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With its cool climate and lush greenery amidst vast pine forests year-round, Mang Den has become an ideal resort destination in the Central Highlands. The pristine, tranquil beauty of nature, along with the friendliness and simplicity of its people, always piques the curiosity of visitors, making them eager to explore this region.
Mang Den - a small town isolated from the hustle and bustle of the outside world.
Alba-ra homestay is located at 1 Dinh Bo Linh Street, Mang Den, Kon Tum. It features a unique design in the style of a traditional Northern Vietnamese wooden house, nestled amidst the vast forests of the Central Highlands.
“I'm from the early 80s generation, originally a law student, but I have a huge passion for creative work. Before starting this homestay business, I worked for many years in the fashion and restaurant industries. My husband and I are the same age, from the same hometown, and share a love for traveling and exploring different parts of the country. Every place we visit reveals wonderful and beautiful things. Perhaps these trips were the catalyst that fueled my dream of creating a place where I could express my interests and childhood memories of a peaceful, familiar, and friendly central highland region,” shared Loan Phan, owner of Alba-ra homestay in Mang Den.
Alba-ra was born as a solace, a haven of peace in a small town isolated from the hustle and bustle of the outside world.
Loan Phan added that she came to Mang Den right in the year of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021, when restaurants in Hanoi were closed. A friend introduced her to Mang Den. At that time, Mang Den was almost invisible on the Vietnamese tourism map and it was also a place she had never been to, so the couple decided to pack their bags and go.
“At that time, National Highway 24 from Pleiku Airport to Mang Den was still unfinished, the road was very dusty and bumpy. Honestly, traveling over 100 km from the airport was discouraging. But when I stepped through the gateway to Mang Den, I felt overwhelmed. It's just a small town, but it still retains its pristine, clean, and incredibly cool atmosphere, yet it's well-planned. Mang Den captivated me like love at first sight,” Loan Phan recounted.
Alba-ra homestay in Mang Den boasts Northern Vietnamese architecture amidst the sun-drenched, windswept highlands.
During her vacation in Mang Den, she deeply felt the peacefulness of the surroundings and the warmth and simplicity of the people there. For her and her husband, businesspeople in bustling cities like Hanoi, Mang Den held immense soothing value, a small town isolated from the chaos of the outside world. Mang Den truly was like a sleeping princess in the forest.
It was simply because she missed Mang Den that, after a month back in Hanoi, Ms. Loan returned to the place. After nearly 20 years of struggling through life, she suddenly thought: Why not choose this place as my second home? This idea was supported by her entire family. Afterward, she and her husband decided to build Alba-ra, much to the surprise of their friends, many of whom didn't even know which province in the Central Highlands Mang Den was located in, only that it was very far away.
The space is surrounded by nature.
The traditional Northern Vietnamese wooden house is nestled amidst the vast forests of the Central Highlands.
When discussing the idea, the couple were fortunate to both be born in the midland region, ingrained in their subconscious a nostalgic longing for wooden houses with distinctive architecture, although many of these are disappearing nowadays. As expected, the wooden houses under the old pine trees, like something out of a Vietnamese fairy tale, perfectly suited the setting of Mang Den.
Next came the process of buying up old houses in Hoa Binh, Phu Tho, Son La... some of which were built in 1971, 1973, 1982... even older than Ms. Loan herself. These rustic houses carry the breath of time, evoking a sense of the preciousness of many generations who lived there. Afterwards, she brought these houses back to Mang Den, where the Muong people restored them.
Alba-ra is uniquely designed in the Northern Vietnamese style, nestled amidst the vast Tây Nguyên (Central Highlands) region.
The owners bought these old wooden houses from Hoa Binh, Phu Tho, Son La, and other provinces. Some were built in 1971, 1973, 1982, and so on.
Explaining the many people's questions about the name, Ms. Loan said: "Alba-ra is the name that many people have asked about. 'Alba' in Italian means dawn, sunrise, the first ray of light at dawn. Like my idea for this place, it suddenly flashed with brightness and energy. Alba-ra is like a joyful, unexpected, and vibrant exclamation."
The entire construction process, from wooden building to landscaping, was diligently carried out by Loan's brothers and sisters over three months. Three months of passion, dedication, and enthusiasm went into completing the entire 750 square meters.2"Wooden houses. 'Building wooden houses, if done carefully, is very expensive, even one and a half or twice as expensive as a brick house with the same function. Fortunately, Alba-ra is doing quite well in business,' said Loan Phan.
Alba-ra was designed based on the real needs of homeowners who experienced and desired a truly cozy place. The small houses all face the courtyard, like extended families living together, sharing a common space, seeing each other, so that no one feels lonely or isolated.
Alba-ra offers a variety of room types suitable for groups of two or larger families.
Alba-ra is a residential area nestled in a garden with a communal house. Anyone can go there to make their own tea or coffee; the house always has bunches of ripe bananas hanging in the yard to offer guests, and BBQs can be held in the evenings. Or you can sit and play a few songs, joining in with everyone, even strangers, becoming close like family.
At Alba-ra, the accommodation options include: 10 rooms for 2 people, 2 small family villas (5 people), and 3 large family villas (10 people). Each room or villa at Alba-ra is minimalist yet distinctly Northern Vietnamese wooden house style, cozy, friendly, with an open space and impeccably clean. Guests can sit on the balcony and admire the mist drifting through the pine forest right in front of them or listen to the rustling of the pines, a sound rarely found elsewhere.
Sitting on the balcony, I gazed at the mist drifting through the pine forest right in front of me.
Since opening Alba-ra, Loan Phan's greatest "gain" has been making friends from all over the country. Those who chose Alba-ra are mostly nature lovers who appreciate simplicity. She has learned so much from visitors to Alba-ra; each person has their own interesting story, making life more colorful and filled with care and compassion.
“After nearly a year of operating Alba-ra (since mid-August 2022), seeing the branches and grass change color each day, seeing the new flowers bloom brightly, the smiles of guests, and the love and support among staff… all of this shows that I made the right choice in this area and model. I hope Alba-ra homestay in Mang Den will be like a second home for everyone to return to,” Loan Phan further shared.
The area surrounding Alba-ra
