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. 

Long Bien Bridge - a Living Historical relic

Long Bien bridge may be seen as the symbol of courageous capital in wars.The bridge, hence, is not only a traffic construction, a nice architecture, but also a living historical relic.
“Hanoi” - the name means “surrounded by river” is the city of ponds, lakes, rivers and bridges. If Hoan Kiem Lake with special green water and the red bridge named The Huc is the symbol of an elegant and charming ancient city; Red river and Long Bien bridge may be seen as the symbol of courageous capital in wars.
Long Bien Bridge
History of Long Bien bridge
 The Long Bien Bridge was constructed from 1989 to 1902 during French’s occupation of the country. Though the bridge was designed by French, it was built directly by Vietnamese workers with indigenous construction materials like woods from Phu Tho, Yen Bai, Thanh Hoa province, cement from Hai Phong, Long Tho lime from Hue.
 The bridge was formerly named Paul Doumer by the French, but Vietnamese have called it Long Bien or Cai River Bridge for a long time, and Long Bien becomes the most popular name of the bridge. Originally, Long Bien had 19 spans and it was the first steel bridge across Red river in Hanoi, and one of four greatest bridges in the world at the time it was built.
Long Bien Bridge 's Construction
 Long Bien was considered the pride, symbol of architecture in the Far East. The bridge was a connection point to transport tons of rice from Northern and Northern Central area of Vietnam to Dien Bien Phu battle, and contributed to the win of Vietnam army against French, 1954.
 More than 100 years with decades of war, Long Bien Bridge was bombed many times by air attacks by American army in 1967, 1972; and many spans of the bridge were destroyed. The left spans still remaining today remind us of an unforgettable past. The bridge, hence, is not only a traffic construction, a nice architecture, but also a living historical relic.
Beautiful sights of Long Bien Bridge
Today, Long Bien is only one of the five bridges crossing the Red river of Hanoi. However, it may be the most special bridge with unique historic, architectural, and cultural value. It is the only bridge in Hanoi where all the riders have to go in the left hand side, where tourists can take a walk and taste mouthwatering desserts offered by vendors (see 5 street vendors you should not miss out in Hanoi), where Hanoians can buy fresh vegetable or fish for the dinner from the small afternoon market on the bridge.
Long Bien Bridge at the sunset
 Many people living and visiting Hanoi said that Long Bien Bridge is the best place to look at the sunrise or the sunset and taking nice photos of alluvial patch. Many brides and grooms choose Long Bien Bridge as nice background in their wedding albums. Many tourists come here to visit a historical construction and view nice scenery. Many youngsters, teenagers take nice photos to keep memories of youth on the bridge or in the middle of alluvial patch with full of green tree. Many vendors and housewives still come here every afternoon for an open air market.
And many trains pass the bridge each day.
 That way, Long Bien – the oldest bridge in Hanoi is still living and sharing the daily life with Hanoians silently. If you have a chance to visit Hanoi, do not forget to take a walk on Long Bien Bridge for sight seeing, feeling the daily life of Hanoians, and enjoying peaceful moments at the present but not forgetting memorable past.
How to get there
You can rent a motorbike and remember go on the left hand side of the bridge, or walk from the centre of Hanoi to here ( just more then 1km from the Old Quarter to Long Bien bridge).
If tourists in Vietnam Travel have chance to visit Hanoi, Hoan Kiem Lake is a must-see place that should not be missed!

Love for Hanoi ancient streets

Hanoi is the capital and also the center of politics, culture and tourism of Vietnam. Hanoi has a rich and long history with so many cultural architectures and famous vestiges, which make it to be the greatest destination of tourism for foreign guests. Tourists will be impressed not only by the hidden beauty of this ancient city but also by the elegant and taciturn aspects of 36 old streets in Hanoi.
Some one says that Hanoi is so small, but no matter people can get tired of walking around 36 old streets, they can’t go through all of these old street, taste all delicious foods and profound spice of special things like people’s emotion. ..
Hanoi old streets – where some little silent algae are remained in small quantum that no sunlight can stand over, where the roads are crowed by people and vehicles that no footprints are left, Hanoi people are still proud of memorable old streets as the special taste remained and deposited of a fast-growing city.

Narrow and old streets
Hanoi ancient streets should be loved by everything deepened in our own minds; in our hearts that why when people are vibrated of it, they can’t easily go off because Hanoi is characterized by a very special aspect of Vietnamese which can’t be mixed or mistaken by any beauty of other places in the world.
It is the busy Hang Gai street, the gentle and quiet Hang Hom street, the colorful Hang Ma street and Hang Bac, Hang Buom streets which strongly foot in front of fast-growing lines of time that make up the beauty of ancient streets. It is the shaked yellow sunlight by the windows, the ancient aspects of old tiled roofs in Hang Bong, Hang Dao street, the condensed perfume of blackboard trees in nights, the charming beauty of girls in “ao dai” Vietnam that hang on the steps of tourists. 
You can ride a bike along ancient streets in early morning full of fogs and reward yourself  a bowl of Hue vermicelli and beef in Hang Dieu or in Hang Than street. Hanoi old streets are normally called “Hanoi 36 streets” which is the unique architectural complex combined withcharacterized cuisine culture. Cuisine culture of Hanoi Ancient Street is the various combinations between European-Asian traditional foods and between the luxurious style and commonly-street one…
People often say, when mentioning Hanoi should mention ancient streets because it is the rule that is also like when you love a girl, you should love her soul in advance. And, that ancient street is the soul of Hanoi.  People are still busy at work; ancient streets are still quiet as the paces of modern life can’t touch to the deepest alleys in it. People in the ancient streets can live in the narrow houses where 3 generations share daily common activities, the low living style and refined style made only by Hanoi people when some flowers bought from early mornings are along ladies and girls in markets and food stalls in street packages have become the simple beauty of Hanoi. Ancient streets are narrow but it can also hold enough spaces for many people, it is small but it can hold “special Hanoi style” which can’t be mixed. Old and small streets which may be large enough for one people to move through hidden ancient café stores that when people peck at the special cup of coffee they can comfort themselves by relaxing and finding images about Hanoi through films smeared by time. Hanoi people often say when travelling to Hanoi everyone should taste café in ancient streets which isn’t strong but the space there can make them much warmer.
The street of lovers
 Streets are also one of the beauties of Hanoi. Hanoi streets have large pavements with many big trees and flowers. When you walk on Phan Dinh Phung Street, you can fell the cool from the shade of big trees. Hoang Dieu Street is quiet. It is named "The Romantic Street" or "The Street of Lovers". Many couples like walking on it because of its beautiful scenes. The most beautiful one is Thanh Nien Street which is in the middle of two lakes Ho Tay and Ho Truc Bach. Like other streets in Hanoi, Thanh Nien Street has s lot of tall trees and a bunch of colorful flowers. Riding bicycle or motorbike on this street, you can smell the fragrance of blackboard trees and fly your soul to feel the atmosphere in a place considered as the most peaceful destination in the world. The extraordinariness of these ancient streets are "Tunnel Houses", those with narrow width and deep length. These houses sometimes open at the back into another street which is different from that of the front door. All houses are similarly designed the room serves as the place where goods can be manufactured and sold. After the front room is a small open courtyard built to let the light in. It is usually decorated with ornamental rocks, small pool with a variety of fishes, plants, and flowers. The backroom is used as living quarter with the dining room and bedrooms. Most houses have one floor, few have the second floor. This second floor is generally low and has small or no windows and you can have benches to take a rest or to enjoy the beauty of the lakes there.
Hanoi old street's cuisine is the combination of various cuisines. The sophisticate aspect in Hanoi cuisine is expressed in the way of processing, tasting and the truthful emotion of givers and receivers. Each food has it own spice, beauty and tradition in the way of tasting; it is not only common foods but also the art of cuisine. That’s why a writer said that Hanoi foods have agitated people-away-home and tourists who first come to Hanoi.
 

Could I love these thousand-year old streets much more a little? For winds to bring me flower perfume, to listen to unfinished songs, to recall memories of someone in the sensational emotion?