Thread: A dream€™ village

A view of the Lang Toi (My village) Tourist Site in District 2 that evokes nostalgic thoughts and images of the Vietnamese countryside right in the heart of HCMC.

It was 17 years and millions of dollars in the making, but the Lang Toi (My village) Tourist Site is finally delivering on its promise to present a rural ambience that is both extensive and authentic.





Just across the Saigon Bridge into District 2 in Ho Chi Minh City, a surprising escape from the riotous hustle and bustle of the nation’s commercial hub awaits visitors to Lang Toi.
For its owner, Vietnamese Canadian David Phan Thanh, the village is a realization of his biggest dream, one that has cost him US$7 million.
“In 1984, I came back to Vietnam to do business, and suddenly the idea of building a village that is close to my native hamlet flashed through my mind. My wife called me crazy when I decided to buy seven hectares of slushy fallow land to build my ‘little homeland’. So far so good,” says Thanh, who is also chairman of the city’s Overseas Vietnamese Businesspeople’s Association.
While the village has yet to turn profitable, Thanh derives great satisfaction from the fact that Lang Toi has become a familiar rendezvous in recent years for not only Vietnamese expats but also foreigners and local residents.
The most attractive part of Lang Toi is that it offers a nostalgic trip through typically Vietnamese pastoral scenery with buffaloes, paddy fields and peaceful shady nooks under bamboo groves or areca palms.
The plain but unique wooden interiors of the village are particularly noteworthy. There is also a little private carpenter’s shop in Lang Toi that makes all the wooden furniture on display.
The end of the year is the period that Lang Toi really comes into its own with market days and stalls selling several rural dishes. The tourist area usually organizes summer camps for overseas Vietnamese students and youth.
“In memory of my hometown in Tra Vinh Province, I built this place for Vietnamese expats and hope to give some bright joy for overseas Vietnamese youth who have had no chance to experience the land of their origin.”
Reported by Kim



Read More: A ‘dream’ village

OH! information you provide is useful, if you want to learn more in-depth, you can see here: www.vietnamtraveladvisers.com

Thanks for this information sharing.

Thanks.

Sunshine Foundation Dream Village sits across 22 acres of scrub oaks, tall pines, and palmettos in Loughman, Florida, a small town 15 miles west of the central Florida attractions. The village is a permanent oasis for families to escape hospitals and needles, if only for a short time. Since our first family arrived in February 1989, over 15,156 special children have enjoyed Sunshine's Dream Village.
The number one dream of most children is to visit "The Mouse" and the "The Fish", and Sunshine knows that time for families is precious. That's why the Foundation not only flies the child and parents to the Dream Village, but we also try to include each family member that lives in the child's household, with no cost whatsoever to the family. Sunshine pays for airfare, transportation, lodging, and tickets to the attractions. Families arrive on Thursday and leave on Monday.