It was only yesterday that I was struggling to find a job after graduating from school, but I have been attached to Tuy Hoa for 30 years. When I immigrated, Phu Yen and Khanh Hoa had just separated from Phu Khanh province (1989), Tuy Hoa was the provincial capital of Phu Yen; by 2005, Tuy Hoa was a city directly under Phu Yen province.
At that time, many local people felt sorry for the word “town” which seemed “more worthy” of Tuy Hoa’s “half-city, half-field” space. Because they saw that the urban infrastructure was still “far behind” neighboring provincial capitals such as Pleiku ( Gia Lai ), Quy Nhon (Binh Dinh), Nha Trang (Khanh Hoa)… Indeed, Tuy Hoa’s streets at that time were very airy, small, and slender, mainly located along Tran Hung Dao and Le Loi streets. Some people saw Tuy Hoa’s strong point as being quite wide roads but with few vehicles.
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| Nhan Mountain is located in the South of Tuy Hoa City. |
Tuy Hoa is a coastal city with two mountains in the middle (Nhan Mountain and Chop Chai Mountain). Nhan Mountain is the famous place for the Nguyen Tieu poetry festival. Chop Chai stands out in the middle of Tuy Hoa plain, familiar in the song "Chop Chai wears a hat/ Clouds cover Da Bia" (Da Bia Mountain belongs to Dong Hoa district, Phu Yen).
My friends often joke that “Tuy Hoa, Phu Yen has no coffee and no remorse”. Because, the typical accent of the people here pronounces “ê” as “ơ”, “ọi” as “âu”… (“coffee” is pronounced as “cà phơ”, “hội loi” is pronounced as “hầu lầu”). With many similarities (including the accent), the two provinces of Binh Dinh and Phu Yen are often called Xu Nau. Once, there was a debate “where is Xu Nau?”, both Binh Dinh and Phu Yen “claimed”. So some people call Phu Yen Nam Nau, Binh Dinh Bac Nau.
Tuy Hoa's charming streets blend with rice fields, mountains, rivers, and the sea. That geographical feature has helped Tuy Hoa always have many local products and cuisines that are extremely rich, fresh, and more affordable than in many other cities. My friend said "going to Tuy Hoa, you don't need to bring much money but still have fun comfortably". Depending on your pocket and taste, from morning to night, Tuy Hoa's restaurants always have dishes from familiar to luxurious, typical of the South Central region. In recent years, tourists from here and there have begun to know and come to Tuy Hoa quite a lot.
One time, I often visited the coffee shop of my old friend, the “ruong” writer Ngo Phan Luu. The shop was opened at his house, next to Tuy Hoa market. Scholars, tourists, street vendors, cyclo drivers, three-wheelers… all conveniently stopped by to quench their thirst and relax. My friend from another place came here and found it interesting to hear… Tuy Hoa’s “foreign language”. That was when a regular customer, after finishing his drink, stood up and said: “Here”. The owner looked up: “Here”, surprised. The owner smacked her lips: “Here…”. So a transaction… was completed… on credit! At the next table, the girl innocently said to her boyfriend: “You said here, but don’t you believe me?”, which sounded extremely sweet.
Tuy Hoa has only really “stirred up” and had the concept of tourism in the last few years. First of all, it must be said that it was from the unexpected effect of the movie “I see yellow flowers on the green grass” (directed by Victor Vu, scripted from the novel of the same name by writer Nguyen Nhat Anh). The movie was mainly filmed in Phu Yen, with many strangely beautiful frames. So much so that many local people were surprised, “confused” why their hometown’s scenery was so beautiful!
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| Chop Chai Mountain is located in the North of Tuy Hoa City. |
In the past ten years, Tuy Hoa has just begun to have a number of large hotels, commercial areas, restaurants, and shops. There are many buses bringing tourists from all over. Many entertainment and dining areas have begun to “take night as day”. However, most Tuy Hoa people still maintain the habit of going to bed early and waking up early. This habit is probably the echo of a rice-growing countryside, but it really affects tourism. Because at around 8 or 9 pm, many houses on many streets are closed and the lights are off… quiet, causing many tourists to suddenly “lose interest”.
Around 3 or 4 a.m., the streets began to bustle again, with a few shops lighting up and elderly people exercising. Then came groups of joggers, swimmers, etc. In Dien Hong Park, groups of health-care practitioners also began to warm up. Glimmering by the doorways, there were a few groups of old men and women who had finished their exercises and were sitting pensively chatting around a pot of tea.
I saw some old men sitting like that in a house on Phan Dinh Phung Street for more than 10 years. By chance, I found out that they were old farmers from the countryside who were brought to the city by their children and grandchildren for convenience in taking care of their old age. Their stories about Tuy Hoa city still contain many memories of rice grains, sweet potatoes, neighborhood relationships, and village love... And they also acknowledged that Tuy Hoa still has many rural features, even in appearance, way of thinking, communication... As people today say, "being simple and straightforward has its good and bad points". However, many people believe that the very unique, honest and gentle nature of Tuy Hoa people will last long, no matter how much the urban rhythm changes...
So, whoever meets Tuy Hoa will feel the simplicity and sincerity of the Nau people. Whoever knows Tuy Hoa will be haunted by the song "Oh Tuy Hoa, I miss you so much", the folk song about the wind playing with the young rice fields... (Tuy Hoa, I miss you so much, Cao Huu Nhac).
Source: https://baodaklak.vn/du-lich/202506/tuy-hoa-nho-nho-thuong-thuong-7610ff1/
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