In today's hectic life, many people are starting to want to slow down, touch nature and reconnect with themselves more. Travel, especially sea, island travel, has also begun to change, no longer moving continuously or checking in quickly - travel is also choosing a stop, living like a local and feeling everything in every breath.
Let's join MLifeOn to find the sea to "farm - live slowly - enjoy the sea" through the special forms of tourism below.
Travel & Work – a change of scenery for your work
After Covid-19 pandemic, the flexible working model opened up a new need: travel & work, also known as "workcation". Instead of being limited to the office, young people started to bring their work to more pleasant places - such as coastal tourist areas, where there is sun, wind, trees and waves.
In fishing villages in Nhon Hai or Nhon Ly, Gia Lai province or on islands such as Phu Quy or Ly Son, many homestays and farmstays have begun to design spaces to meet this need with desks facing the sea, investing in stable wifi connections, and designing airy balcony corners. The characteristic of this form of tourism is that visitors can both work and enjoy the island atmosphere like a short vacation.
In Nhon Ly, Gia Lai province, many homestays are built to serve tourists who want to travel in the form of Workcation.
And the same in Nhon Hai area, Gia Lai province
I once worked remotely for a few days in a small room on Ly Son island. Every morning, the sound of roosters crowing and the waves are the “alarm bells” that wake me up, eat breakfast, and open my laptop to work. On the island, time seems to pass more slowly. After finishing work, I walk to the beach or lie in my room, listening to the wind hitting the window and the waves crashing in the distance. On the island, although it is still a deadline and work as usual, everything seems much lighter.
After work, I like to wander on the winding small roads on the island
The afternoon sun falls on the grass and trees, creating a beautiful scene
Travel & Work in coastal and island areas is not only a new choice - but also part of a balanced lifestyle: working effectively in inspiring spaces, and truly relaxing without leaving work.
Staycation – live like a sea and island person
If Travel & Work is to maintain work while away, Staycation is a form of travel that specializes in depth and experience: Living like a local, not leaving a place for many days to feel every rhythm of life there.
Instead of choosing luxury resorts, many tourists now choose to stay at homestays by the sea or simple houses - where they can cook with the host, grow vegetables, or simply wake up early to go to the market, blending in with the life of the people on the sea and islands.
In Nhon Ly, I once rented a small homestay - right next to the stone path facing the sea. Every morning, the hostess invited me to go to the garden to water the plants, then made coffee to drink on the porch. There was nothing too "touristy", but I felt like I understood the sea better after many days of living like that.
Staycations in coastal areas and islands are what make people not want to leave in a hurry. Stay longer, live slower - to find each moment more meaningful.
Simple activities but help me understand more about the sea and people of Nhon Ly
Agricultural tourism combined with relaxation
Another form of tourism that is popular with young people is agricultural tourism combined with resort tourism, where tourists can live with the locals, participate in farming, fishing, processing - and then rest in the space they have just helped create.
In coastal areas, especially island districts in Vietnam, many places have started to have the model of "a day as an islander": from picking vegetables, catching fish, fermenting fish sauce, making specialties - then having a meal together in the style of islanders. There is not much time for checking in, enjoying the outdoors, but in return you will be "transformed" into a different person - no air conditioning, office, laptop or deadline, only blue sea, yellow sunshine, sand and new and interesting jobs.
Do you want to experience fishing on the island
Once I helped pick garlic in Ly Son Island - the sun was harsh, my hands were sore, but when I sat down to eat the garlic salad I made myself, and ate grilled fish on a wood stove with everyone, all the fatigue suddenly disappeared. The feeling of enjoying food associated with hard work, with nature, with the simple people of the island is hard to describe.
Harvesting and processing Ly Son garlic is an unforgettable experience for me
Agricultural tourism in the sea and islands is not a “try it out” experience, but a way to understand the roots, sources of life, and rhythms of life associated with nature of the indigenous people. With this model, tourists not only “rest” but are truly “nourished”.
Travel is not just to go, but to stay
Agricultural tourism combined with relaxation, Staycation or Travel & Work - although the names are different, all bring us to a common travel style of Vietnam's seas and islands: Farming - living slowly - enjoying the sea, not just visiting, checking in but also experiencing and living.
If you are in need of a place to calm down, recharge and connect with nature - try stopping at sea and island areas such as Nhon Ly, Hai Ly in Gia Lai province or island districts such as Phu Quy, Ly Son. Don't make a tight schedule. Just stay a little longer. The sea will tell its own story. The land will open its heart. And you'll see - you've had quite the journey.
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CREDIT:
- Photography: Luan Nguyen, Kien Trang
- Content: Giang Huynh
- Design: Phuong Nguyen
