Tam Coc - Bich Dong : Halong Bay on Land

Tam Coc - Bich Dong, also known for famous names such as "Halong Bay on land" or "the South celestial II" is a major tourist country in Vietnam. The whole area including the system of limestone caves and the historic dynasty related to Tran located mainly in Ninh Hai commune, Hoa Lu, Ninh Binh. Currently, the landscape of Tam Coc Vietnam Prime Minister ranked as national monuments particularly Tam Coc tourist-Bich Dong is a natural area is 350.3 hectares, situated 2 km from National Highway 1A, the city of Ninh Binh 7 km, the Tam Diep town 9 km. The whole area lies on the boundary of four communes of Ninh Hai, Ninh Xuan, (Hoa Lu), Son Ha (Nho Quan) and Yen Son (Tam Diep town). The center welcomes tourists scattered in three communes of Ninh Hai (Tam Coc, bordered Floor, Sun Valley, Valley Nham, Bich Dong Pagoda), Ninh Xuan (Buying); Son Ha (Buddha cave, Thien Ha).

Tourist area of ​​Tam Coc - Bich Dong sightseeing routes include yachting, cycling and walking connections almost 20 destinations. The main tourist routes:

• The cruise lines including Route Van Lam wharf - Ngo Dong River - Tam Coc; Trans hydrodynamic (through the Bich Dong); Route Thach Bich - Sun Valley; Route valley Nham - garden birds, hang Whose Line - Thien Ha ...
• The tourist walk, bike and climbing: Rock and Bich Dong Pagoda; the Tien purchased goods; senior housing ancient temple Thai Vi - Thien Huong ...

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TOURIST ROUTES
Tam Coc - Thai Vi Temple - The Thien Huong
Tam Coc, which means "three caves", which hang Ca, hang Hai Ba and hang. All three caves are formed by the Ngo Dong river crashing through mountains. Tam Coc is the cruise line was first exploited in the tourist Tam Coc - Bich Dong. The 127 m long cave, through a large mountain, the cave entrance width of 20 m. Relatively cool climate in the cave with stalactites and hanging with much diversified.
Hang Hai, There is a cave near 1 km, length 60 m, ceiling has many stalactites hanging very strange
Three Cave, near Cave Two, 50 m long, like an arch ceiling, hang lower than the other two
Want to visit Tam Coc tourist center of the boat from the dock. Boats take visitors on Ngo Dong river winding through the cliffs, caves through water, rice fields. Time to go and come back about 2 hours. The landscape of Tam Coc, one is 2 Ngo Dong River could change seasonal rice (paddy green, gold or silver rice fields of water).
Thai Vi temple is the church of King Tran Thai Tong, Tran Thanh Tong, the General Tran Hung Dao, Tran Quang Khai and Queen Tran Thi Dung. Ancient mountains of Tam Coc is here where the Tran Vu Lam construction of supply in the war against the Nguyen Mong. Can walk to the temple Thai Vi from Tam Coc or journey by road to the wharf Tam Coc 2 km.
Located on the Thien Huong Ngo Dong River in Thai Vi temple, is a dry and bright located in the back mountain has an elevation above the ground about 15 m. The height of about 60 m, depth 40 m, 20 m wide. Should encourage the hollow peak known as The Sun. Enclosed in the shrine is Tran Thi Dung, wife of King Ly Hue Tong. As someone who has passed to the People's Commune, Ninh Hai embroidery.
Bich Dong - Thuy Dong
Bich Dong Tam Coc wharf located about 2 km, which means "green activities", as named by Nguyen Nghiem vizier, the father of the great poet Nguyen Du set for launch in 1773. This is one of the landscapes are among the ancients called "Nam Thien De Nhat Dong", specifically Bich Dong was named the "Southern Natural II the" second sun news Beautiful South [behind the Huong Tich (Nam Thien De Nhat Dong) in Huong Son and in front of the liquid (natural third South East) in Zinc Drum. In front is the Hoang Long river winding side of the mountain, across the river are rice fields.
Bich Dong Pagoda is an ancient temple associated with rocky Asian style. The pagoda was built from the Later Le Dynasty. In a large temple bell cast from King Le Thai To, the tomb of the monk tower with the construction of the temple. Le Hien Tong (1740-1786) rebuilt the temple was expanded, including the Lower Temple, Middle Temple, healing, spread out over three floors of the mountain.
Water is a dynamic cross the dark and wetlands along the length of Bich Dong. Water frequently acts as a semi-circular pipe is about 350 m long stone curving from east to west. Average width of the Trans Shui is 6m, maximum values ​​of 15 m. Ceiling and walls of the generally flat, as the Creator had placed large stones into the roof arch, semicircular with much diversified.
Trans-hydrodynamic entrance in the back mountain, facing way to Bich Dong. At the end of the journey across water, visitors can climb to get to work and Bich Dong temple.
Thung Nhan - Bird Park
This is an online eco-excursions with tourist boats Tam Coc - Bich Dong. Spirit Coc - Hai Yan is a new tourist route than Tam Coc. Located in Hai Yan village, Ninh Hai commune, Hoa Lu district, the Bich Dong Pagoda about 1000m to the west.
Bird Park Dam Khe village, Ninh Hai Commune, a Bich Dong Pagoda road about 2 km. On the small boat, visitors will be mixed into natural waterways, enjoy the wild beauty of the cave temple, past a stone's throw waterway boats bringing tourists to visit the cave Buddha .. Riding the boat will take visitors daily come to the garden birds. Before the traveler is a non cloudy skies the same message, with the trees growing above the water line, and thousands, tens of thousands of flying birds chirping on the branches of white beans removed. Another interesting thing is that tourists will be visiting a hill with lots of fruit, flavor this season swoon and also a more unique thing that is implanted under the thousand years old. It will surely satisfy visitors.
Thach Bich - Sun Valley
Starting marina Dinh The (Tam Coc), Traveling more than 500 meters to the marina road is to go Valley Sunny Thach Bich. Overcoming an aquatic journey with the two sides are whispering rice fields, mountains the same message, through to the. Continuing the journey, tourists visiting the valley with a sunny sky, water garden surrounded. With about 3 km waterway boat tourists will come with three legendary mountains hills, mountains toad, mountain Asparagus, Gold Mountain ... Boats take visitors through the cave about 100 meters long Sun Valley is Thoong Sun Temple. The temple is built in a quiet, back based on this temple is the holy mountain of God church where the upper thousands. After visiting the Sun Valley finish on the trees turns out to Rice to tourists. Coming to a hundred years ago, built of stone, with the worship of stone elaborately carved, meticulous. Coming home from the church Mr. Li Dong Hai Le is the shock blame forestry.
Sun Valley Dam Khe village, Ninh Hai commune, Hoa Lu district. Sun Valley Road to the boat about 3 km. On both sides to have more shaking reeds. Beneath the cool water is shining fauna rich and vivid. The ecological environment in Sun Valley retains wild character. Tourists really relaxing and comfortable space between a quiet, pleasant. When the boat into the cave, visitors will feel cool because the ceiling is very low, the drooping stalactites with different multifold. Before the store reeds are luxuriant bushes. Here you can anchor the boat to rest, take pictures and watch the scenery. Both the valley occupies a large area retains primitive that nature has created. At the time of the afternoon, the white stork flew Forum beans covered both wetlands creating a unique attraction of Sun Valley. Sun Valley is connected to the tourist routes: Thach Bich - Sun Valley - Come to - Hang Sun Valley - Sun Valley Temple - in Sunny Valley - Valley Nham - Primary forest - Buddha Cave - garden birds - Hang Drop - Hang Pagoda.
Tien - Linh Coc Pagoda
Tien is dry the beautiful resort of Tam Coc - Bich Dong. Bich Dong Pagoda is located close to 1km. The scope of work consists of three large caves, width and height. More so the stone ceiling, glittering stalactites hanging colorful look like large roots. On the ceiling there are many bats and birds reside. From an outside view as a magnificent castle. The natural transformation of creating interesting shapes of stalactites in the shape of a tree with money, crops of grain, his first, fairies, elephant, lion, tiger, lizard, dragon , eagle, and the clouds flying colors. The rocks in the cave when typing in will create a variety of strange noises.
Linh cup hooks in the mountain. Temple turned west front is a water field. According to the inscription placed in the Temple, Linh cup from the reign of King Tran Thanh Tong. Yard wide at the foot of the mountain temple, the two sides of the church yard. Three times turned northwest, set up as the Church of St. A South Da and moral virtues of the west, high nose, curly-haired, bearded Indians. The son five times, turn east back to back nam.Dien Model slopes, south-west, built for the word "Tam". Harem is a worship space model Tam Holy including Form Thuong Ngan, Peace Form, Form Lieu Hanh. Incense burning period of three Marian church council, Qiantang five times, last time the left there hanging bell.
Ancient Vietnamese village - Co Vien Lau
Try senior housing stock is composed of many houses were collected mainly in Ninh Binh River Delta region. In 2008, the senior housing industry was ancient culture - Ninh Binh Tourism added to the resort of Tam Coc - Bich Dong. Try longtime marina next to Tam Coc and Thai Vi temple along the way.
The ancient houses in the late senior mainly built during the Nguyen back here but also reflect the unique culture and characteristics of traditional architecture in Vietnam.
Ben Dang river - The Galaxy
The galaxy is located in the mountains with a height of nearly 200m General is part of the wall covering natural solid protection southwest capital Hoa Lu th century, associated with historic sites, culture as Ben Le Boat House, First Son Buddha Mountain, plots a leader ...
From the Muong Tho Ha, Ha Son, visitors to the small boat on the canal has a length of about 1km countryside alternating between fields. Travelers continue on the path of 500m long rock areas close to the mountain to the mouth of the Minister. The length including the long dry 700m 200m 500m long and the water. The shapes created by the rocks called names like: this is the fox hole is cup feeding, the other is for Elephant, tiger prey, monkeys climb trees ... higher examination with image worship Buddha, Mr. Tang is chant for peace to his disciples ... all of which suggests curiosity, discovery of tourists.
Hang Buddha
Buddha Cave located in the heart of the mountain city of Ninh Binh General 18 km, special-use forests in the village of Hoa Lu Dong Tam, Son Ha, Nho Quan. Buddha Cave is approximately 500 m long, very wide and the grotto of stalactites with many strange shapes. In the middle of the cave is a stone plate, 1.5 m 2 m wide shaped like a mallow him out. To the Buddha Cave, visitors are oared boat, breathtaking pristine natural beauty, mysterious jungle river. In the grotto many fancy whirlpool surround stimulus visitors imagination.
Tourism currently Buddha caves in Son Ha, tourists can travel by bicycle through the streets lined bamboo village to learn about culture and customs of the rice farmers, shepherds herd tried, all, crab, rice-husking rice mill, or enjoy the rustic dish made by yourself, caught as grilled tilapia, crab soup served with tomato salt ...
Dance Cave
Ha Khe village territory, Xuan Ninh. This resort is made to services such as hiking, weekend getaway and conferences. Hang dancing has been connected with the tourist route Tam Coc tour: Ben Tree Multi - Ben Thanh - Hang All - Hang Dance - Hang Two - Hang Ba - Fairy Stream - Resorts Trang An caves. According to the legend, the cave is where dance performances, dance of the Tran Dynasty maidens before.
INFRASTRUCTURE
Bus tourist center
Tam Coc - Bich Dong is one of the resort were early investors in Vietnam, again located on National Highway 1A between the city of Ninh Binh and Tam Diep town should have favorable conditions to develop tourism infrastructure. There is necessarily a management executive travel services. This place fairly early development model of community tourism, public and private partnership.
Communications
Central bus station near the wharf Tam Coc, besides in other places such as caves Dance, Bich Dong, Buddha cave, Thien Ha ... have bus service to tourists.
Includes the wharf wharf Tam Coc, Sun Valley, through aquatic activities, Hai Yan, The Le marina and many other areas.
Bicycles: the type of traffic is quite popular in this area. Car rental service is available in most tourist spots.
Hotel
Tourist area of ​​Tam Coc - Bich Dong has good hotel system. Concentrated in the hotel zone wharf Tam Coc village Ninh Binh tourist populations and on the route from Tam Coc to Bich Dong.
Life Resort Ninh Binh Wellnesss Resort includes 74 rooms. 5 hectares of land surrounding the resort includes bungalows, buildings, spas, swimming pools, restaurant, garden and lotus pond is about 20 hectares wide buffer zone near the Thai Vi Temple - tourist area of ​​Tam Coc - Bich The.
Tam Coc Cave Resort Halong Bay Resort has 30 rooms is equivalent to 2 star hotel. All rooms have Air Conditioning, Desk, Hair Dryer, Internet Access (wireless) internet access, in room safes.

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Vietnam tourism : Mu Cang Chai

Mu Cang Chai, a district of Yen Bai Province in the nation’s northern upland, has become one of the most popular destinations for travelers and photographers to capture beautiful images of terrace rice fields and daily activities of ethnic minority peoples. 

Tourists from HCMC can fly to Ha Noi and then rent a car or take a bus to get to Mu Cang Chai, about 280km from downtown Ha Noi. Some local youth opt for conquering Mu Cang Chai by motorbike with the starting point in Ha Noi.

The best time to visit Mu Cang Chai is from mid-September to late October when weather is the best of year and when the immense terrace rice fields there all turn yellow, creating the best image of year.

One month prior to the Mu Cang Chai trip, travelers should make hotel room bookings as thousands of people often rush to the area to view the terrace rice fields in full bloom.

There are some hotels and hostels near Mu Cang Chai area, including Tu Le Commune, Khau Pha Pass and Nghia Lo Town in Yen Bai Province. The three-star Suoi Mo Hotel on Dien Bien Street is highly recommended as this is a convenient hotel in Yen Bai.

It normally takes about three days and two nights to visit all the best terrace rice fields in Tu Le valley, Khau Pha Pass, La Pan Tan, Cau Ba Nha and Che Cu Nha communes. The best time to photograph the terrace rice fields is from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. when the landscape looks gorgeous in mist and sunlight beams. Rising smoke from the kitchen of a house on stilts may make the scene more beautiful and romantic.

Khau Pha, one of the most magnificent passes of Viet Nam, provides a real breathtaking view. From there travelers can almost touch the clouds hanging over the terrace rice fields in the valleys of H’mong and Thai ethnic minority groups.

Those wishing to explore daily activities of H’mong people should head for La Pan Tan that was recognized as a national tourist attraction in 2007. Some roads in La Pan Tan are under construction so tourists have to walk about 20 minutes. Along the way, tourists can pass by a local resident’s house to see how they live. A typical home in La Pan Tan is covered with ripen corns on the terrace and surrounded by wooden cages for pigs and cows. Women take care of their children or come to the fields with their husbands. During an afternoon break they gather at a small burning stove inside the house to cook and eat. Tourists can also ask locals to perform khen, a traditional pan-pipe played by men in the northern upland to attract women.  

A must-see destination is Cau Ba Nha, about 10km from Mu Cang Chai’s center, as it has mam xoi, a giant round shape terrace rice field on the top of a mountain. It is difficult for tourists to get to mam xoi due to a muddy and rough road. They can take a xe om (motorbike taxi) or walk about 30 minutes to reach the top.

Some popular specialties of Yen Bai that tourists should taste and buy for souvenirs are Tu Le sticky rice from Muong Lo field in Yen Bai and green rice flakes originated from Tu Le Commune in Van Chan District. These two products have light sweet and sticky tastes with special aromas. Yen Bai is also known for some dishes such as salmon and sturgeon hotpots, fried bumble bees and steamed chicken, among others.

Tao meo, a species of small apple in mountainous regions, is a special fruit of Yen Bai as it is good for those having stomach and heart-related diseases and high-blood pressure, and going on a diet. The best tao meo can only be found from September to October.

Ba Vang Pagoda, an attractive tourist destination

The newly built pagoda of Ba Vang (also known as Bao Quang Pagoda), inaugurated on March 9, has been recorded as having the largest sanctum and will probably become a new attractive tourist destination in the near future.

The pagoda located on the 340m tall Thanh Dang Mountain, Uong Bi City, Quang Ninh Province, includes a large forecourt, a sanctum, a Holy Mother’s temple, a Mountain Spirit temple, and an old longstanding well.

The site was originally built in the 13th century and has been renovated several times. The first restoration was conducted in 1705 by Truc Lam Zen Master Mahasamon Tue Bich Pho Giac who was born in 1658 in the reign of King Le Hien Tong.

Based on the archaeological excavation results at the base of the pagoda, such as 30x15cm pinkish trough-shaped terracotta tiles and 40x40cm terracotta flooring bricks, the pagoda was built in the Tran Dynasty. These bricks and tiles were decorated with four petaled flowers, a popular pattern in the Tran Dynasty.

Wars and turbulent political events over time have ruined this historical pagoda. The most notable artifacts remain in the pagoda today include a 0.52m high, 0.38m wide, 0.12m thick stone stele; two stone turtles, and a 1.2m high, 0.22m thick stone incense tower. As time goes by, the Chinese words engraved on the stele and tower were worn away and very hard to read. However, through the presentation, experts suggested that the stele was engraved with the name of a chief monk, while the tower was engraved with these words: Thanh Dang Mountain, Bao Quang Pagoda, Heavenly Pillar.

In 2007, local authorities requested Venerable Thich Truc Thai Minh from the Truc Lam Yen Tu Monastery to manage the Ba Vang Pagoda. He managed to raise the funds from tourist donations and Buddhists throughout the country to restore the pagoda and has received more than VND400 billion. The pagoda was built on an area of 21.818ha, including a 3,500cu.m large three-compartment sanctum that has been considered the largest in Vietnam. Other constructions including preaching chamber, contemplation room, library, and steeple were designed and built harmoniously, preserving the traditional traits of northern pagodas. All statues in the pagoda such as Tam The (three Buddhas representing the past, present and future), Quan Am Bo Tat (Bodhisattvas), La Han (Arhats) are now built up to 2m or more in height.

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Considering the pagoda’s historical value, Quang Ninh People’s Committee has ranked it among province’s historical heritage sites.

The Ba Vang Pagoda is likely to become a well known spiritual tourism destination attracting lots of domestic and foreign tourist and Buddhist pilgrims. According to the organizers of the ribbon cutting ceremony, during the two days of March 8 and 9, the pagoda welcomed nearly 100,000 Buddhist pilgrims and tourists. “In the near future, we will boost volunteer programs to help the disadvantaged across the country associated with Buddhist events,” said Thich Truc Thai Minh.

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Vietnam Tourism: Ho Chi Minh City and around

Ho Chi Minh City – or Thanh Pho Ho Chi Minh, to give it its full Vietnamese title – is Vietnam’s centre of commerce and the country’s biggest city, though not its administrative capital – an honour that rests with Hanoi. As a result of the sweeping economic changes wrought by doi moi in 1986, this effervescent city, perched on the banks of the Saigon River and still known as Saigon to its eight million or so inhabitants, has changed its image from that of a war-torn city to one of a thriving metropolis, challenging Singapore, Bangkok and the other traditional Southeast Asian powerhouses. All the accoutrements of economic success – fine restaurants, flash hotels, glitzy bars and clubs, and shops selling imported luxury goods – are here, adding a glossy veneer to the city’s hotchpotch landscape of French stones of empire, venerable pagodas and austere, Soviet-style housing blocks.

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Sadly, however, Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) is still full of people for whom economic progress has not yet translated into food, housing and jobs. Street children roam the tourist enclaves hawking books, postcards, lottery tickets and cigarette lighters; limbless mendicants haul themselves about on crude trolleys; and watchful pickpockets prowl crowded streets on the lookout for unguarded wallets. Though the number of beggars is gradually declining, tourists must quickly come to accept them as a hassle that goes with the territory. In addition, the arrival, en masse, of wealthy Westerners has lured many women into prostitution, for which the go-go bars of Dong Khoi became famous during the American War.

If Hanoi is a city of romance and mellow charms, then Ho Chi Minh City is its antithesis, a fury of sights and sounds, and the crucible in which Vietnam’s rallying fortunes are boiling. Few corners of the city afford respite from the cacophony of construction work casting up new office blocks and hotels with logic-defying speed. An increasing number of cars and minibuses jostle with an organic mass of state-of-the-art Honda SUVs, choking the tree-lined streets and boulevards. Amid this melee, the local people go about their daily life: smartly dressed schoolkids wander past streetside baguette-sellers; women shoppers ride motorbikes clad in gangster-style bandanas to protect their skin from the sun and dust; while teenagers in designer jeans chirrup into mobile phones. Much of the fun of being in Ho Chi Minh City derives from the simple pleasure of absorbing its flurry of activity – something best done from the seat of a cyclo or a roadside café. To blink is to miss some new and singular sight, be it a motorbike stacked high with piglets bound for the market, or a boy on a bicycle rapping out a staccato tattoo on pieces of bamboo to advertise noodles for sale.

HCMC is divided into 24 districts, though tourists rarely travel beyond districts One, Three and Five. In addition, an increasing number of expats reside in Phu My Hung, aka South Saigon, in district Seven – a squeaky-clean suburb that wouldn’t look out of place in Singapore, making quite a contrast to the rest of this seething metropolis. The city proper hugs the west bank of the Saigon River, and its central area, District One, nestles in the hinge formed by the confluence of the river with the Ben Nghe Channel; traditionally the French Quarter of the city, this area is still widely known as Saigon. Dong Khoi is its delicate backbone, and around the T-shape it forms with Le Duan Boulevard are located several of the city’s museums and colonial remnants. However, many of the city’s other sights are scattered further afield, so visitors have to effect a dot-to-dot of the sights that appeal most. These invariably include one or more of the museums that pander to the West’s fixation with the American War, the pick of the bunch being the War Remnants Museum and Ho Chi Minh City Museum.

For some visitors, the war is their primary frame of reference and such historical hot spots as the Reunification Palace rank highly on their itineraries. Yet the city pre-dates American involvement by several centuries, and not all of its sights revolve around planes, tanks and rusting ordnance. Ostentatious reminders of French rule abound, among them such memorable buildings as Notre Dame Cathedral and the grandiose Hotel de Ville – but even these look spanking-new when compared to gloriously musty edifices like Quan Am Pagoda and the Jade Emperor Pagoda, just a couple of the many captivating places of worship across the city. And if the chaos becomes too much, you can escape to the relative calm of the Botanical Gardens – also home to the city’s History Museum.

It’s one of Ho Chi Minh City’s many charms that once you’ve exhausted, or been exhausted by, all it has to offer, paddy fields, beaches and wide-open countryside are not far away. The most popular trip out of the city is to the Cu Chi tunnels, where villagers dug themselves out of the range of American shelling. The tunnels are often twinned with a tour around the fanciful Great Temple of the indigenous Cao Dai religion at Tay Ninh. A brief taster of the Mekong Delta at My Tho or a dip in the South China Sea at Ho Coc are also eminently possible in a long day’s excursion.

The best time to visit tropical Ho Chi Minh City is in the dry season, which runs from December through to April. During the wet season, May to November, there are frequent tropical storms, though these won’t disrupt your travels too much. Average temperatures, year-round, hover between 26°C and 29°C; March, April and May are the hottest months.

Brief history

Knowledge of Ho Chi Minh City’s early history is sketchy at best. Between the first and sixth centuries, the territory on which it lies fell under the nominal rule of the Funan Empire to the west. Funan was subsequently absorbed by the Kambuja peoples of the pre-Angkor Chen La Empire, but it is unlikely that these imperial machinations had much bearing upon the sleepy fishing backwater that would later develop into Ho Chi Minh City.

Khmer fishermen eked out a living here, building their huts on the stable ground just north of the delta wetlands, which made it ideal for human settlement. Originally named Prei Nokor, it flourished as an entrepô for Cambodian boats pushing down the Mekong River, and by the seventeenth century it boasted a garrison and a mercantile community that embraced Malay, Indian and Chinese traders.

Such a dynamic settlement was bound to draw attention from the north. By the eighteenth century, the Viets had subdued the kingdom of Champa, and this area was swallowed up by Hué’s Nguyen Dynasty. With new ownership came a new name, Saigon, thought to be derived from the Vietnamese word for the kapok tree. Upon the outbreak of the Tay Son Rebellion, in 1772, Nguyen Anh bricked the whole settlement into a walled fortress, the eight-sided Gia Dinh Citadel. The army that put down the Tay Son brothers included an assisting French military force, who grappled for several decades to undermine Vietnamese control in the region and develop a trading post in Asia. Finally, in 1861, they seized Saigon, using Emperor Tu Duc’s persecution of French missionaries as a pretext. The 1862 Treaty of Saigon declared the city the capital of French Cochinchina.

Colonial-era Saigon

Ho Chi Minh City owes much of its form and character to the French colonists: channels were filled in, marshlands drained and steam tramways set to work along its regimental grid of tamarind-shaded boulevards, which by the 1930s sported names like Boulevard de la Somme and Rue Rousseau. Flashy examples of European architecture were erected, cafés and boutiques sprang up to cater for its new, Vermouth-sipping, baguette-munching citizens and the city was imbued with such an all-round Gallic air that Somerset Maugham, visiting in the 1930s, found it reminiscent of “a little provincial town in the south of France, a blithe and smiling little place”. The French colons (colonials) bankrolled improvements to Saigon with the vast profits they were able to cream from exporting Vietnam’s rubber and rice out of the city’s rapidly expanding seaport.

On a human level, however, French rule was invariably harsh; dissent crystallized in the form of strikes through the 1920s and 1930s, but the nationalist movement hadn’t gathered any real head of steam before World War II’s tendrils spread to Southeast Asia. At its close, the Potsdam Conference of 1945 set the British Army the task of disarming Japanese troops in southern Vietnam. Arriving in Saigon two months later, they promptly returned power to the French and so began thirty years of war. Saigon saw little action during the anti-French war, which was fought mostly in the countryside and resulted in the French capitulation at Dien Bien Phu in 1954.

Saigon in the American War

Designated the capital of the Republic of South Vietnam by President Diem in 1955, Saigon was soon both the nerve centre of the American war effort, and its R&R capital, with a slough of sleazy bars along Dong Khoi (known then as Tu Do) catering to GIs on leave from duty. Despite the Communist bomb attacks and demonstrations by students and monks that periodically disturbed the peace, these were good times for Saigon, whose entrepreneurs prospered on the back of the tens of thousands of Americans posted here. The gravy train ran out of steam with the withdrawal of American troops in 1973, and two years later the Ho Chi Minh Campaign rolled into the city and through the gates of the presidential palace and the Communists were in control. Within a year, Saigon had been renamed Ho Chi Minh City.

Post-reunification Saigon

The war years extracted a heavy toll: American carpet-bombing of the Vietnamese countryside forced millions of refugees into the relative safety of the city, and ill-advised, post-reunification policies triggered a social and economic stagnation whose ramifications still echo like ripples on a lake. Persecution of southerners with links to the Americans saw many thousands sent to re-education camps. Millions more fled the country by boat.

Only in 1986, when the economic liberalization, doi moi, was established, and a market economy reintroduced, did the fortunes of the city show signs of taking an upturn. Today, more than two decades later, the city’s resurgence is well advanced and its inhabitants are eyeing the future with unprecedented optimism.

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Vietnam Tourism: The Mekong Delta Guide

Touring the orchards, paddy fields and swamplands of the Mekong Delta, you could be forgiven for thinking you’ve stepped into the pages of a geography textbook. A comma-shaped flatland stretching from Ho Chi Minh’s city limits southwest to the Gulf of Thailand, the delta is Vietnam’s rice bowl, an agricultural miracle that pumps out more than a third of the country’s annual food crop from just ten percent of its total land mass. Rice may be the delta’s staple crop, but coconut palms, fruit orchards and sugar-cane groves also thrive in its nutrient-rich soil, and the sight of conical-hatted farmers tending their land is one of Vietnam’s most enduring images. To the Vietnamese, the region is known as Cuu Long, “Nine Dragons”, a reference to the nine tributaries of the Mekong River, which dovetail across plains fashioned by millennia of flood-borne alluvial sediment.

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Surprisingly, agriculture gripped the delta only relatively recently. Under Cambodian sway until the close of the seventeenth century, the region was sparsely inhabited by the Khmer krom, or “downstream Khmer”, whose settlements were framed by swathes of marshland. The eighteenth century saw the Viet Nguyen lords steadily broaden their sphere of influence to encompass the delta, though by the 1860s France had taken over the reins of government. Sensing the huge profits to be gleaned from such fertile land, French colons spurred Vietnamese peasants to tame and till tracts of the boggy delta; the peasants, realizing their colonial governors would pay well for rice harvests, were quick to comply. Ironically, the same landscape that had served the French so well also provided valuable cover for the Viet Minh resistance fighters who sought to overthrow them; later it did the same for the Viet Cong, who had well-hidden cells here – inciting the Americans to strafe the area with bombs and defoliants.

A visit to the Mekong Delta is so memorable because of the region’s diversity. Everyday scenes include children riding on the backs of water buffalo or cycling to school through country lanes clad in white ao dai; rice workers stooping in a sea of emerald; market vendors grinning behind stacks of fruit; bright yellow incense sticks drying at the roadside; flocks of storks circling over a sanctuary at dusk; Khmer monks walking mindfully in the shadow of pastel pagodas; locals scampering over monkey bridges or rowing boats on the delta’s maze of channels.

There are over a dozen towns in the delta with facilities for tourists, though some are rarely visited as they are not on the way to anywhere. My Tho is well geared up for boat trips, and near enough to Ho Chi Minh City to be seen on a day-trip: it affords an appetizing glimpse of the delta’s northernmost tributary, the Tien Giang. From My Tho, laidback Ben Tre and the bounteous fruit orchards besieging it are only a hop and a skip away. Cao Lanh is strictly for bird enthusiasts, but Sa Dec, with its timeless river scenes and riotously colourful flower nurseries, has a more universal appeal, while just down the road, Vinh Long is another jumping-off point for boat trips.

Many visitors spend a day or two in Can Tho, the delta’s biggest settlement, to take advantage of its decent hotels and restaurants and to recharge batteries before venturing out to the floating markets nearby. From Can Tho, there’s something to be said for dropping down to the foot of the delta, where the swampland that surrounds Ca Mau can be explored by boat, and Mui Ca Mau signals journey’s end in Vietnam. Pulling up, en route, at the Khmer stronghold of Soc Trang is especially rewarding if your trip coincides with the colourful Oc Om Bok festival (Nov or Dec), during which the local Khmer community takes to the river to stage spectacular longboat races. Northwest of Can Tho meanwhile, and a stone’s throw from the Cambodian border, is the ebullient town of Chau Doc, south of which Sam Mountain provides a welcome undulation in the surrounding plains. The opening of the border here has brought a steady stream of travellers going on to Phnom Penh by boat, and several of them rest up a few days here before leaving the country.

Ha Tien, a remote border town surrounded by Khmer villages, is the best place to hop on a boat to Phu Quoc. The town has also become popular for its international border crossing, which allows beach bums to slide along the coast from Phu Quoc Island to Sihanoukville in Cambodia or vice versa.

Given its seasonal flooding, the best time to visit the delta is, predictably enough, in the dry season, which runs from December to May.
Mekong Travel, Mekong Tuorist, Indochina Tours, Indochina Travel, Travel & Tourism, Vietnam 2014, vietnam beach holidays, Vietnam Holidays, Vietnam Tourism, 

Vietnam Tourism : Hoi An

Hoi An City in the central province of Quang Nam is building a VND2 billion tourism promotion plan between now and 2010.

The plan will focus on three strategic spearheads, including the World Cultural Heritage of Hoi An Ancient City, the Cham Islands World Biosphere Reserve and sea-based tourism.

According to the Quang Nam provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, traditional tours such as “One day being a resident in the Ancient City” and “One day being a resident in the Cham Islands World Biosphere Reserve” together with two new products - “Night Market” and the “Tourism and Environment Festival” - will be promoted in the programme.

Information on Hoi An will be posted on tourism websites, in aviation publications, tourist guide books and books on Hoi An.

About 30km from the central city of Danang, the small city of Hoi An not only contains diversified architecture of different cultures but also preserves a huge treasure of intangible cultural values. The Hoi An Ancient City, which was recognised by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) as a world cultural heritage site in 1999, has become an attractive destination for tourists.

In the first nine months of this year, Hoi An City welcomed 812,000 tourists, including 396,000 foreign arrivals. Especially, after the Cham Islands was recognised as a world biosphere reserve, the number of visitors to the town increased by over 80 percent compared to the same period last year.

Hoi An was also selected as one of the top ten destinations in Asia based on an online vote conducted by the tourism magazine Smart Travel Asia.

Wikipedia

Hội An , also Faifoo, is a city of Vietnam, on the coast of the East Sea in the South Central Coast region of Vietnam. It is located in Quảng Nam Province and is home to approximately 120,000 inhabitants. It is recognized as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Hội An Ancient Town is an exceptionally well-preserved example of a South-East Asian trading port dating from the 15th to the 19th century. Its buildings and its street plan reflect the influences, both indigenous and foreign, that have combined to produce this unique heritage site.^[1][2]

The city possessed the largest harbour in Southeast Asia in the 1st century and was known as Lâm Ấp Phố (Champa City). Between the seventh and 10th centuries, the Cham (people of Champa) controlled the strategic spice trade and with this came tremendous wealth. The former harbour town of the Cham at the estuary of the Thu Bồn River was an important Vietnamese trading centre in the 16th and 17th centuries, whereChinese from various provinces as well as Japanese, Dutch and Indians settled. During this period of the China trade, the town was called Hai Pho(Seaside Town) in Vietnamese. Originally, Hai Pho was a divided town with the Japanese settlement across the "Japanese Bridge" (16th-17th century). The bridge (Chùa cầu) is a unique covered structure built by the Japanese, the only known covered bridge with a Buddhist temple attached to one side.

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Hoi An has some excellent places to eat and drink — on the riverfront, scattered throughout town, across the water on An Hoi islet and lining both Cua Dai and An Bang beaches.

Hoi An flourished thanks to its port, attracting traders from China, Japan and the Mediterranean. Out of this mixture of cultures, a unique style of Vietnamese cooking developed, drawing upon a wide range of flavours, influences and cooking techniques. Hoi An is home to a number of specialty dishes, many of which can be traced to foreign origins. The most famous is cau lau, a combination of thick wheat noodles, roasted pork, bean sprouts and herbs in a thick gravy. Local lore says that the dish must be made from the water of a specific well — others argue that it is simply the distinctive noodles that make it unique. A dryer version of the dish, mi quang, is also widely available. Chinese influenced rice-flower dumplings called banh beo and banh vac (white rose) are also common. Much less publicised is com ga, a tasty stir-fry of rice, chicken, garlic and vegetables.

It can often seem that these dishes are all the restaurants in Hoi An can serve. Many are geared toward customers simply passing through town, and many have little concern for quality, making it hard to find exceptional versions of any of the dishes, but new, quality, places are springing up all the time. 

If you're after the real deal, try hunting down more local options. Cau lau is available at street stalls around town; try the stalls in the central market food hall where Tran Phu meets Nguyen Duy Hieu or one of the local one-dish restaurants that line the northern end of Phan Chau Trinh Street. A good tip is to look out for vendors with a black and gold sign which are awarded to families with the best examples of these dishes, which generally means they have been producing that one dish for generations.

That said, the long-running Cafe Des Amis continues to dish out excellent and huge meals — the five-course meal will leave you bursting at the seams. The menu is set — you can choose from vegetarian, meat or fish and head chef Mr Kim will dish out whatever he happens to feel like cooking that day. Mr Kim is quite a character, chatting up his guests in French and English, and if you eat lunch he'll invite you back for an excellent dinner and guarantee a different menu — as if you'd actually need to eat again so soon. Get there early if you want one of the two riverside tables on the upstairs balcony. It's a popular place, and a guidebook sweetie, but still fun and friendly. At 150,000 VND per customer, it's not a cheap night but worth it.

The drink stalls along the riverfront on Bach Dang are another old favourite among the gaggle of cafes that line the street – sip on a cold beer or nuoc mia (sugarcane juice) while watching the locals pile their bikes onto unimaginably small boats back to their homes on the surrounding islands. Mobile street food vendors selling delicious cheap snacks like bahn bao (pork stuffed steamed buns), fermented sausage in banana leaf (delicious), and sugar-dusted dried ginger parade past, giving you the opportunity to sample some cheap local dishes.

For a more upmarket local taste experience, check out Lantern Town. An airy place stretching from streetfront to riverfront in length, it has three different areas for eating — two indoors and one outdoor courtyard area. With pale yellow walls decorated with contemporary local artwork and hand-painted silk lanterns, the courtyard is the perfect place for a cocktail or a meal in the sultry evening air. Their take on mi quang and the pizza in a clay pot are particularly good; they also offer barbecued fish, seafood and meat at any time of day. It's a good spot to retreat to if you can't take the peddlers any longer.

Morning Glory, from Ms Vy of Cargo Club, Mermaid and more recently Market Kitchen fame, comes highly recommended, both for its restaurant and cookery courses. The restaurant is simply decorated and airy, with an open kitchen in the centre of the dining area. A non-smoking dining room is available upstairs but in the summer months it can get uncomfortably hot due to restrictions on installing air-con in the traditional buildings in town. Food is inspired from various places around Vietnam -- their cinnamon beef curry is one of the most raved about on the menu and definitely worth trying here. It's frequently full so book or arrive early.

The Cargo Club is probably the best place in town for a really delicious leisurely breakfast, an afternoon cake and coffee, or a late-night dessert. Downstairs seating is more tailored to snacking and drinking while upstairs, with views over the river from terrace tables, has more of an evening meal set up. Sample their passionfruit pavlova once and you might find yourself returning for every day of your visit. The ice cream is also top-notch and set breakfasts are good value -- enough to set you up for hours of shopping.

3 Dragons is located in a stunning two-storey, ancient colonial family house, in one of the most appealing riverside locations in town. Offering a comprehensive cocktail menu, cheery service and a well honed Vietnamese/Western menu, the proprietors Simon (sports-mad Aussie) and Chung (ever-patient Vietnamese) run a well balanced bar/restaurant with widescreen TVs (for sports) and beautiful riverside dining (for patience). The Vietnamese menu is exceptional, along with the Sunday roasts and Western breakfasts; the pizza we tried was a bit disappointing but the burgers more than make up for it (and they serve late). Being on the outskirts of town, the 3 Dragons operate on a more flexible license which means they are happy to open up for even the most inappropriately timed sporting event so you can watch it live. They also hold a pub quiz every Wednesday night at 20:00 which is popular with both tourists and expats alike, drawing in a decent crowd and some half-decent prizes.

Re-Treats Cafe on Tran Hung Dao is a popular backpacker spot, mostly because of its proximity to the backpacker quarters and the fact that most of the adventure tour guides use it as a meeting spot for their groups while in town. It's a great place to hangout during the day and early evening and serves cheap drinks. The food here is not exactly great, but seems to attract an unusually large population of cockroaches. Still, there are plenty of cheap dining options nearby including a great bun thit heo (five-spice pork noodle in a satay sauce) stall directly opposite on Tran Cao Van. 

For pizza and pasta, head to Good Morning Vietnam on Nguyen Thai Hoc. The food is great, though we heard reports of slow service. It can get busy in high season so call ahead or be prepared for a wait. A very good beachside alternative is Luna D'Atunno on An Bang beach, which serves delicious wood-oven pizza and house-made pasta dishes on comfortable, shaded beachside loungers.

There is really only one place in town to eat Indian food -- Ganesh -- and luckily it's excellent. It offers up standard curries, masalas, thalis and whatnot, but the quality is high and some people find themselves eating here every night. Like all good curry houses, Ganesh also offers take-away and a delivery service, a good option after a long day touring or if you've got a bit too comfortable at the beach. If you see another restaurant in town with "Indian Food" on the menu, avoid it and wait until you come here. 

Mango Rooms is another place spanning Bach Dang and Nguyen Thai Hoc Streets. It's done up in colourful, Caribbean-style decor with Turkish-style cushion seating and a Latin-influenced fusion menu. It's a bit pricey but a great place to hang out — go for a pitcher of sangria with some friends. Its more recent sister restaurant, Mango Mango, is over the bridge on An Hoi islet and offers a similar menu in a very smart riverside set-up. The latest addition to owner Duc's empire, Mai Fish on Nguyen Thi Minh Khai just over the Japanese Bridge also comes highly recommended, offering a cheaper, more local 'home food' menu -- it's a great place to sample a selection of Hoi An classics without the gristly bits.

Green Mango on Nguyen Thai Hoc in the centre of town is a much celebrated, classy dining option with two successful sister restaurants in Hanoi and on Cat Ba island. The sumptuously renovated wooden traders house provides a stunning backdrop for romantic dinners or early evening cocktails — it's one of the most beautiful restaurants in town — menu prices are on the high side, but the food (at least the Western dishes – weirdly the Vietnamese dishes we've had here have been disappointing) and atmosphere are well worth the splurge. 

Over on An Hoi there's a whole swathe of cheap Vietnamese restaurants offering menus incorporating a few Western dishes; stick to Vietnamese food and they are generally consistently good. If you can grab a riverside or balcony table you get some of the best views across to the old town, but be warned street sellers endlessly pound this route; if it bothers you having your meal interrupted by bangle-selling kids, go upstairs (and consider donating to an organisation that helps them).

Taking up one of the best plots on An Hoi opposite the night market is Alfresco's, a good stop if you fancy a bit of Tex Mex – they are famous for their ribs, pizzas and high standards in food hygiene. Friendly staff and sundown happy hour cocktail pitchers make it a good place to relax after hitting the market. The company originated in Hanoi (they have branches in both there and in Saigon). The Vietnamese menu is packed full of northern dishes and the breakfast pho, although a bit pricy compared with the street alternative, is one of the best we've found in Hoi An. It's worth checking out their website as they regularly have special offers like buy one, get one free on delivery pizzas and set menus.

If you're really going to sink a wad on a posh meal, check out the riverside Anantara Resort along riverside Phan Boi Chau. Every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday night at 18:00 they kick off with a traditional dance and torch lighting over cocktails at the Heritage Bar – follow it up with some world-class seafood at Lantern's Restaurant. Mains are around US$20 a head.

If you're staying up on Hai Ba Trung or Ba Trieu, don't ignore the restaurants up that way. They might not have the views or the decor of the places in the old town, but there's tasty food available at good prices. Try Gidino's for chicken fried rice and spring rolls; head upstairs for balcony seating and a decent pool table.

If you are after a little beachside dining, Cua Dai is awash with local fresh seafood restaurants. They tend to shut up shop fairly early, so pitch up around sunset or you may well be disappointed. An Bang beach has a great mix of local and Western dining options that stay open late. For incredible seafood, head to Mien Ka (to the left of the bike park), which serves up beautiful lemongrass and chilli grilled scallops, clams and some great barbecue squid. Next door's Soul Kitchen is perfect for families with a French bistro-style menu -- the fish carpaccio is a winner. Le Banyan is great for delicious cocktails, tapas and seafood. To the right Le Plage has a small but well thought out French-Viet (are you noticing a theme here) menu and offers a quieter more relaxed beach cafe environment.

Bale Well serves banh xeo (Hoi An crispy pancake with pork skewers and spring rolls) and should be on your list of places to eat if you are looking for a memorable experience that's also a hit with local diners. Located down an alley off Tran Phu Street, they serve up an all-you-can-eat feast with full instructions (down to chewing) on how to manage your food. The female staff will joke about stealing your husband – it's an entertaining experience worth its weight in gold that you just don't find at the usual tourist restaurants in town. Around 100,000 VND will see you bursting at the seams in both pants and pleasure. 

Nightlife
For a lively bar atmosphere try Before and Now on Le Loi, which gets busy after 21:00 and stays open late. There's a pool table, big screens, reasonably priced drinks and, although more of a drinking hole, it has an above average mainly Italian menu.

The Dive Bar, part of Cham Island Dive Centre, is another good spot to socialise, and popular with tourists and expats alike. For sporting events, the 3 Dragons on Phan Boi Chau is the place to head if you don't want to miss a match. Massive screens, great food and a 24-hour mentality (along with refined riverside dining) are set in a beautiful colonial house.

Over on Tran Cao Van (nearer to the backpacker hotels) another newcomer, Mo's Tavern, is a good option for when the bars in town shut up shop. They offer cheap drinks along with stacks of entertainment options, including giant Jenga, board and drinking games plus the usual pool table.

Over on An Hoi (far left of the bridge) is another popular backpacker scene with cheap local buckets, and a shifting series of bar names, don't leave drinks unattended and leave your valuables at home.

Why Not Bar is apparently run by the same team who used to own the now defunct King Kong and it's just as lively, crowded and seedy as its predecessor. 

If you prefer sipping your late night cocktails with your toes in the sand, An Bang beach is where it's at. For late-night revelry and a great bar scene, Banyan pulls in the crowds, hosting regular weekend themed parties, live music and Djs – they're popular with tourists and expats alike. There's a pool table and petanque course for the athletic and giant bean bags right on the beach for those less so.

For a quieter and more relaxed beach ambience, head to Soul Kitchen. Here you'll find a romantic environment where you can watch the sunset from a private beach cabana -- it's a far more family-orientated venue than its neighbour Banyan. Unusually for a beach bar, Soul comes into its own during the wetter winter months, when they batten down the hatches in the bar/dining area, creating a cosy escape from the elements. 

3Dragons: 51 Phan Boi Chau, Hoi An. T: (01275) 050 400. 
http://www.3dragonshoian.com

Alfresco's: 43 Nguyen Phuc Chu, An Hoi Islet, Hoi An. T: (0510) 3914 742
http://www.alfrescosgroup.com

Lanterns Restaurant, Anantara: 1 Pham Hong Thai Street, Hoi An. T: (0510) 391 4515
 http://www.anantara.com

Bale Well: Track 45-51 Tran Hung Dao, Hoi An. T: (0510) 386 4443.

Before and Now Bar Restaurant: 51 Le Loi, Hoi An. T: (0510) 910 599. 
http://www.beforennow.com

Blue Dragon Restaurant: 46 Bach Dang Street, Hoi An. T: (0510) 391 0742.
 http://www.bdcf.org

Cafe Des Amis: 52 Bach Dang, Hoi An. T: (0510) 386 1616.

The Cargo Club: 107-109 Nguyen Thai Hoc, Hoi An. T: (0510) 391 1227, (0510) 391 1844
 http://www.restaurant-hoian.com

Cham Island Dive Bar: 88 Nguyen Thai Hoc, Hoi An. T: (0510) 391 0782.
 http://www.chamislanddiving.com

Mo's Tavern: 130 Tran Cao Van, Hoi An. T: (0128) 465 7092.

Ganesh: 24 Tran Hung Dao, Hoi An. T: (0510) 386 4538.
 http://www.ganeshindianrestaurant.com

Gidino's: 113 Ba Trieu Street, Hoi An. T: (0510) 391 1167.

Good Morning Vietnam:102 Nguyen Thai Hoc, Hoi An. T: (0510) 391 0227.

Green Mango: 54 Nguyen Thai Hoc Street, Hoi An. T: (0510) 392 9918. 
http://www.greenmango.vn

Faifoo Restaurant: 104 Tran Phu, Hoi An. T: (0510) 386 1548.

Lantern Town: 49 Nguyen Thai Hoc Street, Hoi An. T: (0123) 991 2212.
 http://www.lanterntown.com

Le Banyan: Far left An Bang beach, Hoi An. T: (0935) 100 337. 
http://www.lebanyanbar.com

La Plage: Far right An Bang beach, Hoi An. T: (0510) 392 8224.
 http://www.laplagehoian.com

Luna D'autunno: Left side An Bang beach, Hoi An. T: (0165) 9470 374.

Mai Fish: 45 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, Hoi An. T: (0510) 392 5545.

Mango Rooms: 111 Nguyen Thai Hoc, Hoi An. T: (0510) 391 0839.
 http://www.mangorooms.com

Mango Mango: 45 Nguyen Phuc Chu, Hoi An. T: (0510) 391 1863.
 http://www.mangomango.com

Hoi An Travel, Hoi An Tourist, Indochina Tours, Indochina Travel, Travel; Tourism, Vietnam 2014, vietnam beach holidays, Vietnam Holidays, Vietnam Tourism,

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