The red roads in the middle of the forest
There is no shortage of places with royal poinciana flowers, but the royal poinciana in Vung Tau - a coastal area now part of Ho Chi Minh City - has a very unique look. The red color blooms not only on the streets but also in the forests, on the mountainside, in the deep blue space of the sea and sky.
The red color of royal poinciana flowers on the green of mountains and sea in Vung Tau ward
These days, the road to Vung Tau lighthouse on Nho mountain has become an ideal place to see flowers. At the bend about 500 meters from the foot of the lighthouse, a large royal poinciana tree spreads its canopy, its flowers blooming thickly, as bright as a summer torch. This is a favorite stop for many people, including Nguyen Tran Hieu - who still remembers exactly every section of the road he has traveled since childhood.
Royal poinciana trees in full bloom at the bend 500 meters from the foot of the lighthouse
The higher you go, the more attractive the scenery becomes. At the foot of the lighthouse is a row of about 20-30 royal poinciana trees in full bloom. The red color overwhelms the green patches, blending with the color of the sky and sea to create a brilliant summer picture. Along the path, a few small cafes are set up under the shade of the trees. Visitors stop to have a cool drink, admire the flowers and enjoy the sea breeze blowing through the leaves.
Sometimes on the road, mountain monkeys suddenly jump back and forth. According to Hieu, they are quite gentle, but it is best to keep your distance. “I once stopped the car just to watch them swinging from branch to branch, under the blooming phoenix trees. I suddenly felt like I was pulled into a very vivid summer movie scene,” he said.
The row of royal poinciana trees at the foot of the lighthouse is in full bloom.
Royal poinciana trees in Vung Tau begin to bloom from early May, and are at their most brilliant in June when the trees lose most of their leaves, leaving behind clusters of red flowers that light up the sky. In July, when the new leaves turn green again, the flowers are still as intense, even more prominent among the green of the forest.
The red color of royal poinciana flowers on the green background of trees and leaves stands out even more.
Memories flooded back under the royal poinciana tree
Nguyen Tran Hieu was born and raised in Ho Chi Minh City, but he has a whole area of memories associated with Vung Tau, where every summer became a meeting place for his mother and son. At that time, from Bach Dang wharf, the mother and son boarded a hydrofoil (a type of boat that has now stopped operating) heading straight to the sea.
“I clearly remember the feeling of sitting on the boat, watching the sun-dappled water surface, the wind blowing through the window. Every time like that, it was the beginning of a real summer,” Hieu said.
Vung Tau scenery and royal poinciana flowers seen from Nho mountain
When he was a child, Vung Tau was not only about the sea for Hieu. It was the slow cycling on Tran Phu and Thuy Van streets, the noon climbing up Nho mountain, looking up at the statue of Christ the King with his arms outstretched in the sun, below were the red phoenix trees that lit up a corner of the sky. The coastal city at that time was gentle, friendly and very open to children.
For Hieu, the royal poinciana season is not only a farewell to school days, but also a season of joy, of excitement, of the feeling of being able to step out of the daily routine with his mother. Those are mornings of swimming in the sea, afternoons of cycling, eating crabs and vermicelli soup at street vendors on the beach, and evenings of lying down listening to the sound of waves crashing through the hotel window. All of this is wrapped up in a few weeks of summer vacation, but is enough to be deeply engraved for decades.
Statue of Christ the King with arms outstretched among blooming royal poinciana trees
Vung Tau is now very different, no more hydrofoils, no two-seat bicycles, only cars and tourist vehicles. Mom is old, and Hieu is busy with work. The feeling of excitement before each summer vacation is no longer there. But just seeing the royal poinciana flowers in bloom, the memories suddenly come flooding back.
“Now I still return to Vung Tau whenever I can, even though it has become a ward of Ho Chi Minh City. Everything has changed, but I still find old memories somewhere - a familiar seat under the royal poinciana tree, a bend that is still full of red flowers like when I was a child,” Hieu said.
The streets are still red with royal poinciana flowers as in the memory of 20 years ago.
In recent years, Hieu's mother, Ms. Lan Huong, still occasionally returns to Vung Tau once or twice a year, but he rarely has the opportunity to go with her. Hieu still looks for an opportunity one day, during the blooming season of the royal poinciana, to return with his mother to the familiar place in their memories, to return to the summer days of play.
Each summer that passes, there may be some changes in the boundaries, some new constructions or road expansions. But there are things that remain the same, such as the bright red phoenix flowers on Nho Mountain, the windy afternoons at the beach, and a child standing quietly under the old tree, remembering the day his mother took him out.
Royal poinciana flowers in Vung Tau are like a key that opens the door of time back to the past.
For Hieu, Vung Tau royal poinciana is not just a flower season, but a door that takes him back to his childhood, where his youth comes alive in every sea breeze, every red petal falling on his shoulder.
