Regret for the conservation area of Mr. Hai Thai's old house

Once a destination for countryside tours ; a place to preserve traditional cultural features in people's daily life; an impressive and well-invested eco-tourism area..., but now, the conservation area of Mr. Hai Thai's old house (Suoi Tien commune, Dien Khanh district) only has a desolate and bare scene left.

A time of simple, ancient beauty

A corner of Mr. Hai Thai's old house. Photo taken in 2016.

A corner of Mr. Hai Thai's old house before it was dug up. (Photo taken in 2016)

The old house of Mr. Hai Thai was built in 1925, in French Gothic architecture, with an area of over ^18,000m2 , including a 5-room main house with an area of over ^300m2 . On the left and right sides of the main house are two houses built to be used as warehouses. Behind, there is a kitchen area and especially an old French-style bread oven. In addition, in the area there is also a well built with bricks, a rainwater tank, and a hundred-year-old coconut garden with trees over 20m high. The house was built by Mr. Nguyen Dinh Thai, a native of Vinh Trung commune (Nha Trang city), who came here to reclaim land, clear land, and bring water from Suoi Tien to irrigate the fields. After the liberation day, the house was handed over to the locality for management. From 1977 to 1990, this place was used as a school. In November 2008, the Provincial People's Committee assigned this building to Yasaka-Saigon-Nhatrang Hotel to take over, restore, and embellish it into a tourist attraction. “At that time, after receiving the old house of Mr. Hai Thai, we urgently renovated the houses according to the original architecture. In addition, we also created an ancient space with a complex of many ancient houses, including a house with 142 unique columns, mossy yin-yang tiled roofs and a 36-column horizontal house to hold parties. Inside the houses, we also collected and displayed the labor and production tools of the people. On September 9, 2009, the old house conservation area of Mr. Hai Thai was opened to welcome guests with many services of rest, dining, sightseeing, entertainment... Thereby, bringing visitors the experience of the simple life of the people here and contributing to introducing the beauty of Suoi Tien commune", said Mr. Dong Luong Son - former General Director of Yasaka-Saigon-Nhatrang Hotel.

Now only desolation remains

The desolate scene of Mr. Hai Thai's old house conservation area.

The lake in the old house grounds is now overgrown with weeds.

The current state of Mr. Hai Thai's old house conservation area now has only 4 houses left standing alone in a cluttered space.

The current state of Mr. Hai Thai's old house conservation area is only a few houses left standing alone in a cluttered space.

When we received information about the old house conservation area of Mr. Hai Thai being abandoned, we thought it was closed and no longer receiving visitors. But when we came to investigate, we were surprised by the desolate and barren scene here. From the street, looking at the main gate of the house, rocks and soil were scattered; on the ground were still imprinted car tracks and many deep holes, traces of digging up large trees to move elsewhere; the remaining trees were sparse and withered. Going around to the back, the lakes were dry, weeds grew wild. The remaining vestiges were the large house in the middle, two warehouses on both sides and the kitchen in the back, still intact, but there were no valuable items inside. The white houses, located in the middle of a messy space, really brought many regrets. “This area has been abandoned for many years. Before, they just closed the door, but for some reason in recent months, someone brought a car in to dig up large trees and ancient trees and take them elsewhere. When the locals discovered the incident, they reported it to the commune authorities to stop it, but for some reason the commune leaders still let the trees be taken away…”, said Mr. Nguyen Van Quy (a resident of Xuan Phu 2 village, Suoi Tien commune).

Another resident living nearby shared: Mr. Hai Thai's old house used to be very beautiful, with lush, dense trees, flower pots and ornamental plants around the house; the yard was paved with clean bricks; the lakes were clear and there were also lawns, wooden stilt houses... Occasionally, there were groups of Vietnamese and foreign tourists coming here to visit, learn, and experience some cultural and culinary activities. For a long time, this old house was no longer in operation, but there were still guards. In the last 2 years, it was closed, there was no one to look after it, the stilt houses were dismantled, but the landscape was still preserved, only after the Lunar New Year until now has this kind of digging happened...

Leave regrets

The current state of Mr. Hai Thai's old house conservation area leaves those who are interested in this place with regret and cannot help but ask the question: Why is such a meaningful tourist destination in such a shabby and abandoned state? Searching on Google for the phrase "Mr. Hai Thai's old house", we still see many clips and articles introducing this place as an eco-tourism and rural tourism destination of travel companies. But in fact, this tourist destination has been inactive for a long time. Mr. Tran Tan Ngoc - General Director of Yasaka-Saigon-Nhatrang Hotel said: "Previously, the Hai Thai old house conservation area operated relatively effectively. But then, due to the decreasing number of European visitors, the number of visitors gradually decreased. Since 2015, the Hai Thai old house conservation area had to stop receiving guests and look for a new direction. However, due to the impact of storm No. 12 in 2017 and the Covid-19 pandemic, the plans to change the operation of the Hai Thai old house conservation area could not be implemented. Two years ago, the Provincial People's Committee directed the Yasaka-Saigon-Nhatrang Hotel to hand over the Hai Thai old house conservation area to the Dien Khanh District People's Committee for management. We have handed over and liquidated the assets including wooden houses built since 2009. Currently, the Yasaka-Saigon-Nhatrang Hotel is no longer related to the Hai Thai old house conservation area".

Mr. Hai Thai's old house conservation area today.

In previous reports on tourism activities in Dien Khanh district, Mr. Hai Thai's old house conservation area was still mentioned as an eco-tourism destination. However, in the district's tourism and trade development program until 2020 and after 2020, Mr. Hai Thai's old house conservation area tourist destination was no longer included in the content of the district's tourist routes and destinations. To learn more about the management and use solutions for Mr. Hai Thai's old house conservation area, we tried to contact the leaders of Dien Khanh district People's Committee, Suoi Tien commune People's Committee, and a number of related departments and offices, but the answers were that they did not know about this matter, and then directed the reporter to contact another unit. The only answer the reporter received from a department leader (who requested not to be named) said that on the part of Dien Khanh district, directly the district's Finance - Planning Department had received the Mr. Hai Thai's old house conservation area. Although the locality is trying to call for investment, so far no businesses have registered to participate, and using the budget for renovation is not in accordance with regulations.

With the current situation, the restoration of the old house of Mr. Hai Thai as before is still open. Those who are interested in this place regret, remembering the time when this place was used by film crews, music videos with the participation of famous artists such as: Diem My, Lan Khue, Thanh Hang, Huong Tram...

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