Endless Beauty of Nui Doi

Those who have been on the Highland of Ha Giang can enjoy a masterpiece of nature bestowed on this place. That is Nui doi. Legends are legends forever; however, anyone who contemplates Nui Doi without hearing the story about the fairy`s breasts may associate the fully and sexy breasts of a young lady.

With an odds shape connected with a legendary story, Nui Doi Quan Ba called Co Tien Moutain is regarded as an important destination in the tours to Dong Van rocky highland, an attractive place for professional photographers to come.

Standing alone in a small valley nearby Tam Son highland city of Quang Ba District, Ha Giang Province, surrounded with terraced rice fields and spotted with the houses made of soil in dark brown, typical for the scenery encountered in the rocky highland, Nui Doi looks so fascinating.

The best time to visit Nui Doi and contemplate these amazing sceneries of the site is the spring and the summer, when the grass and plants cover " the fairy`s breasts" in freshly green or rice fills out Tam Son terraced rice fields in brightly yellow.

Nui Doi is so beautiful and fascinating that local ethnic people have adored and preserved the legend of the fairy for many generations, it has become a part of their subconscious

As told by the legend, there was a young Hmong boy in Quang Ba, the misty highland, who had talent for performing musical sound by his lips; the sound was so melodious like stream flowing and bird singing, so tuneful like the wind spreading our everywhere to the sky that many young female highlanders were softhearted. A beautiful fairy from heaven named Hoa Dao occasionally encountered the music and looked for performer. They fell in love afterwards and she could not return to heaven. The marriage between the human and fairy was made finally. The couple had one son.

The Lord knew Hoa Dao escaped from heaven and married with the human. He angrily recalled her back to heaven. Before leaving, she left her breasts to her husband to feed the baby with her breasts milk. The breasts gradually grew up and became the twin mountain like the mother `s breasts fully strain with milk. That twin mountain was named Nui Doi or Nui Co Tien

According to the legend, thanks to “the fairy`s breasts milk”, the weather at the site is cool and thus fruits grown there give wonderful taste, such as peach, apricot, persimmon.., rice and vegetable harvests are always successful. The fairy`s tear became the Mien River covering the rocky mountain area. 

Thanks to the fascinating beauty of Nui Doi and is value in terms of geology and natural scenery, the site was recognized the national famous landscape in 2010. In combination with the global geological park of Dong Van Rocky Highland, Nui Doi is the symbol, an atractive and important of this unique highland.

Vietnam travel guide

TRAVEL SERVICES IN VIETNAM TOURS

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The problem with most agencies is that they take you to tourist attractions without considering that individual travelers want their personalized adventure. The best tour operators not only help you get the greatest accommodations and arrange the necessary transportation requirements but help you save money by means of travel advisories, booking and fare discounts, hotel deals as well. In other words, the best travel services in Vietnam allow you to have a stress-free vacation since everything is taken care of. You can simply relax and forget about all things that bother you. Vietnam tourism will give you a different environment that is rich in natural beauty and wonder. The quality of your vacation depends on the quality of the Vietnam travel agency that you choose. You should pick one with years of knowledge and experience in providing the most unforgettable vacation experience for their clients. There are plenty of travel services in Vietnam today but not all of them can provide the same level of experience. This is why you should go for the reputable company which is authorized to operate in the field. At the same time, look for services that provide a wide range of options for you to choose from. You should have the freedom to choose from the different accommodations, hotels, resorts, and the like. Having the chance to choose makes the trip more personalized. A Vietnam travel company that offers plenty of options for you to choose from has many connections in the area which is great for your security and enjoyment. Most high quality travel services in Vietnam are highly recommended by thousands of travelers from different places. It will help if you go through different reviews and recommendations from other travelers who have experienced the tour themselves. There are plenty of reviews from different users online. You can simply look through them and get the recommendation that you need. Minmaxtravel.com is one of the most trusted companies that offer high class travel services in Vietnam. They offer all the ideal qualities mentioned above. If you wish to get the best experience for your vacation, try the travel services in Vietnam that only Minmaxtravel.com can offer.

Rainbow Drink (che ba mau)

The rainbow drink is fun and filling, so much so that it can make a perfect afternoon snack on a hot summer’s day. Che ba mau is always colourful, with textures ranging from crunchy agar jelly sticks (available in Asian markets) to starchy beans and creamy coconut milk.

Ingredients

• ¾ cup skinless split mung beans, soaked for 3 hours and drained
• ¾ cup sugar
• ½ cup red azuki beans, soaked for 4 hours and drained
• 1 ½ cups coconut milk
• ¼ cup tapioca pearls
• 1 can longan, drained

Method

• Bring 2 cups of water to a simmer in a pot over medium heat. Add the mung beans and ½ cup sugar. Cook, stirring constantly, until the water is completely absorbed, about 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. Refrigerate until ready to use.
• Bring 2 cups of water just to a boil in a pot over medium heat. Reduce the heat to low, add the azuki beans and ¼ cup sugar. Cover and simmer until the beans are cooked through, about 3 hours. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. Refrigerate until ready to use.

• Meanwhile, bring the coconut milk and 1 ½ cups of water to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, add the remaining sugar and tapioca pearls, and simmer until the tapioca pearls have become completely transparent. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. Refrigerate until ready to use.
• In an ice soda glass, working in layers, place 2 tablespoons shaved ice in between 3 tablespoons each of everything else staring with shaved ice, coconut tapioca, shaved ice (again), mung beans, shaved ice (again), azuki beans, shaved ice, coconut tapioca (again) and a few logans on top. Use ice cream spoons to eat and a straw to sip!

A trip to Thac Ba lake

This artificial lake has 1,331 islands and hills with diverse ecological environments. The water in the lake is blue and clear, and imprinted with the reflections of the surrounding ancient forest.

Situated 180km from Hanoi, Thac Ba Lake is one of three Vietnam's largest artificial lakes and famoust for the first hydro power plant. Thac Ba Lake is known as an actractive eco-tourism site.

Thac Ba Lake was created in 1970 by the construction of a dam on the Chay River. Thac Ba reservoir covers a total area of 23.400 ha, of which 19.05 ha is water area and the remaining 4.35ha of islets on the Reservoir. The length of the Reservoir is 80km, maximum width is 10km, the average depth is 15 - 25m and maximum depth is 42m.

Tourists can go to visit Thuy Tien cave, Xuan Long cave, Cao Bien and Chang Re mountain, Trinh Nam island ... Coming to Thac Ba, tourists can also discover the natural beauty of primitive forest and thousands of islands, rocky mountains.Thac Ba Lake is not only a beautiful landscape, but it is also a national vestige. In 1285, the Thu Vat Battle took place under the command of Tran Nhat Duat against Mongolian invaders.

During the resistance war agaist the American, Thuy Tien cave is the revolutionary base of Yen Bai provincial committee. Thac Ba is recognised a place of historical and cultural interest by the government. There are major plans to develop eco-tourism resorts in the surrounding area. For a long time Thac Ba Lake has become Yen Bai people's pride.

There are 12 ethnic minority groups such as Dao, Tay, Nung, Cao Lan, Phu La.surrounding Thac Ba reservoir. These ethnic minority groups feature their own special and colourful traditional festivals. Coming to Thac Ba lake, tourists will have chance to enjoy speciality fish dishes, such as ven (bream), lang (hemibagrus), qua (snake-head), bong tuong (goby) and thieu bac (culteralburnus). Visitors can also sample Dai Minh famous sweet mandarins and pommelos.

Mong ethnic group celebrates traditional New Year

Mong ethnic minority residents of Hang Kia Village, nestled in northern Hoa Binh province’s Mai Chau Valley, are celebrating their Lunar New Year (Tet) Festival, starting on the first day of the 12th lunar month.

Tet arrives for the Mong people one month before the similar festival of the Kinh, which make up the majority of Vietnamese population.

Despite the extremely cold weather, thick fog and drizzle, local children, dressed in colourful clothes, step out of their houses, enjoying the atmosphere of spring that is spreading through every corner of the village.

Look at the beauty of spring in the northern Highlands:

Travellers to Hang Kia village, Mai Chau valley, Hoa Binh must brave foggy paths

The village, surrounded by fog, experiences cold weather

During the Tet holiday, children have the chance to wear new clothes


…and new shoes…


…and play folk games with each other




Adults stay indoors, drinking wine around a fire

Children also need warming up

New destination for adventure tourists

Dong Van-based Karst Plateau Travel brings amazing trekking routes between the rocky town, Mong people villages in Ma Le and Thien Huong as well as up to the Ma Pi Leng pass.

Trekking routes via the Karst plateau of Dong Van Town, located in northeast Ha Giang Province, have become increasingly popular since it was recognized as part of the Global Network of National Geoparks (GGN) in 2010.

The 18km route from Ma Le to Thien Huong has become famous for the valley of rocks due to its spectacular natural appearance. As per schedule, tourists with Vietnam guider are taken to Ma Le Village, 5km from central Dong Van, via van before embarking on a full-day tour.

“The trip is amazing. The landscape and natural conditions across the 1,600m above sea level area has lured many travelers,” said Karst Plateau travel agent Hoang Anh Tuan. “The wild routes offer the perfect conditions for memorable experiences like barbecues,” he said. Tuan added that tour groups are always accompanied by local Mong guides to avoid people getting lost.

Tourists who travel to Vietnam are additionally provided with sticks and jungle-knives to help them make their way through dense undergrowth. Ta Lang Village, home to the hospitable Giay and Tay ethnic groups, is the first stop.

“Because tourists often can’t speak their language, the hosts may refuse to welcome them into their homes. That’s where we as guides come in handy,” said local guide Li Thanh Hong.

“We always prepare lunch near the Nho Que river-bank while often buying either goat or chicken meat for barbeque parties in the jungle,” Hong added.

“It’s like a wild life lunch. Local guides often teach tourists how to catch fish by hand,” said tour guide Luc Thi Thuy. She added that fish is mostly grilled alongside moss while chicken is coated with clay before being placed on the fire.

Vertical limit: The route is very tough and challenging, and the mountain pathways are almost vertical in places. Ban Mo Village is another favourite stop over for lunch with visitors seated on stone slabs in the middle of the Nho Que River in the dry season. The last and final trek of the day, running 7km uphill from the river-bank to the top of the Ma Pi Leng mountain pass, takes a challenging two hours.

“The route is very tough, but also very interesting. The mountain pathways are almost vertical,” said Anh Tuan, who designed the route two years ago.

“When you reach the top, the river looks like a silk thread cutting through the deep valley.” The tour reaches its end on top of the Ma Pi Leng mountain pass from where tourists are taken back to Dong Van Town to while away the afternoon in exploration. Tour operators offer packages from US$100 for groups of four, which includes transportation from Ha Noi to Dong Van Town.

Karst Plateau also supplies trekking tours through Tam Son Town in Quan Ba District also as within the districts of Yen Minh and Meo Vac. Tourists regularly benefit from exploring the UNESCO recognised town as a member of the Global Network of National Geoparks. The town’s main market day falls on Sundays while it lights up with lanterns on Saturday nights. Dong Van Town is a definite must on the tourist radar because of its spectacular natural surroundings and its well preserved cultural and ethnic heritage.