In the west of Gia Lai province, in Vietnam's Central Highlands, three young people in their 20s to 30s drive a fleet of converted vans around the countryside and lakesides. What they sell is coffee, baked sweets, and green papaya salad (nom du du). That alone wouldn't be unusual, but at the scenic spots where they park, they even hold free acoustic live shows, inviting local musicians. Eating, drinking, and listening to live performance \u2014 all of it happens beside a roofless rice field. This initiative, reported by the local paper Bao Gia Lai in June 2026, is a small case in point reflecting what's happening now in rural Vietnam. We organize what they're doing and dig into how to enjoy the land of the Central Highlands.<\/p>\n
According to the local paper Bao Gia Lai, three people started this initiative. Nguyen Viet Thien (born 1995, in charge of the coffee vehicle \"A Ten\"), who runs the caf\u00e9 \"Ten Caf\u00e9\" in the Bien Ho area; Van Vu Vuong (born 1992, in charge of the papaya-salad stall), from the Chu Pah area, who does digital content production; and Ta Ngoc Anh Khoa (born 1998, in charge of the baked-sweets vehicle), a freelance photographer from Pleiku. The start was late April 2026.<\/p>\n
They operate twice a day, in slots of 6\u201311 a.m. and 2\u20137 p.m., moving when the weather and location conditions line up. The menu is coffee, baked sweets, green papaya salad, tapioca-type drinks, desserts, and more. Onto that, a free outdoor acoustic session by local musicians is added. Parking spots are chosen at scenic places in western Gia Lai, such as the dam in Tan Son, the rice fields of Ngo Son in the Bien Ho area, and the Bien Ho tourist area.<\/p>\n
The three's motives can be read between the lines of the reporting. Vuong says, \"I'd be happy if this kind of circulating helps spread my hometown's beauty in a familiar, natural form.\" In other words, this is less a mere food-and-drink business than something close to a device for getting people to see their land. With a fixed shop, customers only come to the shop, but with a vehicle they can take customers out to scenic places. The coffee and salad are a pretext for setting foot in those places.<\/p>\n
Behind this is also the character of the land that is Gia Lai province. The Central Highlands (Tay Nguyen) is one of Vietnam's leading coffee-producing regions, with farms spreading across high-altitude red-soil highlands. Unlike the brightness of the Arabica variety familiar in Japan, the Robusta variety grown widely in this area has strong bitterness and body, and is the flavor core of the rich Vietnamese coffee paired with condensed milk. For local youth, coffee is a crop, a daily thing, and a source of pride. The idea of driving around loaded with coffee in that land comes from a completely different context than urban caf\u00e9 chains.<\/p>\n
What's worth noting is how the three elements are combined.<\/p>\n
For an ordinary caf\u00e9 the building is the star, but in their case the rice fields, dam, and lakeside themselves become the shop. Even the same vehicle changes the experience when the parking spot changes. According to the reporting, each time they scout the site, arrange the layout of the space, and set the logistics with the music group before setting out. It looks improvised, but each time is a small event setup.<\/p>\n
That they don't make the live show a paid ticket but run it on coffee and salad sales is also effective. Customers can encounter the music by happening to pass by, without the stance of \"going to see a live show.\" This low hurdle creates an air where young people casually gather.<\/p>\n
Furthermore, using part of their sales, they continue an activity of handing out drinks and sweets for free once a month to underprivileged children in remote areas like Bien Ho, Ia Grai, and Ia Khuol. Business and community contribution are continuous with each other.<\/p>\n
Let's pick up a few local receptions from the reporting and surrounding information (all paraphrased and summarized in gist).<\/p>\n
A woman in her early 20s living in Pleiku is said to have remarked, \"A mobile vehicle where you can enjoy food and also connect with music gives an experience different from the usual hangouts.\" You can sense that young people tired of the fixed downtowns and malls feel it's fresh.<\/p>\n
One of the founding members speaks of the sense of connection in the circulating becoming a chance for people to know his hometown's scenery. That the sellers themselves move with the wish to \"show the land\" is the warmth of this initiative.<\/p>\n
There's also a reaction that everyday scenery like the countryside and lakeside has turned into a \"place worth going out of your way for.\" It's interesting how scenery familiar to locals is turned into a tourist spot by a small device of coffee and live performance.<\/p>\n
So, how should we, reading this from Japan, take it? As one way to enjoy it, I'd recommend seeing it as an entry point to the \"not-yet-clich\u00e9d Vietnam\" of the Central Highlands.<\/p>\n
When it comes to a Vietnam trip, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, and Hoi An are the standards, but Pleiku, the capital of Gia Lai province, is an area with a completely different air, with lakes and volcanoes dotting a red-soil highland. Bien Ho Lake (also called T’Nung Lake, the region's largest lake), about 7 km from the city center, is also the base for this mobile caf\u00e9. The scenery of coffee farms, the volcanic terrain, and the highland coolness make for a trip on a different vector from a seaside resort. As a hidden gem in the same Central Highlands,Mang Den (Kon Tum province), called \"the Da Lat of 20 years ago,\"<\/a>is also worth knowing about. If you're making coffee a souvenir, as a perspective for choosing by producing region, the story ofthe specialty-award-winning \"Ant Bee\" from Lam Dong<\/a>is also helpful.<\/p>\n And above all, small shops sparked by young people like this don't appear in guidebooks. That's exactly why a trip where you ask around locally about \"where are the young locals gathering now\" stays in your memory more. Since the location changes day by day rather than being a fixed shop, you'll need to chase it on social media and by local word of mouth, but that uncertainty is part of the experience too. As for how to drink the coffee, since iced ca phe sua (with condensed milk) is the local standard, savoring the strong Robusta sweet and cold suits the land.<\/p>\n This case can be read as one example of the \"youth-sparked, experiential tourism\" trend happening in rural Vietnam. It's not the top-down type where the administration builds large facilities, but a move where individuals rooted in the land show their own hometown in their own words. That the three bring together separate livelihoods \u2014 caf\u00e9 management, content production, and photography \u2014 is symbolic too, with communication power and planning power becoming fuel for regional revitalization.<\/p>\n As it happens, Gia Lai province has positioned 2026 as a year of tourism promotion, advancing measures to increase the flow of people from outside, such as expanding routes at Pleiku Airport (about 4 km from the city center). When large-scale infrastructure development and grassroots initiatives like this turn as two wheels, regional tourism gains depth. As small points like the mobile caf\u00e9 increase, the total volume of experiences of \"I went and it was fun\" builds the region's reputation.<\/p>\n Within the verifiable range, we organize access and how to enjoy the surroundings. Be sure to check the latest local information before traveling.<\/p>\nRipple effects on the region and tourism<\/h2>\n
Practical info: how to get to Pleiku \/ Gia Lai province<\/h2>\n
| Item<\/th>\n | Details<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n |
|---|---|
| Airport<\/td>\n | Pleiku Airport (PXU). About 4 km from the city center<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Domestic flights<\/td>\n | Direct flights from Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, and elsewhere (VietJet, Vietnam Airlines, and others)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| City access<\/td>\n | Airport to center in a short time by taxi or ride-hailing app<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Main highlights<\/td>\n | Bien Ho Lake (about 7 km from the city center), Chu Dang Ya volcano, coffee farms<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Examples of the mobile caf\u00e9's bases<\/td>\n | The dam in Tan Son, the Bien Ho tourist area, the countryside of Ngo Son (changes day by day)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Sweet spot<\/td>\n | 2026 is Gia Lai province's year of tourism promotion. Related events are increasing too<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n Note that the mobile caf\u00e9 itself changes its business location day by day and isn't a booking service for tourists. It's right to hold it at a distance of \"lucky if you run into it.\"<\/p>\n Conclusion: going to the highland scenery to see \"people\"<\/h2>\nGia Lai province's mobile caf\u00e9 is an initiative small in both scale and sales. But the idea of offering coffee, green papaya salad, and live performance beside a rice field is packed with attachment to the land and a youthful nimbleness. Next time you think about a Vietnam destination, try adding Pleiku, just a bit outside the standard cities, to your list. Given how close the airport is, it's far easier to reach than you'd think. And on-site, try asking about one \"place the locals are enjoying now,\" not just the tourist sights. Beyond that answer, scenery and people not in the guidebook await.<\/p>\n Frequently asked questions<\/h3>\nQ. Where can you meet this mobile caf\u00e9?<\/strong> Q. How do you get to Pleiku?<\/strong> [Source]<\/p>\n |