Van Thuy Tu Temple

Coastal Vietnamese communities venerate the whale as Ca Ong, a protector of fishermen, and when a whale strands the village gives it a funeral, buries it, and later moves the bones to a temple - a practice that runs the length of the central and southern coast. Van Thuy Tu at Phan Thiet, founded in 1762, holds the largest of these collections: several hundred sets of whale remains, and one skeleton over twenty metres long that is among the largest preserved anywhere in South East Asia, displayed in a purpose-built hall. The temple's records and the fishermen's rituals go with it.

What you actually see

• A whale temple of 1762 - among the oldest on this coast.
• A skeleton over twenty metres - among the largest preserved in the region.
• Several hundred sets of remains - the accumulation of centuries.
• Ca Ong worship - the fishermen's protector, honoured with funerals.

When to go

Year round; the main ceremonies fall in the summer months. An hour.

Honest expectations

It is small and the visit is short. English interpretation is limited. This is an active place of worship for the fishing community, not a natural history museum, and it is treated accordingly.

Nearby

Phan Thiet's fishing harbour is close; Mui Ne is north-east.