HOI AN ON BIKE

Once known as Faifo, Hoi An was one of the orient's major trading ports in the 16th and 17th centuries.

Hoi An City Tours

Take a step back in time on a walking city tour of Hoi An -a well-known ancient town in Vietnam and a UNESCO World heritage site. A private guide leads you through the well-kept historic district of this once-prosperous seaport city.

Nha Trang Boat trip

Overview Transferring to Da Chong Whalf, about 18 km away from the city center for embarking on boat, cruising on Nha Phu bay.

Ha Long bay

Recognized by Unesco as a World Heritage Site since 1994 for it thousands of natural islands, Ha Long Bay is a legendary world, and one of the most magnificent scenic spots in Vietnam as well.

Discover Stunning Terraced fields in Northwest Vietnam

The terraced fields in the mountain district of Mu Cang Chai in Yen Bai, Vietnam are associated with the developmental history of the Mong ethnic minority group.

Learning Vietnamese... to be continued

I have friends who’ve lived here for much longer than me who cannot speak a word of Vietnamese. Really. If you’ve lived here for more than 5 years and cannot order a Sinh tố dừa, something’s wrong.

Brian Webb

Let me back up, in case I seem like a hypocrite. There is a Christian saying that goes something like, “People who live in a glass house should not throw stones.” I live in a glass house. My Vietnamese is terrible.

It is very easy to live in Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City, only speaking English. Whether you’re an English teacher or a lawyer, it is easy to isolate yourself in an English bubble, saying that Vietnamese is too difficult to learn. I would really like to avoid this.

Anyway, until i can write a column in Vietnamese, by myself, without the help of a translator, I will feel like a small child in Vietnam. No, worse than that. Small children can convey their basic needs, tell when they are happy or unhappy, and why. I cannot do this... yet.

But this desire for language is not about writing, specifically, or even speaking. The real reason is that so many things in this country remain a mystery to me.

These mysteries are small but numerous. For example, why is it okay for Vietnamese men to be so close physically; touching, holding hands, even sitting on each other’s laps and hugging? But, from conversations I’ve had, the issue of homosexuality is taboo.

(I hesitated to write that, because, after my first post, talking about how I would never be married, it might cast some doubt on my own sexuality. So, as an aside, I’ll share one more personal detail. I’ve had a relationship with a girl in America for more than 11 years. This, as all things, must come to an end, in one way or another. But I doubt that it will end in marriage.)

Another mystery, among so many, is religion. I’ve heard many Western people talk about this as well. Ostensibly, this is a Buddhist country. But it seems most people don’t adhere to strict Buddhism. Through foreign eyes, it seems that people go to pagodas when they want to pass an exam, have a baby, or on certain special days.

Maybe this is a misunderstanding on my part. Probably it is! But when I first came here I’d been a vegetarian for 17 years. I thought, since Vietnam is a Buddhist country, it would be easy for me to stick to my non-meat diet. Now I laugh at this, because I’ve started eating meat here out of necessity.

I only bring up these ‘mysteries’ to make a point. The key to unlocking them, and finding a deeper understanding of this culture is to learn the language.

I do have a bit more confidence than before. Last year, I went back to California for 6 months. When I left, I could not even speak to a shopkeeper, outside of numbers: 1,2, 30,000. 40,000, whatever.

When I returned from my trip, something had happened! Sometimes a person would ask me a question in Vietnamese and, to my surprise, a complete sentence would come out of my mouth, without thinking. Not a long or complex sentence. Not at all. But the person would understand me. It was almost as if a little bit of Vietnamese had sunk into my ears, and into my brain without my knowing.

I don’t want to mislead you, my Vietnamese still sucks. But these small steps are tremendously encouraging for a learner. They make me believe, at my best moments, that someday - dare I say it? - I may be able to speak Vietnamese as well as the famous Mr. Joe.

I’m getting ahead of myself.

But this will be the key to unlocking all the mystery, beauty and uniqueness of Vietnamese culture.

Believe me, I will keep you posted on my progress and difficulties in learning your ancient and subtle language. Also, it can go both ways. Many Vietnamese people want to learn English. They will face similar obstacles.

I hope that we could face and surmount these difficulties together, with good humor.

One commune in Central Vietnam is “Cajuput kingdom”

For hundreds of years, Loc Thuy Commune, in the central province of Thua Thien- Hue, has been famous for producing cajuput oil.

The oil not only has an attractive fragrance, but is also very useful in easing aches and pains.

A cajuput oil bottle

Nguyen Van Hao, owner of a cajuput oil production facility, said, “In the past, the Loc Thuy region had forests of cajuput. When locals burned the wood, they noticed the pleasant smell. This is what incited the idea to produce the oil, and from then its medicinal qualities were discovered."

Another local, Truong Diep, who has done this job since he was small, shared some of his secrets. The cajuput leaves have to be cooked in a pot for for 5 hours. The ratio must be two parts leaves and one part water. It is also necessary to keep a steady burning flame, because if it gets too hot it could weaken the oil’s properties.

A 200ml bottle of oil, made from 150 kilogrammes of cajuput leaf, is sold at VND60,000 (USD2.94). Diep often prepares 2-3 batches of oil per day, when there are a lot of customers. But when customers are few, he reduces his output.

A truck driver, Hoang Van Toan, from Thai Nguyen Province, said whenever he travels through Phu Loc District, he buys the oil. “It makes me feel more comfortable when I get tired while driving.”

Loc Thuy Commune has 12 cajuput oil producers and hundreds of sales stalls along the National Highway 1A, even near the town of Lang Co, adjacent to Danang City.

The yellow bottles are a regular feature on the stretch of highway running through Loc Thuy

The cajuput trees in this region are of especially high quality. At one time people preferred imported medicinal oils such as Tiger Balms, but many investors have recognised the potential of this region of their native product. In the last 10 years, cajuput oil have become increasingly popular among local buyers.

Pure oil of cajuput sold beside National Highway 1A

Fresh cajuput branches

A cajuput oil pot being cooked

Leaves are put into a pot with water, the pot covered with a clay lid. Eventually the liquid overflows into a bottle

Afterwards, the bottle is submerged in cold water to make it solid and then the oil is decanted


There are two types of oil: white and yellow

Many products can be made from this oil, such as belts and backpads that help ease pains.


Many local children occupy themselves by collecting the leaves

Vietnam tourism promoted in Dubai

A conference to promote Vietnamese tourism was jointly held by the Vietnamese Embassy in UAE, the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, the Vietnam Airlines and the Sharaf Travel in Dubai on February 23.

Speaking at the conference, the Vietnamese Ambassador, Nguyen Quang Khai, reviewed the industry’s achievements over the past years.

Despite the global financial crisis, the number of tourists coming to Vietnam reached 5.1 million in 2010, an increase of 20% over 2009, bringing US$ 4.5 billion of revenue to the country.

The ambassador encouraged UAE travel agencies to operate tours in Vietnam and pledged that the embassy will cooperate with Vietnamese travel companies to offer preferential conditions for UAE tourists.

Participants at the conference praised the country’s fast development in the industry and expressed their wishes to strengthen their cooperation with Vietnam.

(Source: VOV)

Halong Bay

Recognized by Unesco as a World Heritage Site since 1994 for it thousands of natural islands, Ha Long Bay is a legendary world,, and one of the most magnificent scenic spots in Vietnam as well.

Situated in North-East of Vietnam (150km from Hanoi), the Bay is in the Gulf of Tonkin which comprised of regions of Halong City, the township of Cam Pha, and a part of the island district of Van Don. It abuts Cat Ba Island in the southwest. Toward the west is the coastline 120km long. The site is 1553 sq.km with 1969 islands of various sizes, of which 989 have been named.

Viewed from above, Halong Bay resembles a geographic work of art. While exploring the bay, you feel lost in a legendary world of stone islands. Halong bay is also a region of highly-concentrated biological diversity with many ecosystems of salt water-flooded forests, coral reefs, and tropical forests featuring thousands of species of animal and plant life.

Aesthetic value

The permanent beauty of Ha Long is created by three factors: stone, water and sky. Ha Long’s island system is multicolored with a variety of shapes and can be regarded as a water-color, a work of art. The islands, scattered all round, have different shapes which provoke the imagination: Dinh Huong (Incense Burner) implies spiritual significance, Ga Choi (Fighting Cocks) the symbol of Viet Nam tourism, Con Coc (Toad) recalls the passage of time, waiting thousands of years to seek justice in Heaven. There are islands that resemble a resplendent throne, a Vietnamese mother’s curved back carrying her child, a roof, an old man, a human head and so on.

Within the bigger islands are great attractions. Dau Go Cave (Wooden Stakes) dazzles the senses with many huge stalactites hanging poised in mid air and stalagmites growing majestically upwards. Then there is Thien Cung Grotto (Heavenly Palace) with its small, narrow entrance, but inside looking like a marvelous palace, and many other caves each has its own attractions and beauty.

Ha Long’s sea is always the same, blue, smooth and still. Ha Long has its own beauty by seasons. In Spring, buds of trees burst on limestone islands. In Summer, it is cool and clean with many sparkling sun rays reflecting from the sea’s surface. In Autumn, especially at night, moonlight illuminates the mountains so they appear like gold, inlaid into the earth. In Winter, with pervasive frost, Ha Long is glamorous as “a floating flower basket on smooth wave” (by writer Nguyen Tuan).

Karst geomorphologic value:

Ha Long Bay is a mature karst landscape developed during a warm, wet, tropical climate. The sequence of stages in the evolution of a karst landscape over a period of 20 million years requires a combination of several distinct elements including massive thickness of limestone, a hot wet climate and slow overall tectonic uplift.

The bio diversity value

Bio-diversity is an important natural resource and needs to be preserved and conserved to maintain the ecological balance of the whole region. Bio-diversity is the general term used to reflect diversify and abundance in nature and includes all living things.

The total number of plant species living on the rugged islands in Ha Long Bay is still not known, as many islands remain unexplored. There are probably over a thousand species of plants, the distribution of which is not uniform. Instead, several different communities (species of plants that always grow together) are found, such as: mangrove, seashore plants, those of the slopes or sheer cliffs, the summit plants and those that grow around the mouth of caves and in gullies. .

In 2002 a survey on assessing and auditing Ha Long Bay’s bio-diversity was conducted by management authorities and researchers. They surveyed 9 areas in Zone 1 of the World Heritage and all sites had maintained its bio-diversity and species diversity, and more new species were discovered.

Evaluation and Praises

Throughout the ages many famous men, from both home and abroad, when faced with the beauty of Halong’s sky and water have sung its praises in different ways, especially in poems.

In the 15th Century, Nguyen Trai (1380 – 1442), a great national poet visited Halong and spoke of:

“The way to Van Do has so many mountains
Nature has produced a wonder in the immense space
The vast blue sea looks like a grandiose mirror
Reflecting innumerable black mountains”.

Over 100 years ago, the French Journalist John Rey praised Ha Long:

“ In the brilliant light of the tropical sun, the sea surface, dark and light, here and there in the shadow of limestone mountains, is really an indescribable, fanciful scene. Sunset looks like a flaring fire, throwing all the islands into a fairyland.”

Nowadays, many domestic and international politicians, poets, cultural celebrities and tourists make the same comment when they visit Halong Bay: “If you haven’t visited Ha Long Bay, you haven’t been to Viet Nam.”

In recent years, Halong Bay has been honored to welcome many international delegations, including the leaders of many countries of the world.

Discover Stunning Terraced fields in Northwest Vietnam

The terraced fields in the mountain district of Mu Cang Chai in Yen Bai, Vietnam are associated with the developmental history of the Mong ethnic minority group. They are considered not only a source of food production but also an asset for developing local tourism.

When we arrived, Giang A Su, a farmer in Che Cu Nha commune, was carrying his hoe to his 5,000 sq.m of terraced fields to expand their area. Seeing everyone’s surprise at his traditional equipment, he explained that making terraced fields does not require modern equipment.

The farmers with traditional equipmentThe farmers with traditional equipment

Looking at the impressive fields, it is hard to believe that they were created in such a simple way. Su said the most difficult about making terraced fields is finding water resources and fertile land because they are very rare in mountain areas. It usually takes a very long time to find a suitable area for terraced fields, said Su, adding that it depends on both the Mong people’s experience and the Creator.

Hard-working day on the terraced fieldsHard-working day on the terraced fields

Tourists are usually enchanted by the stunning terraced fields along the mountain slopes made by the hard-working Mong people. As the mountains are usually 2,000 metres above sea level, it is impossible to use modern machinery so the people must use simple equipment and create small fields. It is the most effective way for the ethnic Mong people to increase their productivity.

Terraced fields are found in all 13 communes of Mu Cang Chai district and it takes tourists hours or even days to travel on the paths around the mountains and contemplate the beauty of the nature and the terraces.

Mu Cang Chai’s most beautiful terraces are in La Pan Te and Che Cu Nha communes. Everyone stops to see the lovely green and yellow-ripened rice fields when passing through these areas. When viewed from above, the multi-level terraced fields look like trays of sticky rice lying between streams and the great expanse of coniferous forests.

The ethnic Mong girlThe ethnic Mong girl

The higher visitors climb, the more interested they become as they can enjoy both the beauty of the mountains and the terraced fields and the ethnic Mong people’s beauty and hospitality which counteracts the cold weather in the mountain areas.

Stunning terraced fields in Mu Cang Chai, VietnamStunning terraced fields in Mu Cang Chai, Vietnam

Mu Cang Chai has a total area of 2,200 ha of terraced fields, 500 of which are in La Tan Pan, Che Cu Nha, and De Xu Phinh communes. Being properly preserved, they still maintain their original beauty and were recognized as national heritage sites by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in 2007.

To take advantage of the potential of the terraced fields, people in Mu Cang Chai are making great efforts under the leadership of the district’s Party Committee and authorities to increase the productivity, protect the natural environment, and preserve the fields and traditional festivals, all of which make an attractive tourist destination in the northwest of the country.

Source: VOV

Northern natural beauty, traditions call out to adventurous travellers

What do you think of when you read the fol-lowing lines about Viet Nam by the famous Vietnamese poet To Huu:

How amazing my country is!

Lean against Truong Son Mountain Range

Reach to Truong Sa (Spratly) Islands

From north-eastern most Tra Co with populous forest

To southernmost Ca Mau with mangroves


If you are a traveller cherishing your exploration of the country, you will most likely share the same impressions with your family and friends when you talk about your experience enjoying the beauty of Viet Nam.

Pristine sands: An aerial view of Tra Co Beach. (Photos: VNS)
Let's start the journey from Tra Co, a beautiful beach in the country's northeastern most province, Quang Ninh.

The winding road to Tra Co doesn't dissuade visitors from continuing the journey thanks to sweeping views of the beautiful landscape. Travellers can also go to Tra Co by boat from Hai Phong or from Bai Chay, another coastal city in Quang Ninh Province.

The locality is endowed with a 17km-long coast line and beautiful beaches from Sa Vy to Mui Ngoc. The full length is one of the most attractive beaches in Viet Nam.

While Nha Trang Beach attracts visitors with its beauty reminiscent of a chic modern girl, Tra Co beach looks like a country girl because its beauty has not been altered from its natural state by development.

The wild beauty of Tra Co allows people to enjoy the peaceful and slow flow of life in the province. Taking a stroll along the white-sand beach, listening to the sound of waves crashing, and freeing your mind as you look up at the immense blue sky and the never-ending sea is a simple and enjoyable way to pass the day.

There are four seasons in Tra Co with comfortable temperatures throughout, neither too hot in the summer nor too cold in the winter. The average temperature is about 220C, going up to about 26-280C in summer. In the moderate heat of summer, the cool and clean sea water beckons to would-be swimmers and waters sports enthusiasts.

Visitors are recommended to wake early one morning to travel the 6km to Con Mang to watch the immense red flame of the sun slowly rising to welcome the day. Likewise, as the day wanes they can find a place to relax along the beach to enjoy the sunset. Lovers and groups of friends alike will find enjoyment as they share in the quiet beauty of the pristine sands and feel their souls mesh in harmony with nature and escape from the troubles and sounds of daily life.

Not far from Con Mang is Sa Vy, the country's northeastern most point, where people can look out across neighbouring China. At Sa Vy point, visitors can pose for a photo next to three popular tree-shaped sculptures. Lines from the poem by To Huu are posted on it.

Another worthy stopping point is Tra Co Church, an old piece of architecture built in 1880. It is a massive structure decorated with beautiful reliefs and an 80-year-old bell. In 1995, the damaged reliefs were restored, returning the structure to its original glory.

The nearby Tra Co Temple is another popular destination which is the pride of the local people. It was built in the 15th century but has gone through some changes over time. However, its typical architectural and decorative features have been maintained.

Villagers worship their ancestors at the temple. According to legend, the ancestors were originally from the northern coastal town of Do Son (Hai Phong City now) and migrated to Tra Co more than 600 years ago.

Six ancestors in particular are still worshipped here for their great contributions to the establishment of the village.


Vietnamese style


Test of time: Tra Co Church was built in 1880. It is a massive structure decorated with beautiful reliefs. It houses an 80-year-old bell.
Tra Co Temple features typical Vietnamese artchitectural style. Although it was built in a border area with China and could easily have included features from the country's northern neighbour, the style is distinctly Vietnamese, confirming that the Vietnamese people have long respected their national cultural identity.

After nearly 600 years, the temple still sits as the witness to the country's ups and downs and acts as a vivid story teller who helps generations of Vietnamese learn more about their traditions.

Tra Co Temple is similar in style to many others in the Hong (Red) River Delta. Decorations include various patterns of four supernatural creatures including dragons, unicorns, tortoises and phoenixes, along with God and humans.

The temple inspired Vietnamese composer Nguyen Cuong to write the song Mai Dinh Lang Bien (Temple Roof in Coastal Village) that has left a deep impression in the souls of many Vietnamese people.

Historian Do Van Ninh said that Tra Co Temple proves the territorial expansion process of the Vietnamese and the connection between the border coastal area with other areas of the country.


Annual festival


People visiting Tra Co during late lunar May and early June can take the opportunity to join in the village's annual festival. From May 30 to June 6 a variety of activities are held to celebrate the village.

Prior to the festival, on May 25, a festive procession from Tra Co begins a return journey to the original hometown of Do Son to honour the ancestors there. It takes them about three days by boat to make the trip to the hometown but only two days to return. They belive that the festive procession can travel faster thanks to support from the ancestors.

On the night of May 30, the temple is bright with candles, lights and smells of burning incense. Locals come to pray for health, wealth and a properous year.

The following morning, a ceremony to escort the King to sea takes place. Dozens of people donned in traditional attire join the procession, some playing musical instruments and others holding colourful flags or weapons. A crowd of people follow creating an exciting atmosphere.

During the festival, the village also hosts activities such as a cooking competition where people can enjoy local specialities, and dancing competitions.

The ritual has been preserved for hundreds of years, consistently enriching the spiritual life of the coastal village residents.

One tourist from Ha Noi, who enjoyed the festival during a holiday to Tra Co, said that she was very impressed by the way the locals preserved their traditions.

"Their performance at the festival helped me learn more about Vietnamese culture, especially the culture in a coastal areas," she said.


VietNamNet/Viet Nam News

Head into the clouds on a journey through Vietnam's hill country

According to the young Red Dao woman with the incisor decoratively encased in gold, her village of Ta Phin had not seen the sky, let alone the sun, for six long weeks. The winter had been so cold and hard, she explained as we slopped along the muddy track (she in her plastic sandals, me in my hiking boots), that many villagers, including her own family, had lost at least one of their precious water buffalo, animals that cost upwards of eight million dong (£250) to replace.

This level of hardship rather eclipsed our own. Yet there was no denying that our little group was feeling downcast by the lack of visibility in this remote region fabled for its glorious landscapes. Someone had even dared to breathe the word "depressing" as we peered into the monochrome murk. The hotel lobby was heated only by a mean little corner fireplace that had been reluctantly stoked with kindling by the hotel manager in his shiny, too-tight suit.

The only reliable source of heat was bed, where the electric blankets were switched on around the clock; but you don't journey to a hidden corner of Asia to go to bed.

We had just arrived off the overnight train from Hanoi at the railhead town of Lào Cai. From here the only way is up: we had travelled for an hour by switchback road through the pre-dawn blackness to the hill resort of Sapa in northern Vietnam. China's Yunnan province was only 36km away. This region was unknown to Europeans little more than a century ago when French missionaries arrived to convert the local hill tribes (I speculated whether they had won them over with gifts of blankets). After moving the capital of Indochina to Hanoi at the start of the 20th century, the French colonial masters seized upon Sapa as a place to escape the heat of the lowland summer – an amusing irony in our case. Opened to tourism again in 1993, Sapa has become a honeypot, attracting tens of thousands of visitors, including many urban Vietnamese in the rainy summer months.

We thought with longing of the brochure photographs of verdant valleys, rice terraces reaching to impossible heights, and bucolic villages with a scattering of wooden and bamboo houses. We knew that a couple of kilometres away Mount Fansipan rose to a height of 3,143m, the highest peak in Indochina. But we might as well have been searching for Cleopatra's Needle in the haystack of a pea-soup fog in Victorian London. I couldn't help but be reminded of the hordes of Japanese tourists I had once seen staring forlornly at an opaque mass of cloud where New Zealand's Mount Cook should have been. While travellers to the tropics are familiar with the concept of "wet" and "dry" seasons, Sapa seemed to have come up with a variant: the foggy season. Holiday weather is always a lottery, but I wondered if the decision by Travel Indochina to launch a tour to this new destination in winter might have been a gamble too far.

Oh well, there was always Sapa's other attraction, its diverse population of minority peoples. Of the various groups, the principal ones are the H'mong and the Dao (pronounced Dzao) who settled in these hills after fleeing persecution in southern China, mainly in the 18th and 19th centuries. Nowadays village women, tiny of stature, flood into Sapa to sell their handicrafts. The traditional tribal costumes and customs flourish still, and the people's cheerfully coloured clothing and headgear brightened the gloom.

The Black H'mong wear deep indigo tunics with embroidered sleeves and back aprons, dark velvet puttees and pillbox turbans, multi-hooped silver earrings and huge bamboo baskets strapped to their backs. Apart from their lapels embroidered with geometric patterns, the distinguishing characteristic of the Red Dao costume is the astonishing headdress. On top of partially shaved heads, they wear a length of scarlet material wrapped and folded to create a bulging cushion-like turban from which red tassels, tiny bells and silver coins dangle down their backs. Before you get as far as Sapa market, where textiles are displayed on circular cloths rescued from defunct umbrellas in a charmless concrete room, village traders will surround you on the street to display their wares.

Against the odds, the fog and our spirits lifted the next day. As if on cue for the first day of the lunar new year, early morning sunshine flooded the deep balcony of the hotel, illuminating the jagged line of hills all around and revealing the town's attractive ochre-coloured turreted villas with balconies and shuttered windows. Within minutes, the mist had rolled in again, but now it was easy to persuade ourselves of the possibility that rambles between villages scheduled over the next few days would reveal further wonders.

The scenery around Sapa is magnificent, but it was the human drama that proved most gripping. A boy no older than 10 nonchalantly whittled a stick as he rode bareback on a water buffalo plunging knee-deep across the fallow rice paddies on his way home. A man brandishing a curved-bladed knife bounded up the terraces behind his house in search of something meatier than a cabbage. Children played a version of hopscotch that involved the near-impossible feat of picking up a pebble with their bare toes while hopping on one foot. In the background, a sow failed to discipline her litter of squealing squabbling piglets while white ducks did pirouettes on the village pond.

The beating of a drum presaged the most remarkable spectacle of all. We were invited into a sizeable one-room house to observe from behind an open partition a religious ceremony akin to a Mummers' Play. A young man sat on a bench and started to shake violently, then cavort wildly round the dirt floor. When the gyrating dance subsided, three youths moved jointly up and back holding up bamboo sticks painted red for good luck. Like a child at a pretend tea party, the holy man who was directing proceedings mimed the pouring of tea into a row of tiny tea cups and then burned lucky (phoney) money.

The young men turned their attention to the altar next to which painted tableaux and calligraphy panels had been hung. They hopped forward and backwards on one foot, shouting a word that sounded like "hop", which probably meant something along the lines of "May our ancestors' spirits keep our buffaloes warm this year". They scattered corn on the floor before showering each other with edible confetti. All that was missing was an accompanying ethnographer to interpret what we had witnessed, though it seemed reasonable to assume that prosperity and plenty were being invoked for the year ahead.

If prosperity does increase in those villages, it will be due to the tireless efforts of the village women. The male population is largely invisible, especially at festival time when many over-indulge in rice wine. The men in evidence were swanning around on their motor scooters. All the tribal girls learn to sew as children and become expert needleworkers. Gaggles of them can be seen in doorways bent over their handiwork or stitching as they walk, mostly objects to sell to tourists – although, as in 18th-century England, they create their finest pieces for their weddings. If it is true that the best seamstresses are able to make the best marriages, then some of these young women must be betrothed to princes.

These enterprising women have no access to shops or fixed outlets. So they have adopted a peripatetic sales technique that many tourists find exasperating but is undeniably successful. Large groups besiege hikers setting off on footpaths to one of the six or so minority communes accessible from Sapa on half-day or full-day trips. The village women quickly identify the most likely victim and attach themselves accordingly as "friends" and informal guides.

Running the gauntlet is unavoidable, even for those with "Miser" emblazoned on their foreheads. I put my cards on the table from the outset of the first trek, telling my entourage of Red Dao women that I have been to many countries but have at home no souvenirs; I would not be buying. Undeterred and with quiet dignity, "my" group of about four women accompanied me for the entire half-day's amble, answering questions when their English permitted and smiling for the camera. They called our attention to points of interest such as the now-disused rattan bridges straight out of an Indiana Jones film. Some performed feats such as fashioning a sculpture of a horse out of a single strand of grass. When asked about their music, one sang a haunting lament for those "with no mummy, no daddy".

At the end of a trek, it is impossible not to feel some obligation to these eager, smiling people when they produce their embroidered pencil cases, purses and shoulder bags, silver earrings and bracelets. The quality is as variable as the price. Some is just imported Chinese tat. The dye which they make themselves from the nondescript-looking indigo plant grown locally comes off straight away (though can be fixed later by washing in cold salt water). It might go against the grain to encourage this commercialisation of contact with local people. Yet all I can say is that the day I resisted their blandishments, I felt more of a heel than when I handed over a few hundred thousand dong (a trifling amount).

Revived by the watery sunshine and the glow of having made a small financial contribution to an impoverished community, we were eager to travel 18km deeper into Lào Cai province to stay at Topas Ecolodge, run by an expatriate Dane. The conical thatched roofs atop an isolated cone-shaped hill are reminiscent of the distinctive Nó* lá (bamboo hat) worn by Vietnamese paddy farmers. All the clean Scandinavian design inside and efficient heating of the individual lodges proved a welcome haven. The lodge's trekking sheet did not make clear that the short "Buffalo Track" was a route suitable for buffaloes, not humans. Droppings marked the deeply rutted quagmire like so many cairns.

But the panoramic views justified the effort. Stepped terraces reached dizzying heights and created patterns as beautiful and natural as sand ripples under shallow water. These astonishing constructions result from generations of wet rice farmers working from the top down, in case a terrace collapses and obliterates the one below. In winter the puddled mud on these tiny man-made platforms glints in the light. In summer, the emerald greens and golds of the ripening rice must transform these valleys into a place reminiscent of Tolkien's Shire on a Brobdingnagian scale.

Street life in Hanoi had prepared us well for experiencing Vietnam in a way appropriate for a country where gambling is an entrenched part of the culture. Huddles of young boys on Hanoi's back streets bet eyebrow-raising sums of money on impromptu games of chance. In the evenings, old men can be glimpsed through half-open doors intent on their hands of cards, and it is certain they are playing for more than the delicious roasted peanuts used in their cuisine.

Even the most cautious visitor to north Vietnam, city and country, will be forced to play a game of hazard. Stepping off the kerb to cross a road for the first time feels like spinning a revolver cylinder and giving yourself a one-in-six chance of survival. The technique is to wait for a bit of a lull and then step slowly and steadily across the road, establishing eye contact with all oncoming scooter drivers who will lean one way or the other to avoid you. Easy for people with strong nerves, impossible for Westerners who cleave to the supremacy of lollipop ladies.

Clambering into our comfortable bunks on the train at the beginning of the trip, we knew that we were dicing with disappointment. But as we left this mountain fastness behind, the peak of Fansipan finally revealed itself above its girdle of clouds, making us feel especially vindicated in our gamble to visit Sapa in the fog season.

Commercialization threatens traditional festivals

Well-known traditional festivals in Vietnam like Lim – Bac Ninh love duet or Vieng – buying good luck, selling bad luck are being commercialized. Their traditional values are being eroded.

Preserving traditional festivals so that they are original and “old” is a difficult task but visitors still want them to maintain their “soul” and spiritual beauty..

Vieng Market Festival becomes gambling arena

The Vieng Market Festival in Vu Ban district, Nam Dinh province is very unique in conception: purchasing good luck, selling bad luck.

Visitors go to the market in early year to buy new tools and they think that the tools will bring good lucks for them in the new year.

Caption: Quan ho singers use micros and speakers at the Lim Festival. (photo: Nguoi Lao Dong)
The Vieng Market Festival 2011 was still organized under that conception but inside the market was a gambling arena. Gambling was favored at the festival because many visitors expected that they would win in gambling and this would bring good luck for them.

A young man from Hai Hau district, Nam Dinh province, who used to sell ornamental trees at the Vieng Market, decided to not sell trees but organize “lottery” services instead.

“I have to change my business because I can earn money from this service more easily than selling trees,” he said.

This man was considered as “keeping up with the times” because traditional items were no longer marketable at the Vieng Market Festival in comparison with gambling.

The tools that were considered lucky for buyers (agricultural tools and products) have become “outdated”. As a result, the number of visitors to the festival has decreased in the last two years. The prestige of the festival has been seriously harmed.

Vieng Market Festival: the festival is launched on the annual 8th day of the first lunar month, only once in a year, when people have just finished celebrating Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday.

Legend has it that Vieng market is somehow linked to the person who brought copper casting to the area, Nguyen Minh Khong, so people who go the market feel that they will get lucky if they buy something made of copper at Vieng market on this day.

The market opens on the 8th of lunar January, but the most spiritual moment falls on the night of the 7th and early 8th. That is the moment of heavenly and earthly, positive-negative exchange. According to the popular belief, at the time, men and Gods could reach each other and all prayers could be perceived more clearly. At that time trade could take place smoothly.

Consequently, visitors often come to the market on the night of 7th more than on the following 8th. The market on the night of 7th is called “Cho am phu” (Hades Market). The market-goers not only just enjoy the market atmosphere but also bring along the feeling toward Mother, praying for fortune and favorable weather, rich crops, and a happy family. They buy and sell their hopes for luck during the rest of the year.

Vieng market is actually typical to an agricultural countryside that is rich in natural products, a kind of radiant open-air “fair” produced by the local farmers, especially ornamental plants, specialty crops, subtle craft articles, utensils, bronze and iron-made tools, etc. This spring market displays handicraft products, antiquities and false antiquities, utensils, tools for agriculture production, and many kinds of ornamental plants. Specialties are barbecued beef and “banh day” (sticky rice cake).

The cheapest things at Vieng would be flowers and trees, which bring both the buyer and seller happiness and luck. From around 2a.m, deals are done under the light of candles or flash-lights. Deals are agreed on quickly, as people believe, to keep the luck. From 6a.m, local people bring farming tools such as hoes and sickles to sell, which relate closely to their lives. Buyers believe that the tools will bring them health and richness. Vieng market also is also a place to relax. Lovers could find each other or their happy future here.

Above all, everyone visiting the market just wishes to buy the burnt veal at any cost, which is considered an indispensable gift from the market and bliss to the Vieng market-goers.

Lim Festival out of graces

Nguyen Van Loc, a senior male quan ho singer from Tien Du district, Bac Ninh province said sadly: “The current Lim Festival is very different from the original festival. It is out of graces!”


According to Loc, quan ho singers used to sing love duets on boats and on the river bank, not on stages with micros and speakers like it is nowadays. Many people wear ao tu than (the costume of quan ho singers) to sell CDs at the festival.

Quan ho artisans from famous quan ho villages like Dao Xa, Dang Xa, Thanh Son and Thi Cau know the facts but they are unable to save the festival.

The UNESCO recognized quan ho as the World Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2010 so visitors expected a big change at the Lim Festival 2011.

Good news was unveiled: since 2011, the Lim Festival will be organized originally. Quan ho singers will no longer use microphones and speakers.

Nguyen Huu Manh, Vice Chair of Tien Du District and Chief of the organizing board of the Lim Festival confirmed his determination to maintain the traditional values of the festival from now on.

Lim Festival: "Quan Ho" is a special folk song of Kinh Bac, now called Bac Ninh Province. Lim is the simple name of Lung Giang Commune of Tien Son District in Bac Ninh Province. The village is located 18 km from Hanoi. The festival takes place on Lim Hill where the Lim Pagoda is located. This pagoda is where Mr. Hieu Trung Hau, the man who invented quan ho, is worshipped.

The Lim Festival takes place every year on 13th day of the 1st lunar month. Visitors come to enjoy the festival and see the performances of "lien anh" (male quan ho singers) and "lien chi" (female singers). These are male and female farmers who sing different types of songs in the pagodas, on the hills, and in the boats. Besides this, visitors can come to the Lim Festival to enjoy the weaving competition of the Noi Due girls. They weave and sing quan ho songs at the same time. Like other religious festivals, the Lim Festival goes through all the ritual stages, from the procession to the worshipping ceremony, and includes other activities.

The Lim Festival is a special cultural activity in the North. The festival celebrates the quan ho folk song which has become a part of the national culture and a typical folk song that is well loved in the Red River Delta region.

PV

Lanterns make an ancient city glitter

The contest of lanterns, which just wrapped up on February 16 in Hoi An, lit up the old city with in a multitude of colours.

The contest gave out prizes in several categories: education, commerce and economics.This is the third festival of its kind held in Hoi An, central Quang Nam Province.

The festival, which started on February 2, attracted nearly 200 lanterns made by nearly 70 different artisans.

Thousands of visitors came to see the Hoai River and enjoy the sparkling light of lanterns.

Hoa Binh or peace lantern was among the most beautiful works.

The work "Spring Begins in the Ancient City” by Thanh Ha Nursery School won the first prize in the education category.

The work “Cat Eyes Welcome Spring” won first prize in the economic category.

The piece named "Soul of Wood" also stood out for its beauty.

Certificates awarded to winners

Hoa Binh or Peace lantern

The work "Spring Begins in the Ancient City”

The work “Cat Eyes Welcome Spring”

The piece named "Soul of Wood"

Nighttime made brilliant

Dragons among waves

Floating Hoi An of paper and lights

Each lantern is a unique creation

Lanterns shine on the river

Visitors enjoy an illuminated night

Spanish magazine spotlights ‘Great Wall of Vietnam’

Spanish writer Mark Jenkin has extolled the wonderful beauty of Son Doong (Mountain River Cave) in Quang Binh central province.

In a reportage entitled “Vietnam Cave” published in the National Geographic magazine in January, M. Jenkin wrote “There is a jungle inside Vietnam’s mammoth cavern.”

M. Jenkin cited his teammate Jonathan Sims, who was a member of the first expedition to enter the cave, as saying that his team could explore two and a half miles of Son Doong before a 200-foot wall of muddy calcite stopped them.

They named it the Great Wall of Vietnam.

The passage to Son Doong is perhaps 300 feet wide, the ceiling nearly 800 feet tall: room enough for an entire New York City block of 40-storey buildings, he wrote, adding that “And the end is out of sight.”

Located in Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park recognized as a world natural heritage site by UNESCO in 2003, the cave, 200m high and 150m wide, is believed to be almost twice the size of the current record holder, Deer Cave in Sarawak Malaysia.

The massive cavern currently said to be the largest-known cave on Earth was discovered by a local man named Ho Khanh in 1991.

However, not until 2009 was it made known to the public when a group of British scientists from the British Cave Research Association, led by Howard and Deb Limbert, conducted a survey in Phong Nha-Ke Bang.

Source: Tuoi Tre

Hanoi discovery

Each foreign tourist arrives in Hanoi and when they return to their home, they all have an individual impression. Hanoi is ancient and peaceful; Hanoi bustles and is full of vitality; Hanoi has precise and unique gastronomy; Hanoi is brilliant with colors; and Hanoi is passionate and charming.

Common impressions for tourist to easily recognize are the friendly, enthusiastic and hospitable people of Hanoi. Living in California, US, Dr Gish chooses Hanoi capital as the tourism destination for his family. He said that his family had visited many famous landscapes, enjoyed traditional delicious dishes in Hanoi and contacted many people. However, the most memorable impression for his family was the vibrant vitality of Hanoi’s traditional culture.

“Hanoi leaves good impressions for me because the city has preserved its cultural heritages, for example, Tortoise Tower in Sword Lake, daily life and business activities of inhabitants in the Old Quarter. I think that Hanoi is trying to preserve its essential cultural values of previous years and be determined to develop a modern city at the same time,” Dr Gish said.

Sharing these thoughts with Dr Gish, Mr. George Saxton also loves to visit historical sites in Hanoi. For him, these are memorable places during his visit. “I’m sure to remember Sword Lake, Ngoc Son Temple, the Temple of Literature, the house on stilts where Uncle Ho lived and the whole area. I like the way the house on stilts is preserved, that is what I remember about Hanoi.”

For Ms Marcia of Maryland, US, dishes like pho (noodle soup), cha ca (fried fish), rice vermicelli and meat rolls or coffee in Hanoi are all wonderful but her most memorable impression about Hanoi is completely different. It is the people and cultural character of Hanoi. Hanoi’s culture is charming and plentiful. One of the most beautiful images among Asian countries she has ever seen is the image of Vietnamese women in long-dresses and “any time I close my eyes I see that image”. “I also like the image of farmers growing rice in the fields,” she happily said. That is what she remembers about Hanoi.

That is also the comments of Ms Johnson from Idaho, US. She said that it is hard to use any word to fully describe the people in Hanoi. Therefore, she has to come back Hanoi many times. “Hanoi people are very wonderful and enthusiastic and eager to help strangers. The first time we came to Hanoi was in 1995 we were a little worried of not being welcomed, but unexpectedly every one treated us very kindly. We were helped any time we needed assistance. We had close friends and they treated us very well when we were there. We can not talk all about the wonderful people in Vietnam,” Ms Johnson said.

Living in Hanoi for many years, James Rhodes and his wife from Alabama, US, were eager to return Hanoi in the autumn to welcome the capital’s 1,000th birthday. Hanoi attracts him and his wife with special things.

“The thing we like most in Hanoi is the Viet Nam National Symphony Orchestra. This is a wonderful orchestra. I must say that we have listened to symphonies all over the world but the Viet Nam National Symphony Orchestra is excellent. Additionally, in Hanoi, the folk music is also good. This year, we come back to celebrate the 1,000 years of Thang Long – Hanoi and we don’t intend to leave this city. We choose to live in Hanoi because this is a cheap city and people there are friendly. My wife and I decided to choose Hanoi as our home.

Mr. Steve Ball living in Maine, US said that for him, Hanoi is an ancient city. Hanoi truthfully reflects the culture of Viet Nam, this is a beautiful city for tourists to visit, go for a walk and are welcomed. Mr. Steve always encourages his friends to come to Hanoi.

“I want to send sincere congratulations to all people of Hanoi capital on the occasion of the Hanoi’s 1,000th birthday. I desire that Hanoi continues to develop prosperously. I myself also expect to arrive in Hanoi to share this happiness with the people in the capital about this event. I wish the best things for Hanoi people. Good bye and see you in Vietnam,” he said on the occasion of Hanoi’s 1,000th birthday.

Hanoi Travel Guide
(source: vietnamtourism.com)

Valentine’s Day a business opportunity for students

In the cities of Can Tho and Danang there is an abundance of flower and souvenir stalls around colleges and universities during Valentine’s Day.

Often, the owners of these stalls are students, who would rather make money instead of making a date.

Flower stalls in Danang

One group of friends, including Thu Ha, Kieu Trinh and two others, opened a stall in front of Phan Chu Trinh High School, trying to catch eyes with their colourful wares for the lovers’ day.

Ha said “Nowadays, young people prefer unique romantic gifts. Therefore, we have to search designs of gift boxes, flower baskets and heart-shaped chocolates on the internet for several months before Valentine’s Day. We paid attention to the designs that have been popular in foreign countries, then we select those which will be most suitable to sell here. It takes a bit of creativity. We also started buying our supplies early, because the price goes up as the holiday approaches.”

When asked why she chose to make money instead of love on this special day, one vendor said, “My boyfriend and I run the business together. This year will be a very special memory for us.” Some girls and boys actually become business partners, temporarily posing as couples to attract customers.

The prices are very cheap, ranging between VND35,000 (USD1.69) and VND120,000 (USD5.79) each. A basket of fresh flowers might cost around VND40,000 (USD1.93), depending on the type and arrangement.

For some students this can even be a lesson in their major.

Thu Nguyet, a student at Danang Economics University persuaded her parents to lend her money to buy various products, then cooperated with two classmates for their business venture. They designed and carried out promotion campaign aimed at friends and acquaintances. Two thirds of the products were sold as of February 13.

Nguyet said that she is happy for this opportunity, even though the spot she wanted to use had already been taken by another group. She said that next time she’d try for a better place.

In Can Tho, on February 13, streets like Nguyen Trai, Hoa Binh, Mau Than, Ly Tu Trong and Tran Hung Dao were littered with temporary flower shops. The road opposite Can Tho University was filled with flower colour.

While arranging bunches of flower, Nuong said, “The Tet atmosphere is still around and Valentine’s Day makes it more exciting. We have carefully selected roses for lovers.”

Hoang, another student-vendor, said, “This is the second year I’ve roses for Valentine’s day. I buy them from wholesalers, then cut and arrange them myself to earn some money for tuition fees.”

Students catch the entrepreneurial spirit

Months of preparation reap a handsome reward

Kieu Trinh and his friend are not lovers, but hope to appear so

Carefully arranged roses

A reasonable priced flower basket

Bus stops are a popular place to set up shop

Heart-shaped pillows are always popular

US TV station highlights Vietnam’s tourist attraction

KPVI News 6, the local NBC (National Broadcasting Company) affiliated television station for Idaho, has advised Americans to tour Vietnam to get to know “Southeast Asia's rising star".

According to the TV station, as the world discovers more of Vietnam's treasures, this Southeast Asian country is climbing higher on travellers' must-see lists. A Vietnam tour is often the most effective way to take in the best of this fascinating country's attractions including the highlands of the far north and the beaches of the south.

In its website, KPVI News 6 writes that travellers won't want to miss Hanoi, Hue, Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City. In Hanoi, Vietnam's capital, its citizens are justifiably proud of that long history.

However, most visitors find that Hanoi isn't just stuck in the past - it's a forward-thinking metropolis even though it's filled with the elegantly crumbling vestiges of French colonial architecture and dotted with ancient temples and pagodas. The best historic sights are the One-Pillar Pagoda, built in 1049 to resemble a lotus bud; and Hoa Lo Prison, which might be more recognizable by its other moniker, the Hanoi Hilton. One of the country's delightful folk traditions with an evening at a water puppet theater performance, which have been held for centuries, is advisable.

Also according to the website, few visitors to the former imperial capital of Hue are disappointed. The city's incomparable art and architecture make an impression with the grandeur of former imperial residences and temples. Ones should visit the Citadel and take part in Hue's legendary cuisine, which is renowned throughout the country as being uniquely refined.

Da Nang is described as Vietnam's appeal as a relaxing beach destination; a bustling, lively city, with ample opportunities to shop and play in the waves and a reputation for great food.

Ho Chi Minh City, also known as Saigon, is an essential stop. Its reputation is that of a pulsing, vibrant metropolis that is always on the go. It's more modern than Hanoi, but there are still plenty of historic sights to see - like the History Museum, Saigon Notre Dame Cathedral and Giac Vien Pagoda - between stops at the city's many shopping boutiques and great restaurants.

KPVI News 6 concludes that many travellers find that Vietnam fits well into a longer itinerary that also takes them to other popular Southeast Asian destinations like Cambodia and Thailand.

Source: VOV

Hue agencies consider creating tours based on city's heavy rain

Touring in the rain: Foreign tourists enjoy walking along Hue's Trang Tien Bridge in light rain. Local authorities and travel agencies are thinking hard to design tours targeting Hue's rainy days. — VNA/VNS Photo Quoc Viet

Touring in the rain: Foreign tourists enjoy walking along Hue's Trang Tien Bridge in light rain. Local authorities and travel agencies are thinking hard to design tours targeting Hue's rainy days. — VNA/VNS Photo Quoc Viet

Royal treatment: Tourists visit one of Hue's royal palaces. — VNA/VNS Photo Huy Hung

Royal treatment: Tourists visit one of Hue's royal palaces. — VNA/VNS Photo Huy Hung

The song Remember Ha Noi's Autumn by late composer Trinh Cong Son has inspired Saigontourist to design a tour of the city's beautiful locations mentioned in the lyrics.

"Ha Noi in autumn with yellow-leafed Celtis sinensis, red-leafed tropical almonds . . . small lanes perfumed by milky pines, old houses with brown mossy roofs, West Lake with flocks of Eurasian coot flying to the sun . . .," the song says.

Nguyen Duc Thanh, 67, who has taken the tour says it is both romantic and has deep cultural meanings.

"It has not only satisfied tourists' desires to explore the capital, but also introduced in the most vivid and realistic way the city's tangible and intangible cultural spaces," Thanh says.

He wonders why Hue travel agencies do not design a tour in Hue's rainy season based on the theme Old Flame, after another song by the same musician about his first love.

"It rains hard and long over the old tower . . .," says the song.

Tourists may visit the famed musician's house by Phu Cam Bridge, where he used to watch the small road on the other side of the An Cuu River through a curtain of rain "over small tree leaves".

Columns of trees, narrow roads and ancient towers in the rain are all mentioned in Son's song, redolent of his feelings and memories of Hue. This will lure tourists to a Hue Old Flame tour as they were attracted to the Remember Ha Noi's Autumn tour, Thanh says.

While the rest of the country has two seasons – wet and dry – the central province of Thua Thien-Hue also has two seasons – heavy rainy and light rainy.

Hue's heavy rainy season starts in September with widespread flooding and lasts till December. Drizzling rains then continues till April, when the summer thunderstorms arrive.

The Hue area is at the junction of climates of the North and South. The average rainfall in the whole province is 2,700mm.

While locals may look on such continuous rain as a disadvantage to the area's economic development, artists regard the rain as heaven's gift.

"Hue's rain is a way of playing guitar by the heaven, a combination of fragile and abnormal clashes," writes author Nguyen Xuan Hoang, "Rains can be as quiet as whispers over the leaves, as far as an old tale and as uproarious as laughter. Hue's rain is as mysterious as a human."

Writer Hoang Phu Ngoc Tuong says to see Hue in a vaporous blanket of rain is to comprehend the innermost feelings of the people.

Painter Vo Xuan Huy, a teacher at the Hue Fine Arts College, admits that the blur and no clear borders in his paintings are the unconscious influence of Hue's rain.

Huy says it might be the same with music, with deep melodies inspired by the sorrowful sound of continuous rain.

Researcher Nguyen Thu Hanh, who chairs the Scientific Union for Developing Sustainable Tourism, has recently proposed that Hue's rain be turned into a unique tourism product.

"Rain curbs outdoor activities while at the same time nurturing indoor entertainment," Hanh says. "Tourists have more time to get closer to one another, to meditate, enjoy music, poetry and drink tea or coffee."

Union members have put forward some ideas for tourism products that can be exploited during the rainy season.

These include visiting suitable destinations, tours along the Huong River with stops to view the scenery like Vong Canh Hill, Ngu Phung Tower (at Ngo Mon Gate), the peak of Ngu Binh Mountain and high-rise hotels along the Huong River.

They have proposed a system of hotels and cafes, with decor to suit the environment, offering suitable atmospheres and spaces for watching the rain and enjoying its profound pleasures.

Indoor activities could include the likes of poetry readings, musical performances, exhibitions and cooking or painting classes while pagodas and gardens could meet the demand for meditation.

The wet season is a good time to enjoy Hue's complicated cuisine and increase the sale of the likes of umbrellas, traditional bamboo conical hats and raincoats, they say.

The director of Vietnamtourism's branch in Hue, Nguyen Thi Kim Binh, says tours designed with rain themes are more suitable to small groups of tourists.

"Taking care of tourists in the rain requires proper organisation," she says. "My branch receives big groups. Not many foreign tourists have a specific urge to drink coffee in the rain."

Tran Tien Dat, from the Sales Department of Hue Travel, admits the proposal has merits. The company has been in operation for 20 years but has no specific tour designed for the wet season.

"From now on we may take advantage of the rain, to keep tourists longer rather than letting them go to other destinations when it rains," he says.

Ngo Hoa, deputy chairman of Thua Thien-Hue People's Committee, agrees that tourism might be the economic sector to take advantage of the rain.

He tells of his own experience of the serious flood in 2007, when he saw tourists at Hue's Century Hotel swimming in the pool watching the rain on the river bank.

"They told me it was interesting to see fierce streams running in the Huong River," he recalls.

"The wet season is also a high tourism season in Hue, when luxury hotels are fully booked, mostly by westerners and Hue's temperature of 150C is still warm enough. Many told me they liked the rain."

Hoa says he will ask the local culture department to consider the proposal, and will consult tourism enterprises to help authorities further exploit tourism in the rainy season.

"Of course, the State should be responsible for completing infrastructure while local authorities and enterprises will design the product."

Isle escape

The pristine turquoise waters of Mai Nha Isle are the perfect escape for city dwellers.

If you are like me and have had enough of vacations spent lazing in luxury resorts and fancy restaurants, head to the virtually uninhabited Mai Nha (Roof) Isle in the central province of Phu Yen for a refreshing, adventurous holiday.

Just 30 kilometers north of Tuy Hoa Town, Mai Nha Isle is a great spot for a day trip or overnight camping.

Barely four kilometers from the famous O Loan Lagoon, the isle has everything a wary urbaner can ask for and more. Apart from the sun, sand and sea, this tropical island has forests and caves for the adventurous explorers.

The 1.2 square kilometers of Mai Nha is home to only two families, who breed buffaloes and shrimp, and sell fish on the mainland to earn a living.

It’s a place of simple pleasures – tranquil and removed from the bustle of urban life. The birds from surrounding forests chirp all day and waves undulate on the beach timelessly.

The powdery white sand and shallow, clear waters of the front beach are ideal for lazing, swimming and snorkeling. Get farther away from the shore to view stunning coral reefs and the abundant underwater life.

The back beach is rocky and has plenty of tidal pools – a great place to try your luck at fishing.

Adventurers can hike through the virgin tropical forests on dirt tracks made by locals. Caves comb the hills on the island, but beware, there are no tracks, safety rails, or lights inside.

There is no electricity on the island, and no tourist services for stranded travelers. Make sure you bring enough food, water, an army knife, and tents if you plan to camp overnight.

The best time to visit is in the dry season between March and August. To get to Mai Nha, take a boat from the fishing port in An Hai Commune or from Tien Chau fishing boat in An Ninh Tay Commune, both in Tuy Hoa Town’s Tuy An District. Tuy Hoa is around 125 kilometers from the resort beach town of Nha Trang.

Source: Thanh Nien

Danang’s full of flowers for Tet

Despite the gloomy weather, an abundance of colourful flowers, here to welcome the new year, could be seen in the streets of Danang.

The flower markets were opened on January 29. They can be found on many streets, such as Ham Nghi, Nguyen Huu Tho, Nguyen Ven Linh and Square No. 29/3.

Like pretty much all prices this year, the cost of flowers has increased between 30% and 40%.

One flower seller, Nguyen Van Quang, said, “A peach branch costs about VND900,000 (USD45), which is much more expensive than last year.

The demand is still high though. On a normal day I sell 10 peach branches.” Tran Duc Vinh, a member of the Hoa Cuong Association of Gardeners in Danang, said, “My friends and I share our knowledge of gardening. So my flowers usually bloom on schedule.” He added that, “People seem to prefer apricot trees, which are priced anywhere from VND5 million to VND10 million (USD250-USD500) each.”

Among the other favourites are yellow daisies. This type of flower is grown in the villages of Hoa Cuong and Cam Le, around Danang. A pot of yellow daisies would cost between VND200,000 and VND300,000 (USD10-USD15).

Images from flower market:

Finding the best apricot tree

Peach trees arrive from the north

Dazzling peach blossoms

Apricot or peach?

Apricots are the southernTet flower

Elderly apricot In full bloom


Kumquats are never forgotten on Tet

Flowers make the streets brighter

Yellow daisies

Flowers warm a gloomy winter

Sunflowers sandwiched between daisies

Waterlily


Tet is here!

 

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