Kim Hy nature resere in Bac Kam province

Kim Hy Nature Reserve is located in Vu Muon, Cao Son communes in Bach Thong District and Luong Thuong, An Tinh, Con Minh communes in Na Ri District, Bac Kan Province.

Covering an area of over 14,000ha, the nature reserve has hundreds of rare flora and fauna species which must been managed and protected closely, Vietnam travel news. Kim Hy Nature Reserve - Bac Kan Province It is assessed as the reserve of primeval nature by Vietnamese and foreign scientists with hundreds of rare flora and fauna species. Among them Presbytis francoisi francoisi, squirrel, monkey are endangered species all over the world. Specially, in Vietnam tourism, visiting Kim Hy Nature Reserve, you will see diversity of bat species reputed most species in Vietnam. In addition, the natural reserve is large valuable wood-store of Bac Kan Province with hundreds of thousands of nghien, lat, dinh trees, mountain pine, etc. Kim Hy is also home to endangered flora species such as stone-pine (thiet san gia) which is only present at 4 mountainous provinces of North Vietnam and two provinces of Guangdong, Guangxi (China). Besides diversified fauna and flora, the Kim Hy Natural Reserve is abundant in minerals, especially gold.

From Dusk To Dawn at crocodile lake

Nestled deep in the middle of the more than 70,000-hectare Cat Tien national park is a large freshwater lake that local forest rangers call Bau Sau (Crocodile Lake).

The aptly-named lake is home to over 100 crocodile species but to see them requires patience and effort. The local ranger informed us that the best time to observe the long-tailed, hard-skinned and big-jawed reptiles are either when dusk is falling or dawn is breaking. Dawn and dusk are the quiet periods at the lake for the crocodiles to emerge from the tranquil waters and rest on the banks which are bordered with grass bushes. However, most trips to see the crocs are at night when a ranger with a battery-fueled light accompanies his guests on a trip along the banks of the lake to protect them and to show tourists where crocodiles sit onshore at night. When the ranger sees two red spots in the distance, he will tell his guests to be silent as he moves in slowly toward the spots that he knows are the eyes of a crocodile. If luck is on their side, the ranger and tourists can get real close to the crocodile and they may also catch the sight of a herd of deer looking for food on the outskirts of the forest as a reward for their trekking for hours in grass bushes and in the dark wild. The search for crocodiles often ends some hours before midnight, as guests are advised to go to bed early so that they can wake up in the wee small hours in preparation for a boat ride on the lake before the sun rises in the east. It can be a hair-raising trip and not for the faint-hearted. Crocodiles are not usually afloat on the water to wait and greet curious and nervous people on the boat, but sometimes they hit the boat when they move underwater in the lake. A common scene is of currents Tourist shoots pictures of Crocodile Lake at dusk of water created by the crocodile when the reptile swims away when the boat approaches. It’s a nice surprise that many birds of different colors are seen perching in the trees and wandering in grass bushes on islets in the lake in search of food. In the early morning and at sunset, these birds sing in chorus and help visitors forget their fears about what is lurking a few feet away under water. The water of the lake is so transparent that it reflects beautifully-shaped old trees and birds flying in the sky, making the lake and surroundings like a picturesque painting. Of course, this painting looks different when the crocs are ready to pounce. Cat Tien National Park is around 150 kilometres from Ho Chi Minh City. A 10 kilometre car drive from the park’s management office will lead to a path, on which adventurers have to trek five kilometres through vast areas of trees to reach Crocodile Lake. It’s worth the effort.

Dalat City- A Rhythmic Land of Flowers and Romance

For any couples who are falling in love, staying at Dalat city will be a perfect choice. Considered as a rhythmic land of flowers and romance, Dalat will refresh your love and turn it into a happy ending for sure.

“Listening to the noon going down in the romantic town, a Da Lat-violet is filled with fog…” (Written by Minh Ky, Da Cam)  is lyric of a famous song about Da Lat – one of the top prioritized destinations in Vietnam for its romantic and flowerful beauty. Located in the South Central Highlands of Vietnam (Lang Biang Highlands), Da Lat was originally the playground of the French, and today’s “valley of love”, surrounded by cool, fresh and silently charming atmosphere.

Weather

Da Lat is extremely famous for mild weather. Thanks to the advantage of height and enclosing pine jungle, the town is featured with temperate climate, with an average temperature of 18^oC – 21°C, highest as 30^oC and lowest as 5°C.

What is more, Da Lat has two distinct seasons, the rainy and the sunny ones. The former is from May to October, and the former from November to April. Tourists in Vietnam travel should be prepared for sudden rains in sunny season, sometimes rocky ones.  Never in Da Lat could we ever catch a storm, which make it favorable for tourists to take any daytime leisure walk.

History

This pure land of romance was discovered by the French during their invasion in southern Vietnam. Before 1893, Lang Biang highlands, an extremely cool and fresh aired area, was the accommodation of the Viet highlanders. Yet there came the day the French would like to settle a convalescent zone in a European weather-like land in 1899. Of course, they could not miss Lang Biang Highlands then. Da Lat was later on built with all required French-style houses, villas, treatment places, and temperate flowers & plants, etc. This has step by step formulated today’s romantic and glamorous Da Lat, a clear mountainous air zone for escaping the heat and humidity of the coast and Saigon, or the today’s Hochiminh City.

Natural beauty

It’s no easy at all for travellers to choose the initial visiting place in Da Lat for its widespread covering beauty. On a whole, Da Lat looks like a cross between Vietnam and the French Alps. As mentioned, most of its hotels and houses were built in French style. The town spreads across a series of pine-covered hills, with a small lake in the center, while surrounded by high peaks, creating lovely scenery quite different from the rest of Vietnam. Temperatures are pleasantly warm by day and quite cool at night, down to perhaps 10^oC.

Today, Dalat is undoubtedly a beautiful tourist town. The vast majority of visitors are both domestic and foreign tourists on short package tours, drawn by the scenery, vivid blue skies, fresh air, flower-filled parks, and local edible treatment. Dalat is a favorite destination for company weekend outings, family get-aways, and most of all, honeymoons. For overseas visitors, it offers a chance to cool down, view a bit of the French legacy, and enjoy the atmosphere. Also, Da Lat is surrounded by some of the best mountain biking, hiking and canyoning opportunities in Vietnam. Da Lat's high altitude of 1,500-2,000m and fertile landscape make it one among Vietnam's premium agricultural areas, producing a variety of fruits, vegetables and flowers that do not grow in the lowlands. In markets as far north as Hanoi, vegetables and flower vendors will tout their "made in Da Lat" produce.

Top visiting places

 Whoever has come to Da Lat could never forget Xuan Huong Lake (Hồ Xuân Hương), which is located in center of town. Xuan Huong Lake is now one of the main draws of Da Lat, and also where we can see honeymooners and locals to stroll its banks. Side by side Xuan Huong Lake is Top-peg Hill (Đồi Cù), where has grown up a vast golf ground. If you are fond of fresh flowers, Da lat Flower Park is your accurate choice. The park, around 7,000.00 square meters, is situated on top of the Top-peg Hill, northern bank of Xuan Huong Lake, and full of species of beautiful colored flowers to be extremely well-fed by planters. Tourists are all interested in the Da Lat’s flower festival, bringing them to a flowerfully fresh heaven!

For couples, Valley of Love (Thung Lũng Tình Yêu) is the premium place to go. Its special name derived from its romantic view of silence, grace and green. The other choice is Lake of Sorrow or Lake of Sighs (Hồ Than thở), whose name came from a tale of two lovers, one of whom committed suicide after the other was called up to serve in the army. The romantic and beautiful Tuyen Lam Lake (Hồ Tuyền Lâm) (the lake where rivers, springs and forests meet), Prenn Falls, or Pongour are also worth visiting for their beauty and fun.

On the other hand, Da Lat is popular for French-style architecture. Examples are King Bao Dai’s Palace, Ngo Dinh Diem and Nguyen Cao Ky’s villas, Hang Nga villas, and so forth. All of those should really be visited since they demonstrate the deeply special beauty and somehow culture of the old French. 

Tourist activities

• A striking, not-quite-finished fantasy house designed by the daughter of an independence war hero. Worth a visit if you are interested in architecture, or like Dr. Seuss-style surroundings.
• A set of flower gardens centered on a re-constructed traditional Vietnamese teakwood house.
• A hill-top pagoda coupled with a brief cable car ride over the pine forest
• A ride in a land rover up to the top of Langbiang Mountain, with nice views of Dalat and the surrounding mountains and valleys.

 Paying a visit to Central Highlands and you are in Lam Dong in Vietnam travel, Dalat city will be a must-visit place that you should not ignore.

Tran Bien Literature Temple- a peaceful and silent space

Tran Bien Temple of Literature, built in 1715 under King Nguyen Phuc Chu, was the first temple of its kind in the South. It is a place to honor Confucius and also serves as an educational center. Tourists in Vietnam travel will learn a great deal about the history of Vietnam through the stories of the national heroes and icons.

Architecturally inspired by the Quoc Tu Giam (Temple of Literature in Hanoi capital), the Tran Bien Temple of Literature was rebuilt twice in the Nguyen Dynasty and then destroyed by the French in 1861. Then It was restored in 1998 and the first phase was inaugurated during the Tet holidays in 2002. The last phase is under construction.

Nestled near Buu Long Cultural Park, about 3 kilometers from the center of Bien Hoa City, the temple is emerging as a peaceful and silent space, with curved domes and majestic rooms under the shade of green trees standing in harmony with the surroundings.

The first sight in the temple is Van Mieu Mon (Mon temple of literary), a traditional stele house carved with the glorious epic of Vu Khieu about the process of building the country, building the temple, typical national revolutions as well as educational and cultural traditions of Bien Hoa City.

Visitors in Vietnam tourism can also discover more about Vietnamese history in the tranquil setting of Tinh Quang Lake, as well as at Khue Van Cac, Dai Thanh Mon and especially the stele house of Confucius.

The most striking aspect of the temple is the Bai Duong sanctum, built in old style architecture with red-lacquered designs with parallel sentences hung on pillars. In the center is the altar of the Vietnamese late president Ho Chi Minh in front of a picture of a traditional bronze drum behind.

18 kilograms of soil and 18 kilograms of water from Hung Temple symbolizing the 18 Hung kings and the origin of Vietnam were displayed in the temple. The temple also honors some cultural icons such as Chu Van An, Nguyen Binh Khiem, Nguyen Dinh Chieu, Le Quy Don, and Le Quang Dinh.

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Duong Long Cham Tower, a beautiful architecture

Duong Long Tower was built in the 12nd century with very beautiful architecture. It is also called Thap Nga meaning "ivory tower". 

The Tower is located at Go Dang, Binh Hoa Commune, Tay Son District, Binh Dinh Province.

This towner comprises of three biggest towers. It was built in the 12nd century with very beautiful architecture. Duong Long Cham Tower, also called Thap Nga meaning "ivory tower" is located  about 40km from Quy Nhon and 270km from Danang City. The highest tower, 35m high, is in the middle, and the two others are 22m.

Built of bricks, its corners have got motifs with stone carvings of sacred animals such as Garuda birds, elephants, and eagles. Its gate faces the east and is rather high (about 1.5m) and the gates frame is made of big stones. Its upper part is built of big stones, which are skilfully superimposed on each other. Many big, body leaf-shaped bas embossments describing monks, dancers and singers are found on the walls.

These figures with rather big heads wear corner hats. Particularly, the top of the tower looks like a great lotus with its rising petals. All the decorative motifs of the tower are very big and carved on sandstone. This tower complex is one of the most beautiful in Central Vietnam. 

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My Son Temple

My Son is perhaps the longest inhabited archaeological site in Indochina, but a large majority of its architecture was destroyed by US carpet bombing during a single week of the Vietnam War.

Located near the village of Duy Phu, Duy Xuyen district, Quang Nam province in Central Vietnam, 69 km southwest of Da Nang. The My Son temples are in a valley roughly 2km wide that is surrounded by two mountain ranges.

From the 4th to the 14th century AD, My Son valley was a site of religious ceremony for kings of the ruling dynasties of Champa, as well as a burial place for Cham royalty and national heroes. Closely associated with the nearby Cham cities of Indrapura (Đồng Dương) and Simhapura (Trà Kiệu). At one time, the site consists of over 70 temples as well as numerous stele bearing historically important inscriptions in Sanskrit and Cham.

The My Son temple complex regarded one of the foremost Hindu temple complexes in Southeast Asia, is the foremost heritage site of this nature in Viet Nam. It is compared with other historical temple complexes in Southeast Asia such as: Borobudur of Java inIndonesia, Angkor  Wat of Cambodia, Bagan of Myanmar and Ayutthaya of Thailand. In 1999, My Son has been recognized by UNESCOas a world heritage site.

Most of the temples at My Son were made of red brick, and only one (the temple labelled "B1") was made of stone. Even the decorative carvings on the Cham temples were cut directly onto the bricks themselves, rather than onto sandstone slabs inserted into brick walls as is observable for example in the 9th century Cambodian temple of Bakong.

Today, the construction techniques used by the Cham builders are not completely understood. One thing that have not been completely resolved include issues about the firing of the bricks, the mortar between the bricks, and decorative carvings found on the bricks.

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Pristine Xuan Dai bay in Phu Yen

From Phu Yen’s Tuy Hoa City, head north on Highway 1 for 45 kilometers and you will see Xuan Dai Bay in front of you, like a watercolour painting. The bay is ringed by a mountain chain stretching some 15km, providing a dramatic scenic backdrop. With a water surface area of approximately 13,000ha, the entrance to the bay, by the mouth of the Ky Lo River, is 4.4km wide and varies from 7m to 18m deep.

Listed among the most beautiful bays in the world, Xuan Dai Bay is a remarkable sightseeing spot in Phu Yen Province, offering both sea and mountain views. Recently, Xuan Dai Bay has become a famous destination attracting not only local people, but also foreign travellers who love relaxing on the beach. From Phu Yen’s Tuy Hoa City, head north on Highway 1 for 45 kilometers and you will see Xuan Dai Bay in front of you, like a watercolour painting. The bay is ringed by a mountain chain stretching some 15km, providing a dramatic scenic backdrop. With a water surface area of approximately 13,000ha, the entrance to the bay, by the mouth of the Ky Lo River, is 4.4km wide and varies from 7m to 18m deep. Few bays have the topographical variety of Xuan Dai, with secluded inlets interspersed with mountain cliffs.  There are dozens of coves of various sizes and depths. Xuan Dai Bay is best viewed from the surrounding mountains, or islands and peninsulas, such as Ong Xa, Nhat Tu Son, Yen, Mom, Ghenh, Da Mai, Tai Ma, and Den. All are big, beautiful and pristine. Nhat Tu Son Island looks like the Chinese character for the number one, making a horizontal slash on the sea. Yen Island is famous as well, depending on your viewpoint you can see its shape as a sail, or as a tiger sitting carefree on the ocean. Tourists can swim or take leisurely walks on wild stretches of beach to view the unique features of Xuan Dai Bay. Binh Sa, also called Dai Beach, is the most impressive, a gently curving beach stretching for 5km lined by poplar forest. All around the bay there are rugged islands emerging from the water surface, green with plants throughout all four seasons. From the tops of the islands, visitors can see fishing villages with rows of coconut trees along the shore of Xuan Dai Bay and, in front of you, fleets of fishing boats bobbing gently on the sea. Visitors can also see the local people pass by on the way to their daily work on the sea. Some areas around Xuan Dai can be quite difficult to be reach, as the landscape is still wild and primitive. The best time to visit is from November to April.

Wild Beauty Of Rai Cave

Rai cave has still remained almost the nature and mysteriousness for many years.

On the tour from Phan Rang to Vinh Hy, a tourist attraction you cannot miss is Rai cave. Beautiful caves are created by piled stones. The mountain is not high, the cave is not deep, but they are very impressive as one side is Chua mountain and other is sea. Nearby Rai cave, there are a small sea, a reservoir whose water comes from Chua mountain and a fishing village hiding behind a row of cactus blooming all year round. People in the fishing village not only go fishing but also raise sheep in the rocky mountain and grow rice in the valley. This is not a big bay but being impressive by the various landscapes. Visitors can enter caves and listen to the sound of wave. Sometimes, they can hear their voice reverberating from the cliff. In the other side of the mountain, there are plenty of bizarre shapes of rocks jutting out into the sea. This is the place flocks of nomadic coats standing in the abrupt mountain slopes and calling its flock. A person living in the fishing village talked about the terrain here that the mountain holding back the wave and there are a lot of caves, so this is a habitat for otters. It is why people call this place Rai cave. Now, visitors sometimes see flocks of otters playing in the rock-top. For people being interested in discovering and experiencing strong feeling, Rai cave is a suitable tourist attraction with a lot of attractive challenges like subduing high large rocks, going through big caves or small caves, diving to see colorful flocks of fish, or going with local men and diving under the sea to collect moon snails. After that, if you are tired, you can choose a seat in somewhere to feel the wind blowing from the sea and go fishing, or contemplate beautiful pictures of nature in a small tea shop. You can ask sale person for help to cook cheap and fresh seafood. Most visitors come here with their group of traveling. They choose cool caves located between cliffs for taking a rest. Groups of young people like scuba diving to see colorful flocks of fish swimming in range of coral. In the decline of day, when the tide goes down, you can follow local men to dive and find moon snails in the rocky caves. It is very interesting.

Ke Go Lake: An extremely attractive eco-tourism site

The weather is always cool all year- round in Ke Go area. Tourists rowing on boats could observe water flows pouring down the lake from the mountain. At night, the space becomes mysterious because of the wave sound, wind from forests and voice of animals mingled together.

An artificial lake has 29 km long with its bed area of 30 sq.m and water holding capacity of 345 million cu.m. The lake is 8 m high above and its water level is 37 m. The water from the lake travels on 1,000 km trenches into ten thousands of fields in districts of Thach Ha, Cam Xuyen. OVer 11,000ha of natural forests and 261 ha of cultivated forests surround the lake. 

                                                                         A corner of Ke Go Lake

The forests involved in over 40 families, 300 arbour species and various scare species such as pheasants, black lemurs, and horn pheasants, especially pheasants with black crest. 

The weather is always cool all year- round in Ke Go area. Tourists rowing on boats could observe water flows pouring down the lake from the mountain. At night, the space becomes mysterious because of the wave sound, wind from forests and voice of animals mingled together, etc.

The aforementioned place-names are among the famous tourists sites in Ha Tinh. However, it is possible to say that they are the representatives for the local land. Several of them came into existence and became famous hundreds years ago such as Tien Dien, Huong Tich pagoda.

However, there are also revolutionary relics, artificial works such as commemorated area of Tran Phu, Dong Loc Road Junction, Ke Go Lake and the international border gate economic zone of hanging bridge (Cau Treo), which have been recently became famous. All the traditional and modern, sophisticated and majestic, material and spiritual features, etc. are mutually mingled and interacted then result in enormous potentials in local tourism. 

Moreover, the name “Nuoc Sot-Kim Son” has been well-known for a long time. “Nuoc Sot” means hot water. Studies on Nuoc Sot-Son Kim mineral water have come to conclusions: The quality of the mineral water in Son Kim is stable. It has effects of prevention and cure for some diseases, gynecological diseases, etc. In addition, it also has the effects of recovery for patients after treatments, sickness and hard working’s refreshments.

Extracted from the depth of 100m, Nuoc Sot-Kim Son mineral water is very hot.The water contains a variety of mineral ingredients and factors, which are very good for health. Those ingredients help speed up the metabolising progress, wakeup “sleeping” cells and drive away all the tiredness of the day.

Besides, the tourist area also has various services of restaurant, motels, picnics along Truong Son mountains and shopping in our neighbour country Laos.

Three wildest places in Vietnam

Three nation parks of Phu Quoc, Tam Dao and Bach Ma are listed as the wildest places in Vietnam

1.Phu Quoc National Park

Phu Quoc National park covers more than 50% of the island so it is definitely worth considering a visit. Particularly if you would like to escape the heat of the daytime sun, a walk along a park trail or motorbike ride on one of roads in the north will give you a taste of this natural environment on Phu Quoc...Reading more here.

2.Bach Ma National Park

A French-era hill station, Bach Ma National Park reaches a peak of 1450m at Bach Ma mountain, only 18km from the coast. The cooler climate attracted the French, who started building villas here in 1930; by 1937 the number of holiday homes had reached 139 and it became known as the ‘Dalat of central Vietnam’.

Bach Ma is the wettest place in Vietnam, with the heaviest of the rain falling in October and November. With the wet weather come plenty of leeches. Still, even these months are not out of the question for visiting. The best time to visit Bach Ma is from February to September, particularly between March and June, for what’s likely to be the best weather...Reading more here.

3.Tam Dao National Park

Tam Dao supports 21,982ha of natural forest and 1,351ha of plantation forest. The natural forest is of two main types: lowland evergreen forest and lower montane evergreen forest. Lowland evergreen forest is distributed at elevations between 700 and 800m, and is heavily degraded. The diversity of tree species in this forest type is high, with the Fabaceae, Dipterocarpaceae, Meliaceae, Burseraceae, Myrtaceae and Anacardiaceae families being well represented. Lower montane evergreen forest is distributed above 800m. Members of the Dipterocarpaceae family are almost entirely absent from this forest type, which is dominated by species in the Fagaceae, Lauraceae, Magnoliaceae, Aceraceae, Theaceae, Hamamelidaceae, Sapotaceae and Ericaceae families. Also in this forest type, a number of conifer species are present, such as Decussocarpus fleuryi...Reading more here.

Prenn Waterfall- A Popular Sight in Dalat

Dalat is a rich land of beautiful and famous lakes and waterfalls, one of which is Prenn Waterfall. It takes tourists in Vietnam travel 15 minutes to ride a taxi from the city center. The waterfall looks like a water-curtain pouring from 10 meters high down to a small valley which is surrounded by lots of flowers and pine hill.

Prenn Waterfall is situated right at the foot of Prenn Pass, 10 kilometers from the center of Dalat city,Lam Dong province. According to the language of Cham people, Prenn means “the land of invasion”. From Ho Chi Minh City to Dalat, tourists in Vietnam travel must go through Prenn Pass which is 10 kilometers long. This waterfall looks like a water-curtain pouring from 10 meters high down to a small valley which is surrounded by lots of flowers and pine hill.

Prenn Waterfall- Dalat City- Lam Dong Province

Prenn was the border after these fights (from Prenn to Don Duong, Phan Rang it was the land of the K’Ho and the Ma). The waterfall is 8m high, it falls from the high rock above. So, if you stand at the bottom of the waterfall and look up, it is like the waterfall down from the sky and Saigon people call it Tien Sa (rain drops from the sky).

From 1998 till now, Prenn Waterfall has been strongly interesting so it has been popular sight in Dalat. In the waterfall surrounding, there is a traditional bridge, a pool for crocodiles, and some wildlife such as bears, crocodiles and rubber dinghies. Prenn waterfall sight has a well-known food that is fish soup. The fish is boneless, cooked with rice, served with mustard which makes an unforgettable taste for visitors in Vietnam travel. Just with a small amount of money, 4 to 6 people can enjoy a fish soup course beside the waterfall.

Spirit Of The Sea

Located on the Thanh Da Peninsula along Ho Chi Minh City’s romantic riverside, the Binh Quoi 2 Tourist Area boasts a miniature fishing village within the busy city where couples and families enjoy weekend gatherings.

The area is among the most popular tourist destinations in the southern Vietnam thanks to its scenic atmosphere of the river, green lawns, lily ponds and coconut trees.

Binh Quoi 2’s offers specialized services for entertainment, sports, quaint bungalows and first class restaurants, which attract locals and foreigners eager to temporarily escape their busy lives wandering on well kept lawns, taking photos, enjoying quiet moments and eating elegant meals.

The tourist village cuisine features a host of delicacies from northern, central and southern Vietnam.

The “Tasty Dishes of the Sea” buffet, which is available only on weekends, is exceedingly popular among tourists. The chefs follow the time honored recipes from the fishing villages of Vietnam’s central coast to prepare squid, prawns, fish, crab, flower crab and snails.

The buffet includes seafood soup, green papaya salad with shrimp, kohlrabi salad, grilled ark shell with green onion oil, ark shell with hot and sour sauce, sea snails stir-fried in coconut milk and apple snails grilled with pepper.

For dessert, the buffet has sweet soup with coconut milk or agar-agar Jelly and pomegranate seeds, taro, cassava, green bean and sweet potato, sweet green bean soup and fresh fruit.

In addition to all the great food, customers rave about the restaurant’s relaxing ambiance, rural and peaceful, decorated with fishnets, fishing rods and boats.

Customers can also enjoy the sumptuous buffet outdoors amid the cool breezes coming off the Saigon River or even have their meal onboard a tourist boat floating on the water.

The Binh Quoi 2 Tourist Area also features tennis courts, a swimming pool, as well as concerts featuring traditional folk music and other entertainment.

The buffet costs VND210,000 adults and VND120,000 for children under 1.2 meters tall.

To enjoy the flavors of seafood delicacies and begin accumulating your own warm memories, visit Binh Quoi 2 Tourist Area at the end of Binh Quoi Street, Ward 28, Binh Thanh District, Ho Chi Minh City.

For more information, call (08) 3 556 5470.

A Touch Vietnam

Three Vietnamese men in their sixties were walking down the sidewalk abreast hand-in-hand-in-hand. They looked cheerful with an eye-wrinkling grin at me, but I was not much surprised as the first time in Hanoi.

Almost everyday since then I have been greeted by similar examples of physical contact. Students walking arm in arm on the way to or back from school. Adults talking on the sidewalk. Passengers sitting on a bus…

In my opinion this different concept of personal space is just lovely. Where westerners have strict physical boundaries with strangers and even with friends, the Vietnamese welcome contact with open arms, literally.

For westerners, this contact forward culture can be difficult to adjust to but once you are able to moderate your culturally ingrained stigmas accordingly then it is truly liberating.

Other than observing examples on the street, I am inundated with this reality every time I teach a class of young students. Like any young students they will hug my legs and try and jump on me but they will also try to touch my beard and hair and pull my leg and arm hair. I also notice their subconscious neglect for personal space when I get on a busy bus, Vietnam travel news.

Recently, I was standing on the number thirty-one bus, holding onto a hand rung when the bus began to seriously fill up. People crammed in from all directions and a little old white haired lady found it perfectly normal to nuzzle into my side and depend on me to hold her up, as any Vietnamese would do for an older citizen.

Another great example is what I like to call, “the ol’ knee touch”. You know when you are sitting in a crowded area and someone sits down next to you and accidentally touches your knee with theirs? Yeah, we all know that one.

Well, when you brush knees with someone here there is no jumpy appendage retraction, rather the other party just hunkers their knee in there in an unconscious display of personal comfort, Vietnam travel news.

Those devoted to the social sciences claim that Vietnamese social cohesion was shaped in the village where the production of rice demanded an extensive collective effort.

The strong collaborative family unit, an ever-present cornerstone of Vietnamese culture, was a necessity when it came to the overall survival of the village. Large families traditionally live and work together in the same house, making the western ideal of personal space an impossibility.

Whether or not this socio-historical analysis of Vietnamese culture accurately decodes the actions of those three delightful men walking down the street in a heterosexual display of masculine friendship may never be known.

However, the relaxed and self-confident physical expressions of friendship and love are, from an outsider’s perspective, delightful to observe and act as unbridled enlightening moments.

Hue - Imperial City

Still remaining its form of City underMiddle Age and the constructions of monarchic, a invaluable museum of Vietnam, this is Imperial City - the last remaining section of 19th-century Hue, and it is now a modern experiment in recreating traditional Vietnam. The Imperial City was recognized as a World Cultural Heritage Site by UNESCO on December 1993. Let’s take a trip through the most  important historical and cultural monument of Vietnam.

 

Dominating the skyline is the 37m (120ft) high Cot Co or Flag Tower, first erected in 1809. Cot Co achieved international renown on the morning of 31 January 1968, when communist forces seized the Citadel and ran their yellow-starred banner up its tall mast.

The lower part of the gate is stone, while on top is the "Belvedere of the Five Phoenixes" where the emperor appeared on important occasions, and where the last emperor abdicated to Ho Chi Minh's Revolutionary Government in 1945.

Just inside the gate is a lotus pond with a bridge once reserved for the emperor's private use. Across the bridge is the Thai Hoa Palace used for official receptions and other important court ceremonies. The columns supporting the roof are lacquered and inlaid with gold.

Thai Hoa Palace

 Behind the Thai Hoa Palace are a pair of smaller halls used by mandarins to prepare for court ceremonies. The halls form a courtyard, the fourth side of which was once a wall dividing the more public area of the citadel from the emperor's private residence, the "Forbidden Purple City." The name conjures up images of grand palaces like Beijing. Unfortunately, it takes quite a bit of imagination to picture the buildings that once occupied what is now a grassy expanse. What wasn't destroyed by a fire in 1947 was bombed in the 1968 Tet Offensive. The picture at above left was taken from the upper-most level looking back at the Thai Hoa palace and the Flag tower.

Off to one side of the central axis of the forbidden city, about midway, is the Thai Binh Lau or Royal Library. This small building stands in a garden and is fronted by small pond mostly taken up by a mountain-island well-grown with moss and bonsai. You will find similar ponds, fountains or even large bowls of water in many structures all over Vietnam.

Although you must enter the citadel through the main gate, you can exit it at several other points. Between the Thai Hoa palace and the halls of the mandarins, a path leads to the Hien Nhon gate (left). Leaving by this gate is the shortest route to get from the forbidden city to the museum at Long An palace. Along the path are a couple of buildings worth a look. 

A visit to Hue might be considered incomplete without a boat trip on the outstandingly lovely Perfume River. Boats are readily available for hire, either for an exploratory trip in the vicinity of Hue, or for a longer journey upstream to the tombs of Minh Mang and Gia Long.

Perfume River

It's hard to explain the uncanny beauty of the river, though doubtless the irridescent, aquamarine waters, together with the profusion of colourful craft and boat women sporting non la--the ubiquitous cream-coloured conical hat of Vietnam--all contribute to the effect. On a clear, sunny day the Perfume River can indeed be magical.

My Khe Beach - a beautiful beach in Da Nang

My Khe Beach is recognised as one of the most ideal beach of Da Nang City, international tourists came here for convalescence and relaxation...

 

Da Nang has a coastline of 30 kilometres long, famous for many beautiful seashores stretching from the north to the south such as My Khe, Nam O, Xuan Thieu, Thanh Binh, Tien Sa, Son Tra, Bac My An, Non Nuoc. They are calm seas with green water during four seasons, not being polluted with 60% salination and high safety. With 900 meters in length, My Khe Beach is the most crowded of Da Nang beaches and popular to local people.

My Khe Beach is located about 6km east of Da Nang and about 24km north of Hoi An. It is a nine-kilometre stretch of smooth sand with an average width between 50m and 70m. The gradient is gentle, and its sheltered position in the lee of the Son Tra peninsula softens the autumn winds that restrict swimming further down the coast.

It is an ideal and huge beach with smooth sand and a slight slope. Behind the beach is a dark green poplar forest, and beside, the Kinh River carries crystal water to the sea. The beach has coral, abundant plants and creatures along bankside and under sea. Especially, the beach is next to the city centre, in roads easy to come and by various means of transport. Sea water in My Khe is cool with little wave so you can bath all year's round, especialy in summer from May to August. The lack of large waves, less than average pollution, and an annual mean temperature around 25^oC, makes it a safe place to swim for adults and children alike.

The beach has hotels, pleasure-houses and various abundant services, creating favourable conditions for tourists to relax on the seashores. There are 50 well-equipped and comfortable bedrooms and lots of services in My Khe hotel. Many luxurious seaside villas with over 100 rooms are available for families. You can come here to play and rest at weekend. Around the hotel area, there is plenty of seafood restaurants and stalls, and large numbers of local vendors traverse the beach selling all kinds of foods and drinks. Coastal specialties like shrimps, crabs, fish, cuttles, etc. in hundreds of small shops are at reasonable price. They can be irritating sometimes – if they are too persistent, you should ignore the nuisance since that is the best strategy.

American soldiers occupied a part of the beach before 1975. They established some premises for their relaxation and recreations. With some enabling conditions such as being near the city’s center, large space, beautiful landscapes, and qualified services (hotels, restaurants, vehicles keeping site, fresh water bathing, sunshade and buoy lease), My Khe Beach is now convenient for developing kinds of services such as fishing, water-skiing, diving, yatch race and so on.

Moreover, the safeguard team of Da Nang seashore work from 5 a.m to 8 p.m every day to guarantee safety for visitors to bath and relax on the beach. There has been a steady increase in the number of tourists visiting the beach.

Han River suspension bridge was completed, it links the east to the west area, making transportation possible. As a result, My Khe Beach becomes an attractive resort, a really very good beach!

Do Son Beach, a worth-visiting place

If you are staying in Hai Phong Province, a visit to Do Son Beach is worthwhile. It is a great privilege of Haiphong to be given by nature the beautiful beach of Do Son.

 

Being is one of the well-known beaches in  the north of Vietnam, Do Son is a small peninsular formed by the stretch of Rong Mountain to the sea. Ranges of mountains and hills with forests of pine trees cover this lovely beach. In addition to that natural beauty, the human-made infrastructure here is admirable with restaurants, hotels, houses, roads and water supply as well as a perfect electricity supplying system. The zigzag roads along the mountains, and pine forests make the beach a rare beauty in the tropical region.

It is considered "a tourist resort", only 20 kilometres away from Hai Phong City and 123 kilometres from Hanoi capital. The sea resort town is composed of tree zones, each having bathing beaches, hills and forests. Around the hills are French-style constructions looking towards the sea. Since 1975, many large hotels and guest houses have been set up over the town and Do Son has become a weekend sea resort for Vietnamese and foreigners.

Immediately upon setting foot in Hai Phong, the French turned Do Son into a summer resort for their expatriate community and the Vietnamese upper class. On summer days, Do Son is alive with tourists from all over the world. They mainly come here to spend time on the beach, relax, and hike. From Do Son, tourists can conveniently sail to Cat Ba Island, to Ha Long Bay, to Dien Bien, Long Chau, and Hon Dat Island.

Ghenh Da Dia

With natural stones, strangely structured rocks, columns or obliques of frozen mineral flows, Ghenh Da Dia (Rapids of Stone Plates)is considered as a masterpiece of stone gifted by the nature.

 Located in An Ninh Dong Commune , Tuy An District, Phu Yen Province, Ghenh Da Dia is strangely structured rocks include large upright stones equally arranged in a star pattern. Being a riddle of nature, like a giant jigsaw, the rapids is irritatingly made of the same shaped pieces, and forms a solidified structure that has proved more than just a curiosity for thousands.

A strange geological phenomenon

Millions of years ago, during volcano eruption, mineral flows melting will be frozen when they encounter water and then the solid breaks into columns or obliques. That created the beautiful landscape of Ghenh Da Dia for the present time. Time over time, the landscape is rearranged as an artistic work by the hand of nature. Ghenh Da Dia is about 1km2 large, half in the sea and half above sea level.

Looking down on it, visitors often liken it to a gigantic beehive, others as a pile of stone plates. For despite a lengthy series of historical, archeological and scientific probes of the cliff’s square kilometer, its formation remains a mystery.

The stones in Ghenh Da Dia are bazan stones of dark black and light yellow. There exists large stones of tons and small stones with different shapes: round, pentagon, polygon and so on. The stones take the right column or a settlement close to each other like disks arranged on couples together. Even counting the stone columns has failed to yield an exact figure as exhausted researchers usually call a halt at around 35,000. The stones are 60-80cm in visible height and 20-30cm across and cluster round a small fresh water pond that is fed by underground rivers and never dries up.

and a wild beauty...

In Ghenh Da Dia, there only remains the unique scenery of the sea and stones, so everything is still primary, environment is so pure, air is fresh and comfortable.

Besides Ghenh Da Dia is Bang beach, with rocks “lie” quiet under the shadow of trees. This is quite ideal for relaxation, camping and extra activities. Ghenh Da Dia and the beach are closed with a famous tourist attraction which is "Hòn đá lực lượng" - a deep and wide grotto that saves the legendary people in a war period. In the war, our main force sheltered in the cave at night, waiting to the day to go on a sortie and dealt enemy thunderstruck blows.

Visiting Ghenh Da Dia, you have a chance to view many species of marine creatures, especially “Mứt” seaweed - a type of kelp which is salty and sticks to the stones, looking like a network.

Have been listed as a National Heritage Site by the Ministry of Culture and Information, Ghenh Da Dia is a potential tourist attraction to both domestic and foreign visitors. And a visit to the rapids, you will be certainly worth it...

Can wine ( Rượu cần)- A famous wine in the Tay Nguyen region

Rượu cần (Can wine) is typically drunk for special celebrations or ceremonies such as weddings, festivals, or harvest feasts. It is often drunk by in a nhà rông, a fire, or community house. People often dance and play music (in Tay Nguyen region) after drinking.

Can Wine (also called tube wine) is a fermented rice wine produced in Vietnam, in particular in mountainous areas like Tay Nguyen area.

How to make the wine?

It is made of cooked glutinous rice (nếp) mixed with some kinds of herbs in the local forests. The types and amount of herbs added differs according to ethnic group and area. This mixture is then put into a large earthenware jug, and allowed to ferment for at least one month. Can wine's strength is typically 15 to 25 percent alcohol by volume.

Simple available local materials are altogether fermented by wild herb in a pottery jar for day. Its taste is total different from rice alcohol or any kind of wine - so bitter or strong that may lead you dizziness. Its sweet taste would make you drunk  without any predictable consciousness.

When ís the wine served?

Can Wine (rượu cần) is typically drunk for special celebrations or ceremonies such as weddings, festivals, or harvest feasts. It is often drunk by in a nhà rông, a fire, or community house. People oftens dance and play music (in Tay Nguyen) after drinking. When you are invited to drink rượu cần by the locals, it means that you are seen as distinguished guest.

Long An's climate - average temperature is 27.4ºC

Long An is on tropical monsoon climate. The rain season lasts from May to October and the dry season lasts from November to April next year. Annual average temperature is 27.4ºC.

Located on the Mekong Delta, Long An is more than 50km from Ho Chi Minh city, the largest city of Viet Nam.

 Long An is divided into smaller areas by a complex network of rives and canals. Silt from Vam Co Dong and Vam Co Tay rives has raised the level of the field of Long An. and it maked a good condition for agriculture. Topographically, it is quite flat except some hills and mounds on the north. The western area belongs to the Plain of Reeds.

 Long An has tropical monsoon climate. The rain season lasts between May and October and the dry season lasts from November to April next year. Annual average temperature is 27.4ºC. Annual average rainfall is 1,620mm.

Travelers are attracted to Long An by value of Oc Eo culture that develops on the Mekong Delta from 1st BC to 6th century BC. Besides, Long An preserves valuable sites including House with Hundred Columns, Ton Thanh Pagoda, Rach Coc Fort. In Dong Thap Muoi Eco-tourist Site, visitors can discover many special flora and fauna and try typical dishes of the South.