Lesson 1: The highlands call

Unexpected wave of visitors

The landslide incident in Lam Dong, specifically at the two tourist centers of Da Lat City and Bao Loc City, made Nhan and a group of friends in Phan Thiet City decide to celebrate the September 2nd holiday in Da Mi, Ham Thuan Bac District. It did not disappoint the initial expectations, the whole group was excited when they came here to explore and realized the huge benefit of enjoying the cool air like Da Lat but not having to go far, not spending too much money. "We also visited 2 mysterious lakes, stopped by the 9-storey waterfall, visited the fruit gardens. The scenery of the mountains, hills, and steep passes created a strangely beautiful picture that made my friends admire the scene just like in a Chinese swordplay movie!" - Nhan said excitedly. Nhan said that the whole group stayed at an acquaintance's house, after asking for a place to rest but there was absolutely no place. When they came here, following National Highway 55, they discovered that there were 1-2 places but they were not public, homestay style reserved for trusted guests or families. There are cafes and rest stops scattered along Highway 55, but they are all makeshift. However, there are still many visitors.

Maybe also calculating to go on holiday like Nhan's group, on the occasion of the recent September 2nd holiday, Da Mi was crowded with visitors, despite the impact of the storm causing intermittent rain, but overall the weather was cool. On the roads in this mountainous commune, cars and buses from southern provinces and cities such as Ho Chi Minh City, Dong Nai, Binh Duong... gathered, bustling during the 4 days of the holiday. It seems that tourists enjoy the feeling of enjoying the cold air and drizzling rain in the undulating mountainous area. Tourists also like to hunt for clouds, because in the weather when it rains and stops like that, the clouds often pour down, the mountains and hills appear and disappear, making people get caught up in the scenes of the fusion and dissolution of the sky's threads. If you sit in a position where you can both see Ham Thuan Lake or Da Mi Lake and see that scene, there is nothing better... That is the reason why on the occasion of September 2nd holiday, this place is still crowded with visitors, unlike many people predicting that it will not be as crowded as on the occasions of April 30th and May 1st. That the initial attraction from the Dau Giay - Phan Thiet highway has faded, because there are no resting services, makeshift restaurants and because the 2/9 holiday is often wet because of rain, so few tourists want to travel to the mountains. However, in reality, thanks to the above highway, waves of tourists flock here along Highway 55 and Provincial Road 22 to discover a different, wild little Da Lat named Da Mi, only 70 km from Phan Thiet beach, so they have designed their own tours and routes for trips according to clearer needs during this 2/9 holiday.

Unexpected tours and routes

If visitors depart from Phan Thiet City, they will follow National Highway 28, turn onto Provincial Highway 22 to the highland communes of Ham Thuan Bac District such as Dong Tien, Dong Giang, La Da, then meet National Highway 55 to Da Mi Commune. Visitors from the southern provinces can follow National Highway 55 through La Ngau (Tanh Linh) before entering Da Mi Commune for tourism, then turn back to the coastal city of Phan Thiet following Provincial Highway 22 to National Highway 28. Regardless of the direction, when passing Dong Giang, visitors can visit and worship the Sa Lon Revolutionary Base as a pilgrimage to the source. These are 2 tourist routes, with Da Mi as the focal point.

This highland commune converges many beautiful landscapes, cultural and religious sites, production sites, factories... with their own appeal and differences, so tourists come here by themselves, following their own needs to explore and then form tours without realizing it. The two most prominent are Ham Thuan and Da Mi lakes, both of which are hydroelectric lakes, but no lake is the same. Da Mi lake is as gentle as its water level, which fluctuates from only 1 to 3 meters. On the surface of this lake, there is an area with tens of thousands of solar panels installed, and a sturgeon farming area, so visitors coming here are always eager to learn how people generate solar power to the grid; want to try dishes made from sturgeon on the spot or bring them back to the city to cook for the whole family to enjoy. Ham Thuan lake is more majestic, mysterious, and fierce, when the water level sometimes rises to 30 meters, submerging the sandbanks and when the water recedes, revealing the mysteries within it, making visitors satisfied to watch.

In addition, the hydroelectric plant located in Da Mi commune is also a destination that tourists want to visit and learn about the operating process to generate electricity. Next is the 9-storey waterfall, the name itself shows its own attractiveness, at the same time arousing the spirit of exploration of people who love forests, mountains, waterfalls and rapids. If your feet are tired and you want to calm down and listen to the temple bells of the cold land near the sea, Da Mi, then visit Quan Am pagoda. Another special feature is that Da Mi is an area with fruit trees all year round. This is the result of the random concentration of the community because the people here migrated from many regions in the country, when they went, they brought with them varieties of trees from their homeland to plant, and unexpectedly, they all grew well. From here, we discovered that Da Mi's climate is very special, when it is located between the sea, the hot and warm climate (Phan Thiet City) and the cold, humid region (Lam Dong), so it seems that any type of tree can live. Therefore, when coming to Da Mi in any season, tourists can visit the fruit garden, enjoy and buy fruits to bring home. But if we emphasize the brand, Da Mi durian is already famous in the market.

With the above highlights, visitors can contact and arrange to go wherever they want, even if they want to visit the two lakes of Ham Thuan and Da Mi. However, all services here are not public, they are spontaneous and have exploded since the April 30 holiday. That is a difficulty but also an opportunity that Ham Thuan Bac district has recognized with the intention of making Da Mi a tourist area of ​​the district.

Lesson 2: Dami's dilemma