Francisco,two nights at the Stratford Hotel,San Francisco, 13 breakfasts, 10lunches and 10 dinners. The priceis $1999 twin share. There is onedeparture: August 19. It must bebooked and paid for by March 31.❑ www.ditravel.com.au

BREAK THE ICELuxury travel companyAbercrombie & Kent hasextended its early-bookingdiscount in certain categories onthree of its 2014-15 Antarcticjourneys. Guests booking doublecabins in categories 1, 2 and 3 oncruises departing December 9and 19, 2014, and January 13,2015, receive up to $US3000 aperson off the published fares.Prices start from $US11,495 aperson (normally $US13,995) forthe 12-day Classic Antarcticajourney, December 9-20. The dealexpires March 31.❑ www.abercrombiekent.com.au

LEST WE FORGETAccor is offering RSL membersand their families discounts forstays at more than 150 hotelsduring April. Rates start from$60 a room a night at selectedIbis hotels, to $80 for Mercureand Novotel, $100 at Pullman,$110 for selected Sofitels and$145 for Quay West hotels. TheRSL member offer is only forbookings made online. ❑ www.accorasiapacificpartners.com/RSLAnzac

HIDE AND SEEKEscape Travel is offering sixnights for the price of four at theHideaway Resort & Spa Fiji aspart of a package valid forNovember travel only. In additionto the accommodation in aFrangipani Bure, the packageincludes return economy airfareswith Virgin Australia, a $F1000resort credit (about $595), returntransfers, breakfast daily andwelcome drinks. There's free Wi-Fi and an introductory scuba divelesson, as well as a waterfall andvillage tour, a Tivua Island daytour with Captain Cook Cruises,and nine holes of golf at theNatadola Bay Golf Club. Thepackage is from $1499 a personex-Sydney and from $1695 aperson ex-Melbourne (otherprices applicable for other capitalcities.) The offer runs until March31 for departures November 5-28.❑ www.escapetravel.com.au

Paradise emerges fromwar-torn ‘hell on earth’Tranquility now reigns on islandsthat were once hell on earth forthousands of prisoners, writes IainStewart.

With most of its 90 million peopleliving along a narrow coastal strip,it is all too easy to experience a

densely populated country such as Vietnamthrough a blur of exhaust fumes, strugglingalong Highway 1 and stopping at the mostpopular towns and cities along the way.

There is a lot to take in, so you would dowell to spend time away from the mainland,on one of the country’s beautiful islandsthat are fast attracting visitors.

Off the central coast, the Cham Islandsare a great day trip from historic Hoi An,while in the deep south, Phu Quoc isdeveloping, but has a lush interior andunspoilt beaches.

For the ultimate escape, however, mypick would be remote Con Dao, with afascinating history and empty beaches.

CON DAOThe Con Dao Islands have an utterlyunhurried ambience.

“There are two traffic lights, but nowork,” the bike rental guy saidapologetically as he gave me the islandrundown.

“One gas station, but closed for lunch.Only one road, so you no get lost. Right toairport or left to prisons and port.”

Moped key in hand, I was relishing thechance to get out and explore some emptyroads in search of a perfect beach.

I had spent the previous week embracingVietnamese city culture and its furiousenergy and commerce, but was now in needof some serious hammock time.

A cluster of 16 islets in the South ChinaSea, the Con Dao Islands are 250 kilometresfrom Ho Chi Minh City.

Only the main island, Con Son, isinhabited (its population is just 6000),although the other islands can be visited.

Once hell on earth for thousands ofprisoners incarcerated by the Frenchcolonists and American military, today theCon Daos are blissfully tranquil.

With their ravishing sandy bays,rainforests and healthy coral reefs, theirtropical appeal is easy to grasp.

Flight connections used to be atrocious,but Vietnam Airlines now offers three dailyflights from Ho Chi Minh City.

The rental guy had lied about the oneroad. Easily sidetracked, I chanced upon arough track close to the airport, and wasrewarded royally in the form of Dam TrauBeach, a sublime crescent moon of palesand, bookended by forest-topped rockypromontories.

After an hour’s snorkelling, exploring thekaleidoscopic coral teeming with macro lifeand spending five minutes swimming eye to

eye with a hawksbill turtle, I retreated to theplastic chairs in the bay’s seafood shack,picked a victim from the live fish tank andgorged on crab with tamarind and chilli.

The only other diners were a group fromHanoi, employees of a state-owned bank.

Vietnam is a country steeped inrevolutionary rhetoric, and Vo Thi Sau, ateenage resistance fighter executed in ConDao during the French occupation, fits thebill.

She killed a captain in a grenade attack atthe age of 14, and was not captured untilyears later.

The bank staff were here to pay theirrespects to her and to the thousands ofothers who lost their lives in Con Dao’s 11prisons.

Ghosts are everywhere in Con Dao,nowhere more so than at Phu Hai jail.

Built in 1862, it once housed 20,000prisoners - political and criminal inmateschained together naked in rows.

The really troublesome individuals werekept in “tiger cages”, with six to 10 mencrammed into a tiny open-roofed enclosure,beaten with sticks from above and dustedwith lime and water, which burns the skin.

Unbeknown to the world, the Americanscontinued operating these tiger cages until1970, when a Life magazine report brokenews of their existence, provoking aninternational outcry.

It had been a chastening day, thebrutality of the prison contrasting acutelywith the beauty of my surroundings.

As I strolled along the seafrontpromenade in Con Son town, it was easy tomarvel at the gentility of this pocket-sizedisland capital, its litter-free streets, French-era villas, well-kept municipal buildings andair of calm and prosperity.

The islands’ ecosystems are unique, with11 trees found nowhere else.

It is thought that a dozen or so dugong,or sea cows, remain in the waters aroundCon Dao, although they are very elusive.

You have a much better chance of seeingsea turtles, as the islands are Vietnam’s mostimportant nesting ground.

The World Wide Fund for Nature hassupported conservation efforts to protectthe green turtle, and national park rangersrun night-time boat trips to neighbouringBay Canh Island. The main turtle-nestingseason is from May to November.

Memories ...an unspoiltbeach (above),tiger cagesrecall theisland’s brutalpast (left) andfishermen atBen Dam port.

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