Thursday, September 26, 2013

Halong Bay - one of the most beautiful destinations of Vietnam

I’ve been haunted by Halong Bay for years. This beautiful spot on the north coast of Vietnam screams ‘dream holiday’ from every photo, with its famous blue skies, clear seas and towering limestone columns.
We ignored the hundreds of touts offering organized tours and arranged an independent trip from Hanoi. Our reward was a personalized, cheap and flexible weekend, minus the crowds.
Transport was easy to arrange. We bought a local bus-boat-bus combination ticket from Hanoi’s Luong Yen Bus Terminal to Cat Ba Island. To return, we organized a speedboat and bus trip which took us directly to Ninh Binh. Our bumpy bus rides passed beautiful rural scenes and we felt like pirate explorers when our boat approached Cat Ba Island - the first views of around 1,600 islands and islets are dreamlike.
Budget accommodation was readily available on the sea front and our evenings were spent exploring the many restaurants which sell delicious sea food and Vietnamese dishes at low prices.
On our first day we hired scooters and traversed the length of Cat Ba Island. We stopped off at the national park and went hiking for hours, listening to the call of monkeys and tropical birds. At sunset we went to the public beach - a glistening expanse of white sand and turquoise waters.
The second day was water based, with a boat tour round the islands by a local fisherman. We stopped off at a floating village to marvel at life-lived-on-water and share some rice wine with fishermen.
Did I mention the weather? Sadly, it being January, there were no blue skies and not a drop of sunshine. Testament to the wonder of the place, the poor weather did not detract from our experience. Whatever the conditions, Halong Bay - Quang Ninh is one of the most beautiful places on earth to visit and a attractive destination of Vietnam's tourism.

Monday, September 23, 2013

Experiencing a wonderful summer holiday in Sam Son

Sam Son is a resort town in Thanh Hoa province in northern Vietnam.

In order to go from Hanoi to Thanh Hoa, you can choose to go by coach or train. The coaches start from My Dinh, Giap Bat bus station. The price of ticket is 60,000-100,000 dong. You go by coach to Thanh Hoa city and then catch a bus to Sam Son. It just takes you about 10-15 minutes.

If you go by train, the ticket is 70,000-120,000 dong.

You will feel safe when swimming in Sam Son beach because there are always a rescue team of nearly 50 people here. Since early summer in 2013, the rescue team rescued successfully more than 200 drowned tourists.

Besides, Sam Son also has Truong Le mountain that is 76 meters in height with imposing cliffs. There is Doc Cuoc shrine, Co Tien shrine, To Hien Thanh shrine on the mountain. You should not miss Trong Mai  isle, a symbol of Sam Son.

On Truong Le mountain, there are a lot of large lawn, and old pine trees so this is an ideal place for camping and outdoor activities.

You also can visit relics and tourist spots in Thanh Hoa such as Ba Trieu temple at Gai mountain, Phu Dien village or city walls of the Citadel of the Ho Dynasty.

In addition, being 60 kilometers from Sam Son, Ben En National Park in Nhu Thanh district has mountains, river and lakes with an area of over 16,000 hectares. There are many rare species of animals here such as elephant, tiger, bear, monkey, etc.

If you are a romantic person and you want to travel around Sam Son and enjoy the atmosphere, you can hire a tandem bycicle. This service is about 50,000 dong an hour.

Besides, on the way to leaving Sam Son, you can stop at Thanh Hoa city and visit Dien Bien market on Phan Chu Trinh street to buy fresh seafood. 

River-way tourism – Saigon’s new resources

Two months after the Ho Chi Minh City authorities announced the river-way tourism development strategy with six routes from Bach Dang Wharf to Binh Dong, Cu Chi, Can Gio, Long An, Binh Quoi and Phu My Hung, assigned to Saigontourist, Sai Gon Tiep Thi newspaper conducted an independent survey in late August to outline the panorama of river-way tourism in the city.

Saigon, a look from the river

At 7 am on a Saturday. Mrs. Elisabeth Ngondara Olivry (French) and her husband cautiously crossed the busy road in front of the Majestic hotel to go to a pontoon to join a river trip on the Saigon River.
After checking at the ticket counter, Elisabeth and her husband were warmly welcomed by the staff of the Saigon River Express boat on board. Other passengers included Mr. Graham Taylor, an Australian and three young American.
The boat staff gave them lifejackets and the breakfast was served on boat, with bread, bottled water and some native fruits like bananas, Bon Bon, rambutan...
The boat sped up, leaving the city with high-rise buildings behind. Elisabeth and her husband sat at the prow to enjoy the early sunlight. She said: "The villages along the river are fresh and peaceful. I used to try a canoe tour in Bangkok, but the river there did not make me feel to be close to nature as the tour on the Saigon River does."
"Why do you choose the river tour to explore the city but nothing else?" "This tour was recommended by the hotel receptionist. We also know that this city has many rivers and canals so it would have been a mistake if we did not choose this tour to learn more about Saigon," Elisabeth said.
Unlike the French couple, Graham Taylor, a retired teacher from Australia who had to walk with crutches, chose this tour because his friend, a reporter of the Saigon Times Daily recommended it. Taylor said his condition could not allow him to get into the Cu Chi tunnels, but lying on the stem of a boat to see the scene on and along the river and breathe fresh air are indescribable.
Inside the boat, the group of young Americans enjoyed fruit and took pictures.
Waterway tours are outstanding products which have brought about significant revenue for travel companies that focused on city tours in the last over ten years. However, according to our survey at the ticket counter of some travel companies, there are not many choices for tourists.
Among Saigon River tours, visitors often choose the two midrange tours, which have been very familiar with tourists for decades: Sai Gon - Cu Chi and Saigon - Vam Sat, with the travel time of 4-6 hours, the price from VND1.7 to VND2.2 million ($70-110).
"The time and the price are reasonable while visitors can learn more about the history, culture, and nature of Saigon," Nhat Hai, a tour guide of Exptissmo explained. Hai added that each week he had three or four Saigon-Cu Chi or Saigon-Vam Sat tours.
However, river tours are only favored by foreign tourists. In the first month after the city launched the strategy to develop river-way tourism (June 4 to July 3, 2013), Saigontourist had 231 tourists and 80 percent of them were foreigners.
Of the six river tours, visitors still selected two "traditional" tours that have been offered for decades – Saigon-Cu Chi and Saigon-Vam Sat.
Waiting for the better days
riverway tourism, city tour, river trip, saigon river, saigontourist

“18 years ago, when I was a tour guide of the Youth Travel, I dreamed of tours on the Saigon River. At that time, my company purchased a 25m boat with 50 seats to serve tourists on the Saigon - Cu Chi route. When the tour was just launched, it attracted a lot of foreign tourists but after several trips, we did not have enough passengers and the river tour was then canceled," said Mr. Tran The Dung, who is now deputy director of the Young Generation Travel Company.
In fact, about 20 years ago, many tour operators discovered the tourism resources on the Saigon River. But let's return to reality.
Bach Dang Wharf, the starting point of most of tours on the Saigon River for decades, is not invested properly to be a tourist wharf. As a tourist port, Bach Dang Wharf does not have a parking lot. Foreign tourists have to cross a busy road to enter the wharf.
The wharf is small and does not have enough space for boats. Mr. An Son Lam, director of Indochina Sails, said that his company had to invest VND2 billion ($100,000) to build a pontoon bridge to serve the company’s 10 boats. The boats of other companies have to temporarily anchor in Thu Thiem.
Mr. Hoang Cam Giang, who is in charge of the river tours of Saigontourist added that restrictions on anchoring space is one of the reasons hindering the development of river tourism in the city.
Giang said of the six river tours launched in June, after one month, one route to Phu My Hung was canceled just because of lacking a wharf in Phu My Hung.
Another problem comes from the old bridges of Binh Loi, Long Phu, Rach Ong and Dan Xay. These bridges hinder the operation of big boats. As a result, travel firms can only organize tours for small groups of tourists of less than 25 people. Mr. Tran The Dung, deputy director of the the Young Generation Travel said the cost of small tours like this is high, so river tours are only suitable for foreign tourists.
But why inner-city tours, with low prices, do not attract tourists? The cruise ticket for the tour from Bach Dang wharf to Binh Dong is only VND300,000 ($14) and it is only $10 for the tours to Thi Nghe and Nhieu Loc canals.
A tour guide explained by personal experience: "The tour to Tau Hu canal is very interesting but on the day the tide ebbs away, the section from Ben Nghe to Tau Hu is a dark, fetid canal.
Mr. Cam Giang from Saigontourist added that the best tour to introduce the history, culture and the development of Saigon is the Bach Dang-Cho Lon route but it is important to re-create the floating market, maintain old houses along the river and build a wharf to the commercial area of the Chinese community.
“Besides water pollution and insufficient infrastructure, another problem is the lack of fascinating stopovers along the route," Giang added.

Friday, September 20, 2013

Ban Gioc waterfall – the largest in Southeast Asia

In famous tourists attractions in Cao Bang, Ban Gioc waterfall tourist area is considered as the fourth largest waterfall in the world. It is also the largest natural waterfall in Southeast Asia.

Ban Gioc waterfall, the most beautiful waterfall in Vietnam, is one of invaluable gift of the nature for Cao Bang. It is located in the border of China and Vietnam in Dam Thuy commune, Trung Khanh district that is 89 kilometers from Cao Bang city.

On the way to go to Ban Gioc from the city center, you can contemplate imposing and charming beauty of rivers, streams and forests.

Ban Gioc waterfall lies on Quay Son river rising from China and flowing through communes in Vietnam such as: Ngoc Khe, Phong Nam, Ngoc Con, Dinh PHong, Chi Vien and Dam Thuy. It is 53 meters in height and 300 meters in width.

In the foot of the waterfall, Quay Son river is flat as a mirror, reflecting the clear and blue sky into water. Visitors can hire a bamboo raft to travel around the foot of the waterfall to contemplate its stunning beauty.

Coming to Ban Gioc, tourists have a chance to see Tay people’s houses on stilts.

In order to develop tourism in Ban Gioc, in 2012 December 8th, Saigontourist Company began construction of high-class Ban Gioc Resort with an area of 31 hectares. It will include a hotel with 60 rooms, 24 high-ranking villas, restaurants, entertainment and spa area and areas for camping and outdoor activities.

The project is expected to complete in late 2013. The total expenditure is about 170 billions dong.

In 2013 June 15th, Cao Bang province People’s Committee and Buddhist Sangha of Vietnam began construction of “Phat Tich Truc Lam Ban Gioc pagoda” in Dam Thuy commune. The pagoda is a significant construction to serve people’s need of spirituality and religion in Ban Gioc.

Lam Kinh – A national historic relic

Being 150 kilometers from Hanoi, the national historic relic Lam Kinh in Xuan Lam commune, Tho Xuan district is a famous tourist spot in Thanh Hoa province. 

Here, tourists have a chance to visit a well-known historic relic related to the life and career of King Le Thai To, a famous king in Vietnamese history, and the uprising of the Lam Son troops in the 15th century.

After ten years of leading the Lam Son (1418-1428) uprising to fight against the Northern invaders, Le Loi won and became a king in 1428 with the official name of Le Thai To. He set up the capital in Dong Kinh (Thang Long – present-day Hanoi). Simultaneously, he ordered an imperial city built in his birthplace and called it Lam Kinh or Tay Kinh.

According to historical documents in the excavations in the area, the imperial city of Lam Kinh was built on a large-scale with the architectural style of “Noi cong, ngoai quoc”. The imperial city sits on Dau Mountain in the north and faces towards the Chu River in the south. Chua Mountain is in front of it, Phu Lam Forest is on the left and Huong Mountain is on the right.
To reach the central area of the royal citadel, tourists have to pass over a stone bridge crossing the Ngoc River. Walking for about 50m, tourists see a green plot of grass and an ancient well with clean and clear water. Next is the southern gate with a 300-year-old banyan tree covering up the roof of the gate and then a dragon yard. Passing the dragon yard, tourists come to the central palace where kings gave audience and discussed state affairs.

The central palace includes three large wood buildings which had great architectural value in the Le So Dynasty (1428-1527). Behind the central palace are nine imperial temples that were successfully restored.

Lam Kinh is not only a historic relic but good for eco-tourism. More and more visitors travel to the place.

Amateur movie makers draw attention to Vietnam’s north-west

The stunning beauty of the northwest region of Vietnam has been exposed through the lenses of several young amateur movie makers.

Vu Nam Duong is a graphic design teacher who loves travelling and has made several short clips about beauty spots in Vietnam such as Nghe An, Hue, Co To, and Hoi An.
Vu Nam Duong is a graphic design teacher who loves travelling and has made several short clips about beauty spots in Vietnam such as Nghe AnHue, Co To, and Hoi An.
This time, Duong and his fellows include Nguyen Khac Hiep, Tran Huan, Nguyen Hoang and Khanh have created some more amazing clips about the nature and lives in the northwest region, gaining a lot of attention and comments on internet.
“They’re still the familiar routes and people but this is a more refreshing and interesting angle. Very impressive,” young architect Duy Tung said.

“I like the music, it fits right there with the frames. This is a meaningful movie to me,” a commenter said.

According to the group, they wanted to make a clip about Vietnam’s northwest for long time ago but could only use weekends for travelling and filming.

“Audiences are very critical. If we didn’t put our hearts into the product, they’ll watch it carelessly too. So we must convey our feelings in everything we make. We should assess ourselves first before blaming anyone else. I’m very happy that our works are appreciated,” Duong said.

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Thursday, September 19, 2013

Tam Dao: Unforgettable memories in visitors's mind

Tam Dao is located about 80km away from Hanoi, Vinh Phuc Province’s Tam Dao town, is incredibly blessed with majestic scenery.
Coming here, visitors will be deeply impressed by this small town, which is nestled on steep slopes with winding roads.  Most notably, the town also boasts a wonderful climate with 4 seasons each day.
Here are some of photos about this amazing town.
Mist-covered town at daybreak
Mist-covered town at daybreak

 An old stone church

Chayote bud is local specialty of Tam Dao, Vinh Phuc

Discovering beautiful places in Da Nang

Da Nang is one of attractive tourist attractions in Vietnam. Coming here, tourists can not only sunbathe but also swim on the beach and comtemplate masterpieces of nature.

Han River Bridge
Da Nang is well-known for charming Han River spanned by Han river bridge – the first swing bridge in Vietnam. Everyday, both local people and tourists come here to contemplate the twinkling beauty of the bridge in the evening.

To tourists, if you visit Da Nang, you must go to Han River Bridge.

Son Tra Peninsula
Coming to Son Tra, tourists can experience and take part in activities such as: visiting Son Tra jungle, swimming in My Khe beach, fishing with fishmen, diving to see coral reefs, visiting Linh Ung pagoda, and Tien Sa lighthouse, etc.

Marble Mountains (Vietnamese: Ngu Hanh Son)
Marble Mountains  is a cluster of five rocky mountains . Visiting Marble Mountains, tourists can visit Tam Thai pagoda with mysterious and attractive caves.

Non Nuoc, the stone craft carving village
The village was formed since the 18th century. It has been very famous for stone handicrafts products. Coming here, tourists can witness the carefulness, the meticulosity and the talent of artisans who turn lifeless rocks into extraordinary products.

Ba Na Mountain
Visting Da Nang city, tourists cannot miss Ba Na Mountain with the difference of climate in a day. Coming here, tourists should go to Linh Ung pagoda with Ngai Bon Su statue that is 27 meters in height, Mo stream and Toc Tien waterfall, etc.

Ran Nam O
Ran Nam O is like a precious gift the nature bestows on Da Nang. Coming to Ran nam O, tourists can immerse in charming beauty of nature.

An afternoon on Lap An Lake

Being a part of Lang Co Bay (in 2009, Lang Co Bay was ranked as the most beautiful bay in the world), Lap An Lake is famous for its charming beauty. The best time to explore Lap An Lake is in the afternoon.

Lap An Lake has an area of 800 hectares, near Phu Gia mountain pass. Because of its attractive beauty, it has been a familiar place to many photographers.

Nowadays, local people take advantage of the lake to breed oyster. This has effect on the environment and ecosystem a little bit.

Lap An Lake is one of famous tourist spot in Thua Thien – Hue city and is considered as the Elysium.

The water in Lap An Lake is very clear. Sitting on the boat, you can see the bottom of the lake. Surrounding the lake, there are roads curving around the foot of the mountain, which makes charming landscape.

Lap An always attracts a lot of travelers by the blend of colours of sky and mountain. If you have a chance to contemplate the dawn here, you will never forget. It will surprise you by its picturesque beauty.

Lap An has an important role in the protection of coastal areas and it is home of many valuable marine species.

Monday, September 16, 2013

Visiting Thung Nai, Hoa Binh

Thung Nai is a commune in Cao Phong district, being nearly 25 kilometers from Hoa Binh city. In recent years, It has been  a new tourist destination in the northern Vietnam.

According to local people, formerly, there were a lot of deers living here so they call the valley Thung Nai. “Thung” is the valley and “Nai” is deer. Therefore, Thung Nai means the valley of deers.

Nowadays, there is no deer roaming around streams, or hillside. However, it still captivates people by its pristine beauty and fresh atmosphere.

In the 1980s when Da River hydropower plant was constructed, Thung Nai has become a huge lake containing water serving for the operation of this hydropower plant. All initial surrounding high mountains become floating green islands and create poetic and magnificent scenery which can enchant any tourist. Therefore, Thung Nai is called “the second Ha Long Bay on land” in the Northern Vietnam.

Thung Nai impresses anyone who sees it from the very first time with the harmonious combination of mountains, lakes and charming houses nestled in between the high hills.

It is said that the best time to visit Thung Nai in the autumn, when the water level reaches the highest and the valley is filled with the romantic lake water. 

To go to Thung Nai, you have to leave your car or motorbike at Binh Thanh pier (Cao Phong district, Hoa Binh)

From here, you have the only choice of vehicle to travel around Da River in Thung Nai - that is motor boat

Charming landscapes


Waking up in the morning, tourists can refresh themselves by breathing
the fresh air and enjoying the natural beauty in early morning

Staying in the Windmill, tourists will be served local specialties like grilled Muong pork,
smoked or grilled Da River fish, or fish sour soup, and straw wine

Trach stream

Swimming in Thung Nai lake

Sunset at Thung Nai