Visiting The Temple Of King Le In The Ancient Capital Of Hoa Lu

Posted on May 14, 2012 by Pham Huu Duc

The thousand-year-old temple of King Le (King Le Dai Hanh) is situated in the ancient capital of Hoa Lu, Ninh Binh Province, around 200 kilometers away from Hanoi.

King Le Temple seen from the top of Ma Yen Mountain.

Every year the temple and the nearby Dinh King temple attract hundreds of thousands of people who come to pay their respects to King Le who fought courageously, protecting the country from the threat of invasion from the Chinese in the North.

Before occupying the throne and becoming the first King of the Le Dynasty, Le Hoan was an excellent general under King Dinh Tien Hoang. After the death of King Dinh, Le Hoan received support from the king’s wife and other military men, taking the throne and leading the fight against the army of the Song dynasty of China and began the southward expansion process against the kingdom of Champa.

The temple of Le King was first constructed in 1010 after the capital was moved to Thang Long, now Hanoi, on the area of the ancient capital.

The two gates leading to King Le Temple.

The temple was re-constructed from 1600-1606 and has been well maintained. The temple still holds the precious pieces of ancient sculpture on rock and wood, reflecting a period of prosperity in Vietnamese history.

The temple, laid on a rectangle shaped ground; running in the direction from West to East has been classified as a National Historic site, together with King Dinh ’s temple, which is just a few hundred meters away.

Sophisticated wood and stone sculptures colored in golden and crimson and dated from the 16th and 17th century help bring a sacred atmosphere into the interior area. Tourists have to pass the temples of the subordinates in order to see the final parts of the construction, the temple where there are statues of the King and his family.

Meanwhile, the temple only serves worship practices towards the king, his wife and his elder son, who succeeded him in power. The real tomb of King Le is isolated one kilometer from the frequently-visited temple. The tomb, with the backdrop of the Ma Yen Mountain and facing the picturesque rice field, was built in the early 20th century.

SGT

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Ho Chi Minh City Exploits River Tourism With Interesting Programmes

Posted on May 14, 2012 by Pham Huu Duc

Authorities in Ho Chi Minh City plan to exploit the area’s river tourism potential with new programmes, including tours of Can Gio Mangrove Forest.

By the end of this month, the city’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism will compile agency opinions and report to the People’s Committee on the kind of infrastructure that should be built for river tours.

Last year, several river tours to Can Gio Mangrove Forest were launched by travel companies, attracting many foreign tourists.

Phan Xuan Anh, director of Viet Excursions, said his company had launched two pilot tours in the Can Gio Mangrove Forest near the Thi Vai River over the past five months.

In late April, Nguyen Thi Hong, deputy chairwoman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee, and a group of officials from relevant departments, took a river tour from the city’s District 1 to the Can Gio Mangrove Forest, a UNESCO-recognised biosphere reserve in Can Gio District.

The trip was done as part of a research programme on the possible development of stopover stations on a river tour in Can Gio District.

One of the stopover stations could be a swift-breeding farm in Tam Thon Hiep Commune.

One of the tours organised by Viet Excursions lets tourists row kayaks in the Can Gio mangrove forest, visit salt fields on foot, and climb the 10-metre-high Giong Chua Mountain.

On the other tour, tourists travel by boat to visit Can Gio Mangrove Forest and listen to a tour guide describing the flora and fauna of the forest.

About 1,000 foreign tourists on cruise ships, most from Germany and the US, have taken the tours this year.

Investment

However, Can Gio District needs to do even more for tourism development, according to Anh.

Tourists enjoy exploring Can Gio, but the area has no souvenir or handicraft products. Tourists could also visit farms that raise swifts, according to travel agencies.

The Can Gio District-based Phi Long Boat Joint-Stock Company plans to develop swift farming on an area of more than 50ha in Can Gio and build a centre to exhibit Viet Nam’s swift nests.

With its two passenger ships, one carrying 400 passengers and the other 200, Phi Long wants to open a Can Gio – Ba Ria – Vung Tau Province river tour.

Le Van Sinh, head of the Can Gio Protection Forest Management Board, said the Can Gio Mangrove Forest was classified as a protection forest, which meant that the use of its rivers and canals for tourism development was still limited due to state regulations.

This waterway issue needs to be solved so that tourism in Can Gio can be developed, according to Sinh.

One of the tasks that should be given first investment priority is the planning and building of wharves at stopover stations on river tours.

He said that the city should conduct research on how to allow the use of rivers and canals in the Can Gio Protection Mangrove Forest to serve tourism services, including floating restaurants, water skiing and boat rowing.

VNS

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Tu Hai – A Delicious Seafood In Vietnam

Posted on May 11, 2012 by Pham Huu Duc

Snout Otter Clam (tu hài) is a specialty of Cat Ba Island, Hai Phong district. Actually, it’s so hard to find out the reason why it was named “tu hài”.

Its original name sounds like a Chinese name that is so difficult to be explained the meaning. People just can describe Snout Otter Clam to look similar to clam but its meat part is as thick as blood cockle, its taste is as fresh as abalone. Previously, Snout Otter Clam was a special seafood used as offerings for the kings.

Grilled Snout Otter Clam will be tastiest when being served with sliced-into-thread fresh ginger and deep-fried onion bulbs and Cat Hai fish sauce. Visitors who first time have tried grill Snout Otter Clam will feel its taste strange because the meat is soft, fresh and totally unique, different from other kinds of seafood.

Snout Otter Clam lays deeply below the low tide sand field in the coast. People have to dig on at least 50cm to find out it. Snout Otter Clam seekers must spend a long day in the sand field to gather several tens of Snout Otter Clam, that’s why it becomes the most specious kind of seafood in the local area. Because of the difficulty in seeking Snout Otter Clam, there are not many people doing this job. The experienced seekers find it easily to dominate the fields and the cost of Snout Otter Clam also increases due to this.

There is a seafood restaurant in Hai Phong which has bought fresh Snout Otter Clam and raised it in the aquarium containing salty water in order to satisfy the customers who are interested in seafood. However, after being raised, Snout Otter Clam can’t be as greasy as when they have already been gathered. In addition, the salty water in aquarium must be the one from Cat Ba Bay so that Snout Otter Clam can live. The sea water from other places are not appropriate to the living environment of Snout Otter Clam because of the difference in salt level.

Furthermore, people say that the chef of this restaurant who is proficient in making grilled Snout Otter Clam formerly was the cook of  an military unit which had the famous astronaut Tuan Pham in America defending period, that’s one of reasons for the large number of customers coming to this restaurant.

It can’t be denied that grilled Snout Otter Clam is extremely delicious although the dish can only be served in afternoon drink time in the port area or as the appetizer of a luxury meal in the hotel. To totally feel the taste of  this specious specialty, there is a recommendation that diners should enjoy it with several cups of  herbal wine.

Menu365

Traveling in Vietnam is a good way to try many delicious food, you may contact us to customize a tour package and learn about Vietnam cuisine.

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Ti Top Beach – The Beautiful Landscape Of Halong Bay

Posted on May 11, 2012 by Pham Huu Duc

Ti Top beach seen from the above looks like the moon embracing the island foot. Though small it might be, the beach is pretty pure with airy emerald water all year round. The breathtakingly beautiful landscape of the cloud, sky and water create the kudos for Ti Top beach, which donates its most peacefulness and astonishing scene to fans of nature and seas.

Ti Top beach is 14 kilometers far from Bai Chay, 1 kilometer far from Bo Nau Cave, on the East of Ha Long Bay. It is a sheer-sided mountain and tilted towards a snowy flat sand. Travel tours often choose this place of interest as a stop for their tourists, where they can contemplate occasional junks or fishing boats pottering scenically into view. It is the honor of one special location to record the visit of Ho President and Ghermann Titov astronaut in 1962. The name Ti Top has been available since then.

The Ti Top beach has many tourism services meeting the demand of guests all over the world, who desire to fulfill their lifelong ambition to visit the alluring natural gift. The freshwater is transported from the inland to by the Bay Management Board and therefore being safe and supplementing the tourists’ needs. Swimming suits, buoys and freshwater bathing, water motors and parachutes are all available here. It is the correct decision to select Ti Top beach as a destination in Ha Long Bay.

Vietnamtourism

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Visiting Luc Yen Gem Market In Yen The Town, Bac Giang Province

Posted on May 11, 2012 by Pham Huu Duc

Gems as the products are displayed in groups on the table. Gems maybe have been operated or being original. However, no matter what kinds of gem, they all look brilliant.

Luc Yen gem market is opened at a beautiful corner of a lake in Yen The town. The market works in just several hours in every morning. Depending on reasons and weather, the market can be taken place sooner or later, but at about 6.30 am there are sellers in the market.  They slowly arrange their stalls that are not complicated but very simple. The market contains about thirty to forty stalls; all sellers are female who almost has attached to the market since its establishment.

Luc Yen is the only destination in all over the country where there is gem picture making career. Visit the place, people can have a chance to discover the gem picture making career as well as to contemplate the specious pictures which cost hundreds of millions VND.

Gems as the products are displayed in groups on the table. Gems maybe have been operated or being original. However, no matter what kinds of gem, they all look brilliant. According to the sellers, gems are gathered from the persons who have already gone to the mountains; if have time, craftsmen will operate the gems to make pendants of rings, necklaces, earrings, etc… Gems are also used as materials for making gem picture, which are sold in the unit of kilogram or gram.

Each of blue, red, purple, yellow, white, black gems having different sizes and shapes is supervised and considered by the customers who are conversant with gem. The prices are announced depending on the type of gem which can be ten thousands, hundreds of thousand or a million, tens of millions dong. However, the succession of transaction is decided by the bargaining process.

Besides gem traders and makers seeking for materials, there are many people who have heard about the gem market then come to this to see and to buy some products as the souvenirs.  After two to three hours, the market is closed. According to the sellers, in different days, there can be transaction costing tens, hundreds of millions dong or just several millions.

The owner of a gem stall in Luc Yen market said that every early morning, hundreds of local residents went to the forest, walking along the stream, picking up each gem. After a long time, the gem became rare so people had to go further to the caves to gather it. Nowadays, people find it hard to seek for gem in the cave; many of them must use machines to dig deeply on the mountains then wash the soil for gem

If people find out original sapphire, ruby gems (which are big, transparent, right color, not cracked), they can sell them with the price of several hundred millions dong. However, they usually get the color gems including ruby, sapphire which have lower quality, being crushed and small, used for making picture. To get the suitable color gems (especially black gems for drawing hair, blue ones for illustrating the color of water), they must wander on the mountains in a month.

For directly seeing the gem exploiting fields, it takes about 30 minutes riding motorbike. Different from gold field, the gem fields locates scattered over the mountains and forests. The local residents freely exploit the gem, that’s why there is a gem market which is also the supplying source for the gem picture making career. The visitors also can pick up the gem themselves.

V.T.D

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Tranh Stream – The Beautiful Picture Of Nature

Posted on May 10, 2012 by Pham Huu Duc

Having a fantasy scenery with flowers, forests, mountains, beach and stream, this is an interesting destination for a camping tour. Visit Tranh Stream, people can set up the tents near the spring coast for resting and enjoying excited activities.

From Duong Dong town, going about 10km further following the way Duong Dong – Ham Ninh, visitors will reach Tranh Stream (Picture Stream). Having a fantasy scenery with flowers, forests, mountains, beach and stream, this is an interesting destination for a camping tour. Visit Tranh Stream, people can set up the tents near the spring coast for resting and enjoying excited activities.

Tranh Stream derives from Ham Ninh Mountain, created by small canyons, murmuring flows on the mountains, creeping  through many forests, rocks, rapids with 15km length. The stream gently flows near the stones which lay continuously and long far. There is a part of the stream where water passes through the rapids, making up small waterfalls with the smooth, white flows.

Furthermore, there is a trail path along the stream which is wide enough for a couple to hold the hand of each other going under the green canopies. The stairs on the road fit people footsteps so visitors will not feel tired when going to the mountain. The landscape of the stream likes a wonderful picture of nature, maybe that’s the reason why people call it Tranh Stream (which means Picture Stream).

Tranh Stream is rounded by green trees and beautiful flowers. There are groups of trees which are skinny and rigid, having green-grey trunks, interspersing with rocks. The branches of orchid stick to the trunks, several branches gathering at one position, some groups locating at another position, yellow and white blooms …that looks like the string of buttons hanging in the air. Near Tranh Stream, there are many mysterious caves such as Doi Grotto which locates on the mountain, being about 200m high and 50m deep, having many majestic stalactites.

Travel to Tranh Stream, tourists can either swim in the stream or on the beach. They can also lean against mossy stones, listening to the sound of flow and birdsongs in the quiet, peaceful space. And don’t forget to visit a strange 10kg fish which has three points on the head like the sacred points on the head of the bonzes.

If you would like to go there, please contact us to customize a tour package and enjoy the beautiful of nature at Tranh Stream

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ESRT Supports 8 Northern Highland Provinces For Developing Tourism

Posted on May 10, 2012 by Pham Huu Duc

The EU-funded Environmentally and Socially Responsible Tourism (ESRT) Programme is supporting the 8 Northern Highland Provinces Dien Bien, Hoa Binh, Lai Chau, Lao Cai, Phu Tho, Son La, Yen Bai and Ha Giang in their efforts of collaboration for tourism development.

Tourism has emerged as an important instrument for sustainable development including poverty alleviation and employment generation apart from promoting social integration and international understanding. It is accorded a high development priority in Vietnam. The responsible use of natural resources, the potentials of the cultural heritage, the attractiveness of the overall product and international competitiveness are the factors which will decide on employment and prosperity.

Today’s travellers have a completely different motivation structure, as it was the case years ago. The search of an outstanding tourism experience, growing demands on the infrastructure and greater attention to soft factors, such as services, ambience, atmosphere and hospitality require continuous improvements of the local tourism product by service providers within the tourism value chain in the destination.

On the supply side, destinations are improving the quality of accommodations, infrastructures and services, and their marketing proficiency. Competition for the guest is in full swing, forcing destinations to become competitive units managed by a Destination Management Organization (DMO) aiming at developing framework conditions to manage tourism development and marketing within a well-functioning environment. To survive in a competitive environment that is heavily influenced by globalization trends, Vietnam must now present itself with innovative and diversified products, which are unique and lead to a quality-oriented positioning. Prerequisite for interesting products are intelligent marketing structures, both national and regional, to communicate the competitive advantages of the destinations.

Strategic destination marketing planning needed

In order to better serve the customers of the tourism sector in Vietnam and improve the strategic destination marketing planning, the Ministry of Culture, Sport and Tourism and the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism have started a strategic planning initiative by establishing regional Destination Management Organisations. This initiative will play a central role of ESRT implementation activities in the months and years to come. The ESRT programme is supporting the collaboration of the provinces to jointly work on destination management issues at a regional cross-border level. One of the key principles of the strategy is strengthening partnerships between the public and private sector.

In taking a leadership role in destination brand development, destination marketing, market research and product development, the DMO will promote a high level of alignment between the public and private sectors through effective engagement and involvement. This will include establishing improved mechanisms for communication between tourism-related businesses, associations and the public sector; to work with industry groups and associations in working groups on a regular basis; to coordinate organisational structures / professional bodies and to develop efficient ways to share information within the industry.

A meeting has been conducted in Ha Giang City, April 2012, with the already established Tourism Working Group (TWG) of 8 Northern Highland Provinces, the tourism business community as well as with donor agencies and NGOs to look into ideas of destination management and to develop a target orientated road map for further tourism development activities in the region.

In a presentation given at the meeting, Mr Kai Partale introduced cases of multi-stakeholder destination management organisations followed by the concept of public-private-partnerships, presented by Mr Binh, Chairman of VISTA.

In principle the readiness for co-operation under one tourism roof with the stakeholders exists. However, still no organisational unit exists to manage all destination marketing management activities. The big chance became conscious to all participants to develop the destination by bundled forces not only to a competitive destination, but also a strong market positioning in the competition and to reach a growth of the arrivals and overnight accommodation stays.

However, there still remains a need to clarify the concept of destination management as it is a fairly new concept to Vietnam and to the cooperation area of 8 Northern Highland Provinces by addressing the following questions: What structure do we need in place for the cooperation? What are its roles and responsibilities? How can it be financed sustainably? How can we develop closer partnerships with business?

Finding solutions and the way forward for 8 northern highland provinces

The development of a DMO will release an extensive process of change, which must be supported and advanced both by the political side and by the tourism stakeholders. It will be necessary to communicate the together compiled consent for the tourism future of cross-border tourism cooperation in the political committees and to likewise cause a consent there. Implementing the concepts of a DMO depends on the ability to create a critical mass of professionals and leaders in support of destination development. This coordination will be institutionalized through the existing TWG that would adopt, oversee and organize the DMO implementation process supported by the EU programme in terms of capacity building, operational concepts and product development activities.

The next steps will be to unite the tourism participants and decision makers in rotating workshops and in selected working groups, e.g. on product development and/or organisation of public-private-partnerships for destination management. There, the necessary steps can be compiled for the change of the organisational structures and for a stronger consciousness-shaping for the marketing of the region. Condition of a successful development will however be that the tourism structures without compromises unite organisational professionally and a powerful tourism marketing organisation can be formed.

Prior to the establishment of this organisation, the TWG will take overall responsibility for monitoring and implementing the strategy with partner organisations. Within this transition phase international support shall assist to successfully carry out all actions needed for this new organisational structure for destination marketing purposes. On-going capacity building for the DMO will be essential for the foreseeable future to become effective in destination marketing management and funding streams must be ensured to support the development.

8 Northern Highland Provinces have the chance to present them in the future to the tourism community, as an attractively and diversified destination to be experienced by everyone personally and authentically with a professional destination management structure in place.

ESRT

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History Of Gieng Temple In Phu Tho Province

Posted on May 10, 2012 by Pham Huu Duc

Tourists have to climb up hundreds of steps through Ha, Trung and Thuong temples and a stone pole on 175-meter-high Nghia Linh Mountain to reach Gieng Temple.

Gieng Temple is located at the last section of the Hung Kings Temple. Gieng Temple’s door is always open to welcome guests. Rumor has it that if a visitor looks at the image of his/her face reflected in a well named “Pearl Well” in the temple, he/she will be lucky and his/her dreams will come true.

After a day climbing to the top of the holy mountain of Nghia Linh, everyone wants to enter the temple to visit the legendary well. The well is considered a holy relic amidst the majestic worshiping place. It is made from a kind of hard stone and its mouth is half a meter tall from the temple floor. The sunlight, the red light from the shrine and the smell of aloe wood make tourists feel as if they were lost in a mysterious holy space.

Legend has it that the well has been there since the reign of King Hung the 18th. Once when the king and his servants were holding a ritual offering sacrifice to heaven on Nghia Linh Mountain, the princesses hung around. To the southeast of the mountain, Tien Dung and Ngoc Hoa princesses found a pool and looked at themselves in the clear water. They also drank the clear, refreshing water. Ever since, they often visited this place. As the two princesses taught locals how to grow water paddy and contain floods, people showed their deep gratitude by setting up the temple to worship them.

Gieng Temple was built in the 17th century, and the pool was turned into a well inside the temple and was named pearl well, perhaps thanks to its clear water.

Visitors to Hung Kings Temple and the pearl well were formerly invited to drink the water of the well, wash their faces or bring the water home. Unfortunately, the well is now covered by a metal net.

Gieng Temple is one of the four main architectural works at Hung Kings Temple amidst picturesque natural sceneries. Inside Gieng Temple is a wide lotus pond embraced by willows and shade trees that make an ideal rest stop for visitors.

Gieng Temple was constructed in traditional Vietnamese architecture with many compartments. The gate of Gieng Temple, resembling the main gate of Hung Kings Temple but smaller and shorter, comprises two floors and eight roofs. Either side of the gate are parallel sentences and statues of guards and tigers.

SGT

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Asiana Airlines Promote Vietnam World Heritage Sites On International Flights

Posted on May 9, 2012 by Pham Huu Duc

Asiana Airlines of the Republic of Korea has pledged to promote Vietnam’s central region heritage sites on its international flights.

This is major focus of the project, “Promoting World Heritage sites in Vietnam’s Central Region,” launched on May 8 in Hoi An, in Quang Nam province.

The project, funded by Asiana Airlines through the Korean National Commission for UNESCO (KNCU) and UNESCO Hanoi office, aims to connect three World Heritage sites in the region, including Hue Monuments Complex in Hue city, Hoi An ancient town and My Son sanctuary in Quang Nam province.

In the first year of implementing the project, key activities will focus on Hoi An heritage site, including producing flyers, brochures and handbooks in English and Korean to provide tourists with information about various places of interest, such as typical handicraft villages, and the traditional cultures of the destinations.

Asiana Airlines will also fund solar energy lighting systems at all three sites, with the system in Hoi An scheduled to be put into operation this year.

At the launching ceremony, Tran Minh Ca, Vice Chairman of Quang Nam Provincial People’s Committee, spoke highly of the support from Asiana Airlines, which launched a new route in December, 2011 linking the RoK capital, Seoul with Da Nang. He expressed his belief that thanks to the Asiana promotion, the world heritage site in the central region will be broadly presented to international tourists.

Ca said that with Hoi An ancient town, My Son Sanctuary and Cham Islands Biosphere Reserve, the province has received a lot of cooperation and support from international agencies, organisations and individuals on heritage site conservation and sustainable tourism development.

VNA

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Vietnam’s landscapes On A Russian Magazine, Livejournal

Posted on May 9, 2012 by Pham Huu Duc

The beautiful landscapes of Vietnam, captured by photographer Hoang Nam, were published on a Russian magazine, Livejournal.

In one of a series of articles featuring the most beautiful places around the world, Livejournal introduced its readers to different parts of Vietnam, such as the former imperial capital of Hue, Lang Co beach in Thua Thien-Hue province, the central city of Nha Trang, the Central Highlands, and the Mekong River Delta.

The work of photographer Hoang Nam particularly caught the attention of Russian readers, many of whom said they are inspired to visit Vietnam.

Some photos from the article:

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