The precious gem under the beauty’s pillow While Cu Lao Cham (Cham Isle) in Quang Nam province receives thousands of tourists a day, Cu Lao Xanh (Green Isle) in Binh Dinh, also a wonderful natural landscape still cannot attract tourists. Local people, therefore, still have to live in poverty, though they have a gold mine. Cu Lao Xanh has another name – the Van Phi Island, located near the Xuan Dai bay in Nhon Chau commune of Quy Nhon City in Binh Dinh province. The island covers an area of 365 hectares, where 2300 people are living. It is just 17 kilometers far from Quy Nhon City and six kilometers far from Xuan Hoa commune of Phu Yen province. Near by a hair… The isle not only has a beautiful name, but it also has a more advantageous position than any other coastal islands in Vietnam to develop tourism. It is just less than 10 kilometers far from the two central areas in the central region – Quy Nhon and Tuy Hoa.  However, the wonderful landscapes here still have not been known to tourists. In fact, tourists don’t have the opportunities to know about the beautiful island. Some days ago, the group of 30 tourists from An Thien Hung Company in Hanoi went to Quy Nhon after finishing the tour to Hue City and Da Lat. At that time, they tried to catch a coach to Cu Lao Cham in Quang Nam, which was 300 kilometers away from the place where they were. When a reporter suggested that they should travel to Cu Lao Xanh, just 10 kilometers away from Quy Nhon. If they want to return to Hanoi, they could take a flight from Phu Cat airport to Hanoi, which would allow saving time and money. Nguyen Dieu Hoa, Director of An Thien Hung, was so surprised when hearing the word “Cu Lao Xanh.” “Is there also a coastal island? Why can’t I find any information about the island on Internet?” Hoa questioned. After some thoughts, Hoa and her workers decided to organize a tour to the island themselves, because no travel firm in Binh Dinh province providers the tour. However, Hoa canceled the plan later. Hoa then realized that Cu Lao Xanh was wonderful, but she could not find a reasonable way to reach to the isle. “I think we should wait for the Binh Dinh authorities to make investments to build roads to for travelers to go to the island,” Hoa said. …but very far away If staying ashore to look into the Quy Nhon bay, one would see the beautiful poetic Cu Lao Xanh. Thanks to the isle, Quy Nhon is known as the bay with the calmest waves in the central strip of land, which is safe from wind and typhoons. However, it was more difficult than previously thought to go to the land. Travelers could not charter boats or canoes, because no one provided the service. The link between the land and the island depended on an old engine boat. The boat was designed to contain 50 passengers and cargos – the articles of daily necessity for the island. It took two hours to travel with the boat to the island, which was a terrible time for those who suffered from seasick. Meanwhile, just small canoes could have been able to carry tourists from the mainland to the island just after 20 minutes. It was obvious that Hoa, the director of An Thien Hung made a right decision to cancel the trip to Cu Lao Xanh that day. Dan Viet