Go Za Za in Bo Hon

Za Za and Dink-tuk dances by a fire under the moonlight in the forest. Ta Vat wine and Ba Kich ginseng wine.

Rice cooked in bamboo sections.

Honey.

Hot spring baths.

All these combine to make a trip to Bo Hon Village in the central province of Quang Nam worth its while.

Bo Hon is a village with 60 Cotu ethnic households in the mountainous area of Dong Giang District’s Song Kon Commune that has become a popular tourist destination over the last year or so.

Briu Pram, the 78-year-old village chief, has been instrumental in attracting a Hoi An Town-based travel company’s attention to Bo Hon. A former deputy of the National Assembly from 1976-1981, Pram returned to live in the village after retirement.

He called on more than 60 households to rebuild the Guol House for community activities, restore traditional crafts, and collect traditional musical instruments, songs and dances to teach the young.

Since May last year, the Le Nguyen Travel Company in Hoi An has organized tours to Bo Hon. The tour includes visits to the village and the Ho Chi Minh Trail, the historic route on the Truong Son Range where food, weapons and soldiers were transported to the southern battlefield during the Vietnam War.

Tourists taking a one-day, one-night tour will stop at the Kien Slope on their way from Da Nang City and Hoi An Town to Bo Hon. Here, they can visit a village, try the flavor of Quyet Thang tea, take pictures of verdant tea fields, suspension bridges and large numbers of mountain butterflies flitting above grassy yards along the Kon River.

Many groups of local and foreign tourists have visited Bo Hon so far. Most visitors from France and Northern Europe take a tour to the village while visiting Hoi An.

Le Nguyen Travel Company director Le Ho Phuoc Vinh says Bo Hon is an exclusive destination and is becoming a popular choice for many Vietnamese families and groups of friends traveling during holidays.

A tour for a group of seven to 10 people costs

VND500,000 (US$28.70) per person. Tourists can contact Le Nguyen Travel at 32 Tran Hung Dao Street or at 32 Le Loi Street in Hoi An Town for more information.

No room at the inn

No more hotel rooms are available, tour operators have no empty seats to fill, and most travel companies are turning down booking requests.


There’s no sign of the slowing economy, what with hordes of people rushing to book a four-day vacation from Thursday’s Liberation Day through Friday’s Labor Day to Sunday evening.

Tour operators in Ho Chi Minh City say they have booked up to 15 percent more customers than last year, when the public holidays fell on Wednesday and Thursday.

Tran Doan The Duy of Vietravel says all the places on his company’s package tours to Beijing-Shanghai, Singapore and South Korea have been taken.

Fiditour, which is just as inundated with requests, is arranging more tours to Singapore and Malaysia as the firm’s scheduled trips to the two countries are full.

Saigontourist has seen a surge in domestic tour reservations too, partly because many people have canceled trips to Thailand because of the political troubles there, according to the travel firm’s Lam Tu Khoi.

Tours from Can Tho City to Phu Quoc Island, Da Lat, Nha Trang and Hoi An are booked out, Luu Nguyen Anh Thu of Saigontourist’s Can Tho branch told Tuoi Tre on Sunday.

In the opposite direction, travel agents have booked more than 1,000 people into Can Tho’s My Khanh Village, which is described as an “ecotourism hotspot of the Mekong Delta.”

In Kien Giang Province to the south, the hotels and guest houses on Phu Quoc Island have been flooded with requests for accommodation since early this month, and most of the hotels have run out of empty rooms.

In south-central Binh Thuan Province, director Lam Quang Hien of the local tourism department said on Sunday that “it’s too late to book a hotel room now.”

His department has ordered hotels and other lodgings in the province to keep their rates unchanged and improve their service.

Oddly enough, some small hotels in Binh Thuan have actually knocked 10-30 percent off their normal room tariffs.

Hien thinks the number of holidaymakers spending the four days in Phan Thiet, Rom Island or La Gi Beach will jump by 7 percent from last year to more than 53,000.

Rom Island Resort took more than 1,200 group and individual bookings a month ago, according to the resort’s general manager, Nguyen Van Tho.

“The only thing left for us to do is welcome the visitors,” Tho said.

Since Sunday, all phone calls and emails to the multitude of hotels in Da Lat have been answered with an apology that there’s no room left.

There are some 600 hotels in the highland city yet room reservations began flooding in two months ago, even though some hotels have doubled their rates.

Hotels in Da Nang have also raised their prices knowing there will be so many visitors desperate for a place to stay.

It’s estimated that 30 percent more people from Hanoi and HCMC will visit the central city this week compared to a year ago.

Every hotel and resort on the Da Nang coast has been booked out, according to Tran Chi Cuong of the local tourism department.

Cuong believes the cable car at Ba Na Mountain alone will attract more than 5,000 tourists this week, and advises people wanting to visit Ba Na to just go for the day as there are far too few guest rooms for everyone.

The town of Hue to the north of Da Nang will be twice as crowded as usual now that all the three-star and cheaper accommodation is taken and the higher-end hotels are up to 80 percent booked.

Leading travel firm Vitour has had to turn down requests to carry tour operators’ customers to the central region. Vitour deputy general director Cao Tri Dung said his company was only accepting individual seat bookings for the long holiday.

There are no seats left on flights from HCMC or mainland Kien Giang to Phu Quoc Island, or on the passenger ferries that operate between the island and the mainland.

On the highways, there will definitely be more buses from HCMC to Vung Tau, Da Lat, Phan Thiet, Nha Trang and Buon Ma Thuot, according to Thuong Thanh Hai, deputy director of Mien Dong Bus Station, the main coach terminus in HCMC.

The city’s Mien Tay Bus Station, which services the Mekong Delta, will use 60 buses to carry the extra passengers to Can Tho and the rest of the region this week, deputy station manager Huynh Hai Oanh said.

Source: TT, TN

Mountain of old pagodas and sweeping views

Tram Mountain is a famous scenic attraction 25 kilometers from the center of Hanoi. 


The first place that tourists usually check out when they visit the mountain is Tram Pagoda, shaded by ancient trees. After lighting some joss-sticks and saying a few prayers before the different altars, visitors can go on to discover the lovely Long Tien Pagoda nearby.

Long Tien is situated inside a cave of the same name. In its largest section is Buddha’s altar, with statues of many arhats around.

There’s a mysterious beauty in the stalactites hanging from the ceiling of the cave and the cool water that flows from under the rocks that locals call "mother’s breasts."

The cave also has a narrow, twisting passage commonly called the "valley of love" because it is hard to squeeze through and mirrors the tortuous ways of young couples.

After Long Tien Cave comes a test of fitness: scrambling up to the summit of Tram Mountain.

On the rise before the final summit sits yet another pagoda, Tram Vo Vi, around 500 meters and 100 rock steps up from Tram Pagoda.

The original temple that stood there was built in 1515 at the urging of Tran Van Tang, an army general who became a monk and traveled everywhere to preach.

Getting to the very top of Tram Mountain requires traversing a steep, narrow cleft. The view from the summit is great and takes in lush paddy fields all the way to the Day River and heaps of magnificent mountains, forests and lakes.

To reach the mountain from Hanoi, take National Highway 6 to the West in the direction of Ha Dong for 20 kilometers to get to Chuc Son in Chuong My District. Cross the small bridge, turn right and go for two more kilometers.

Or simply book a day trip with Vietnamtravelrates at 224 Thuy Khue Street, Hanoi.

thanhniennews.com

Mui Ne - Binh Thuan

Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park

Alternative site name(s)
Dong Phong Nha, Phong Nha
Province(s)
Quang Binh
Area
85,754 ha
Coordinates
17o21' – 17o40'N, 105o58' – 106o24'E
Distance(s)
From Quang Binh: 40 km

Topography and hydrology

Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park is located in western Bo Trach district, close to the international border with Laos. The national park is situated in one of the largest areas of contiguous limestone karst in Indochina, which also includes Hin Namno National Protected Area in Laos. The limestone massif is located in a transitional zone between the northern and central Annamite mountains.

The topography of the national park is characterised by precipitous karst ridges, which rise to elevations of around 400 m. Scattered among these ridges are narrow valleys and pockets of igneous rock formations. Because of the limestone topography, drainage is complex and there are few permanent water courses. There are, however, the Chay, Son and Trooc rivers, all of which are fed by underground streams, which emerge from the En, Vom, Toi and Phong Nha cave systems. All three rivers flow into the Gianh river, which empties into the East Sea. 

Biodiversity values

The three most comprehensive biodiversity surveys of Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park, together with the work of numerous other researchers, have recorded a high diversity of animal and plant species at the site, including a number endemic to the limestone karst massif.

The nature of the terrain at Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park has restricted encroachment into limestone areas. As a result, the limestone karst is almost entirely forested, apart from steep cliff faces. The only clearance of forest has been in flat valleys within the limestone massif, and in lowland areas bordering it. Natural forest covers the majority of the national park. The most widespread forest type is limestone forest but there are also significant areas of lowland evergreen forest distributed on non-calcareous substrates in valleys among the limestone karst.

The limestone forest ecosystem at Phong Nha-Ke Bang supports a high diversity of plant and animal species. Of perhaps the greatest conservation significance are several species found at the site that are endemic to this part of central Vietnam and Laos. These include Sooty Babbler Stachyris herbeti, a globally near-threatened species that went unrecorded between its discovery in Laos in the 1920s and its rediscovery at the site in 1994. Phong Nha-Ke Bang also supports populations of two endemic primates, Annamese Leaf Monkey Trachypithecus hatinhensis, and an all-black form referred to as Black Leaf Monkey T. ebenus. Scientists recorded a number of globally threatened mammals in the area, including Owston's Civet Hemigalus owstoni and Southern Serow Naemorhedus sumatraensis. In addition, the globally endangered Red-shanked Douc Pygathrix nemaeus has been recorded at the site by a number of authors. Also, the recently described Annamite Striped Rabbit Nesolagus timminsi was recorded at Phong Nha-Ke Bang in 1998.

With regard to the avifauna of Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park, scientists recorded several globally threatened and near-threatened species, including Crested Argus Rheinardia ocellata, Chestnut-necklaced Partridge Arborophila charltonii, Red-collared Woodpecker Picus rabieri and Short-tailed Scimitar Babbler Jabouilleia danjoui. On the basis of the occurrence of four restricted-range bird species, Phong Nha-Ke Bang lies within the Annamese Lowlands Endemic Bird Area. Researchers consider Phong Nha-Ke Bang to be of particular importance for bird conservation, because the populations of species of conservation concern are not at immediate risk of extirpation or major population declines. Both Phong Nha and the adjacent Ke Bang limestone area (including the portion in Minh Hoa district, outside of the national park) qualify as Important Bird Areas.

Other documented values

Phong Nha-Ke Bang has a spectacular limestone karst topography and extensive cave systems, which make it one of the most outstanding geological sites in the country. The centrepiece of the site is the Phong Nha cave, through which an underground river flows. The mouth of this cave is 30 m wide and 18 m high, and it is possible to enter up to 1.5 km into the cave. In addition to the Phong Nha cave, 16 other caves have been surveyed to date at the site, with a total length of over 60 km.

The Phong Nha cave system is an increasingly popular tourist destination, with recent investment in facilities and upgrade of access. Large numbers of tourists visit the caves daily, stretching the carrying capacity. A large area of the national park has been earmarked for potential tourism development, which could have negative impacts on the limestone forest ecosystem. There clearly exists, however, the potential for successful ecotourism development that brings widespread benefits to the national park and local communities alike. 

The Phong Nha-Ke Bang area is home to members of the Ruc and Arem sub-groups of the Chut ethnic group. Until recently, these people lived in caves. They have now been settled in villages. The indigenous knowledge and customs of these people have yet to be adequately researched. 

Pictures of Dien Bien Phu

The Vietnamese Ao Dai

The word Ao Dai means ‘Long Dress,’ and is a two piece garment. The bottom part consists of loose pants that reach the ankles. The top is a tight fitting tunic with long sleeves and a high collar with two panels that float loosely down the front and back. 

The Ao Dai is famously known to ‘cover everything, but hide 
nothing,’ and it perfectly accentuates the long, lithe body possessed by Vietnamese women. When choosing to wear the Ao Dai it pays to have a similarly shaped figure. 

Historically the Ao Dai is believed to come from China, when the newly crowned king Nguyen Phuc Khoat decreed in 1744 that the Ming Chinese style of dress would be adopted by all his subjects. Since then, both men and women have worn different variations of the Ao Dai. It has never been an official ceremonial dress, and has always been used an everyday outfit. 

Now, with western fashions popular in Vietnam, the once ‘everyday’ Ao Dai are now only worn at special occasions and by office staff in companies that require it. It has experienced a revival in recent years, and its extremely common now to see women navigating traffic on bicycles and motorbikes, expertly lifting the long panels away from greasy spokes and gears. 

Men no longer wear the garment as much as women do, confining it to traditional weddings the normal photo shoots popular with Vietnamese all over the country. 

The variations in colors of this unique national costume is amazing: high school girls wear white ones, female cabin crew on Vietnam Airlines wear red ones, and bank employees wear ones matching their company’s logo. It’s also common for older women to wear Ao Dai to be made of a velvety material and accented with a rope of pearls. 

The style of today’s Ao Dai remains close to the antique originals, and hasn’t changed very much in the last 100 years; however in the last thirty years changes have been made to the pleating and the lengths of the collar. 

Many Vietnamese designers are now reinterpreting the Ao Dai, experimenting with new materials, decorations, and adornments. Many of their studios can be found in Saigon and Hanoi, with prices ranging up to several hundred dollars for one of their creations.

For foreign women traveling in Vietnam, Ao Dai makes excellent handmade souvenirs. Shopping for material in Saigon’s Ben Thanh market is a good excursion and you will make friends along the way by asking for suggestions and tailors to recommend. Numerous tailors can be found in Saigon, Hoi An and Hanoi that specialize in making excellent Ao Dais. Most of them can make the outfit in 24 hours or less. What better way is there to remember your fantastic trip to Vietnam? You’ll be reminded of the beautiful country every time you put your Ao Dai on.

Furama Resort and Bikini shoots

Sam son Beach

                              

                            

                          

              

                

                            

                          

              

                

                            

                          

              

                

                            

                          

                              

                            

                          

                              

                            

                          

              

                

                            

                          

              

                

                            

                          

                              

                            

                          

                              

                            

                          

                              

                            

                          

              

                

                            

                          

              

                

                            

                          

              

                

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Beach Bikini girl collection at Vietnam beach