This is “probably the most beautiful leper colony, ever,” comments AFAR. “It's located on the beach and the lepers live there with their families,” and the colony is open to the public “and even has restaurants and shops.”
The village has approximately 500 leprosy patients, “ranging from those showing no physical symptoms to those who are disabled and require special shoes, equipment or prosthetics,” explains Travelfish. It started in 1929 when French missionaries formed a colony to help lepers “at a time when they faced severe discrimination from society,” and currently receives about 50-100 new cases a year -- but overall, “leprosy is under control in Vietnam as the number of new cases are decreasing every year.”