Back to Hoian

I decided to book air tickets to return Hoian for the 3^rd time on a day of mid-October. However, this is the first time of mine to visit the enchanting town during its rainy season and especially when reading the weather forecast news warning that if central Vietnam would be anyone’s travel plans over the next few days, they may want to consider delaying the travel — or, at least, keep updated to the latest information pertaining to the weather due to the effects from Typhoon Khanun.” (Boarding Area).

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Having been kept updated by the local weather forecast channel about the weak influence of this storm and believing that the daily rain will not dilute the beauty of this region, I still started my trip as planned and was so lucky to enjoy Hoian without rain or storm but with a pleasantly sunny and cool weather throughout my chilling days.

After strolling around the old streets of Hoi An, I thought of doing something else near the town for more fun experiences. My great day was to rent a bike and ride around on two wheels to visit Thanh Ha Pottery Village, Bay Mau Palm Forest and relax by An Bang Beach.

1. Thanh Ha Pottery Village

Finishing a nice breakfast with Mi Quang (Quang Noodle with shrimp and pork), I headed 3 kilometers out of Hoian town to Thanh Ha Terracotta Park and Pottery Village to see the historical village and made a pottery on my own as a souvernir.

The Thanh Ha village was famous for its pottery, bricks and tiles. You will be amazed to know the unique Yin – Yang tiles which can still be seen on many roofs in the old city of Hoi An were made from this old village. Coming to the terracotta museum, you will have a chance to see the whole building of red bricks and clay in the region.

I must admit that I was lost in the World Square garden of miniature of iconic monuments from all over the world. This was really a great way to learn new places and to check my memory. Besides world famousTaj Mahal, Statue of Liberty, Stonehenge, Sydney Opera House, Pyramids, the Whitehouse, the Angkor Wat, I figured out the little  replica of Hoi An Old Town with lovely old houses which were all made by clay and by the artisans in village.

Though the indoor exhibition was quite attractive with objects and images about the long history development of 500 year history at Thanh Ha, I could not stand going down to the outdoor area where I can see the nice hand-made pottery products and made one by myself. Needless to say, this is an ideal site for both adults and children where you can create any masterpieces of your imagination.

Having made the pottery without previous knowledge and experience but thanks to the great help of the nice artisan, the vase/pot came out surprisingly nice and it cost only 30,000 VND for this worth.

2. Bay Mau Nipa Palm Forest:

Leaving the Thanh Ha village, I continued my day trip to Bay Mau Nipa Palm Forest where is regarded as the Little Mekong inside Hoian.

Located 5 km from Hoian and surrounded by water of 3 major rivers in Hoian: Thu Bon River, Truong Giang River and De Vong River, the hidden coconut forest is really a wonderful destination for tourists to sit in the basket boat and go through the natural coconut waterway. In the past, the forest was an important historical where the guerrilla force relied on coconut forests to cause more damage to the enemy in wars and became a place of shelter, refuge to many officials. Nowadays, it is really nice place for people to explore the tranquil coconut palm while seeing the sunset at Thu Bon River.

Welcomed me on boat, the friendly boat lady gave me an amazing gift made of the coconut leave, that is the ring with shape of a grasshopper! The rowing boat went through the forest and along the river for around 30 minutes. At the end of the ride, I was astonished again by the unique performance of a boat man right in his basket boat while enjoying a great round by my boat’s old lady that was a little dizzy but so much fun.

3. Relax at An Bang Beach

The end of my day trip today was An Bang Beach, a lovely beach that is only 3 kilometers from the town and it is where you will find less vendors, more peace with clean water, smooth sand, gentel waves and pure atmosphere.

While the Hoian ancient town is peaceful, the beach is somehow vibrant by the pace of life showing on a huge number of bamboo basket boats along the beach. Like in Bay Mau forest, these boats are still used as a mafor means of fishing for daily life.

As the ideal time for swimming at Hoian beach is from April to September during the summer of Central, I just stopped at An Bang Beach to have a big fresh seafood dinner that definitely satisfied a hungry soul like me.

Though the trip was taken during the rainy season, I enjoyed myself very much in a great weather. So my best advice for anyone who is planning to Hoian these days would be to get updates from local weather channels, book accommodation through any channels that allows for late cancellations or for last-minute delay until the weather is better and take advice from locals where living right at place. It is certain that you can even still had good days while during rainy time. Therefore, I believe you may also have a lot of fun experience to Hoian and do not hesitate to share with me your great time there!

Happy traveling!

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A local experience in Sapa – Authentic Red Dao herbal baths

Sapa is not only famous for the colorful mountains, terraced rise fields, passes up and down, but also well – know by The Medicinal bath of the Red Dao Ethnic

Coming to Sapa where is not only famous for the colorful mountains, terraced rise fields, passes up and down, but also well – know by The Medicinal bath of the Red Dao Ethnic. This is a long-time medicine that the local people here, every day they go into the forest and cut the medicinal plants to use for bath because according to their experience, these plants can treat many illness.

According to legend, on the last day of the year the Dao boiled leaves from the forest for medicinal bathing before welcoming the new year in. As this practice proves both effective and salubrious, a majority of Kinh people have considered it a unique feature of Red Dao culture. The Red Dao’s medicinal bathing has become one of the northern mountainous province‘s attractions, even though it is still a mystery to foreign tourists who first set foot in Sapa.

After a long day trekking, it’s good chance to go to the bathhouses of Ta Phin village. We went to Dao’Spa – Sapanapro, one among a handful of Dao women in Ta Phin who offers the service. Take this chance, I would like to share about a must-try experience while visiting Sapa:

How to make herbal water of the Red Dao

The number of ingredients in Red Dao herbal water can vary from 10 to 100, depending on the purpose of the users and how experienced the bath maker is. Nonetheless, there are some crucial types of herb. According to local people’s guidance, wild fokienia wood, also known as “Pemou wood”, is believed to be the best material to make the tub used in herbal bath since Pemou wood aromatic essential oil will be extracted by hot water, making it a wonderful scent which may last for even a few days.

You can click: Indochina tours to get more information.

Based on the number of users, the amount of herbs used will be different. Normally, herbs is washed carefully and boiled for 3 hours until the water turns into red color with romantically typical scent.

They will boil these dried plants and bark in a water filled giant wok, over a charcoal fire, of course will take takes several hours to prepare. After several hours of brewing, the water is transferred to a wooden barrel tub. Taking this herbal baths, having just entered the bathroom, you will immediately caught a whiff of fragrant herds, enjoy the beautiful smell of these natural medicines. You can relax and soak your bones in traditional bath and wash away your aches, pains, worries and woes all at once in the privacy of our bathhouse.

According to local people here, for this herbal bath in Sapa, each herb remedy for bathing includes approximately 120 kinds of herbs, plants and bark used for the baths. But of that total there are 39 which are popular and about 10 which are indispensible. The herbs are boiled for 3-4 hours in 30-37^oC to extract the essence, and then mixed in water to serve tourists. Average time to take herbal bath is 30 minutes.

The forests in tranquil Ta Phin, Vietnam, are lush with medicinal plants which are a valuable resource to the resident Red Dao ethnic minorities.

Like the sound of a warm herbal therapy bath in the lovely Sapa. With a grant, social enterprise Sapanapro was able to upgrade its spa facilities, allowing the ethnic Red Dao people to better commercialise their herbal remedies and improve their livelihoods

With a grant, social enterprise Sapanapro was able to upgrade its spa facilities, allowing the ethnic Red Dao people to better commercialise their herbal remedies and improve their livelihoods

Positive effects of using Red Dao herbal bath

According to the wisdom of the Red Dao people, an herbal spa is especially helpful for physical and mental fatigue, as it relaxes your body and renews your energy by enhancing overall circulation, soothing your daily tensions. For women, the herbal bath promotes skin beauty by opening pores, removing dead skin and impurities, and leaving the skin soft, clean, and silky smooth. The bath also relieves some chronic illnesses including rheumatism and joint pain. Herbal bath can help customers, with essential oil of local herbs, reduce negative effects of alcohol in the body, musculoskeletal pain, rheumatism and improve their health. On top of that, Sapa herbs can also a simple natural treatment for skin disease such as ulcer, acnes and psoriasis, etc.

Such a beautiful view from bathroom ^_^

Instruction for bath with traditional medicines (or herbal bath):

First Step: Please soak slowly your feet into water get familiar with temperature, and then put slowly your body until the water surface touch your chest. (Effects of traditional medicines will decrease if you put more water to decline temperature)

During bath time: You can use small bucket or towel to pour water to the part of body above water surface. (Eg: head and shoulder). You can use bathing water to wash your face and hair. You will sweat after 5-7 minutes to soak into water, especially in period 7-10 minutes. (Don’t worry, it’s normal sign)

Final Step: After 15-20 minutes, when your heartbeat and breathing rate increase. Please out of the bathtub, dry your body. (Don’t bath again by other water because it will decrease effects of traditional medicines).

Note: Careful control of temperature and time herbal bath in the following cases:

– You have gotten heart diseases or high blood pressure.

– You get drunk or drink too much alcohol.

– Pregnant women

If you soak your body in bathing water too long (more than 25 minutes), you can lose your balance in some minutes or being sleepy. This phenomenon is called “medicines drunk”. In this case, just call receptionists or staffs to help you. After 5-10 minutes, you will be fine.

Made from longstanding types of herb in Sapa, this service of Red Dao people is a must to any tourist. If you have a chance to visit Sapa, consider giving this amazing bath a try. It’s relaxing indeed.

 

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What to do in November at Siem Reap

November is the time when Cambodia enters dry season meaning there will be almost no rain for the next six months, although the odd, short shower early in the month is not unusual. Comfortable temperatures (average tem is about 25°C), low humidity and plenty of sunshine makes November a popular time to travel in Cambodia. This is the best time for you to visit Siem Reap, Cambodia.

You can see sample itinerary: SPLENDORS OF VIETNAM & CAMBODIA

Exploring the Angkor temples

One of the destinations you should not miss is Angkor ruins including thousands of temples with many different sizes. Angkor Wat is the most famous temple in Cambodia, built by King Suryavarman II in the 11th century. At the beginning, this was a Hindu temple. Then, the Angkor Wat was becoming a Buddhist temple after Khmer dynasty worship Buddha.

Besides, there are many temples situated in the park beyond archeology.  Fares for one-day tour is USD $20, three days is USD $40 and USD $60 per week. The special thing here is your photo printed in your ticket. After your trip, you can keep it as a souvenir.

The vast area of the Angkor Thom ruins, over a mile on one side, contains many stone temples and other features to explore. The city has five monumental gates (one in each wall plus an extra in the eastern wall), 20m high and decorated with stone elephant trunks and the king’s favorite motif, the four faces of Avalokiteshvara.

Ta Prohm temple was covered by tangled tree roots, is one of the most strange and unique structures of the complex. Going further, Preah Khan and Banteay Srei temples have a lot of elaborate carvings. Phrom Kulen National Park in Kbal Spean, two-hour drive from Siem Reap, still preserved the works of ancient rock carvings called lin-ga (symbol of Shiva’s penis in India Hindu).

Some notes when visiting the Angkor ruins you should remember:

– You should plan to schedule a tour of his temple, even hired a tuk-tuk driver, or rent a bike for a day. You can find a tuk-tuk everywhere and the drivers are always ready to take you to any temples in your schedule.

– Wake up early and visit the temples at the earliest time is the best way for you to experience the beauty of the temples. Starting at dawn, you not only get the opportunity to admire the sunrise but also avoid the crowds.

– Because you are visiting spiritual religious sites, you should pay attention to your clothes, just a scarf or a sarong is not enough in Cambodia. Therefore, dressing politely will help you avoid many problems.

Visit the floating villages on Tonle Sap Lake

From November, it is flooding season in Siem Reap, so it is high time for you to discover the largest lake in Cambodia – Tonle Sap, far from the center of Seam Reap about 25km, recognized by UNESCO as a biosphere reserve in the world.

A boat trip through the traditional colorful floating villages is a chance to return to nature and explore the daily life in Cambodia. You can feel the peaceful atmosphere and cool wind. Sometimes you can be surprised at a giant python wrapping around some people on the boat. Then, you can visit some floating restaurants on the lake to enjoy the cool coconut water.

On Tonle Sap Lake, people live in simple floating houses. There are also schools, clinics, temples, etc. like on the land. If you want to visit the floating village to explore the lives of local people, you should come to Khneas Chong, Kampong Phluk, Kampong Khleang, etc. And don not hesitate to jump out off the boat and go kayaking through morning – glory and trees in pristine Kompong Phluk  “flooded forests” to have amazing experience. Moreover, you can discover Prek Toal bird sanctuary including many rare birds such as white storks endangered milk, spot-billed pelican, etc.

After your visiting with many activities, you can be relax with local people at their house. This is a great opportunity to experience the peaceful river life, integrate into normal life of the people and enjoy a variety of delicious dishes made from fish caught in the lake.

Visit the traditional villages in Siem Reap

There is a place in Siem Reap where there are many serious activities to preserve and restore art and ancient Khmer craftsmanship, while create means of livelihood for the local people. That is , a social enterprise, dedicated to providing high quality products such as handmade clothing, lacquer ware, painting on silk, jewelry and ceramics made by more than 1,300 local artisans. You can sign up for the free guided tour in seven languages to have a visit around the main shops as well as travelling free to the Angkor Silk Farm by fast bus, which takes you about 20 minutes.

Now, are you ready for your trip to Siem Reap on November? Enjoying many above activities or just leisure in the long sandy beaches on time when sunshine comes back may be your best memory in Cambodia.

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Binh Lieu in Quang Ninh Province – a less-touristic version of “Sapa” (Part 01)

Are you an adventure and discovery lover? Are you interested in new places? Are you finding a less touristic mountainous area? If you are, I believe that you are reading the right post. To get more information, you can click: Vietnam tours from uk

I am a real adventurous traveller and love the mountainous area. Last month, I plan to visit Sapa again after a long time not getting there. However, I had problems of choosing the suitable budgeted hotel/homestay for my trip (I spend most of my time for travelling not in accommodation, so homestay will be a good choice). It was a trip to Sapa on the last minutes. As you know, now, Sapa is a famous mountainous area and there is many tourists reaching to this places everyday. After searching and asking some friends who have the same passion and many experiences of discovering mountainous area, Binh Lieu was highly recommend to me. I found that this place seems to meet my desire because there is not much information about it on the Internet and there is no guide for this places. After a few hours, to use google map and find a good rental motor-bike. I decided to travel to this places with my special companion.

On the first part, I just want to show some nice picture and general information about Bin Lieu Town. The detailed itinerary, guide and the story of my trip will be shown on the next parts, so do not forget to follow our blog and wait for my next post.

Binh Lieu is a small and poor district of Quang Ninh Province. Most of you just hear about Halong bay in Quang Ninh Province only. This district is located in northeastern Quang Ninh Province; The North borders Ninh Van, Sung Ta and Chongqing, and Chengdu City (Guangxi – China); To the west, Dinh Lap district (Lang Son province); It borders Hai Ha district, Tien Yen district and Dam Ha district to the east (Quang Ninh province). Binh Lieu is a mountainous district located in the northern part of the province (21 ° 27 ‘to 21 ° 39’ north latitude and 107 ° 17 ‘to 107 ° 36’ east) 108 km, Tien Yen town 28 km; The north has 42,999 km of border with China. Total area is only 471.4 Squarekilometer and total population is around nearly 30,000 people with density 56. The enthinc group is Tày, Sán chỉ – one of the rare ethnic minority people in the world with very small number of population, Kinh, Dao, and a little bit of Chinese people

Most of people living here is DAO people – a minority ethnic people of Vietnam. All of people farm the rice on terraces as Sapa or herd the buffalo. Then, they will sell their agriculture product/buffalo meat to earn the money. Because of distance, lack of transportation; lack of investment from government and geography characteristics, all of people have to live based on the agriculture. They are very poor people with the limitation on electricity and high technology. This make me think about the Sapa 20 years ago.

 

View from the Binh Lieu Town

You cannot find a homestay there but you can speak Vietnamese or DAO language, you can deal with the local for a night stay at the home with a very small fee (around USD 2-5 per person). They will be happy to share their local food for you without money. Besides, you want to have special experiences; you can bring camp and find the suitable place for camping to over-night. However, I will not highly recommend you to do that because it seems to be unsafe to go camping in the less touristic and mountainous area. When we drive across small villages, every people wave their hand as greetings and give us beautiful smiles. Tourism really do not effect on this places yet. However, you can find two basic hotel and one hotel in the center of Binh Lieu Town.

There are some highlights you must visit in Binh Lieu which I will list here with picture and share to you more about the itinerary on the next part:

Our brief itinerary:

Day 1: Hanoi – Halong city – over-night in the Halong city (we visit some beautiful places and ancient pagoda on the way from Hanoi to Halong city). 3, 5 driving hours for185 km on this day

Day 2: Halong – Tien Yen – Binh Lieu Town – visit the central market –  Ngàn Vàng, Ngàn Chuồng, Pắc phe villages. We have to drive around nearly 4 hours for 120km from Halong – Tien Yen District – Arrive in Binh Lieu because of rain, uphill road (14%), narrow path and pass.

Day 3: Binh Lieu – Visting Vietnamese and Chinese Border Points: 1300, 1302, 1305 – the best view point I have been, and 1327

Day 4: Binh Lieu – Khe Van Water Fall – Na Lang Village – Na Nhai village – Acrossing the Na Lang “hanging bridge” to back to Binh Lieu Town

Day 5: I planned to finish the trip in this day but after 3 days in Binh Lieu, I realized that Na Nhai Village is the poorest village in Binh Lieu, so I decided to back there to give some small gifts for the children there.

Now, I want to share some nice shots I took during the trips. More pictures will be shared on the next part:

On the way to get Boder Points

One of boder point – #1302 Point Vietnam – China

New green terrance in Na Nhai Village of Binh Lieu in July

Shy DAO boy received small snack packs from me. He can not speak Vietnamese and did not have chance to go to school but he is really a good boy when he show his respectation to my small gift by taking it by two hands with smily face.

Na Lang Village – one of the nearest village from Binh Lieu Town

Another nice view on the way from Tien Yen District to Binh Lieu

My rental motor-bike for this trip . Her name is Little Princess 😀 She did very well. Thank you so much for amazing trip with us, my Little Princess!

Ancient Houses in a small village which I forgot the name but it is very beautiful and authentic

The type of road we drove during this trip. It is very difficult for new biker as me but “Little Princess” supported me so much.

Our dinner on the first night in Binh Lieu Town. After a long travelling day without any places for lunch, it was absolutely one of the most delicious BBQ I have tried.

Enjoy the some of my photoshots and try to find if you can have any information about this place on the Internet? If you can not find anything, please follow our blog and wait for my next part with very detailed itinerary and how many difficulties we have been through together.

 

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Top 8 famous Pagodas in Vietnam you should not miss (Part II)

5. Thien Mu Pagoda – Hue City

Thien Mu Pagoda – Heaven Fairy Lady Pagoda is the most ancient pagoda in Hue city. It is situated on Ha Khe hill, on the northern bank of the Perfume River, in Huong Long village, 5 kilometres from Hue city, which is easy to reach from the city centre.

Heaven Fairy Lady Pagoda in Hue

Heaven Fairy Lady Pagoda  is based on a legend of local people. Long time ago, an old strange woman appeared on the hill where the pagoda is located today and told to local people that a Lord would come and build a Buddhist pagoda for the country’s prosperity. Then, she disappeared suddenly and no-one saw her later. After that, Lord Nguyen who was a devotee and always expected to make country be more prosperous, listened the story. Right after, he decided to buil Heaven Fairy Lady Pagoda as the old stanger told and believed that the stranger woman was a embodiment of Buddha to remind him what he should do for his locals’ belief and country’s prosperity . With this mysterious history, the pagoda has attracted a great number of tourists from inside and outside of the nation to come and explore the legend themselves.

One of very famous tourism activities which no tourist want to miss in Hue is boarding a Dragon boat on Perfume River to visit Thien Mu Pagoda.

6. Tran Quoc Pagoda – Hanoi: 

Another beautiful and ancient pagoda from Hanoi – the capital of Vietnam – the center of Vietnamese culture and history. Tran Quoc Pagoda in Hanoi is the oldest temple in the city, with more over 1,450 year old. It was built in the sixth century under the reign of Emperor Ly Nam De (544 to 548).

The main part of this pagoda located at Kim Nguu Islet – Westlake. You will have to across to bridge to reach the pagoda. However, When founded, the temple was named Khai Quoc – Founding State and was located on the banks of the Red River.  Because of flood and invasion of the Red River, in 1615, it was re-built and located at the Kim Ngu Islet of West Lake where it is located nowadays.

Tran Quoc- source: internet

There are many monks living at this pagoda and teach the Buddhism to public. Besides, here are many Buddhist symbols at Tran Quoc Temple. The eight-wheeled wheel symbolizes Buddhism as it symbolizes the Noble Eightfold Path. At Tran Quoc Pagoda, there are many lotus statues. Symbols for purity of mind, body and speech. The lotus also represents enlightenment and accomplishment. The stone walls at the side of the temple are many carvings of lotus flowers etched in stone. The carvings depict the beauty of nature in Vietnam.

7. Giac Lam Pagoda – Ho Chi Minh: 

After the most ancient pagoda in Hanoi – the capital of Vietnam, we will visit the most oldest pagoda in Ho Chi Minh City – Giac Lam Pagoda. It was bulit in 1744. The name “Giac Lam” means “Feel the Woods Temple”. Why it has this name? There is many reasons to explain for this special name. However, there are two reasons which you can realize righ after you entering through the main gate of this pagoda. All of small temples. statue and main architecture of this pagoda was made from valuable wooden. Another reason is that this pagoda is surrouned by garden full of tall trees. Especially, there is a tall Bodhi tree – the symbol of Buddhism.  This tree came Giac Lam Pagoda on June 18, 1953 and nowadays, it is considered as a symbol of Giac Lam Pagoda.

Giac Lam pagoda- source: internet

8. Chua Ngoc Hoang – Jade Emperor Pagoda. 

This temple is dedicated to various gods, Taoists and Buddhists of the China-Vietnamese culture and especially to the Jade Emperor, the Supreme of Taoism God. The facades of the Jade Emperor Pagoda are brick painted in pink without greater interest, major architectural and artistic attractions are the tiles and sculptures of roofs and above all, the doors of the temple carvings, authentic works of art and unique style Yin-Yang of the roofs.

To decorate the Pagoda of the Jade Emperor, the Cantonese community was inspired by many Buddhist legends and myths. The doors are carved with figures of men and gods, in the interior of the temple, in the room of 10 hell have the representation of the 1000 torments and flanking the main sanctuary, the giant demon guardians of 4 meters in height.

This pagoda was originally known with the name of Pagoda Ngoc Hoang, but it was renamed in 1984 as Pagoda Phuoc Hai Tu, a name which it retains to this day.

To get more information, you can click:  Southern Vietnam Discovery

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Say “Mingalabar” to paradise – NGAPALI BEACH

Myanmar, stretching 2,500 kilometers from the eastern Himalayas in the north to palm-lined beaches of the Andaman Sea, Pagodas are encountered at every step. Not only Yangon’s 2500-year old Shwedagon Pagoda or ancient Bagan with more than 2,000 Buddhist monuments tower over green plains, but also beautiful Ngapali destination (pronounced Napally and said to be named after the Italian city of Naples).To get further information, you can click: Indochina tour

With its pristine, palm-tree-fringed white sand, the clear waters of the Bay of Bengal, and a host of sophisticated accommodation, Ngapali is premier beach getaway

With its pristine, palm-tree-fringed white sand, the clear waters of the Bay of Bengal, and a host of sophisticated accommodation, Ngapali is premier beach getaway

Ngapali is located on the Bay of Bengal coast in Rakhine State, its main feature is an idyllic stretch of white sand and palm tree-lined coast, with a number of resorts spread out next to traditional fishing villages. The beach stretches about 3 km with soft white sand fringed by coconut palms. Unlike today’s beaches of Asia, it is free of noisy beachside bars, crowded people and hawkers persuading you to buy their things. There are only natural scenic beauty of the blue sea, white sand and the lovely sun. The sea is cobalt blue, without any dangerous marine animals and clean.

Do you like peace and tranquility, and visit places “far from the madding crowds?” As many of us now live in crowded cities with the stress and strain of over-population, we need periods of relaxation away from urban areas, and go back closer to nature. We just take a short 45-minutes flight from Yangon and 9 km (6 mile) drive by private transfer from Thandwe Airport to Mya Pyin Village. Renowned for its beauty, Ngapali Bay offers a warm tropical climate throughout the year. Escape to paradise on the soft white sands of our vast beach facing the bay of Bengal, with dark green forested hills as a patchwork backdrop of paddy fields. It serves as the best ground for sunbathing and recreation such as beach strolling, cycling and so on.

Ngapali is pronounced Napally and said to be named after the Italian city of Naples

Ngapali is pronounced Napally and said to be named after the Italian city of Naples

The best time to visit  

The best time to go to Ngapali beach is from October to May. From June to September (monsoon season): It is raining a lot, really a lot. During the monsoon season the weather can be very rough, the sea is not very quiet and the rain can be also 24hours. Most of hotels and small restaurants are closed during this period. Please be aware as well of the limited flight schedule between May and September.

How to Get to Ngapali Beach

By Air: Thandwe Airport is located about eight kilometers north of Ngapali Beach and is a 10 minute car journey away from most of the area’s resorts and hotels. Daily flights connect Ngapali and Yangon — the journey takes about 50 minutes.

Thandwe Airport is a domestic airport with no international flights. If you’re travelling from any other Southeast Asian country, you’ll need to travel to Yangon first before making your way to Ngapali Beach.

By Bus: Ngapali Beach is accessible by bus from Yangon. The journey takes about 14 hours and can be quite bumpy and comfortable due to Myanmar’s road network. Most travellers to Ngapali Beach travel from Yangon to Thandwe by air due to the far shorter travel time.

Ngapali Beach is in Rakhine State, Western Myanmar. This is flight from Yangon to Ngapali

Where to stay

Ngapali has the biggest number of luxury beachfront resorts. Room-renting services here are diverse. You can choose from a small hut on the beach to luxury villas. The number of mid-range or budget beach hotels is now shrinking as the new international tourism boom entices owners to redevelop older hotels to meet the more exacting standards of the international market – and thus collect the much higher room rates. Both room rates and standards in Ngapali are already well above other beaches in Myanmar and as this beach continues its up-market march, it is destined to remain the country’s premier beach destination for some years to come.

There are many hotels, resorts in Ngapali with prices ranging from luxurious to budget for your choice.

Here is the map of Ngapali beach so you can get an idea of where each hotel, resort is.

Activities

Ngapali is about relaxing and enjoying the sun, but other activities include taking trips on local fishing boats; kayaking; snorkeling or scuba diving amongst the brightly coloured fish; and cycling or motor biking down the beach and around some of the local villages. This place offers a wide range of activities and adventures, including private boat trips to Pearl Island, snorkeling, e-bicycle rentals for exploring nearby villages, excursions to Kin Pun Chone Village where the Elephant camp is located, visits to local art galleries and Thandwe Market.

Scenic view on Ngapali beach at sunset

• Relaxing: Indulge yourself by sitting back and unwinding with ice cold beer or a tropical cocktail while enjoying the sun. You also can take a traditional bullock cart ride along the beach.

• Kayaking; snorkeling or scuba diving: Explore many bays and mangroves, dance along with large schools of brightly colored fish.

• Bird watching around Nghet Pyaw Chaung Lake. There are 30 species of birds in this area.

• Playing golf: Ngapali has a beautiful 9-hole golf course located some kilometers North of the beach, between main beach resorts and the airport.

• Visiting fishing villages: There are two fishing villages here; one in the South of the hotels, and another further South into the next bay. You can delve into traditional local life in these villages. The first one can be reached by foot; you can explore the other by using a bicycle, motorbike or being in a fishing boat tour.

• Visiting Thandwe: If you like some time away from the beach, then visit Thandwe. Located 7 km from the beach, this little town has 3 interesting pagodas, a bustling market, a traditional longyi-weaving factory.

• Visiting a dead monk: Salone Monastery is the home to a late Buddhist monk who put himself in the meditative state of death over 10 years ago. Since then, his mummy has been kept under glass.

• Have hot air balloon ride: You can get on a hot air balloon for amazing views of Myanmar’s wildest and least-known reaches.

Fishing Village

Local women in fishing villages on Ngapali beach

Travelers called Ngapali Beach “a touch of paradise,” rating the stretch of sand for its relaxing atmosphere, gorgeous sunsets, and local village feel.

Come to see its charm where you will find serenity and peace of mind amidst beautiful scenery.

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QUY NHON BEACH

A large, prosperous coastal city, Quy Nhon boasts a terrific beach-blessed shoreline and grand boulevards. Its seaside appeal and tidy, litter-free streets make it the kind of place that affluent Vietnamese couples choose to retire to, spending their final days ocean-gazing and promenade-walking

If you are looking for a beach and you willing to get off the beaten track will enjoy Quy Nhon, a lively and pleasant coastal city in Bình Định Province in central Vietnam, virtually half way between the popular cities of Nha Trang and Hoi An. The city is known for its beautiful surroundings, Cham temples, and nearby beaches.

Easily reached by plane, bus and train, it’s surprising that more people don’t choose to spend more than the absolute minimum in Qui Nhon. It has a noteworthy beach in its own right, without any of the hustle or crowds. Visitors will have opportunity of breathing the pure fresh air from the sea, mountains and forests, feeling the caress of sea breezes and hot embrace of tropical sun, watching the skilled  craftsmen hand making beautiful artifacts, and tasting the peculiar specialities. But first and foremost they will be pleased with the warm welcome from the local folks.

Quy Nhon is certainly a good spot to sample some fresh seafood, but for most foreign visitors the city’s attractions are less obvious

Vast sapphire skies and fresh ocean breezes draw visitors to Quy Nhon, where you can enjoy empty beaches and the area’s rugged natural beauty. The public beach is immaculate and so far, development directly on the beach has been limited to only a few hotels and resorts on the south end of the strip. Besides, tourists who explore Eo Gio, Ky Co beach, Trung Luong and near by fishing villages discover both serenity and excitement.

To get more experience about Quy Nhon beach, you can click: Indochina travel packages

Ky Co beach is arguably the most impressive beach in the region. Located 25km from down town, Ky Co is special because it bends like a sickle. Backed by mountains on three sides, the beach faces the deep blue sea. Visitors can travel here by boat, admiring the rocky and picturesque coastal landscape on the way. Another option is to reach Eo Gio (Windy Straight) by motorbike and board a small boat to Ky Co beach. We come here to swim in the crystal water, relax on the beach and enjoy seafood. There are also some caves to explore. Pineapple Beach offers colourful coral. Eo Gio is also worth visiting, blessed with a harmonious landscape of rocks, sky, cloud and water.

Ky Co Beach is nestled snugly in Nhon Ly Commune, 25 kilometers northeast of Quy Nhon City

Ghenh Rang ( Rang Rapid) is one of the most spectacular natural gifts bestowed upon this city. Lying 3km south down town, Rang Rapid consists of a series of rocky walls set near the sea. Ghenh Rang is a work by Mother Nature with a cluster of stones running along the seaside and undulating rock mountains, forming caves, dales with white sand on one side and the emerald sea of rustling waves on the other. After dark the rocks appear even more mysterious. Set below high mountains, the rocks and sea shine silver in the light of the moon and stars twinkle in the clear dark sky. These all creates a pristine Ghenh Rang, a charming spectacular and romantic painting.

Ghenh Rang is one of the most attractive destinations in Quy Nhon, located 3km south east of the city

Another natural marvel is known as the Queen Beach – a rocky beach covered with large rocks in strange rounded shapes. Visitors like to walk barefoot on these rocks, which resemble giant eggs. The colors are striking-white, red, grey or patterned…This rocky beach has an otherworldly beauty.

Hungry from exploring Quy Nhon’s spectacular landscape, visitors will enjoy this region’s famed fresh seafood and local dishes. The town has lots of cafés where you can relax, watch the sea and recharge in preparation for your next adventure.

Trung Luong

Eo Gio

Eo Gio

Trung Luong

Trung Luong beach

Enjoy fresh coconut while visiting Trung Luong – Quy Nhon Beach

Eo Gio is the best place to take photos

Beach at down town of Quy Nhon city

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Ham Lon – The highest moutain in Hanoi: The preparation for touching the Roof of Indochina

Are you boring with touristic attraction around Hanoi and Old Quarter? Are you a real trekker? Do you want to find some new challenge during your time in Hanoi? If your answer is YES, you are reading the right post.On this post, I want to introduce a new places for both of local and foreign tourists – Ham Lon Moutain. As on my title, this is the highest places in Hanoi and is considered as the roof of Hanoi. It is located only 50 km from Hanoi’s Old Quarter towards North Thang Long – Noi Bai expressway. the way is very easy for motor-bikers to reach this places. It will just take you approximately one hour. Therefore, you can conquer this mountain on day or you can stay longer if you want to watch the sunset and sunrise on the mountain. Besides, on the foot this mountain, there is a large lake and is very suitable for you to camp over-night and have BBQ at night.

Camping area at the bottom of Ham Lon – the roof of Hanoi

One more interesting information about this moutain is that there are many prosfessional trekker and young tourists who pracatice to conquer the Fansipan – the highest mountain in Indochina. That’s why it aslo has another nickname:” Fansipan inside Hanoi”. The highest point of this moutain is 462m.

To get more information, you can click: Indochina tours Vietnam

Every name has a meaning but after 3 times travelling to this places, I did not know why the local people call this moutain “Ham Lon”. In English, Ham Lon is “Pig Jaw” !??!! Most of local people just know that this name was considered as official name of this mountain for a long time and no one can understand why their grandparents call this moutain as “Pig Jaw”.

There two main path to touch the top this moutain. However, after 3 times conquer this moutain, I found that there are at least 6 paths to reach the top but for the first time, you should follow 02 main paths which there are many trekers choose. One path is very easy and suitable for biking. If you are professional biker, you can try. However, I have to remind that you are a real professional biker who try conquering high moutain before. With this path, you just start the foot of the mountain and make it all the way to the top through a fairly flat trail, of which the entire climb can take about two and a half hours. Visiting the Nui Bau Lake right at the start of the trail can give one a relaxing mood and get ready for the fight to the steep. Please to remind that you if you get lost, please to scream out and will someone will raise their voice to get back to you and you can follow their voice. However, this is the only way to find the support from other trekking groups because there is not any instruction board. If you feel unsafe with this trip, you can pay for some local people on the foot of moutain, then they will go with you for the whole day. It will cost you around 200,000 VND (around USD 10) for a whole day with local guide who can not speak English. One more note about this path is that it will covered by many bushes, so you should wear clothes covering all of part of your hand and knee. If you wear tank-top or short clothes, you will be hunted by bushes. On the first time, I wore short clothes and I had to pay for this with many scratches on my skin. The bushes on this moutain is not normal because I had tingle on my skin for a month. It seems be very dangerous for your skin. These below picture will show you how beautiful the easy path is

Most of tourists will choose the easy route to reach the top.

Yellow reeds along the easy route- source: internet

Nice picture was taken on the easy route with full of yellow reeds along the path – source: internet

The difficult route is a option for tourists who have greater taste for adventure and discovery. I love this path but you will need some trekking equipments. You will have to cross small streams or through the bushes, the biggest slippery stones ever. Besides, there are some deep chasm, so climbing gear will be very useful. You will have no standard route here, climbers who prefer to reach the top this way will have to create their own road. It will take you about four to five hours to reach the peak at 462m through this route. Please to note that you should not try this way if you do not have any trekking experiences before. On this route, you can hire a local guide without speaking English but the price can be higher around at 300,000-400,000 VND for a whole day. In my personal opinion, if you decide to choose thi route, you accept a challenge and will not have to be based on any guide. For me, this route give me a special survival experiences. After that time with this route, I decided to discover other routes when I travel to Ham Lon. As I mentioned, I think that now, I can go to the top with 6 routes. Now, if I have free time at the weekend, I will go with my best friend to relax and free stress with this moutain. One more fun fact that I got lost once time and it took me 6,5 hours to reach the top. I feel worried a little bit but it was really memorable experience for us because we went into old forest and need the assistance of army man to back to easy route.

Difficult route is suitable for adventure/ trekking lovers

When you reach the top of Ham Lon Moutain,  you will see a fairly flat area and you can camp here to over-night or have lunch with BBQ there.

View from the peak of Ham Lon

Please to remember collect all of rubbish after your camping and bring all things from Ham Lon Moutain after your trip. There are many younger camp on this area and throw many rubbish. It is really a shame.

I suggest you to get top through difficult route and get down the foot of mountain with easy path. I hope that you will have special and memorable experiences as I did with the roof of Hanoi.

 

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Top 8 famous Pagodas in Vietnam you should not miss (Part I)

As you know Vietnam is a long history country with diversity in culture, cuisine and religion. For religion, Vietnam will be influenced by China, Indochina region, and Europe, so there are many religion in Vietnam. But, there is a very strange thing that nowadays, 80% of Vietnamese is non-religious and they donot follow any religion totally. However,  Buddhism was the first religion in Vietnam and influenced strongly on what Vietnamese people believe and how they live until now. That’s why Buddhism is not our official religion and now, there is not much people following this religion totally but we still have many ancient Buddhist pagodas all around the country. I will list 8 Buddhist pagoda is considered as the most famous pagoda in Vietnam.

In the part one, I will introduce 4 pagoda in North Vietnam tours . the Northern Vietnam will cover a half od list because this part of Vietnam is influenced by Chinese culture and belief. Besides, in the past, the North is Buddhist center of the whole country.

1. The Mot Cot Pagoda – One Pillar Pagoda

The Mot Cot Pagoda (One Pillar pagoda), which is one of two symbols of Hanoi – capital of Vietnam in 1049, is also recognized as the most architecturally unique. This pagoda is known with another name – The Lotus  Pagoda

The Mot Cot Pagoda – One Pillar Pagoda

The temple was built by Emperor Ly Thai Tong, who ruled from 1028 to 1054. According to the court records, Ly Thai Tong was childless and dreamt that he met the Kuan Yin – Goddess of mercy handing him a boy while seating on a lotus flower. The Emperor then married a peasant girl and they had a son. In 1049, he decided to construct a temple in gratitude for this important event. He thought that Goddess of mercy gave his son to his life. At this age, based on Asian culture, a son was very important for all of family, especially for Emperor or Royal family. The pagoda was built in a style of a lotus emerging out of the water as Emperor Ly Thai Tong dreamed . The temple is built of wood on a single stone pillar 1.25 m in diameter, and it is designed to resemble a lotus blossom, which is a Buddhist symbol of purity, since a lotus blossoms in a muddy pond. That is the reason why the nick-name of One Pillar Pagoda is the Lotus Pagoda.

During the Ly Dynasty, the temple was the site of an annual royal ceremony on the occasion of Vesak, the birthday of Gautama Buddha. A Buddha-bathing ceremony was held annually on April 8 in the Lunar Calendar by the monarch, and it attracted monks and laymen alike to the ceremony. The monarch would then free a bird, which was followed by the people.

However, you will never have chance to see the original version of this pagoda because it was destroyed by French Union force in 1954 during The First Indochina War. After this war, Vietnamese Government decided to re-build this iconic symbol with the same architecture and size.

The best time to visit: Whenever you want because this pagoda is located at the heart of Hanoi and you’ll have no trouble getting there. However, you should note the opening time: 08:00-11.30 daily and 14:00-16:00 on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday

2. Chua Huong (Perfume pagoda) – Hanoi

Perfume Pagoda is a very large complex of Buddhist temples which was built into a limestone Mountain – Huong Tich. It is located in Huong Son (Perfume Mountain), 75 km southwest of Hanoi. Because it is located in Perfume Mountain, so most of local people call this complex is Perfume Pagoda and after a long time, now everybody considers this is the real name of this complex. Most of travellers think that Perfume Pagoda is only a pagoda in the mountain but it is a very big complex of many small temples, and shrines. The center part of Perfume Pagoda Complex is “Huong Tich” temple. However the most important part of this central temple is Trong Temple (Inner Temple). It is built deep inside Huong Tich Cave, so local people call it with the simple name – Inner Temple. This is the main part of Perfume Pagoda Complex and there are many local tourists will visit during Lunar New Year to pray for health and luck. Besides, Perfume Pagoda Festival will start from 6 Jan to the end of March (Lunar calendar), so you should not visit Perfume Pagoda Complex during this time every year. Please to check the calendar and itinerary carefully if you do not want to have bad experiences on traffic jam, the expensive for every service there and especially you may be stuck between thousands of local people. Believe me! It will be a very horrible experience, despite I am real Vietnamese.  It look like pilgrimage with thousands Buddhists.

Chua Huong – Perfume Pagoda

I will give you a quick brief about history of this complex. On the first there is only one Temple name as Huong Son Thien Tru Pha which nowadays, we call Huong Tich temple , was built during the reign of Le Chinh Hoa (1680-1705). On his way to search for enlightenment, he met and followed a monk who help him build Huong Tich Temple after that. Other shrines and temples were later built in this area to take advantage of the local beautiful scenery.
Perfume pagoda has a long history in Vietnamese literature. This temple has been a theme of many songs, topic of poetry, used in literary works as well as backdrops for paintings.

Now, you can go up by cable cabin to reach the top and go down by trekking to watch the beautiful view of river and Perfume Mountain. In case you do not have enough energy, you can use cable cabin for both up and down ways.

3. Yen Tu Mountain – Halong City

In Halong city, you just hear about Halong bay or Bai Tu Long bay which there are many luxury cruises for tourists to visit these famous bays. Howver, in Halong, there are many other attractions and Yen Tu Pagoda is one of them.

It is located in Thuong Yen Cong Commune, about 40 kilometres far way from Ha Long City, Quang Ninh Province. Yen Tu Moutain is one of the most  beautiful mountain in the Northern Vietnam with silky streams around bamboo forests; green pine forests, and towers and ancient temples were hidden dimly
Yen Tu region is well-known worldwide for its beautiful landscapes, historical relics and hundreds of ancient pagodas and towers, especially Bronze Pagoda, with its peak at 1,068 meters above sea level.

This pagoda is famous and more popular after King Tran Nhan Tong devoted his life as a Buddhist monk in Yen Tu after his abdication.

4.  Bai Dinh Pagoda Complex – Ninh Binh City

Bai Dinh Pagoda is a complex of Buddhist temples on Bai Dinh Mountain in Gia Vien district, Ninh Binh province. This complex consists of the original old temple and a newly created larger temple. Nowadays, It is considered the largest complex of Buddhist temples in Vietnam and become more and more popular for Buddhist pilgrims from not only all over Vietnam but also from neighbor countries

Bai Dinh Pagoda – the largest complex of Buddhist temples in Vietnam

This complex was rewarded many records in Vietnam and also in Asia likze bell in Vietnam, the longest corridor with 500 Arhat statues, and the largest number of Bodhi trees at a Buddhist pagoda complex

However, this pagoda is still a new pagoda in Vietnam. It is very young, built in 2003 and completed in 2010. Besides, biggest bronze, Trikava and 500 Arhat statues,this pagoda still have a very large structure, the Tam Thế Hall. It rises to 34 m at its roof ridge and measuring over 59 m in length. The construction materials are stone and timber from Ninh Binh, tiles from Bat Trang – Ceramic Village near Hanoi… However, it is  still a new pagoda, so the main part of this construction is still from reinforced concrete. In spite of this, the temple was built on traditional Vietnamese pagoda structure with its curve finials and corner eaves soaring up and down. They had the shape of the phoenix’s tail or dragon head – symbol of power and hope. All of decorations of pagoda inside tis complex were selected carefully from artisanals who are living at the famous local handicraft villages around  Ninh Binh Province

You can visit this pagoda in the afternoon after visit Trang An by local wooden boat. The total complex of this Bai Dinh is very large, so you can rent electric cars with around USD5 per person to visit all of must-see attractions inside.

 

 

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Interesting things to do in Vinh Long in one day

Located in Mekong River Delta of Southern Vietnam, approximately 135km from Saigon, Vinh Long province is now easily accessible by car via the National Road 1A and the My Thuan Bridge.Let’s join with us in one day tour in Vinh Long to see what this province offers.

After 2 hours driving from the center of Saigon, we reached to the pier and embarked on a cruise. Our tour guide was a very friendly woman in the traditional costume a – the “ba ba” shirt and the traditional hat.

Our cruise took us to visit the brick kilns. It was a small factory but without machinery. The local people was creating beautiful potteries from clay by their own hands. We were surprised at how manually way they were doing cause it’s the 21st century already!

Pottery making in Vinh Long

This man is focusing on making the pottery We came back to the boat and continue the trip by visiting a local workshop, where many local products were producing every day. Seeing how the coconut candy is made and try doing the rice paper by ourself. At first, we thought it was very easy to make, but it is always easier to look than done. It requires lots of technique and experience to make perfect products and the woman who made these things are really artists.

Will try making the rice paper by yourself? It requires more technique than you thought

We also had the chance to see how they make the pop rice and popcorn by a traditional way with a big hot pot and the special kind of sands. All were done beautifully and followed a smooth procedure.

This is the way how pop rice candy made – source: internet

We enjoyed some kinds of candies and a cup of hot tea prepared by the friendly local people.

The boat took us to visit the orchard and traditional house of Ut Trinh family. We had a tasty lunch made with fresh local ingredients. After that, we enjoyed some kinds of fresh seasonal fruits when listening to the traditional music of local people. We then walked around the orchard to see the varieties of tropical fruits such as the jackfruit, durian, rambutan, mango, etc.

In the afternoon, we passed on a small rowing boat – as known as the sampan to go deeper into the countryside on smaller canals and enjoy a peaceful time. It was so interesting to see traditional houses made of wood or palm tree leaves and see some activities of the local farmers, see how they picked up fruits by ancestral ways in Mekong Delta.

Happy biking time!

The last activity of the trip is biking! We biked on the small roads around the orchard, yellow flowers were blooming on the way and there were some fruits hanging right above our heads! What a peaceful time! On the way, we passed a school and saw the children were playing at their break time playing some traditional games. It seemed like this place hasn’t been affected by the technology, the smartphones and social network.

Children are helping their parents to do some handcrafting. The products are made from water hyacinth

We back to the cruise and headed to Vinh Long city, where our car was waiting to take us back to Saigon. What an interesting day with many new things to see and do in Vinh Long!

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