Thanh Chuong Tea Island
"As you set foot on Thanh Chuong Tea Island , you will immediately be lured by the serenity and rustic ambiance embraced by water on the four sides." Ah, the lyrical waxing of the promotional web sites for the tea and rice plantations in Vietnam. Sucked in by its allure - I had to go see the tea !
I have to agree, the tea plantations are quite special. The crop of carefully tended, and well ordered rows of tea plantations look out of place, yet complementary to the surrounding jungle like growth of the unkempt tropical foliage and watery surrounds.
I chose to stay at Đảo Chè Thanh Chương - Homestay Gió Lào. It was quite primitive compared to the other places I stayed at for similar prices. There really wasn't much on offer anyway. I found it a bit noisy with it being a perched lodge on stilts with thin walls separating each room. The trouble was that a group of vietnamese loved to play their music for quite some time into the night. Not all accommodation offerings are on Booking.com, you could just drive here and make enquiries (Not speaking Vietnamese and limited internet could be an issue though.). There were separate isolated huts; I asked about them, but was told they were assigned to family members.
The Vietnamese do like their music loud and crass. Take the boat cruise to the island. Luckily I was the only one, so I was able to have a quiet contemplative trip. The trip to the island was nice enough, and I bought a bag of tea too. I like the tea in Vietnam and it was good to get it from the source.
I finished my excursion off with a nice romantic dinner for one.
I reckon it was worth the excursion away from the coast into the agricultural interior. Thanh Chuong tea island was quiet when I went there, for that I am happy. The two days I had here, apart from my musical room mates was quite pleasant.
For an interactive map see:
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