Local life experience in Can Cau Market

Our team had a very interesting experience exploring on our trip to Lao Cai province in October 2017 and would like to share some pictures to you.Our train starts from Hanoi station at 10.pm on Friday and arrives Lao Cai Station at about 6am on Saturday morning. The weather in the early morning is still warm with a bit misty. Our group is welcomed by our drivers and tour guide at the station. We had light breakfast with Chicken soup at a small rest stop near by and then head up to Simacai District.

It takes about 2 hours to transfer from Lao Cai Station to the place where the market is situated. The road sometimes so craggy cause we have to cross over some landslide area from the flood few days ago. Arriving the market at about 8.30 am, the time when the market is most crowded, we jumped out of our car and be impressed by many sounds and smells that can only be found at a fair in the northern Vietnam.

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The market can be divided into 3 main areas: selling foods, cows and buffalo, clothes and other housewares. Spread in front of our eyes are a living, interesting, unique activities. In this corner, a woman selling some vegetables is talking with another woman carrying a baby on her back by their own language and laugh out loud. Whilst another man is trying to lead his buffalo. It seems like the buffalo is not so happy, it keeps shaking its head, so the bamboo bell on his neck makes some noise. Under some wooden roofs, some people are cooking special dishes made from organs of pigs, cows or buffalo. In another corner, some men is making BBQ with beef and vegetables. An old woman is cooking a big pan full of a white mixture that they call tofu. Some people are selling special wine made from tao meo – a special type of fruit in the jungle. Some children is gathering by the pannier full of hot colorful sticky rice. The color is made from 100% natural ingredients. Some teenage girls are trying the handmade dresses. In a lower land, cows and buffalo is gatherings and their owners are trading. All things creates a vivid pictures.

The words can not describe enough, so you would better come and experience by yourself. The market is not fit with all people, but it is a great choice for someone who really like to see local things. Just a tip is the Can Cau Market will be finished at about noon, thus you better arrange your time well, so not to miss the most interesting part of the market. Also, don’t forget to check the weather and bring your warm coat cause at that night the weather changed dramatically, temperature cool down to just about 12-13 Degree.

wine selling area

Colorful sticky rice

Chatting in ethnic language

H’Mong women in their costume

Noodles for breakfast, who’s willing to try?

“Tofu”

People trading buffalo

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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.

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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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Pu Sam Cap Cave system in Lai Chau province.

Nestled deep within the tranquil, sleepy hideaway forest, Pu Sam Cap Grottoes in Pu Sam Cap Commune began bustling in July 2006 and then has been attracted hundreds of thousands of visitors.

In the previous article “Sin Ho – the rooftop of Lai Chau province”, I have introduced another traveling route to Sin Ho – Lai Chau when you come to Sapa and promised to bring more information about a nearby spectacular attraction, here we go – the Pu Sam Cap Caves.

(View from the Pu Sam Cap Mountain – source: internet)

From Lai Chau town center, it takes around 10 minutes driving to Pu Sam Cap Mountain, which is about 1,700m above sea level. Then from the parking lot, it is reached on a short but strenuous walk uphill, which is rewarded by the spectacular views of the valley and Nam Ron River.

Upon arrival, visitors can have the panoramic broad view of the valley. The whole village is often covered by clouds, though sunlight pierces through, drawing bright spots and shafts on the overcast landscape. Below, the waters of Nam Ron River are barely visible as it winds their way through the mountains.
This complex has 2 big caves named Thien Mon and  Thien Duong.

Thien Mon cave appeared with a large arch and deep pure interior. Stepped into that mysterious darkness, we will feel the cool air of stone and the whisper of the wind. Columns of stalactites are on the undulating ground. Every water drop from small stones falling into your hair brings the moist feelings under the early summer rain. In the cave ground, there are lots of stalactites marbles crystallized by the distilled water from the rock in millions of years. The standing, lying or overlapping marbles create multitude of both familiar and marvelous shapes and enrich the imagination of tourists. Coming to the center of Thien Mon cave we will be surprised with high wide arches and flat platform. We can enjoy wholeheartedly the cool fresh air and listen to wind singing through the stalactites which echoed as the piano melody. A little light appears from the end of the cave creates a contrast of ethereal light and dark.

(Thien Mon Cave – source: internet)

Leaving the Thien Mon cave, it takes us half an hour passing through the forest to reach the Thien Duong gate with pristine, natural and attractive beauty. The heaven in view of visitors is as a watercolor painting. The way down to the cave provides visitors the thrilling feelings when they have to use vines along the cliffs to climb down – the curving road gradually went down looks like the terrace field. The deeper we go into, the more multi-dimension space we reach when stalactites hang down to illustrate the familiar images of life such as flowers or the gardens. In addition, there are different and strange shapes that take the audience into the world of imagination.

(Thien Duong Cave – source: internet)

Both of the caves can be visited within a day with the combination of Lai Chau town center market. Beside strolling around Sin Ho to see how local people and ethnic minorities life is, those grottoes will definitely bring you the sophisticating and iconic experience of the mountainous area in the Vietnam tours.

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Tam Thanh Mural Village

It’s hard to find anywhere in Vietnam that is as diverse, colorful, and easy-going as Hoian. For hundreds of years, it has remained the same, sitting on the banks of Hoian river, with its ancient mossy roofs and peaceful pace of life.

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Hoian is an extremely safe for solo traveller like me and you won’t be lonely in this ancient city. I like to roam the streets, try dozens of foods or sit for hours in a small café to watch people across streets, and activities. Wander around one of the local markets to shop for leaf hats, wooden clogs, silk, sand pictures, embroidery items, bamboo flutes, and other handicrafts and souvenirs. After a fun day of activities, savor such delightful Vietnamese cuisine as fresh local seafood, noodle soup, and prawn pancakes, which are served at a variety of restaurants.

Overview from Cua Dai Bridge in Hoian

Follow the river, and head down to Cua Dai bridge to enjoy the sun and the wind, visit Tam Thanh fishing village on the coast of centre Vietnam. Riding about an hour south from Hoi An (42 kilometers from Hoi An) along the coastal road, I arrived in Tam Thanh village, the Mural village of Tam Thanh now is a home to some quaint mural village, which tell stories about ordinary villagers and their way of life in the mountains and coastal regions of the country. Coastal people are always generous, they will spend hours showing you around the village. They will show you every mosaic on the walls, tell you about their boats, the sea, the net and their family.

You can see more:

The beauty of Hoian in the flood season

Early morning – Hoian ancient town

Road into Tam Thanh Village

Tam Thanh explodes out of pastoral sepias into pinks and blues, yellows and deep violets. The main street is a regular kaleidoscope where every house has its own unique color and character. Murals of local people decorate the larger walls and smaller paintings trail down the alleyways inviting visitors to explore.

With the tagline ‘art for a better community,’ the mural village project has started an important discourse in Vietnam about the accessibility of art in everyday life regardless of one’s socioeconomic background. Inspired by Korean mural villages, the Tam Thanh Mural Village is a joint initiative by the Korean Community Art Exchange Program and the Vietnamese People’s Committee of Quang Nam Province to bring art to the people.  The murals are meant to reflect the local culture, people, and nature. With the blessing of the local people, the volunteer artists have been able to turn garden-variety construction into a cohesive work of living art.

On the other than that, I loved the beach here which is the home to untouched seaside, local villages, and amazing countryside landscapes. That is a great place to just sit down, chill and relax with a bicycle ride around the beautiful Tam Thanh Mural village. If you like, you may stay one night here to avoid the crowds of beaches in Hoian and Danang. Tam Thanh Beach Resort and Spa will provide nice accommodation with the natural living by the peaceful of beach. Offering the view of Tam Thanh beach, a-step-to-the-beach restaurant, front beach bar, swimming pool with sea view, spa services are completely near by.

Explore natural landscapes that have retained their untamed beauty!
_Lucas_

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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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Special dishes that Hanoi offers in September

Hanoi in September, the weather seems to be more comfortable. Temperature is down and it is less sudden heavy rain with the thunderstorm as in August. It’s also time the Hanoians enjoy the speciality that only available in Autumn. If you have the chance to be in Hanoi in September, we highly recommend giving these dishes a try. Let’s explore Hanoi to enjoy special dishes with: Indochina tours Vietnam

Hat sen – Lotus Seeds

Lotus seeds are harvested when the seed head of the lotus is ripe or nearly ripe and the latter is harvested when the seed head is still fully green but with almost fully developed seeds. At harvest, the bitter-tasting germ of most seeds is removed using a needle.  It is a healthy ingredient with low in saturated fat, cholesterol, and sodium, and are a good source of protein. The Hanoians have many ways to use the lotus seeds in cooking.

Rich & tasty pumpkin & lotus seeds soup for starters

Pumpkin and lotus seeds soup is a perfect starter for your dinner. For the main course, you can order the lotus rice. Rice mixing with lotus seeds, wrapped in the fresh lotus leaves then steamed to be well-done. The fragrance from the lotus leaves that brings comfy feelings. It is also sure going into the favourite list of vegetarians.

Healthy steam rice and lotus seeds for vegetarians

Chicken, mushroom and lotus seeds slow cooked is a high nutrient receipt that is considered good for the recovering patients and helps to have a beauty sleep.

It will be a mistake if the desert from the lotus seeds does not come to this list. Fresh lotus seeds stuffed inside the fresh, peel-off longan, that makes the dish looks like the real fruit but with eatable seeds. Added with ice, sugar syrup and a bit fragrance from jasmine flowers, you feel like you’re eating not a dessert, but the spirit of Hanoi.

Com – Green young rice

Though Hanoi is a busy city, it is surrounded by beautiful green fields of rice. Immature rice kernel is harvested and roasted over very low heat then pounded in a mortar and pestle until flattened, then to be served with coconut. In a more rustic way, people eat cốm with ripe banana. Cốm is also used to make other dishes such as xôi cốm (steam sticky rice), chè cốm (sweet soup), chả cốm (the green young rice mix with pork paste, flatten shaped then fried).

Cốm Hanoi

Hanoi is very famous with bánh cốm ( the green rice cake). Steamed, mashed green beans mix with fresh shredded coconut, sugar and covered by the rice flour. It tastes sweet but not too much, quite sticky and will be a perfect match with a cup of Vietnamese hot tea in the afternoon.

Bánh cốm – the green young rice cake

Moon Cakes

The Mid-Autumn Festival is coming, and Moon Cakes is essential. The cake has round shape looks like the full moon with many options of filling flavours inside. There are two types of the pastry: baked or non-baked

The traditionally baked moon cake has about 10 ingredients inside: cashew nuts, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds or almond, chicken floss, Chinese sausages, lime leaves, lotus seeds, winter melon dried jam, etc. The non-baked version is usually going with vegetarian ingredients, such as taro, lotus seeds, green beans, young rice cake, coconut, etc.

Many ingredients for the baked moon cake fillings

The moon cake nowadays has been upgraded to a more luxurious version with salted eggs inside. Is has been not only for eating, people are using the moon cake as a gift for their family and friends.

Favourite modern style moon cake with salted eggs inside

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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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