Posted by mssarah55 on August 17, 2010 under Vietnam Beaches, Vietnam Destinations | 
Though there are numerous dreamlike beaches that have been developed for holidaymakers, many still love to laze on pristine sands.
When I expressed my idea to visit Ninh Tinh Village, at the foot of Hon Heo mountain, in Khanh Hoa Province’s Ninh Hoa District, most of my friends said that I was too happy to go crazy, leaving the great civilization to blindly rush where few tourists venture.
Get away: Sunrise on Hon Heo, an isolated peninsular bound by green mountains and white sandy beaches. — VNS Photos
Legend has it that a group of people from Central Viet Nam came to Hon Heo peninsula 200 years ago.
The mountains with their streams, wildlife and an immense plain provided everything the wandering tribes-people from the Central needed.
At the end of the 1990s, roads were built and the forest known as the forest of death was opened up.
Secluded: The Wild Beach Resort is surrounded by rainforest.
Northeast of
Nha Trang City, along 60km of picturesque road winding between mountain and sea, my destination boasted the beauty of a virgin forest, soft white sand, blue sea and sunshine.
I arrived at Wild Beach Resort and Spa when there was a light shower and a breeze ruffling the leaves. The tiled roof and bricked walls of the bungalows reminded me of my hometown during my childhood.
Tired after a long journey, I felt asleep in the vaporous light from the lampshades made of coconut shells.
I was awakened by the song of birds. It had stopped raining and the air was fresh with the fragrance of dew-covered grass and flowers and the salty sea.
Cosy: The resort bungalows have tiled roofs.
I prepared for the day and followed the resort staff to go to the market.
On a piece of land next to the river, marketeers lay out tarps to display everything from seafood to fruit and vegetables. Behind the market, I still saw some fishing boats that had just unloaded their morning catch.
I selected a 3kg tuna. The resort staff suggested I buy some aromatic herbs and banh trang lang, a local rice paper made to roll with fish and vegetables and eat with fish sauce.
“How do you want to enjoy this dish? I’ll tell the kitchen to prepare it,” my guide said, as heart-warming as a member of the family.
Later that day, I wandered around the resort, declining the offers of a trip on a coracle to the islands, diving on pristine coral reefs, climbing mountains or sightseeing.
However, I discovered a lot of interesting things there, for instance, a jackfruit tree on the way from my bungalow to the spa – its branches so heavy with fruit they bent low to the ground.
Ripened fig scattered along the way. Also the wild flowers on both sides of the road reminded me of the cooking game I used to play in my childhood, where I would pretend to cook flowers imagining they were rice, using a bowl made with a jackfruit leaf.
Planted between the flowers were aromatic herbs that could be picked and used in the Vietnamese cooking classes held at the resort.
The receptionist also showed me a type of grass, which is called suong sao in Vietnamese, and said I should ask the kitchen to pick it and prepare the dish for me.
“The resort’s suong sao is fresher and much more delicious than at market,” she said.
I have been to many places, stayed in many hotels and resorts, from budget affairs to high-class, but I really loved the warm and friendly service at this resort.
In the afternoon, the tuna I bought was cooked by the resort’s chef at the restaurant that looks over the beach.
Three slices of the tuna were grilled with spring onions, its tail was steamed, and its head was used to cook sour soup.
The mere thought of banh trang lang rolled with vegetables, grilled tuna and rice vermicelli and dipped in fish sauce, made my mouth water.
After the meal, I had a talk with a Russian couple who had just checked in. I persuaded them to go with the resort staff to the beach to catch cong (small salt water crab).
It was a soulful experience to eat a bowl of fresh steaming hot cong porridge with spring onion.
During the return drive to Nha Trang I replayed in my mind, my happy memories of the resort and the friendly staff. It was like a homecoming for me to return to nature and country style cooking.
Source : VNS
Ha Vy – Vietnam News
www.vietnamhotels.net
www.vietnam-visa.com
Posted by mssarah55 on April 8, 2010 under Vietnam Destinations |
The tear-shaped Phu Quoc (Vietnamese Phú Quốc) is part of the Kiên Giang province. The distance from Phú Quốc to mainland Viet Nam is 45 km to Hà Tiên and 120 km to Rạch Giá. The island is 50 km long (from north to south) and 25 km wide (from east to west at its widest part).
Surrounded by more than 40 km of white beaches decorated with coconut palms, Phú Quốc, situated in the Gulf of Thailand near the Cambodian border, is Vietnam’s largest island. Its western coastline is sparsely populated while the interior is largely covered with jungle and mainly deserted.
You can start exploring the island in Dương Đông, the biggest town on the island (west of Phú Quốc), where most of hotels and resorts are located. Going south, you can drive along Bãi Trường (Long Beach), which is a 20 km long, spectacular beach. You will see two pearl farms on the right, the second is worth a visit. At the end of the road turn left (you can’t miss it) and follow the signs, you will reach the fisherman village An Thới and the An Thới pier, the island’s southern tip. From here the An Thới Islands, a very nice snorkelling and diving area consisting of 15 small islands and islets surrounded by coral reefs in crystal clear water, can be visited by boat.
Continuing to travel north-east, you will see a sign to Bãi Sao (the sign is somewhat hidden, around 1 km away from the main road). Bãi Sao, with its marvelous white sand and green-turquoise water, is one of the most beautiful, quite untouched beaches on Phú Quốc Island. There are a number of simple, on-the-sand restaurants with tasty, fresh seafood in this area.
Before going back to Dương Đông, there are some recommendable springs and falls: Suối Tranh and Suối Đá Bàn. Suối Tranh (some 10 km north of Bãi Sao) is a stream connecting tiny ponds at different levels through small waterfalls. Suối Đá Bàn (a stony surface stream, north-east of Dương Đông) is an easily accessible white-water creek, gracefully flowing down huge granite boulders, on which you can wake; in some places there are natural pools waiting for a refreshing swim.
A stay on Phú Quốc Island would not be complete without visiting one of the factories producing Nước Mắm (fish sauce), one of the most popular ingredients of the Vietnamese cooking as well as one of the pearl farms with panels describing the formation of pearls and shops selling pearl jewellery.
The island has a unique species of dogs, the Phú Quốc Ridgeback, which has a ridge of hair that runs along its back in the opposite direction to the rest of the coat. Much of this island’s nature is still protected. Around 70% of the island, an area of 31,422 hectares, became a national park in 2001. The rainy season on Phú Quốc is from July to November and the peak season for tourism is midwinter, when the sky is blue and the sea is calm.
Travelers who know the Thai islands Ko Samui and Phuket often comment: “The island of Phú Quốc is still natural and untouched like Ko Samui 10 years and Phuket 20 years ago”. Not surprising, a larger international airport is being built on the island of Phú Quốc, expected to operate within five years. A golf course and a casino will also be completed. If you like untouched nature and pre-touristic surrounding, you should hurry up!
Travel to Phú Quốc
• Air
Vietnam Airlines (116 Nguyen Hue, HCMC, Tel. (08) 824 4482) offers daily flights from both Ho Chi Minh City (around 40 USD one-way, 4 flights daily) and Rach Gia.
• Boat
Several companies operate high-speed hydrofoils going from Rach Gia to Phú Quốc. The boats leave the mainland daily between 7 a.m. and 8.30 a.m., and return from Phú Quốc between 12.30 p.m. and 1.30 p.m. (150-200 Thousand Viet Nam Dong, 2.5 hours). Tickets must be purchased in advance and most travel agents can book the passage. The most well-known hydrofoil companies (Tau Cao Toc) include Super Dong (Rach Gia 077-878 475, Phú Quốc 077-980 111) and Dương Đông Express (Rach Gia 077-879 765, Phú Quốc 077-990 747). Offices of these companies are located at the dock in Rach Gia and in Phú Quốc; the ride can be booked in most of the travel agencies in advance.
Very popular to more adventurous travelers is a round-trip between Ho Chi Minh City and Phú Quốc: travel overland through the Mekong Delta (Sai Gon – My Tho – Rach Gia – Phú Quốc, taking a ferry from Rach Gia to Phú Quốc) and, after staying and discovering the island, take the short one-hour flight back to HCMC.
Posted by mssarah55 on March 25, 2010 under Vietnam Destinations |
Posted by mssarah55 on under Vietnam Culture, Vietnam Travel Info |
Believed to be as old as Vietnams’ early dynastic era, an extraordinary musical instrument exists through time holding with it centuries of beautiful music incorporated into lifelong histories of lives of the Vietnamese people. The Dan Bau is known to create soft, serene sounds, which, every melody produced by it embodies the beauty of the country and its people. One of the only two musical instruments thought to be of pure Vietnamese origin, the Dan Bau is the unequivocal presentation of the country’s unique culture.
Legends talk of a blind woman playing sweet music from the instrument as a means of living while her husband’s at war. That, they say, was the beginning of how the instrument was discovered and the unmistakable emotional appeal of its melody began to be appreciated. Though there’s not much to substantiate such story, one thing’s for sure, the sounds produced by the Dan Bau sends a powerful message of love, longing and beauty that never cease to evoke the hearts and souls of its listeners.
A single-stringed musical instrument, the Dan Bau is simple yet very unique. Đàn, meaning a stringed instrument, and bầu, which means gourd, the device is exactly what is says. In general, it consists of a few components which includes the soundboard serving as its resonator, the spout, gourd, string and a tuning peg. Though originally, the instrument is made of four parts: a bamboo tube, a wooden rod, a coconut shell half, and a silk string. The string runs across the bamboo and secured on one end to the rod, which is perpendicularly attached to the bamboo.
Present day Dan Baus are constructed using wooden soundboards in place of the bamboo. The traditional silk string have also been replaced with an iron string. The instrument’s spout, which is a flexible rod that varies the string’s tension, is made of buffalo horn that is square-framed at the root, while flat and gradually bent at the top. It plays an important role in producing sounds of different pitches beyond fundamental overtones of the instrument. The gourd used to cover the spout where the string is tied, acting as a resonator, still exists though it had been replaced by wood and serves nothing more than a decorative feature. Its tuning peg, which could be made of bamboo or wood, is located at the inside frame towards the bottom of the wooden soundboard. The iron string goes through a small hole at the end of the instrument’s surface towards the tuning peg. A pointed stick made of bamboo or rattan is commonly used as pluck for this instrument.
Most of Dan Baus today now have modern tuning machines to allow adjustments of the string’s base pitch. Usually tuned to the C note, it uses harmonies or overtones. It is played by plucking the strings while touching it lightly with the side of the hand at a point producing a harmony. Though it does not require for one to be highly skilled in order to play the Dan Bau, a great deal of precision is needed to allow rise and fall of pitch along with lengthening and shortening of the notes with the aid of the flexible rod that permits the shifting tension of the string, thus, trills could be played. The technique involves gently tapping the string with the tiny finger of the right hand while the other fingers pluck the string using a long plectrum. With the left hand, the note’s pitch could be lowered by pushing the flexible rod using the index finger, or pulling the rod away with the thumb if a higher pitch is desired.
Used to be played solo or along poetry recitals, the instrument had now taken part in large orchestra to accompany stage operas. Music incorporating Dan Bau with their songs have taken a huge turn beginning the 20th century where players infused electrical pickups and amplifiers with the instrument to make its sound more distinct and audible to larger audiences. Still, solo performances are greatly appreciate and musical pieces exclusively composed for Bau solo, such as Vu Khuc Tay Nguyen (Dance of the Central Highland) by Duc Nhuan, Dong kenh trong (The clear channel) by Hoang Dam and Vi Mien Nam (for the South) by Huy Thuc are widely applauded.
Likened to the monochords of other parts the world, along which are the Tuntina of India, Cung of East Africa, Duxiangin of China, none can compare to the serene, melodious and inspiring tunes that reaches out to the emotions to wherever the wind carries its sound. Every pluck of the Dan Bau’s string is a tale of love and history in itself touching every listener’s heart while stirring their souls. The melody produced by the instrument may be viewed differently by every person as he connects with his own feelings. No matter how re-lived over the periods, and how time changed its visage, Dan Bau is one instrument that translates a great part of Vietnam and a true expression of emotions that will forever transcend time.
Collected by Vietnam Visa
Posted by mssarah55 on March 18, 2010 under Vietnam Culture, Vietnam Travel Info |
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The 2.018 meter-long project with total squares of 6.500m2 is an art construction playing a great meaning to welcome 1000th anniversary of Thang Long-Ha Noi and honor art heritages to patterns of history from the periods of Dong Son to dynasties of Ly, Tran, Le, Nguyen. The 2.018 meter-long project with total squares of 6.500m2 is an art construction playing a great meaning to welcome 1000th anniversary of Thang Long-Ha Noi and honor art heritages to patterns of history from the periods of Dong Son to dynasties of Ly, Tran, Le, Nguyen.
The road runs from Au Co Avenue through Nghi Tam, Yen Phu, Tran Nhat Duat, Tran Quang Khai and Tran Khanh Du roads. As planned, it comprises 21 sections of ceramic pictures with verities of interesting and colourful objects.
Taking part in this project, not only Vietnamese artists, Ceramic Road receives a very enthusiastic response of international artists. All with wishes to contribute a meaningful gift to bring beauty to the community as well to welcome 1000 year-old Hanoi Capital. Apart from the assistance of Michael Geertsen, a Denmark artist, and Dominique de Miscault from France, many other artists from many countries all over the world as UK, United State, Netherlands, Italia, Spain and Finland have registered to join. Ceramic Road is striving to set Guiness Record and become the longest Ceramic Picture in the world.
www.vietnam-visa.com
Tags: art construction, Au Co, Ceramic Road, Dong Son, hanoi, Hanoi Capital, Le Dynasty, Nghi Tam, Nguyen Dynasty, Thang Long, Tran Dynasty, Tran Khanh Du, Tran Nhat Duat, Tran Quang Khai, vietnam, Yen Phu
Posted by mssarah55 on under Vietnam Destinations, Vietnam Travel Info, Vietnam Travel Stories |
As eco-tourism gains popularity, more tourists are opting to take bike tours.
by Thanh Ha
A cycling tour in the northern province of Ninh Binh was one of Rett Townsley’s favourite activities while travelling around Viet Nam.
“It was not my first bike tour but I have not ridden a road bike in several years. It was a good tour, even though it was very tiring. It definitely left me with a lot of good memories,” Townsley says.
Townsley is among a small group of tourists who travelled to Ninh Binh’s Hoa Lu District, the nation’s former citadel, which lures millions of local and foreign tourists every year.
A bus leaves Ha Noi early every morning for the two hour journey to the district. Townsley and his partners book rooms at the Xuan Hoa Hotel, which is said to provide the best travel services in the district, such as meals, rooms, bikes and tour guides.
The hotel provides an excellent jumping-off point for tourists to enjoy a visit to the ancient Hoa Lu citadel which was the country’s capital city for the Dinh dynasty (968-980) and the tien Le (Earlier-Le) dynasty (980-1009).
Maps to these destinations are free from the hotel. Townsley and his friends pay VND20,000 (US$1) for their bikes and share the $10 for a tour guide to show them around for a full day.
It takes Townsley and his friends nearly one hour to travel the 12km to the citadel, where they admire the temple of King Dinh Tien Hoang, who developed Hoa Lu as the capital and set up the first centralised feudal State in Viet Nam. They also enjoyed the temple to the first king of the tien Le dynasty, King Le Dai Hanh.
Their next destination is Tam Coc-Bich Dong, also known as Ha Long Bay on land. The area is home to an awesome stretch of giant limestone karsts jutting out of the rice paddies on the banks of a small river. Townsley and his friends leave the bikes aside for a short time to travel by boat through this secluded oasis away from the haze of the big city.
If they have planned for an extra day or two of holiday, the group can sail on to the Trang An Eco-Tourism complex, which is said to host a world of natural and cultural heritage.
With its striking limestone mountains, caves and clear streams, combined with the ruins of the former capital at Hoa Lu, the area annually attracts millions of tourists from across Viet Nam and around the world.
Back on land at Van Lam Wharf, an expanse of art work is waiting for the group. The area is a great place for tourists to explore Viet Nam’s needlework.
Thousands of embroidery and thread work products with many designs in different sizes are so beautiful that most people cannot deny at least one indulgence for themselves or as a gift for a loved one back home.
“I especially enjoyed the part of the ride that took us right up to the limestone mountains,” says Townsley, who also expresses his pleasure with the boat ride and the walk around the Trang An complex.
“However, the most interesting part of the tour is the bike ride itself. Our tour guide, Trung, leads us over the country lanes that link villages, rice fields and homes.
“It was one of the greatest experiences we had on this tour,” says Thanh Hoa, another member of the group.
“I’m a city girl so I have very little idea about rural life. I have been curious about the lives and activities of farmers, but now my mind has been opened quite a lot,” she says.
Despite his poor English, Trung guides people to the most beautiful and special places in the area where they can witness the beauty of the rural scenes or give a hand to local farmers with their work.
Open-minded
“Local people are open-minded. They are happy to let visitors help them cultivate rice seedlings, bail water to the fields or dig a fish breeding pond. You can even take a meal with a family or ask them to teach you how to embroider a simple product in Van Lam Village,” says Trung.
It seems as if the landscape has been untouched by time, and that’s exactly how locals want it to stay. “Although tourism has developed over the past few years, we still want to keep the original features of the region,” he says. As the only foreigner Townsley is the happiest person in the group – many people, including a lot of children, greeted him enthusiastically.
“I think the biggest advantage of the tour is just the fact that you can see so much more when you are on a bike than you would see from a tour bus. Also, bikes don’t cause pollution,” he says. He adds that he thinks the route is a little too long for most tourists. “I think 12km is okay but 20 is a little much.”
He suggests that better quality bikes would make the tour a better experience and that larger groups should come with a support vehicle. But he still intends to recommend the tour to his family and friends when they come to Viet Nam.
“My customers are really interested in this tour because it puts them closer to nature and to the culture, customs and habits of the local people, which are often very different from their own,” says Nguyen Viet Trinh.
“Most of our travellers are currently white-collar workers who don’t generally have time for biking. Bike tours give them chance to discover many new things and recover their health with exercise and fresh air,” Trinh says.
“However, we have only met 85-90 per cent of their demands because of a few customer service problems, including the quality of the bikes and tour guides,” he says. He adds that customer service improvements would increase the number of tourists to Viet Nam. — VNS
www.vietnam-visa.com
Posted by mssarah55 on under Vietnam Travel Info |
The southern coastal province of Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu will host the World Food Festival 2010 from July 21-25.
A 3km-long party will be arranged along the beautiful beaches of Thùy Vân and Bãi Sau in Vũng Tàu City, representatives of the Organizing Board revealed at a press briefing held in Hà Nội on March 11.
The festival will also include markets on specialties and dishes from all 63 provinces and cities in Việt Nam and more than 80 nations in the world, they added.
With five main facets – gastronomy, culture, festivities, shopping and relaxing- the event is expected to provide visitors with opportunities to enjoy traditional dishes and beverages, explore different cultures, shop and take part in a colorful parade with thousands of other people from different countries as well as areas in Việt Nam.
During the festival, cooking demonstrations will be held on the beaches.
The Organizing Board hopes the festival will become an annual traditional event in Vũng Tàu Province and will be recognized as a Guinness world record in terms of the largest space for a gastronomy festival.
Source: VGP News
www.vietnam-visa.com
Posted by mssarah55 on under Vietnam Travel Info |
VGP – Nghệ An, the largest province in the North Central part of Việt Nam, is calling on massive investment of around US $250 million in 22 projects on marine and eco-tourism from now to 2015.
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| A beach in Nghệ An – Illustration photo |
These projects include an eco-tourist area at Khe Kèm Waterfall (worth of US $63 million), a tourist area at Quyết Mountain-Bến Thủy (US $25 million), Sao Va Waterfall (US $10 million), and Nghi Thiết Beach (US $6 million).
To tap its tourist potentials, the local authorities of Nghệ An called upon investors to get involved in sea, convalescence and eco-tourism, sites in Quỳnh Lưu, Cửa Lò, Nghi Lộc, Con Cuông and Nam Đàn Districts.
These projects are expected to create new, attractive and typical tourist products for Nghệ An and the Central region of Việt Nam.
In addition, the locality also thirsts for more flows of investment building more commercial centers, sports services, entertainment parks, and so on.
The authorities of Nghệ An pledge to grant numerous incentives for investors in terms of investment promotion, site clearance, better infrastructure, and land lease./.
By Khanh Phuong – VGP News
www.vietnamhotels.net
Located in the northwestern region, the famous 
