Sea change, tree change, midlife crisis — whatever you want to call it. Now you can own your own little piece of Vietnam
words: MATTHEW COWAN | photos: MIKE PALUMBO
Got a spare US$900,000 floating about? How about owning your own little piece of paradise in Vietnam, then? No, it’s not with beach frontage on an exclusive island. But it’s pretty close, kind of. And it’s not far from Vietnam’s biggest city, Ho Chi Minh City.
The local owners of La Gi Farmstay — an 8,000sqm (0.8h) property on the outskirts of La Gi township in Vietnam’s Binh Thuan Province on the southern coast between Mui Ne and Vung Tau — have just put up their property for sale.
Family-owned La Gi Farmstay is approximately 160km east of Ho Chi Minh City. By car, it’s a leisurely three to four hour drive via Ba Ria-Vung Tau. La Gi township is located about halfway between Vung Tau and Mui Ne on the East Sea coast road that connects Ho Chi Minh City with the popular beachside town of Mui Ne — a stunning part of the world.
La Gi Farmstay has been in operation since 2015 and has been a labour-of-love for local man Tran Minh Tri, his wife Thu Dong, and their two young sons. Originally a professional tour guide for foreign tourists riding the length and breadth of Vietnam on bicycles, Tri eventually quit his job and returned to his hometown with a dream of opening his own business. Before long, La Gi Farmstay was born.
“Nearby I used to farm fish and chickens,” says Tri, “and eventually I decided it would be a good idea to build some bungalows so people from the city or travellers from abroad could come and experience country life.”
The farmstay is about 5km south of La Gi township, a thriving fishing port with one of the largest ports in Vietnam, and one kilometre from Cam Binh Beach. Anyone familiar with this part of Vietnam would better know the area as the location of Coco Beach Camp, a popular camping-style resort that hosts regular beach parties and is a favourite hangout spot for daytrippers and weekenders from Ho Chi Minh City.
The farmstay is on a spacious 8,000sqm parcel of land surrounded by local villages and farmhouses. There are 22 rooms spread out over the property housed in a mixture of eight free-standing bungalows and larger dwellings. There’s also a stilt house with the capacity to cater for large groups of backpackers on a budget, but also accommodation suitable for large families, groups of holidaymakers and company groups who come for meetings, dinners and team building and outdoor activities.
La Gi Farmstay is small and intimate enough if guests are looking for a family-friendly feel, but big enough for singles and couples to enjoy their own space and privacy away from the communal areas, like the pool and dining areas.
La Gi Farmstay represents what is perhaps the early stages of an emerging trend among holiday providers in Vietnam. Currently, the property and business offers an authentic homestay experience with a story, something significantly different from the more bombastic promises made by other much bigger accommodation suppliers. Couples and families can enjoy quality time together without being distracted by unnecessary amenities and attractions being thrust upon them.
These days with better infrastructure in Vietnam, including improving public transport services, places like La Gi Farmstay are increasingly easy to access from Ho Chi Minh City. Yet, despite the improvements and ease of transfers, this is still a rare find in a country that can at times get overrun with hordes of tourists.
Tri himself best sums up his property that he is giving up so he and his wife can be closer to their sons when they attend school in Ho Chi Minh City in the coming years: “My farmstay is green and it’s a place where people can come to relax, eat healthy food, reconnect and get back to nature.”
La Gi Farmstay is on Nguyen Du Street, Cam Binh Hamlet, Tan Phuoc Village, La Gi.
For enquiries about the sale of La Gi Farmstay, call Tri directly on +84 9715 0137.
For bookings to stay at La Gi Farmstay, book via Booking.com, Airbnb, Agoda, and directly with Tri by phone +84 9715 0137 or Facebook
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