We’re working our way south through Vietnam. We were recommended to stop at
Tam Hai Island served a half-way dual purpose - it’s our half way point of time in Vietnam and near the geographical half way point in central Vietnam.
Shrimp Farms
About 45 minutes into our drive from Hoi An to Tam Hai, we were surrounded by shrimp farms everywhere. Ever wonder where all those cheap shrimp come from in the supermarket?
All Aboard
We came to the end of the road where there was a small dock. We were picked up by a gentleman who didn’t speak a word of English. With the exception of the general manager of the hotel, Caroline, and a few guests, we wouldn’t come across anyone speaking English for the next couple of days.
It was a quick few minutes across the water, and we’d arrived on
Tam Hai Island. Within five minutes of arrival, we regretted only having a two night stay. If we hadn't already had flights to Ho Chi Minh City booked, we would have extended a day or two here immediately.
Tam Hai Island Cliff Notes
- population 7,000
- 7 villages, each with their own municipality
- economy is 99.9% fishing/shrimp farming
- our hotel was the only one on the island
- there is no trash pickup on the island
- school only goes to age 14
Le Domaine
There are 10 bungalows along the water. Our minds immediately went to sharing this with our family and friends in the future. We’ll be back someday with a group of any willing participants!
For future marketing purposes on bringing friends and family back here, we created this promotional video ;) Disclaimer...we are not trying to sell you a timeshare.
Caroline
The general manager of the hotel, Caroline, was a gracious host and shared her very interesting story - she’s the ONLY non-Vietnamese living on the entire island! She and her husband are British and both worked in the luxury business in England. When the global recession hit 10 years ago, they packed up and left for a different life, starting with travel. Six months in, they fell in love with this area of central Vietnam and discovered the Le Domaine resort. The resort went bankrupt and was purchased by some local investors who hired Caroline to be the general manager. She now lives on the island, while her husband works 1.5 hours away in Hoi An (he is retiring soon). We enjoyed hearing about someone who took a big risk that paid off; we can relate, given what we’re doing.
Caroline was absolutely wonderful with us and the girls. She took the girls crab hunting and coconut picking around the grounds. She helped nurse Sadie back to calm after a nasty red ant bite. She happily entertained our barrage of questions about life on the island. She helped Sarah get back clothes that she mistakenly left back in our Hoi An hotel. She was all-around awesome.
Island Morning Market
On New Years Eve morning, Caroline invited us to bike with her to the morning market on the other side of the island to pick out fresh seafood for a feast. This was without question the most authentic and local experience we’ve had in our lives. Think of it this way...on that morning on this island of 7,000 people, there were about 10 white people on the island, half of whom were at the resort, and the other five were us - Sarah, Paige, Sadie, Caroline and me!
We went through the market, many of the fish we’d be eating that night picked out by Paige and Sadie. Paige in particular got right in there, picking up the fish. As they went through the market, the girls were on full display, getting hugs, squeezed cheeks and curious stares from every direction.
Breakfast
Coming back from the market, we stopped for a local lunch with Caroline. One food tweak she’s made at the resort (where breakfast is included), is that she allows guests to eat it any time of day. She does this to encourage her guests to get out and explore the island. In her mind, experiencing authentic breakfasts in the fishing villages is important for travelers...not just eating pancakes back at the hotel. Couldn’t agree more!
Resort Time When we weren’t out exploring the island, we spent our time:
- watching fisherman slapping the water to urge fish into their nets
- the same fisherman pulling their nets in by hand for a catch
- Sarah and I catching up on blog posts to document our everyday
- P&S on swings between palm trees
- P&S taking a dip in the salt water pool
- P&S painting with Sadie's watercolor set from Santa
Wonderfully Slow Afternoon
We embraced the slow afternoon of New Years Eve. In fact, we were the only people at the resort! The rest of the rooms had turned over and the four new guests arriving that day did not come in until late afternoon.
New Years Eve
The New Years BBQ celebration was scheduled to start around 6:00pm. A rain storm blew through and delayed it a bit. The rain moved the celebration under the covered ‘bar/lobby’. Scallops, snapper, shrimp, squid and more started coming off the grill. Our collective favorite was the scallops, with squid in a close second.
We filled up and were back in our room for lights out by 9:00pm. Sarah and I stayed up, busy on our computers still eager to catch up on our backlog. Around 9:30pm, after the girls had gone to bed, there was a knock at the door and we discovered the hotel had left a bottle of prosecco with a happy New Year note. We opened and toasted to the wonderful year we’ve made in 2019 and reminisced that at NYE just a year ago, we had no idea we’d be on this adventure. Here’s to 2020 and this time we can definitively say for certain, we have no idea where we’ll be this time next year. Happy New Years!
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