Monday, November 11, 2013

Tomb of Dong Khanh

Dong Khanh's Tomb is located on the land of Cu Si hamlet, now Thuong Hai village, Thuy Xuan commune, Hue City. After being crowned, Dong Khanh had a temple built beside his father's tomb named Truy Tu to worship him. In February 1888, during the construction, Dong Khanh got sick and died.


Emperor Thanh Thai came to the crown. He had to use Truy Tu temple and renamed it Ngung Hy for the cult of Emperor Dong Khanh. His corpse was buried simply on a hill named "Ho Thuan Son", 30m to the west of Ngung Hy Temple. The whole tomb area was called Tu Lang. 

In 1916, when Khai Dinh, son of Dong Khanh, was crowned, he had the temple renovated and the tomb built for his father. In July 1917, the tomb was accomplished. Ngung Hy temple and its dependent houses, in particular, continued to be repaired and were finished in May 1923. Dong Khanh's tomb construction lasted through the lives of four Nguyen Emperors (1888-1923) that's why it bears the stamp of two architectural inclinations of two different historical periods.


The worship temple

The constructions still offer the traditional features according to the "double architecture": a house with multi-succeeding roofs. In the main temple and its dependent houses, we find the familiar splendid red and gilt pillars with decoration of four seasons and four holly animals. Most noteworthy is Ngung Hy temple, the best conserved place for red and gilt art and famous lacquer art in Vietnam. In the main temple, there were 24 drawings consisting of illustrations from "Nhi Thap Tu Hieu", historical references about pious examples in China.

On the edges of the roof, pillars and beams, appear terra-cotta sculptures with other popular decorations such as "fisherman gains double benefits", cock-fighting, musical instruments, chess-poem-wine, flowers and fruits, animals... (In the tombs of earlier emperors these were not included).


The tomb area

The design of the tomb is almost completely Europeanized from its architectural peculiarities or decorative models to the building materials. For instance, Bi Dinh is a variation of Roman architecture blended with Asian architecture with its tall, thin mandarin statues from cement and bricks (instead of stone) and tile bricks.

In general, Dong Khanh's tomb was the beginning of the mixture of European and Asian styles, of old and new architectures.

Minh Mang's Tomb

The Tomb is 12km form Hue, on Cam Ke mount, near Bang Lang fork, on the west bank of the Perfume River. In September 1840, the construction of the tomb began. In January 1841, while the work was implemented Minh Mang was sick and passed away. 


Emperor Thieu Tri, his successor to the throne, continue this task according to his father’s plans. Emperor Minh Mang's corpse was buried in Buu Thanh on August 20th of 1841. The construction was fully completed in 1843.

Minh Mang's tomb is a standard architectural complex consisting of 40 constructions (palaces, temples, pavilions, etc.) designed on an symmetric axis running from Dai Hong gate to the foot of La Thanh (Surrounding Wall) behind the Emperor's tomb.


The constructions are distributed into three main parallel axis of which Than Dao path is the centre.
Dai Hong Mon: It is the main gate to enter the tomb. The gate presents three paths with 24 heaving roofs covered with beautiful decorations. The gate was opened only once to bring the Emperor's coffin to the tomb, and had been tightly closed since then. Visitors have to use the two side-gates Ta Hong Mon (Left Gate) and Huu Hong Mon (Right Gate).


Bi Dinh: Behind Dai Hong Mon (big gate) is the Honour Courtyard with its two rows of mandarins, elephants and horses’ statues. Bi Dinh (Stele Pavilion) is on Mount Phung Than. Inside is the stele "Thanh Duc Than Cong", inscribed with the Emperor's biography and merits written by his son Thieu Tri.

The temple area: 

The Salutation Court is divided into four steps - The Hien Duc Mon (gate) leads to the worship place. In the centre is Sung An Temple surrounded by Ta, Huu Phoi Dien (Left, Right Temples) in the front and Ta, Huu Tung Phong (Left, Right Rooms) in the back. The Emperor and Queen Ta Thien Nhan are worshipped in Sung An Temple. Then, Hoang Trach Mon (gate) leads to the Bright Pavilion (Minh Lau), built on Tam Tai Mount. It is a square pavilion with two storeys and eight roofs. On both sides of Minh Lau, two obelisks stand on the hills. In the back of Minh Lau are two flower gardens designed as the character "Longevity".

The tomb (Buu Thanh):

Tan Nguyet (New Moon) crescent Lake embraces the circular Buu Thanh (The wall surrounding the grave). There are three bridges on Tan Nguyet Lake. Visitors have to climb 33 Thanh stone steps to reach the sepulchre of the Emperor. 


Besides nearly 60 word boxes of carved poems in the Stele Pavilion, Hien Duc gate, Sung An Temple, and Minh Pavilion are also remarkable and constitute an anthology of chosen poems of Vietnam’s early 19th century.

Visiting Minh Mang’s tomb, one is impressed by the majesty and symmetry of the architectural constructions.

Thieu Tri's Tomb

Thieu Tri's tomb lies in Chu Chanh village, Thuy Bang commune, about 8 km from the Hue city. Ater being on the throne for seven years, Emperor Thieu Tri was sick and died on 4 November 1847 (at the age of 41). In his lifetime, the Emperor neither thought of his death nor wanted the people and soldiers to waste so much labour and property for him, so he did not have his tomb built.


As soon as he came to the crown, Emperor Tu Duc had the royal geomancers to seek land for his father's tomb. On February 11th 1848, the construction started, and 10 months later, it was completed.

The tomb can be divided into two parts: the tomb area and temple are:

The tomb area:


On the right with Nhuan Trach Lake is the bronze gate leading to big Binh Dai (Honour Courtyard). The two rows of stone statues on the left and right of the court are typical of the sculpture art in the first half of 19th century in Hue. Then, one can see Bi Dinh (Stele Pavilion) and Duc Hinh tower on a tortoise-shell-shaped hill. Ngung Thuy Lake looks like a crescent moon barring in front , the walls of the tomb itself (Buu Thanh). Across the lake are three bridges: Chanh Trung (in the middle), Dong Hoa (on the right), Tay Dinh (on the left) leading to the stairs going to Buu Thanh.

The temple area:

It was built separately, 100m from Duc Hinh Tower, on the left. After passing the marble gate and another three steps leading to Bieu Duc temple, visitors will go through Hong Trach gate. In the middle is Bieu Duc temple, where the funerary tablets of the Emperor and the Queen Tu Du are worshipped. In the main temple, on the edges of the roof and Hong Trach gate, are engraved over 450 word boxes including poems with educational and literary values. All the dependent works gathered around Buu Duc Temple such as Left and Right Temple (in the front), Left and Right Houses (in the back), increase the nobility of the main temple.


Thieu Tri's tomb, with its simple and intimate beauty, leans against the foot of Thuan Dao Mount. In front of the tomb stretches a flat land with green trees and rice-fields ranging from the Perfume river's bank up to Lim bridge.

Thursday, November 7, 2013

Khai Dinh Tomb

Khai Dinh tomb (also know as Ung tomb) the tomb of emperor Khai Dinh (1885 - 1925), the 12th king of the Nguyen Dynasty, is located Thuy Bang, Huong Thuy, Thua Thien-Hue and it is far about 10 kilometers from Hue city. Khai Dinh tomb has an area smaller than others one but it is more sparkling and sophisticated between western and oriental architecture.


 Khai Dinh King chose Chau Ngu Mountain to built tomb which is far about 10 kilometers from Hue. The tomb was established on September 4th 1920 and lasted to 11 years after. The tomb has a combination between modern and traditional architecture. In comparison with those of the preceding emperors, Khai Dinh’ s tomb is much smaller in surface (117m x 48.5m) but it is very elaborate.


Overall tomb is rectangle block with 127 steps stair and divided into: Coming to tomb must past the system of 37 steps stair, adding more 29 steps stair, tourists will come to a yard, in the middle has stone stele house. All statues were made from stone in Khai Dinh tomb, two pillars are very hight. Go up three more levels so as to reach the altar monument.


The walls are decorated and inlaid with elaborate glass and porcelain designs. Beyond these modern building materials and designs, the tombs had elements of eastern art mixed with western designs. The most noticeable characteristic of the tomb is the glassy; it is really a masterpiece of Vietnamese early in the 20th century. Khai Dinh tomb is really a valuable structure and architecture. It makes diversity for complex of tombs in Hue.

Thay Pagoda

Thay Pagoda, also called Cả Pagoda and Thiên Phúc Tự , is situated at the foot of Sài Sơn Mountain  in Phuong Cach Commune, Quoc Oai Distric, Hanoi.


Built in the 11th century during the reign of King Ly Nhan Tong. At first, it was a small pagoda managed by Priest Tu Dao Hanh. The pagoda was initially built according to Sino-Vietnamese character Tam - this character is formed by 3 hyphens parallel to each other.

The pagoda therefore consists of 3 sections: Ha Pagoda, Trung Pagoda, and Thuong Pagoda. The outer part, Ha Pagoda, is a place for offerings and ceremonies; the middle part, Trung Pagoda, is a place for worship of Buddha; and finally, the inner part is a place for worship of Priest Tu Dao Hanh. An automated sandalwood statue of Tu Dao Hanh that stands and sits is located in a red lacquered shrine trimmed with gold and covered with a curtain.


In front of the pagoda is Long Tri pond, in the middle of which is a stage called Thuy Dinh, where water puppet performances are held. Nhat Tien and Nguyet Tien Bridges, built by Doctor Phung Khac Khoan in 1602, are located on each side of the stage.


Interesting sites can be visited in the surroundings of the pagoda. For example, Phat Tich and Cac Co Caves are located not too far behind the pagoda. A hole in the dome of Cac Co Cave lets one see outside the cave.

Monday, September 23, 2013

Quan Lan Island's primitive beauty

Quan Lan Island located in Quang Ninh Province ’s Van Don Island District is endowed with many favourable conditions, such as forests, sea, historical architectural works, cultural characteristics, etc. The island still retains its primitive beauty that attracts both domestic and foreign tourists who like discovering the deserted areas.
Imprints of a trade port in the past
After three hours cruising on the Bai Tu Long Bay from Van Don Port, we saw Quan Lan Island with its white sand banks appearing on the sea in the curtain of mist. When the ship landed, we were very excited and eager for the island adventure and we were guided by enthusiastic locals on the island.
Quan Lan was the first trading port of Vietnam built by the Ly Dynasty (11th century). Many vestiges of the ancient port together with relics of foundations of ancient architectures, such as water wells and a layer of broken ceramic and porcelain pieces, some metres thick, found at Cai Nang Wharf  confirm  the fact that the port was once very animated and prosperous.
It is the place where the locals annually hold the offerings ceremony to King Ly Anh Tong (1138-1175) and the boat-rowing festival in May and June according to the lunar calendar.
We visited Quan Lan Communal House to see with our eyes the delicate art of carving with various designs. The images of dragons are carved lively with different shapes, such as the dragon flanking a moon, a dragon keeping the “Tho” (longevity) script in its mouth, a dragon rolling water, a daisy turning into dragon, etc. Also, images of silk moths and shrimp in the dynasties of Ly, Tran, Le and Nguyen are also skilfully depicted because the trade of growing mulberry and raising silkworm and seafood catching once strongly developed in the area for Vietnam tourism.
Another special feature of the communal house is that it was built with Man lai wood. The plant only grows on rocky Ba Mun Island near the Cai Lang trading port. Over the past hundreds of years, the communal house’s pillars remain intact and free of worm and termite infestation.
Primitive beauty of beaches
Once visiting Quan Lan Island , tourists can not help participating in sea tours and sporting activities on the sea and discovering the traditional cultural features of the locals. To get there, tourists will pass over endless white sand beaches in Van Hai area that have been famous since the 1950s and now are the material source for the national glass and crystal industry.
It is not wrong when many people said that Quan Lan is like a princess who is waiting for a kiss from a prince to wake up. The area boasts two beautiful natural beaches, including 3km-long Son Hao and 2km-long Van Hai, which are most attractive to tourists. The beaches here slope gently to the sea with soft white sand and vast poplar forests.
At sunset, Quan Lan became deserted and there were only some tourists on three-wheel taxis returning to their hotels on the only small road on the island and a few motorbikes passing by.  When night falls, the scene is very romantic with the whistles of the poplar forests, calls of seabirds, soft and low whisperings of waves flapping on the seashore. From a far, the light from ships on the sea to catch cuttlefish reflects on the sea, creating a dreamlike landscape.

Co To - paradise island

50km north-east of Van Do beach in Quang Ninh province, Co To appears with its wild beauty and one of the longest white sandy beach in the Gulf of Tonkin.
From Hanoi you can take a bus to Van Don at Luong Yen or My Dinh station every one hour from the morning to 5.30 pm. Or you can also catch a later bus at Ha Long or Cam Pha station, and then get on a Mong Cai bus near the Bai Chay bridge to reach the Cua Ong market. In the morning, tourists can take a boat to Thanh Lam Island, a small island close to Co To by trekking.
Fisherman in Co To island's sea 
Co To Island District comprises three main islands - Co To, Thanh Lan, and Tran - and smaller ones and covers 4, 000 square meters.Local residents, mostly migrants from northern provinces, live in only two communes and a small town.
From large Co To Island, you can discover many beautiful things. Beaches in the large Co To Island are deserted and not polluted by modern industrial society. 

The lighthouse in Co To island
Starting from the Cai Rong Port in the morning with tender breezes, visitors can spend an hour and a half to sail on the Bai Tu Long Bay where has mountainous sceneries like hundreds of baby dragons were sleeping on a giant green carpet. 

Then, travelers pass through the Doi entrance to begin an unforgettable journey circled by the sea.Next they leave the boat on the Co To wharf, some 5, 00 meters from the center of Co To District, to come to a local guest-house on busy streets with Uncle Ho's statue, markets and restaurants.

Beaches in Co To Island are very clean and beautiful with white sands and blue water. Co To Island has two beautiful beaches: Van Chai and Hong Van. Van Chai and Hong Van are the two must-see beaches in Co To. Van Chai Beach is still unspoiled and tourists can relax and play in the big waves and stay overnight in small bungalows while Hong Van beach is always quiet with small waves. Therefore, it is said that Co To Island’s beaches are the perfect spot for beachgoers looking for somewhere relatively untouched.

The attraction is not only known for a long, clear beach near the residential area but also for a green pine forest and a tiled road along the shore where locals love to take a walk at sunset.


Sea Water in Co To is so clean and blue
For local residents, the best way to explore every corner of the islands is to hire a motorbike and a destination which should not be missed is the solar-powered Cô Tô lighthouse on the peak of a mountain not far from the town. The pathway from the foot to the light house is deserted and difficult to negotiate, with rough stones. From the lighthouse balcony, visitors can get a panoramic view of the mountains and the horizon.
Another place of interest is the Bac Van military port, around 20 minutes from the lighthouse. Bac Van Beach is known for the different kinds of coral that the authorities are trying to conserve.

Stunning sunrise in the easternmost country

After climbing Fansipan, westernmost Apchai, our group watched the dawn at the easternmost country.
From Hanoi, we traveled to Tuy Hoa by train. We had 2 days to watch scenes from the North to Central and chatted together. From Tuy Hoa, we hired motorbikes to carry tents and food to Dam Mon.
On the 60km road, we were enchanted by wonderful scenery of blue sky winding Passes and long coastline.
Adjacent to Dai Lanh beach is Vung Ro Bay that used to be a place to receive secret weapons from the North transferred into.

Comming to Dam Mon, we parked and strolled about 14km to reach to Mui Doi (Couple Cape). You can also come here by boat, and strolled about 14km or by motorbike through sand dunes.
Through every sand dune is blue sea, looking like green pearl

After 2 hours through the sand dunes, we took a break

At 2:30 pm, after 4 hours, our group reached to Rang beach-campsite and 
1km from Couple Cape

4 am in the next morning, everyone got up early to watch the first sunrise of the country

Going back Rang beach, we returned Dam Mon by boat

Panorama of stone rapids from Rang beach to Couple Cape

From Dam Mon, we returned Tuy Hoa by motorbike

And stop at Dai Lanh to camp

The next morning, our group took excercise by running up the Dai Lanh lighthouse 
to watch sunrise


Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Da Lat – a flowerful town of romance

Some traveler ever said: “If you are in love, a week in Da Lat – a rhythmic land of flowers and romance- will make your love turn into a happy ending!”…
  
Introduction & Location
“Listening to the noon going down in the romantic town, a Da Lat-violet is filled with fog…” (written by Minh Ky, Da Cam)  is lyric of a famous song about Da Lat – one of the top prioritized destinations in Vietnam for its romantic and flowerful beauty. Located in the South Central Highlands ofVietnam (Lang Biang Highlands), Da Lat was originally the playground of the French , and today’s “valley of love”, surrounded by cool, fresh and silently charming atmosphere.
Weather
Da Lat is extremely famous for mild weather. Thanks to the advantage of height and enclosing pine jungle, the town is featured with temperate climate, with an average temperature of 18oC – 21°C, highest as 30oC and lowest as 5°C.
What is more, Da Lat has two distinct seasons, the rainy and the sunny ones. The former is from May to October, and the former from November to April. Tourists should be prepared for sudden rains in sunny season, sometimes rocky ones.  Never in Da Lat could we ever catch a storm, which make it favorable for tourists to take any daytime leisure walk.
History
This pure land of romance was discovered by the French during their invasion in southern Vietnam. Before 1893, Lang Biang highlands, an extremely cool and fresh aired area, was the accommodation of the Viet highlanders. Yet there came the day the French would like to settle a convalescent zone in a European weather-like land in 1899. Of course, they could not miss Lang Biang Highlands then. Ever since the significant choice, Da Lat was later on built with all required French-style houses, villas, treatment places, and temperate flowers & plants, etc. This has step by step formulated today’s romantic and glamorous Da Lat, a clear mountainous air zone for escaping the heat and humidity of the coast and Saigon, or the today’s Hochiminh City.
Natural beauty
It’s no easy at all for travellers to choose the initial visiting place in Da Lat for its widespread covering beauty. On a whole, Da Lat looks like a cross between Vietnam and the French Alps. As mentioned, most of its hotels and houses were built in French style. The town spreads across a series of pine-covered hills, with a small lake in the center, while surrounded by high peaks, creating a lovely scenery quite different from the rest of Vietnam. Temperatures are pleasantly warm by day, and quite cool at night, down to perhaps 10oC.
Today, Dalat is undoubtedly a beautiful tourist town. The vast majority of visitors are both domestic and foreign tourists on short package tours, drawn by the scenery, vivid blue skies, fresh air, flower-filled parks, and local edible treatment. Dalat is a favorite destination for company weekend outings, family get-aways, and most of all, honeymoons. For overseas visitors, it offers a chance to cool down, view a bit of the French legacy, and enjoy the atmosphere. Also, Da Lat is surrounded by some of the best mountain biking, hiking and canyoning opportunities in Vietnam. Da Lat's high altitude of 1,500-2,000m and fertile landscape make it one among Vietnam's premium agricultural areas, producing a variety of fruits, vegetables and flowers that do not grow in the lowlands. In markets as far north as Hanoi, vegetables and flower vendors will tout their "made in Da Lat" produce.
Top visiting places

Whoever has come to Da Lat could never forget Xuan Huong Lake (Hồ Xuân Hương), which is located in center of town. Xuan Huong lake is now one of the main draws of Da Lat, and also where we can see honeymooners and locals strolling its banks. Side by side Xuan Huong Lake is Top-peg Hill (Đồi Cù), where has grown up a vast golf ground. If you are fond of fresh flowers, Da lat Flower Park is your accurate choice. The park, around 7,000 sq.m2, is situated on top of the Top-peg Hill, northern bank of Xuan Huong lake, and full of species of beautiful colored flowers to be extremely well-fed by planters. Tourists are all interested in the Da Lat’s flower festival, bringing them to a flowerfully fresh heaven!
For couples, Valley of Love (Thung Lũng Tình Yêu) is the premium place to go. Its special name derived from its romantic view of silence, grace and green. The other choice is Lake of Sorrow or Lake of Sighs (Hồ Than thở), whose name came from a tale of two lovers, one of whom committed suicide after the other was called up to serve in the army. The romantic and beautiful Tuyen Lam Lake (Hồ Tuyền Lâm) (the lake where rivers, springs and forests meet), Prenn Falls, or Pongour are also worth visiting for their beauty and fun.
On the other hand, Da Lat is popular for French-style architecture. Examples are King Bao Dai’s Palace, Ngo Dinh Diem and Nguyen Cao Ky’s villas, Hang Nga villas, and so forth. All of those should really be visited since they demonstrate the deeply special beauty and somehow culture of the old French. 
Tourist activities
  • A striking, not-quite-finished fantasy house designed by the daughter of an independence war hero. Worth a visit if you are interested in architecture, or like Dr. Seuss-style surroundings.
  • A set of flower gardens centered around a re-constructed traditional Vietnamese teakwood house.
  • A hill-top pagoda coupled with a brief cable car ride over the pine forest
  • A ride in a land rover up to the top of Langbiang mountain, with nice views of Dalat and the surrounding mountains and valleys.

Ben Tre – huge potential of ecological tourism in Vietnam

A pristine hick area with pure ecological environment created partly by the green of coconut tree lines and large fruits gardens has made Ben Tre a nation’s precious green ecological complex in southern Vietnam.

"Who’s standing there looking like a coconut shadow, with long hair gone in the wind? .. That is Ben Tre’s girl...” is the famous song about Ben Tre, a green land with coconut trees, fruits gardens, rivers and canals... 
Ben Tre province (a delta province) is located at the end of the Cuu Long River Delta. It has borders with the East Sea to the east, with 60 kilometer-long coastline. The province is 2,322 sq. km2, around 85 kilometers far from Hochiminh City.


Ben Tre is featured with a plain geography, which is scattered around by sand dunes and adorned by rice fields, fruit plant gardens, and numerous rivers and streams, canals and arroyos. The four Tien Giang river branches, including My Tho, Ba Lai, Ham Luong and Co Chieu rivers, split Ben Tre into 3 islands of Minh, Bao, and An Hoa. All contribute to an ecological system of rivers, canals, arroyos and green trees, facilitating transportation, hydro-electricity, and more importantly, ecological tourism potential.
Climate
As a typical tropical area, Ben Tre lies in the monsoon tropical climate with two seasons: rainy season from May till October, and dry season from November till April. The annual average temperature is 26oC-27oC. The average rainfall is 1,250-1,500mm/year. It is the favorable natural conditions that help Ben Tre gain such a pure and green ecological environment.
Formation
Ben Tre used to be part of Hoang Tran palace, in Hoang Tran town, southern Vietnam, which was set up in 1803, and renamed into Vinh Tran in the following year. In 1832, King Minh Mang enlarged and split the town into two provinces, An Giang and Vinh Long. The latter comprised 3 districts Hoang An (or Hoang Tri) (today’s Ben Tre), Dinh Vien (today’s Vinh Long), and Lac Hoa (today’s Tra Vinh). Ben Tre was then the “arrondissement administratif” (important administrative county) of Vinh Long province. During the French occupying period, the districts (counties) were to be turned into provinces according to the Decree No. 20/12/1899 by the Governor-General of Indochina. A part of Vinh Long, particularly Hoang An District, became the naturally favored Ben Tre Province of today.
What is it famous for?
Historical value
One of the attractive points to tourists is Ben Tre’s historical values. During the severe wars against foreign invaders, Ben Tre was regarded as the “General Uprising Land”, which initialized the armed patriotic struggle high tide against Ngo Dinh Diem puppet regime by Southern Vietnam’s Liberation Front. The war became most fierce in 1960. Regardless of genders, ages, and occupations, thousands of Ben Tre people arose, fight and heroically died for their homeland liberation. Drawn by Ben Tre locals, people in Sa Dec, Vinh Long, Tra Vinh and elsewhere together violently arose. Thanks to the very Vietnamese heroic spirit like in Ben Tre, finally we have a peaceful Vietnam of today. A heroic and historical Ben Tre is actually worth a visit by both inbound and outbound tourists.
The green ecological complex
If you could look through your airplane’s window down to Ben Tre, you would feel like it were some heaven’s green land! Covering the whole land is the color of green, green, and green trees adorned with pure rivers meaderring in between rows of trees. When seen from above, these rivers look like huge tortuous gentle snakes, which probably stimulates your curiosity For concrete understanding, Ben Tre is the convergence of three huge islands, An Hoa, Bao, and Minh, who owed their division from the four significant rivers: Tien Giang, Ba Lai, Ham Luong, and Co Chien. Besides so many rivers & canals, the province is favored by nature in terms of a plentiful fauna-flora system, and a pristine series of all-the-year-round green tropical fruits gardens (hick towns). All these excellent natural elements lead to a fresh-aired environment of large green coconut & fruits gardens, and an ecological system, enchanting a huge number of tourists, especially foreign ones. 
Tropical Fruits & Food

The extremely tasty tropical fruits and local delicacies are desired by all visitors. Tropical fruits are available at all fruits gardens during the year, for instance, sweet mango, custard-apple, mangosteen, durian, longan, rambuton, and other kinds of fruits with segments. You can also easily find typical southern specialties here, for example, salted fish (incld. small fish paste or “mắm  tép”, “còng”, “nêm”, “ruốc” or salted shredded meat, field fish, etc.), sour-tasted soup (such as fish soup cooked with carambola, tamarine, “chùm ruột”, “bần”, and fresh herbs like peppermint, beansprouts, banana flowers), bitter-tasted soup (such as bitter-melon and centella soup), braised fish (such as anabas, ball fish, “kèo” fish, “lóc” fish, and so on), kinds of shrimp, crabs, eel, frog, and so forth.  
Particularly, Ben Tre boasts a unique specialty, coconut products which are available at coconut gardens. Examples are coconut candies, coconut oil, coconut quintessence, etc, from which about 50 dishes can be made. Theses days, this special kind of delicacy is sold to many areas nationwide. Besides, some other delicacies of Ben Tre are also well known, such as My Long girdle cake, Son Doc “phồng  tôm” (rice chupatty with powdered shrimp), Phu Le rice alcohol, and so forth. Should you have a chance to trip around, tasting those specialties, I can assure that you will never forget such a marvelous feeling!


Religious life
As in other areas of Vietnam, Ben Tre’s Buddhism has also much improved. Famous pagodas in the region are Hoi Ton, Tuyen Linh, and Vien Minh. All of those have a long history of around 3 centuries, and are amongst the worthy destinations for those who are interested in religion, besides ecological tours.
Festivals
Festivals in Ben Tre contain all the seaside villages’ festive features. The two most important ones are Phu Le and Nghinh Ong festivals. Phu Le is a temple in Ba Tri district, organizing festivals twice per year to pray for favorable weather and fruitful crops. Wheareas the latter is held annually for fishermen to gather and amuse themselves through a series of ceremonies, entertainment, and feats activities. If luckily arrived on these occasions, you would be enchanted by the cosy world of people in waterway & riverside area.
How to get there?
Ben Tre is only 14 and 85 kilometers far from My Tho and Ho Chi Minh City respectively. What make most tourists feel excited is that they can take a ferry-boat from My Tho to Ben Tre. For a local journey, you may hire a high-speed ship at a very reasonable price.
Tourist activities
  • Phung Islet or Ong Dao Dua Islet (Cồn Phụng or Cồn Ông Đạo Dừa): numerous original architectural works, and craft villages (producing coconut products and honey
  • Snail Islet or Hung Phong Islet (Cồn Ốc or Cồn Hưng Phong): a lot of coconut and fruits gardens
  • Fairy Islet (Cồn Tiên): a beautiful sand bank, the ideal annual recreation place of many locals
  • Vam Ho Bird ground (Sân chim Vàm Hồ): shelter of nearly half a million sorks and night herons, and other wild species, date-palm jungle, and a plentiful flora (incld. water coconut, custard-apple, guava, French beans, date-palm, sea water morning glory, etc.)
  • Cai Mon Fruits Garden (Vườn cây ăn trái Cái Mơn): the cradle of Southern fruits, containing a number of tropical fruit kinds (sweet mango, durian, rambuton, longan, mangosteen, etc.), and many animal-shaped plants
  • Dai Dien ancient House (Nhà cổ Đại Điền): a famous beautiful old house of the Huynh, remaining in its origin

Cape Ca Mau National Park

Covering an area of 41,862ha, Cape Ca Mau National Park is located in Dat Mui commune, Ngoc Hien district, Ca Mau province, nearly 400km away from Ho Chi Minh City.
 Cape Ca Mau National Park is originally covered by natural mangrove forest; however, the vast majority was destroyed during the Second Indochina War. Most of the aqua cultural ponds have been abandoned and now support extensive areas of re-colonizing mangrove forest. There are extensive mudflats which are also being colonized naturally by mangrove. These areas are continually growing due to accretion rates along the coastline of up to 50m per year in places.
Biodiversity values. The Park is a submerged area with a floral complex, mainly including mangrove and Mam (avicenia, black mangrove) trees. This is an ecological system of natural salt-marsh forests with high values in terms of bio-diversity, landscapes, environment, culture and history.

Some small areas of old Rhizophora apiculata mangrove remain at Mui Ca Mau. This vegetation type probably covered much of the area in the past. Evidence of over-exploitation is abundant with many old logged bases of large Rhizophora apiculata trees. There are still some big trees over 10 years old, though the habitat is degraded. There are also extensive Rhizophora apiculata plantations at the national park; the density of them varies from one to six trees per square metre. Each year, the submerged flora on the western beach of the park extends nearly 100m into the sea, creating an ideal environment for the reproduction and development of shrimp, fish and mollusk.
The park has a rich fauna with 13 species of animals belonging to 9 families, including 2 species listed in the Red Book of the World Conservation Union (IUCN). They are the long-tailed monkey and ca khu (Trachypithecus cristatus). The park is also considered to be an important site for a number of migratory water birds with 74 species of birds belonging to 23 families, including 5 species listed in IUCN Red Book, namely the Chinese stork, grey-legged pelican, ibis leucocephalus, curved beak snipe and black-headed ibis

The mangroves at Mui Ca Mau perform an important coastal protection function, which was strongly emphasized on coastal protection in the management of the site to date. The national park also has high potential for recreation, ecotourism, conservation education and scientific research. Although present visitor use of the national park is low, visitor numbers are likely to increase in the future.

Wednesday, September 11, 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.