Talk about romantic… Dinh Truong Son met his future wife (Nguyen Thi Loi) when he came to her house to fix the families television set. It was a case of the young electrician meeting the young seamstress—two years later they were married…

Son grew up in Vinh City (14 kilometers from Cua Lo) but visited Cua Lo often as a child and young adult. Loi was born in Con Cuong (Nghe An province) but her family had originally come from Cua Lo. In 1990, when Loi was 18-years-old, her family moved back to Cua Lo.

“Son and I opened a beer and ice cream shop near the beach in 1997,” Loi explained. “We decided to build a home with a small hotel because we saw that’s what every one seemed to be doing. And everyone seemed to be making money.”

“We kept having to add floors to fulfill the demand,” Son added.

Today the Tuan Anh is very successful—a simple, reasonably priced, homey hotel which is popular, partly due to the fact that Son is quite the promoter.

“I saw that business owners needed to organize, to have a plan, in order for us to continue growing the tourist trade. I started a community group and a social networking platform. Now we can share our special place with the world!”

Loi jumped in: “Cua Lo is special. It has retained its natural charm, unlike many other beach destinations in Vietnam, which have been overdeveloped. And the people of Cua Lo are quite special too. We are honest, respectful and hospitable. We welcome our visitors warmly. I believe we are a unique community.”

Bao (their teenage son) joined us, having come home from school for lunch. Bao’s English was excellent. For once Mai didn’t have to play translator.

“Many of the business owners have children like me, and we are learning English in school.” Bao explained. “I think it will help us to help our families with the foreign tourists. The English-speaking, young people of Cua Lo will be of great help to their family businesses and other businesses that will wish to cater to English speaking visitors.” Mai and I smiled. Bao was wise beyond his years…

For the purpose of transparency, I must admit, Tuan Anh was the hotel I stayed at on my very first trip to Cua Lo. I found it on Agoda, booked a room (for about fifteen dollars) and kept coming back. Tuan Anh is a block-and-a-half from the beach, the rooms are spotless and come with all the creature comforts (as do all the small hotels in Cua Lo).

Son, Loi and Bao epitomize the new dynamic of the Vietnamese business family. While retaining an age-old culture, they have seamlessly adapted to the needs and nuances of the modern hospitality trade. I believe it’s this blend of old and new that makes Cua Lo such a charming and unique destination…