Look up at the Charcoal Table
At noon, the sea sparkled with silver. I crept into a small, quiet hamlet in the middle of a coconut forest under Ban Than Mountain. Somewhere, I heard a clear lullaby: “I love you, I wait nine times, oh, oh, oh… ten times/ Every night, mother waits, oh, oh, oh… father dreams of you coming home/ The vast, cold sea/ Oh, oh, oh, oh… Wind! When will you come home? Oh, oh…” That lullaby reminded me of the fairy tale about Mr. Dun and Mrs. Che’s rocks at Ban Than rapids.
The story goes that in the past, in Tam Hai, there was a couple, Mr. Dun and Mrs. Che, who loved each other very much and lived in a peaceful coconut forest. Life was somewhat difficult, but in return, they had great joy when they gave birth to two sons.
When the two filial sons grew up, they went out to sea to fish and took care of the old couple, so the whole family was happy and peaceful. Mr. Dun and Mrs. Che were just waiting for the day to organize the wedding for their two sons. Then one day, both sons went to sea for a long time and did not return. Mr. Dun went out to sea to wait, while Mrs. Che stayed home and sat on the doorstep waiting.
Day after day passed and the children did not return home. The husband did not return home either, even though Mrs. Che had already served dinner. She anxiously looked for the dock to wait, but Mr. Dun had turned to stone. Mrs. Che cried and wailed.
Feeling sorry for her husband's coldness, she sat close to him to warm his body, and then she also turned into stone next to her husband. The tears of Mr. Dun and Mrs. Che fell and turned into black stones around them. Since then, the fairy tale of Mr. Dun and Mrs. Che has been included in the lullabies of the islanders.
Tourists may not have heard this touching story, but Ban Than is a beautiful and amazing rocky reef that you should pack your backpack and go to. In particular, Ban Than - Hon Mang - Hon Dua has just been recognized as a national scenic spot.
Mr. Tran Minh Tap, Head of Thuan An Village (Tam Hai Commune) said that the emergence of many restaurants, homestays, etc. has helped the village at the foot of Ban Than Mountain to change its appearance. It is expected that tourism and services alone in the island commune will bring in more than 60 billion VND in revenue in 2025.
“Before, a catch of squid was only worth a few dollars, but now it’s sold for double that because wholesalers buy it to serve tourists. On weekends, tourists come here to relax, which opens up business opportunities and services for local people,” Mr. Tap said.
Boat and... trash
A friend from Quang Ngai saw people flocking to Tam Hai island for tourism so he asked me to be his reluctant tour guide for his backpacking trip. After 2 days of wandering around the rocky reefs, Bac beach, Nom beach, camping overnight on the top of Ban Than mountain... my friend clicked his tongue: "So beautiful and memorable but the sea is full of trash".
I could only laugh. The old fisherman sitting under the shade of a coconut tree nearby explained: “This island is located right at the mouth of the sea, so garbage from the ocean washes in, and garbage from the Truong Giang River is dumped down, making Tam Hai like a funnel to suck up garbage. The government is also very active, they launch campaigns to clean up the beach, but after only a few days, the garbage washes up again. If there is a sustainable project or program to support it, then it will be effective.”
And he also added that there are still some people who are not aware of littering in rivers and seas, so the environment here "remains the same".
On the way back, my friend said that one day he would take his family to visit Tam Hai Island again. I joked: “Experience the “specialty of waiting for the ferry” first before deciding.”
The long line of cars stuck at the Tam Hai - Tam Quang ferry terminal made his eyes widen. “The wooden ferry is undergoing some repairs to get a vehicle inspection, so it cannot be used to pick up and drop off passengers during peak times on weekends. The iron ferry can only carry one car at a time, which is why there are traffic jams on the island commune. I heard that the project to build two new iron ferries has been implemented and is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2026,” I informed my friend of what I knew from the commune leaders.
At the end of 2024, the iron ferry broke down for a long time, disrupting the lives of local residents. The old Quang Nam provincial government had to ask for support from the border guards and traffic police to help people in Tam Hai island commune travel. And most recently, in early August 2025, the iron ferry broke down again for 2 days, forcing people to travel by wooden boats from Xuan My village or small boats.
Local action
Tam Hai Commune Party Secretary Huynh Minh Cuong affirmed that tourism and services will be the economic pillar of the island. This is the top priority task in the breakthrough strategies of the Resolution of the 1st Tam Hai Commune Party Congress, term 2025 - 2030.
However, the road to tourism development in the island commune is quite bumpy. This place only started investing in tourism about 5 years ago, which is too slow compared to the islands of Cu Lao Cham and Ly Son.
The city's tourism industry has identified Tam Hai island commune as having great tourism potential. An island with rocky cliffs and coral reefs that are almost completely pristine; a preserved, untouched coastal culture, plus typical, fresh seafood... are distinct resources for tourism.
Previously, the locality implemented a project to renovate the landscape of Ban Than - Hon Mang - Hon Dua with a total cost of more than 3.7 billion VND. The old Nui Thanh district has included in the public investment portfolio the Tam Hai island commune tourism project with items such as wharf, parking lot, toilet area, compensation for site clearance, expected to be implemented in 2025 with a total cost of 6.7 billion VND...
In addition, Tam Hai plans to form main tours, focusing on the experience tour "A day as a fisherman on the island commune". But then everything is just on paper when no tour has been implemented here. Most tourists come here to visit and experience spontaneously, individually.
The commune government has also invited businesses and travel agencies to visit and survey several times, but they all sighed at the traffic obstacles and the filthy state of the marine environment.
Over the past five years, the positive changes in tourism on this island have come almost entirely from the efforts of a number of individuals and organizations operating in the tourism business.
“Ecotourism and community tourism are identified as advantages and long-term directions for Tam Hai commune in the future; therefore, they will be prioritized in resolutions and action programs, integrating resources for the construction of technical infrastructure for tourism. We hope that the city will pay attention to supporting investment and have specific mechanisms for the island commune to grow.”
Mr. Huynh Minh Cuong, Secretary of Tam Hai Commune Party Committee
Source: https://baodanang.vn/can-dong-luc-danh-thuc-du-lich-o-xa-dao-tam-hai-3299227.html
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