Welcome to Jungle Beach. Your newest favourite spot in South East Asia. A paradise hand crafted by one of Canada’s own, Sylvio LaMarche, a glib yet easy going former Quebec/BC resident. As he says, he’s from Canada, so he values space and free water, both of which are in plentiful supply at Jungle Beach. In fact, Sylvio one ups himself in that regard, with ice cold fresh squeezed lime water available all day. His staff will even make the rounds at mid afternoon to dispense a refreshing snack of cool watermelon or palmelo to wherever you are currently lounging on the property – and will also come around at meal times to let you know food is being served so you don’t miss out!
This massive and deserted beach can keep you busy doing nothing for days.
Jungle Beach is an anomaly in Vietnam – a secluded beach off the beaten backpacker route, quaint bamboo huts, and fresh homecooked meals taken together as a family. This is far from the norm in Vietnam, where travel agents are either in cahoots with the big tourist towns or are merely uncomprehending of the adventure most modern backpackers seek – the adventure off the well worn path. Jungle Beach more than compensates for this lack of adventurism, with plenty of hikes to do in the surrounding wilderness that puts the Jungle in Jungle Beach. Sylvio has done extensive work protecting some vulnerable primate species and has been recognized by the Vietnamese government and several international agencies for his efforts. He will gladly point out trails to hidden waterfalls, natural rock slides (a la Swiss Family Robinson), and great lookout spots, although getting him to join will prove to be difficult! He will, however, send one of his dogs with you as a faithful guide.
The days are easy to while away here, with such easy going beach activities as frisbee, soccer, or a friendly volleyball tournament for the motivated, or lounging under sun shades for the unmotivated. For a respite from the heat of the sand you can relocate 10 steps back from the beach to your bungalows, where reading, catching up on journal entries and getting reacquainted with your hammock are popular pastimes. Floating in the clear water or battling the persistent waves is a great way to spend a few hours, depending on the mood of the temperamental South China Sea. Your bungalows are handmade from bamboo and thatch woven by Sylvio himself, and a more genuine down to earth resort does not exist anywhere in Vietnam or the world. Sylvio’s paradise can quickly become your paradise, as days can quickly stretch into weeks here, and weeks into months. Many residents end up staying so long they have rooms named after them sooner or later. 
Being a Canadian resident, Sylvio also understands the importance of a good Caesar, and will go out of his way to provide Free & Easy Travelers who have been craving such drinks for weeks with a little taste of home. True Clamato and vodka with ice and lime water, who could ask for more on a hot afternoon? The meals are also healthy and plentiful, with breakfast options of eggs, pancakes, noodle soup, and french toast (I personally recommend the pancakes with smashed fruit), while lunches and dinners consist of 4 dishes and a bowl of rice – nothing unhealthy, everything delicious, not enough to make you too full or too little to leave you too hungry. Delicious Vietnamese coffee is available after every meal for a treat to start the next part of your day. The overwhelming feeling of the place is one where you can live happily and freely, chasing your dreams just as Sylvio has done in creating this slice of heaven.
When night time rolls around another side of jungle beach comes to light, with bonfires on the beach, we sit around enjoying the sweet rum (almost reminiscent of a rum and egg nog, hold the egg) or Saigon beers. The rum is so good it’s dangerous – straight rum on ice is totally acceptable to the palate. Guitars often find their way out to the beach as well, and travellers will dig their road-weary feet into the sand, having found a home amidst the music under the glittering stars. The night occasionally escalates when Free & Easy party animals are about, and an unusually popular activity is waking up to the sunrise in a pile of beach dogs on the sand (not recommended before a few bottles of rum are consumed).
However you end up on the beach in the morning, a sunrise is not to be missed at some point during your stay here. My favourite bungalow is one with some sparse thatch facing towards the ocean, so that at 5:30 every morning you are awakened with the orange light of the rising sun spoiling across your pillow. One such morning I wake earlier than usual, climb out of bed and head to the beach, not a soul in sight. As I sit on the beach, accompanied by my faithful beach dog friends, I hear more than see the waves crashing and breaking on the shoreline, one dark row after the next. The stars wink out one by one as the sky gradually brightens, making way for the sun slowly lifting itself lazily out of the distant ocean horizon, as if it were staying at Jungle Beach itself. The orange and pink colours play lazily against the hazy clouds, lighting the distant mist covered mountains that laid watch over this quiet paradise all night.
As the sun begins to peek through the clouds on the horizon, the plain truth dawns on me. Life’s not a jungle…life’s a beach!
Jeff Emmett is a wordsmith adventure associate for Free & Easy. His travels take him mostly to Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. As well as working from home in Ontario heading up marketing in Eastern Canada.
atrocities committed here is almost non-existent, contrary to commonexpectation. Why should there be resentment – they won! Thankfully, foreigners of all nationalities are warmly welcomed across the country, with more than a little curiosity (especially towards dreadlocks), and although I cringe a little every time I see an American flag, this is a new generation and a new era of cooperation and prosperity. But I still wouldn’t mess with a Vietnamese person over anything!
