Depart from : Ha noi
Stop off : Ha noi
Duration : 2 days 1 nights
This trip to the north west highland of Vietnam - Mai Chau offers a balance of cultural and physical activity set amongst some northern Vietnam’s stunning natural landscape. We trek through villages in Mai Chau and overnight in a White Thai village where we have opportunities to observe the local lifestyle of these minority people. From the mountainous region of Mai Chau, we travel back to the nations capital, Hanoi.
Package 1 pax 2 - 3 pax 4 - 6 pax Over 7
Standard $229 $136 $99 $75 Book now !
Customize this tour
Day 01: Hanoi - Hoabinh - Maichau (Lunch/Dinner)
8h00 We leave for Mai Chau, stop over in Hoa Binh Town to see the biggest Hydro – Electric Staion in Vietnam, After that heading to Mai Chau. Stopping on the way to take in the spectacular scenery. Following lunch in Mai Chau town we drive to the White Thai village – Lac Village check in the stilt-house, lunch. Afternoon we walk to the surrounding village. Our hosts for this evening will be the White Thai minority people. In sampling these peoples hospitality, we find out a little more of their lives and cultures with a cultural exchange following the evening meal.
Day 02: Van village (Breakfast/Lunch)
Following breakfast we embark on a lovely walk to Mai Chau Market and Van village. As we walk we will encounter the local villagers going about their daily business tilling the fields, logging or herding the buffalo. We enjoy lunch before we drive back to Hanoi. Visit Muong village in Hoabinh.
18h00 arrive in Hanoi end of the tour.
Inclusions :
Private transport
Accommodation – Stilt House of the White Thai
English speaking tour guide
Meals as mentioned
Entrance fees
Service charges
Exclusion :
Personal expenses, drinks,tips
Vietnam Tour,Travel Vietnam, vietnam vacation|
Vietnam beach vacation|
Viet Nam: Hue city and Hue Imperial City|
flavors-of-hoi
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Sunday, May 31, 2009
To/ From the Airport in Hanoi
Hanoi's Noi Bai International Airport is about 35km north of the city and the journey takes from 45 minutes to an hour. The airport freeway is one of the most modern roads in Vietnam, although you'll see oxen herded by farmers dressed in rags crossing it. The freeway suddenly terminates in the suburbs north of Hanoi.
Vietnam Airlines minibuses between Hanoi and Noi Bai airport charge US$2 a seat. There are few information signs inside the new terminal building; you need to go outside and look for the signs for taxis and minibuses. Coming from the airport, the driver is supposed to drop you at the office of Vietnam Airlines at Pho Trang Thi, but the drivers usually tour the Old Quarter on the chase for commissions. If you end up dropped somewhere you don't want to be, just arrange a metered taxi to your destination: they are the easiest option if you have heavy bags, and there is no need to haggle.
The airport minibus service works reasonably well, but there are i few scams, especially at the airport. Normally, local touts (well dressed and posing as employees of Vietnam Airlines) board the official minibuses. They are skilled at befriending newly arrived passengers and by the time you reach the city will offer to recommend a 'good, cheap hotel'. If you want to avoid the sales pitch, just tell them that you've already got a hotel reservation, even if you don't.
To get to the airport from town, you can take one of the minibuses that depart roughly every half-hour from opposite the same Vietnam Airlines office on Pho Trang Thi. It's best - though not essential - to book the day before.
The cheapest way to get between Noi Bai airport and central Hanoi is to use public bus No 7, which runs all the way to the northern end of Hoan Kiem Lake, right on the edge of the Old Quarter. Services depart every 15 minutes from around 5am to 9pm and tickets are just 3000d - perhaps the cheapest airport run in the world. It can take more than an hour, however.
Airport Taxi (Tel: 873 3333) charges US$10 for a taxi ride door-to-door to or from Noi Bai airport. They do not require that you pay the toll tor the bridge you cross en route. Some other taxi drivers require that you pay the toll, so ask first.
Inside the terminal, touts will offer taxi services. Don't use the meter with a tout, as it may well be rigged. The 'official' taxi rank is outside the concourse and you buy tickets from the seller at the head of the taxi line.
In central Hanoi, there is always a collection of taxi drivers just outside the Vietnam Airlines office or at the northern end of Hoan Kiem Lake - it doesn't take much effort to find one. Don't pay more than US$10, including the toll.
There are also share cabs/private minibuses from travellers' cafes for about US$2 per person.
More tips
Getting to town
Bus station addresses
Taxi in Hanoi
Transportation in Hue
Taxi service in Haiphong
How to visit Ben Tre
Transportation in Ha Long city
Transportation in Sapa - Lao Cai
Local transport in Sa Pa
Bicycle in Hanoi
Bus in Hanoi
Cyclo in Hanoi
Train in Hanoi
Getting From A to B arround PhanThiet - MuiNe by "Cyclo"
Xe Lam in Ho Chi Minh city
Transportation in Da Lat
To/From the airport in Nha Trang
Bicycle in Nha Trang
Bus in Nha Trang
Car and motorbike in Nha Trang
Train in Nha Trang
To/From the airport in Ho Chi Minh city
Bus in Ho Chi Minh city
Taxi in Ho Chi Minh city
Cyclo in Ho Chi Minh city
Transport in Lang Son
Transport in Bac Giang
Transport in Cao Bang
Transport in Thai Nguyen
Transport in Thai Binh
Bus in Ca Mau
Getting around Lang Son
Getting there and away Lang Son
Transportation in Dien Bien city
Transport in Yen Bai
Getting there and away in Thai Nguyen
The Need For Traffic Control in Saigon
Railway Stations in Phu Tho
Passenger Bus Stations in Phu Tho
Taxis in Phu Tho
Transport in Hanam
E-Ticketing Agents of Vietnam Railways
Ha Noi - Hai Phong train line
Train Card
Regulations on Tickets for group of people and ticket refund in summer 2007
Types of passenger trains
Passenger train couples on the whole railway network
Regional passenger train
Passenger transport
Freight Transport
Vietnam hotel, search hotel in hanoi, saigon, halong
Sapa tour, Trek fansipan tours
Deluxe private cruise mekong, luxury cruise mekong river
novotel-ocean-dunes-golf-resort
Vietnam Airlines minibuses between Hanoi and Noi Bai airport charge US$2 a seat. There are few information signs inside the new terminal building; you need to go outside and look for the signs for taxis and minibuses. Coming from the airport, the driver is supposed to drop you at the office of Vietnam Airlines at Pho Trang Thi, but the drivers usually tour the Old Quarter on the chase for commissions. If you end up dropped somewhere you don't want to be, just arrange a metered taxi to your destination: they are the easiest option if you have heavy bags, and there is no need to haggle.
The airport minibus service works reasonably well, but there are i few scams, especially at the airport. Normally, local touts (well dressed and posing as employees of Vietnam Airlines) board the official minibuses. They are skilled at befriending newly arrived passengers and by the time you reach the city will offer to recommend a 'good, cheap hotel'. If you want to avoid the sales pitch, just tell them that you've already got a hotel reservation, even if you don't.
To get to the airport from town, you can take one of the minibuses that depart roughly every half-hour from opposite the same Vietnam Airlines office on Pho Trang Thi. It's best - though not essential - to book the day before.
The cheapest way to get between Noi Bai airport and central Hanoi is to use public bus No 7, which runs all the way to the northern end of Hoan Kiem Lake, right on the edge of the Old Quarter. Services depart every 15 minutes from around 5am to 9pm and tickets are just 3000d - perhaps the cheapest airport run in the world. It can take more than an hour, however.
Airport Taxi (Tel: 873 3333) charges US$10 for a taxi ride door-to-door to or from Noi Bai airport. They do not require that you pay the toll tor the bridge you cross en route. Some other taxi drivers require that you pay the toll, so ask first.
Inside the terminal, touts will offer taxi services. Don't use the meter with a tout, as it may well be rigged. The 'official' taxi rank is outside the concourse and you buy tickets from the seller at the head of the taxi line.
In central Hanoi, there is always a collection of taxi drivers just outside the Vietnam Airlines office or at the northern end of Hoan Kiem Lake - it doesn't take much effort to find one. Don't pay more than US$10, including the toll.
There are also share cabs/private minibuses from travellers' cafes for about US$2 per person.
More tips
Getting to town
Bus station addresses
Taxi in Hanoi
Transportation in Hue
Taxi service in Haiphong
How to visit Ben Tre
Transportation in Ha Long city
Transportation in Sapa - Lao Cai
Local transport in Sa Pa
Bicycle in Hanoi
Bus in Hanoi
Cyclo in Hanoi
Train in Hanoi
Getting From A to B arround PhanThiet - MuiNe by "Cyclo"
Xe Lam in Ho Chi Minh city
Transportation in Da Lat
To/From the airport in Nha Trang
Bicycle in Nha Trang
Bus in Nha Trang
Car and motorbike in Nha Trang
Train in Nha Trang
To/From the airport in Ho Chi Minh city
Bus in Ho Chi Minh city
Taxi in Ho Chi Minh city
Cyclo in Ho Chi Minh city
Transport in Lang Son
Transport in Bac Giang
Transport in Cao Bang
Transport in Thai Nguyen
Transport in Thai Binh
Bus in Ca Mau
Getting around Lang Son
Getting there and away Lang Son
Transportation in Dien Bien city
Transport in Yen Bai
Getting there and away in Thai Nguyen
The Need For Traffic Control in Saigon
Railway Stations in Phu Tho
Passenger Bus Stations in Phu Tho
Taxis in Phu Tho
Transport in Hanam
E-Ticketing Agents of Vietnam Railways
Ha Noi - Hai Phong train line
Train Card
Regulations on Tickets for group of people and ticket refund in summer 2007
Types of passenger trains
Passenger train couples on the whole railway network
Regional passenger train
Passenger transport
Freight Transport
Vietnam hotel, search hotel in hanoi, saigon, halong
Sapa tour, Trek fansipan tours
Deluxe private cruise mekong, luxury cruise mekong river
novotel-ocean-dunes-golf-resort
Friday, May 8, 2009
VinPearl Resort & Spa 5 star ranking resort
Address : 07 Tran Phu, Vinh Nguyen
Phone : (84-058) 598 188
City : Nha trang
Resort images
The resort provides guests with a variety of recreational facilities, three large fresh water swimming pools including the largest swimming pool in Vietnam and complete relaxation with the award wining Shiseido Spa, coupled with a diverse selection of Food & Beverage venues and cuisines.
Room type Single Double Triple
Deluxe Mountain View $160 $180 Book now!
Deluxe Ocean View $185 $210 Book now!
Deluxe Beach Front $215 $245 Book now!
Junior Suite $270 $295 Book now!
General Accommodation Restaurant & Bar Meeting facilities Leisures & sports
Direction
Drive time from Nha Trang Airport to the Vinpearl Resort and Spa is approximately 10 minutes and 10 minutes from Nha Trang train station to Ana Mandara Jetty. Then it is a 10 minute boat ride from the jetty to the Vinpearl Resort and Spa. It is 50 minutes by plane from Ho Chi Minh City or 2 hours from Hanoi to Nha Trang Airport.
Excursions near by
Po Nagar Cham Towers
Tam island
Long Son Pagoda
Mieu Island
Amenities
Air-Conditioned Rooms Breakfast Room Coffee Shop
Beauty Salon Wireless Internet Disabled Facilities
Air-Conditioned Suites Lounge Bar Shopping Arcade
Banquet & Conference Facilities Disco Restaurants
Poolside Bar Gift Shop Business Centre
Karaoke Children's Pool Kid's Club
Fitness Centre Games Room Watersports
Non-Smoking Rooms Available Minibar Hairdryer
Tea & Coffee Making Facilities Room Safe
Policies
* Check in time 1400 hours
* Check out time 1200 noon
* There is no additional charge for children under 12 years of age who accompany their parents in the same room using existing bed
* All reservations must be guaranteed by a credit card
* American Express, JCB, Visa, Master cards are accepted
* All rates are in US Dollars and are excluding 5% service charge, 10% government tax.
* Rate valids till Oct 31, 2008.
* Include: breakfast.
Vietnam travel, Vietnam tours - unique holidays with Waytovietnam
Hotels in Saigon Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh Hotels
Vietnam Vacation Rentals
Highland-Market-in-Quang-Ninh
Phone : (84-058) 598 188
City : Nha trang
Resort images
The resort provides guests with a variety of recreational facilities, three large fresh water swimming pools including the largest swimming pool in Vietnam and complete relaxation with the award wining Shiseido Spa, coupled with a diverse selection of Food & Beverage venues and cuisines.
Room type Single Double Triple
Deluxe Mountain View $160 $180 Book now!
Deluxe Ocean View $185 $210 Book now!
Deluxe Beach Front $215 $245 Book now!
Junior Suite $270 $295 Book now!
General Accommodation Restaurant & Bar Meeting facilities Leisures & sports
Direction
Drive time from Nha Trang Airport to the Vinpearl Resort and Spa is approximately 10 minutes and 10 minutes from Nha Trang train station to Ana Mandara Jetty. Then it is a 10 minute boat ride from the jetty to the Vinpearl Resort and Spa. It is 50 minutes by plane from Ho Chi Minh City or 2 hours from Hanoi to Nha Trang Airport.
Excursions near by
Po Nagar Cham Towers
Tam island
Long Son Pagoda
Mieu Island
Amenities
Air-Conditioned Rooms Breakfast Room Coffee Shop
Beauty Salon Wireless Internet Disabled Facilities
Air-Conditioned Suites Lounge Bar Shopping Arcade
Banquet & Conference Facilities Disco Restaurants
Poolside Bar Gift Shop Business Centre
Karaoke Children's Pool Kid's Club
Fitness Centre Games Room Watersports
Non-Smoking Rooms Available Minibar Hairdryer
Tea & Coffee Making Facilities Room Safe
Policies
* Check in time 1400 hours
* Check out time 1200 noon
* There is no additional charge for children under 12 years of age who accompany their parents in the same room using existing bed
* All reservations must be guaranteed by a credit card
* American Express, JCB, Visa, Master cards are accepted
* All rates are in US Dollars and are excluding 5% service charge, 10% government tax.
* Rate valids till Oct 31, 2008.
* Include: breakfast.
Vietnam travel, Vietnam tours - unique holidays with Waytovietnam
Hotels in Saigon Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh Hotels
Vietnam Vacation Rentals
Highland-Market-in-Quang-Ninh
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Ben Thanh Market
Ben Thanh Market is situated at the intersection of Le Loi Avenue, Ham Nghi Avenue, Tran Hung Dao Avenue and Le Lai Street, 700m south-west of the Rex Hotel.
At first, the market was situated near the Ben Nghe River Dike. After being moved many times, it is now standing in the centre of the city where consumers can conveniently find all sorts of products.
According to Vuong Hong Sen, author of "the book Saigon of the Past", in 1912, the French filled a pond, the Boresse, into a solid foundation of 12,000m² and built a market on it. The market was close to a landing stage (Ben) of the old city (Thanh), hence its name of Ben Thanh. The opening ceremony for the market in March 1914 was a big festive event.
At present, the front of Ben Thanh Market faces Quach Thi Trang Square; its rear faces Le Thanh Ton Street; its right, Phan Chu Trinh Street and its left, Phan Boi Chau Street. At all of its four sides, there are bustling trading shops. Located at the centre of the city, Ben Thanh Market is always loaded with varieties of goods, such as consumer goods, cakes and candies, food and foodstuff, and particularly high-quality fruit and vegetables. Goods are displayed in a very attractive way that always catches the eyes of the buyers. They meet all requirements for the customers' daily life or for their families. The market has four gates that are very convenient for the market-goers. For all of its advantages, Ben Thanh Market is one of the most attractive tourist sites in the city for both domestic and foreign visitors.
Ben Thanh Market is a huge covered market in central HCMC. It is one of the best places to buy coffee, but do try the stalls inside before buying, as the outside stalls are more expensive. Also if you are buying a reasonable quantity you can usually get a couple of free coffee filters. Vietnamese coffee is really delicious, I'm surprised it is not more widely available in the West.
Apart from coffee, you can get almost anything in the market or the shops surrounding it. You will have to bargain, unless the prices are written on the goods, but that is all part of the experience. And afterwards you can have a bowl of delicious noodles.
Read more
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Phu Quoc Tours,Tours to Phu Quoc
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but-thap-pagoda
Friday, March 27, 2009
Dinh Bang communal house
If you ride on highway 1A from Hanoi towards Bac Ninh province and turn right at the Km 15 milestone, you will reach Dinh Bang village in Tu Son District. The village was the native place of Ly Cong Uan (or King Ly Thai To) - founder of the Ly dynasty (1010-1225) and Thang Long capital (1010).
The village comprises a group of historical and cultural relics, espcially those of the Ly dynasty, which are diverse, unique and of national historical significance, including temples, pagodas, tombs, and monuments. They are typical of the Vietnamese village culture.
There are folk verses from time immemorial like this:
First ranks the Dong Khang communal house.
Second, the Dinh Bang, and third, the Diem.
The Dong Khang communal house no longer exits, and the Dinh Bang now comes first automatically. Located in the centre of the village, it is an architectural site full of national identiy with unique carving and decoration.
Dinh Bang's construction was observed in the 2nd month 1736 (Binh Thin) - the 2nd Vinh Huu year - Le Y Tong court. The house is a place of worshi of Trinh Giang supreme ruler and 3 tutelary spircts: Cao Son Dai Vuong, God of mountain, Thuy Ba Dai Vuong, god of water and Bach Le Dai Vuong, god of land. In the war opposing Franch, the house was mined. Then, people rebuilt almost completely and carried tablets of 8 Ly dynastic Kings for the cult here.
The whole house was made of ironwood. shaped "cong" (I) word. The main part of the communal house, Bai Duong, comprises 7 rooms and give on throughout into the inside chamber. The house's architectural art expresses the post -Le's period's form (1418 - 1789) with themes such as "Long Van dai hoi" (the festival of dragon and cloud), "Luc Long thang thien" (6 dragons fly into heaven). "Phuong vu" (phoenix dances). "Tu linh" (sacred four things)...
The house was modelled "Chong giuong" beams dividing into 10 carpentries for the liftingup the roof above. All worshipping rooms are tiled by enamelled tiles rectangularly. The house's roof is covered by toe - curly - toed boot's tiles.
Each carving at Dinh Bang communal house is like a masterpiece and is reputed for its uniqueness, which impresses any visitor. The carving are eight horses happily playing on a meadow; awaiting lion couple, each in its own posture: dragons in festivals; five dragons fighting for a gem; etc. The topic for these carving comes from traditional legends, and the images are of the four sacred animals (dragon, lion, tortoise and phoenix), or four valuable plants (pine, apricot, chrysanthemum, and little bamboo).
Three genies are worshipped at Dinh Bang communal house, including Earth, Water and Cultivation. Six family patron saints, who made great contributions to re-building it after a big fire took place in the 15th century, include the Nguyen, Tran, Le, Ngo, Do and Dang who have memmorial statues erected at the back of the palace.
Every year, Dinh Bang spring festival is organised, luring a great number of visitors, who come to enjoy traditional entertainments and relaxation after hard working days.
Vietnam vacation; Vietnam travel packages, tours
Mekong delta tours, Mekong River Tour, Mekong Delta Tour, Can Tho
Vietnam Cruise Tours
buoi-market
The village comprises a group of historical and cultural relics, espcially those of the Ly dynasty, which are diverse, unique and of national historical significance, including temples, pagodas, tombs, and monuments. They are typical of the Vietnamese village culture.
There are folk verses from time immemorial like this:
First ranks the Dong Khang communal house.
Second, the Dinh Bang, and third, the Diem.
The Dong Khang communal house no longer exits, and the Dinh Bang now comes first automatically. Located in the centre of the village, it is an architectural site full of national identiy with unique carving and decoration.
Dinh Bang's construction was observed in the 2nd month 1736 (Binh Thin) - the 2nd Vinh Huu year - Le Y Tong court. The house is a place of worshi of Trinh Giang supreme ruler and 3 tutelary spircts: Cao Son Dai Vuong, God of mountain, Thuy Ba Dai Vuong, god of water and Bach Le Dai Vuong, god of land. In the war opposing Franch, the house was mined. Then, people rebuilt almost completely and carried tablets of 8 Ly dynastic Kings for the cult here.
The whole house was made of ironwood. shaped "cong" (I) word. The main part of the communal house, Bai Duong, comprises 7 rooms and give on throughout into the inside chamber. The house's architectural art expresses the post -Le's period's form (1418 - 1789) with themes such as "Long Van dai hoi" (the festival of dragon and cloud), "Luc Long thang thien" (6 dragons fly into heaven). "Phuong vu" (phoenix dances). "Tu linh" (sacred four things)...
The house was modelled "Chong giuong" beams dividing into 10 carpentries for the liftingup the roof above. All worshipping rooms are tiled by enamelled tiles rectangularly. The house's roof is covered by toe - curly - toed boot's tiles.
Each carving at Dinh Bang communal house is like a masterpiece and is reputed for its uniqueness, which impresses any visitor. The carving are eight horses happily playing on a meadow; awaiting lion couple, each in its own posture: dragons in festivals; five dragons fighting for a gem; etc. The topic for these carving comes from traditional legends, and the images are of the four sacred animals (dragon, lion, tortoise and phoenix), or four valuable plants (pine, apricot, chrysanthemum, and little bamboo).
Three genies are worshipped at Dinh Bang communal house, including Earth, Water and Cultivation. Six family patron saints, who made great contributions to re-building it after a big fire took place in the 15th century, include the Nguyen, Tran, Le, Ngo, Do and Dang who have memmorial statues erected at the back of the palace.
Every year, Dinh Bang spring festival is organised, luring a great number of visitors, who come to enjoy traditional entertainments and relaxation after hard working days.
Vietnam vacation; Vietnam travel packages, tours
Mekong delta tours, Mekong River Tour, Mekong Delta Tour, Can Tho
Vietnam Cruise Tours
buoi-market
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Ethnic minority literature
Most ethnic minority literature remains oral in nature, although a number of collections have been published over the years.
Perhaps best known are the Black Thái epics Xóng chụ xôn xao and Khun Lú Náng Ủa, part of a valuable Thái literary legacy which embraces everything from histories and legends to riddles and humorous tales. The Tày and Nùng communities of the Việt Bắc developed their own version of the chữ nôm script from an early date and the literary heritage of the Tày in particular is also noteworthy, comprising as it does a range of epic poems (Nam Kim-Thị Đan, Lương Quân Bioóc Rốm), histories (Nùng Trí Cao, Nùng Văn Vân) and ancestral myths (Pú Luông-Già Cải), some of which date back to the 16th century. Folk tales and legends from both the Mường and the Dao ethnic minorities have also been preserved and published.
Six ethnic groups of Tây Nguyên (the central highlands) - the Malay-Polynesian Ê-đê, Ra-glai, Gia-rai and Ba-na and the Môn-Khmer Xơ-đăng and M'nông - preserve a rich corpus of oral literature. These include the epic poems of the Ê-đê (Đam San, Đăm Kteh Mlan, Sing Nhã, Đam Di, Khing Juh, Đăm Thih), the Ra-glai (Uya Yuhea) and the Xơ-đăng (Dăm Giông), but perhaps best known is the Ốt N'Rông, a 30,000-verse M'nông epic discovered in 1988 which surpasses the Ramayana, the Odyssey and even the Iliad in size. A 21 billion VNĐ (cUS$1.3 million) project launched in 2001 by the Việt Nam Academy of Social Sciences aims to survey, collect, document, translate, archive and publish the oral literature of the central highlands before it is lost.
In recent years the ethnic minority communities have produced numerous contemporary writers of note. Foremost amongst Việt Nam's ethnic minority poets are Lò Văn Mười (b 1913, Thái ethnic group), Bàn Tài Đoàn (b 1913, Dao ethnic group), Cầm Biêu (b 1920, Thái ethnic group), Nông Quốc Chấn (b 1923, Tày ethnic group), Hoàng Nó (b 1925, Thái ethnic group), Nông Viết Toại (b 1926, Tày ethnic group), Lương Quý Nhân (1926-1996, Thái ethnic group), Lò Văn Cậy (b 1928, Thái ethnic group), Y Điệng (b 1928, Ê-đê ethnic group), Hùng Đình Quý (b 1938, H'mông ethnic group), Vương Trung (b 1938, Thái ethnic group), Nay Nô (b 1942, Gia Rai ethnic group), Lò Ngân Sủn (b 1945, Giáy ethnic group), Pờ Sảo Mìn (b 1946, Pa Dí ethnic group), Y Phương (Hứa Vĩnh Sước, b 1948, Tày ethnic group) and Inrasara (Phú Trạm, b 1957, Chăm ethnic group). The ethnic minority communities have also produced a handful of important prose writers, including Nông Minh Châu (1924-1979, Tày ethnic group), Ma Trường Nguyên (b 1944, Tày ethnic group) and Linh Nga Niêk Đăm (b 1948, Ê-đê ethnic group).
Sapa Trekking
Visa to Vietnam
Discovery Mekong Delta Tours with Waytovietnam Travel
ben-thanh-market
Perhaps best known are the Black Thái epics Xóng chụ xôn xao and Khun Lú Náng Ủa, part of a valuable Thái literary legacy which embraces everything from histories and legends to riddles and humorous tales. The Tày and Nùng communities of the Việt Bắc developed their own version of the chữ nôm script from an early date and the literary heritage of the Tày in particular is also noteworthy, comprising as it does a range of epic poems (Nam Kim-Thị Đan, Lương Quân Bioóc Rốm), histories (Nùng Trí Cao, Nùng Văn Vân) and ancestral myths (Pú Luông-Già Cải), some of which date back to the 16th century. Folk tales and legends from both the Mường and the Dao ethnic minorities have also been preserved and published.
Six ethnic groups of Tây Nguyên (the central highlands) - the Malay-Polynesian Ê-đê, Ra-glai, Gia-rai and Ba-na and the Môn-Khmer Xơ-đăng and M'nông - preserve a rich corpus of oral literature. These include the epic poems of the Ê-đê (Đam San, Đăm Kteh Mlan, Sing Nhã, Đam Di, Khing Juh, Đăm Thih), the Ra-glai (Uya Yuhea) and the Xơ-đăng (Dăm Giông), but perhaps best known is the Ốt N'Rông, a 30,000-verse M'nông epic discovered in 1988 which surpasses the Ramayana, the Odyssey and even the Iliad in size. A 21 billion VNĐ (cUS$1.3 million) project launched in 2001 by the Việt Nam Academy of Social Sciences aims to survey, collect, document, translate, archive and publish the oral literature of the central highlands before it is lost.
In recent years the ethnic minority communities have produced numerous contemporary writers of note. Foremost amongst Việt Nam's ethnic minority poets are Lò Văn Mười (b 1913, Thái ethnic group), Bàn Tài Đoàn (b 1913, Dao ethnic group), Cầm Biêu (b 1920, Thái ethnic group), Nông Quốc Chấn (b 1923, Tày ethnic group), Hoàng Nó (b 1925, Thái ethnic group), Nông Viết Toại (b 1926, Tày ethnic group), Lương Quý Nhân (1926-1996, Thái ethnic group), Lò Văn Cậy (b 1928, Thái ethnic group), Y Điệng (b 1928, Ê-đê ethnic group), Hùng Đình Quý (b 1938, H'mông ethnic group), Vương Trung (b 1938, Thái ethnic group), Nay Nô (b 1942, Gia Rai ethnic group), Lò Ngân Sủn (b 1945, Giáy ethnic group), Pờ Sảo Mìn (b 1946, Pa Dí ethnic group), Y Phương (Hứa Vĩnh Sước, b 1948, Tày ethnic group) and Inrasara (Phú Trạm, b 1957, Chăm ethnic group). The ethnic minority communities have also produced a handful of important prose writers, including Nông Minh Châu (1924-1979, Tày ethnic group), Ma Trường Nguyên (b 1944, Tày ethnic group) and Linh Nga Niêk Đăm (b 1948, Ê-đê ethnic group).
Sapa Trekking
Visa to Vietnam
Discovery Mekong Delta Tours with Waytovietnam Travel
ben-thanh-market
Friday, February 13, 2009
Song Be Golf Resort 0 star ranking resort
Address : 77 Binh Duong Boulevard, Lai Thieu, Thuan An, Binh Duong Province, S.R. Vietnam ,
Phone : (84-650) 756 660 / 1
City : Binh Duong
Resort images
Song Be Golf Resort first opened its doors in 1994 and is regarded as Vietnam's first International Standard Championship Golf Course. Golfers marvel at the beauty of the natural landscape as they attempt to tame the challenges presented by the 18 holes par 72 golf course. Measuring 6,272 metres, the blue tee presents a formidable challenge. The white tee however is no walkover. Covering over 104 hectares, resort style layout features numerous lakes, tree lined fairways and subtle undulating Greens. In 8 of the 18 holes, water comes into play.
Room type Single Double Triple
Blues $60 $65 Book now!
White $70 $75 Book now!
Red $80 $85 Book now!
General Accommodation Restaurant & Bar Other
Direction
Take the Highway no.13. The golf course is about 22 km or 35 minutes drive from the centre of Ho Chi Minh City and from the Tan Son Nhat airport.
Any taxi driver can get you there for about US$12 or ask the hotel conceige.
Amenities
Bars & Restaurant Swimming pool and Tennis Courts Driving range
Locker room Pro shop and Carts Walk in Visitors
Policies
- From Monday to Friday: 60 USD/18 holes
- Wednesday (Golf Day): 50 USD/18 holes
- Sat, Sun and Public Holiday: 80 USD/18 holes
- Caddie Fee: 20 USD per player for 18 holes
Vietnam visa application form online
Along the Mekong River Tour - Along the Mekong River
Viet Nam: Hue city and Hue Imperial City
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Phone : (84-650) 756 660 / 1
City : Binh Duong
Resort images
Song Be Golf Resort first opened its doors in 1994 and is regarded as Vietnam's first International Standard Championship Golf Course. Golfers marvel at the beauty of the natural landscape as they attempt to tame the challenges presented by the 18 holes par 72 golf course. Measuring 6,272 metres, the blue tee presents a formidable challenge. The white tee however is no walkover. Covering over 104 hectares, resort style layout features numerous lakes, tree lined fairways and subtle undulating Greens. In 8 of the 18 holes, water comes into play.
Room type Single Double Triple
Blues $60 $65 Book now!
White $70 $75 Book now!
Red $80 $85 Book now!
General Accommodation Restaurant & Bar Other
Direction
Take the Highway no.13. The golf course is about 22 km or 35 minutes drive from the centre of Ho Chi Minh City and from the Tan Son Nhat airport.
Any taxi driver can get you there for about US$12 or ask the hotel conceige.
Amenities
Bars & Restaurant Swimming pool and Tennis Courts Driving range
Locker room Pro shop and Carts Walk in Visitors
Policies
- From Monday to Friday: 60 USD/18 holes
- Wednesday (Golf Day): 50 USD/18 holes
- Sat, Sun and Public Holiday: 80 USD/18 holes
- Caddie Fee: 20 USD per player for 18 holes
Vietnam visa application form online
Along the Mekong River Tour - Along the Mekong River
Viet Nam: Hue city and Hue Imperial City
Yếm đào - Blog
Friday, January 30, 2009
What does young rice (com) mean for Vietnamese?
When autumn comes, you may notice on a gentle breeze the pleasant scent of new rice as you walk along a quiet street of Ha Noi. Look across the street, and you'll see a woman vendor shouldering a pole with two baskets covered with large lotus leaves. The young green rice (com) she is selling refreshes the air with countryside fragrance. What bliss after a hot humid and dusty summer!
For centuries, com has been part of autumn in the Red River Delta, with the sound of pestles heard pounding young green rice day and night. Mothers present com in large lotus leaves to their children, who watch to make sure their shares are equal.
Alexandre de Rhodes, the first French Jesuit missionary to visit Viet Nam, included com as an entry in his Dictionarium Annamiticum-Lusitanum-Latimim (Vietnamese- Portuguese-Latin Dictionary) published in Rome in 1651, though he defined com only as "pounded green rice." However. the process requires a skill (and sometimes even an art) that has been perfected over generations.
Making com is a family secret, which parents teach only their sons and daughters-in-law but never their daughters. They fear that married daughters will reveal the secret to their husbands' families and create competition.
Making com demands a high level of skill. First, the artisan must select the perfect rice. A special kind of sticky rice, nep hoa vang, is best because its grains are smaller and rounder than other varieties. The artisan plucks grains in the paddy and gently bites them to check for ripeness. If the taste is as sweet as milk, the rice is ready for making com.
Harvesters hand pluck the grains (ordinary threshing would impair quality) and winnow them with a flat bamboo basket. They roast the rice, stirring the grains in a hot pan over a gentle fire fueled by wood. They then pound the grains in a mortar while stirring them from bottom to top and add colouring extracted from crushed young rice plants to make the rice greener. The final product is com - flat, soft, and fragrant rice grains that are a delicate green.
Com is eaten fresh, a pinch at a time, so the gentle sweetness can penetrate. Persimmons and bananas add subtlety to the taste.
Even the kings and queens of the past enjoyed com. During the nineteenth century, residents of Vong Village in the Ha Noi suburbs offered com to the Nguyen kings. The royal capital was in Hue then, and trains and motorised vehicles were not yet available: poor peasants from northern Viet Nam walked ten days to deliver the delicacy. They devised a special method to keep com fresh and tasty. Using a shoulder pole, each porter carried a pair of bamboo baskets with a tin tray of thinly spread com in each basket. A small earthen stove" under the tray heated a vessel of water to create steam, which kept the com fresh.
Although a perfect dish, com has a disadvantage; It must be eaten within twenty-four hours or its subtle taste will be lost. What if you want to enjoy it later? Don't worry! Vietnamese make other com dishes - com nen, banh com, com xao, che com, cha com, kem com, com hoc. and com dep - for just that purpose.
Com nen is com stir-fried in sugary water and wrapped with banana leaves. It becomes bdnh com when the cook adds a filling of finely-pounded mung bean, sugar, and coconut and shapes a square cake, which is wrapped in banana leaves and tied with pink bamboo strings. Vietnamese use bdnh com as special gifts since the cakes can keep for a week. Children working away from home send bank com to their parents; the groom's family offers them to the bride's family: relatives and close friends give bdnh com to each other during Tet.the Lunar New Year.
Com xao is dried com fried with sugar and oil: however, this dish does not have the original flavour of com. A lighter dish is che com, which is an opaque, watery pudding dotted with com grains. It is often eaten as a dessert to lighten the heaviness of a large meal. Chd corn is an ordinary meal pic mixed with com grains to reduce the fatty taste. Kem com is ice-cream made from com, a refreshment unique to Viet Nam.
Com hoc of Binh Thuan Province in southern Viet Nam is popped sticky rice mixed with sugar and shaped into a square cake. Com dep, a specialty of the Khmer people in Soc Trang Province, is made by roasting ripe sticky-rice grains, removing the husks, and then mixing the rice with coconut milk, coconut meat, and groundnuts.
Vietnamese born before the First Indochina War (1945-1954) have a special nostalgia for com. They grew up singing such folk ballads as:
Com from Vong, rice from Me Tri,
Soya sauce from Ban, mints from Lang
can anything be tastier?
or
I did not know that von had married
And that my com had grown moldy.
Ha Noi has two well-known specialties: pho (noodle soup) and com. If the two are compared, some will say that pha is delicious but not noble. However, com is both delicious and noble. Hanoians may enjoy eating pha, but they never set it as an offering on their ancestral altars. However, some Ha Noi families do offer their ancestors in the other world com at the beginning of autumn before they themselves enjoy this treat.
In the Oriental balance of yin and yang, green com represents yin or the female principle. Eaten with red persimmon, which denotes yang or the male principle, com gives one the feeling of perfect harmony with the universe. Perhaps for this reason, com continues to be a delicacy held dear by Vietnamese wherever they are, whether in Viet Nam or abroad.
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For centuries, com has been part of autumn in the Red River Delta, with the sound of pestles heard pounding young green rice day and night. Mothers present com in large lotus leaves to their children, who watch to make sure their shares are equal.
Alexandre de Rhodes, the first French Jesuit missionary to visit Viet Nam, included com as an entry in his Dictionarium Annamiticum-Lusitanum-Latimim (Vietnamese- Portuguese-Latin Dictionary) published in Rome in 1651, though he defined com only as "pounded green rice." However. the process requires a skill (and sometimes even an art) that has been perfected over generations.
Making com is a family secret, which parents teach only their sons and daughters-in-law but never their daughters. They fear that married daughters will reveal the secret to their husbands' families and create competition.
Making com demands a high level of skill. First, the artisan must select the perfect rice. A special kind of sticky rice, nep hoa vang, is best because its grains are smaller and rounder than other varieties. The artisan plucks grains in the paddy and gently bites them to check for ripeness. If the taste is as sweet as milk, the rice is ready for making com.
Harvesters hand pluck the grains (ordinary threshing would impair quality) and winnow them with a flat bamboo basket. They roast the rice, stirring the grains in a hot pan over a gentle fire fueled by wood. They then pound the grains in a mortar while stirring them from bottom to top and add colouring extracted from crushed young rice plants to make the rice greener. The final product is com - flat, soft, and fragrant rice grains that are a delicate green.
Com is eaten fresh, a pinch at a time, so the gentle sweetness can penetrate. Persimmons and bananas add subtlety to the taste.
Even the kings and queens of the past enjoyed com. During the nineteenth century, residents of Vong Village in the Ha Noi suburbs offered com to the Nguyen kings. The royal capital was in Hue then, and trains and motorised vehicles were not yet available: poor peasants from northern Viet Nam walked ten days to deliver the delicacy. They devised a special method to keep com fresh and tasty. Using a shoulder pole, each porter carried a pair of bamboo baskets with a tin tray of thinly spread com in each basket. A small earthen stove" under the tray heated a vessel of water to create steam, which kept the com fresh.
Although a perfect dish, com has a disadvantage; It must be eaten within twenty-four hours or its subtle taste will be lost. What if you want to enjoy it later? Don't worry! Vietnamese make other com dishes - com nen, banh com, com xao, che com, cha com, kem com, com hoc. and com dep - for just that purpose.
Com nen is com stir-fried in sugary water and wrapped with banana leaves. It becomes bdnh com when the cook adds a filling of finely-pounded mung bean, sugar, and coconut and shapes a square cake, which is wrapped in banana leaves and tied with pink bamboo strings. Vietnamese use bdnh com as special gifts since the cakes can keep for a week. Children working away from home send bank com to their parents; the groom's family offers them to the bride's family: relatives and close friends give bdnh com to each other during Tet.the Lunar New Year.
Com xao is dried com fried with sugar and oil: however, this dish does not have the original flavour of com. A lighter dish is che com, which is an opaque, watery pudding dotted with com grains. It is often eaten as a dessert to lighten the heaviness of a large meal. Chd corn is an ordinary meal pic mixed with com grains to reduce the fatty taste. Kem com is ice-cream made from com, a refreshment unique to Viet Nam.
Com hoc of Binh Thuan Province in southern Viet Nam is popped sticky rice mixed with sugar and shaped into a square cake. Com dep, a specialty of the Khmer people in Soc Trang Province, is made by roasting ripe sticky-rice grains, removing the husks, and then mixing the rice with coconut milk, coconut meat, and groundnuts.
Vietnamese born before the First Indochina War (1945-1954) have a special nostalgia for com. They grew up singing such folk ballads as:
Com from Vong, rice from Me Tri,
Soya sauce from Ban, mints from Lang
can anything be tastier?
or
I did not know that von had married
And that my com had grown moldy.
Ha Noi has two well-known specialties: pho (noodle soup) and com. If the two are compared, some will say that pha is delicious but not noble. However, com is both delicious and noble. Hanoians may enjoy eating pha, but they never set it as an offering on their ancestral altars. However, some Ha Noi families do offer their ancestors in the other world com at the beginning of autumn before they themselves enjoy this treat.
In the Oriental balance of yin and yang, green com represents yin or the female principle. Eaten with red persimmon, which denotes yang or the male principle, com gives one the feeling of perfect harmony with the universe. Perhaps for this reason, com continues to be a delicacy held dear by Vietnamese wherever they are, whether in Viet Nam or abroad.
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Monday, January 19, 2009
Pilgrimage to the South
During the Lunar New Year holidays or Tet, Vietnamese often visit pagodas to pray to Buddha for happiness, health, success, safety and money. Responding to this demand, Ben Thanh Tourist tour operator in HCMC has launched a pilgrimage tour that will include 10 pagodas, and temples in the South.
The tour operator expects the two-day and one night tour to attract not only Vietnamese but also foreign travelers who are interested in learning more about Vietnamese culture.
The tour will start on February 16 and February 23 in HCMC. The route from the city to Chau Doc is one of the most popular destinations for a pilgrimage because people think that “The Goddess” has supernatural powers, and the travelers will have many opportunities to visit and pray in the following pagodas, and temples.
The first stop in early morning is Thien Hau Pagoda (Goddess of Matsu) in the China Town area of HCMC. The pagoda is famous with both local and foreigners, and is included by most of the city’s tour operators.
The tour continues on to the Mekong Delta of Tien Giang, to the Vinh Trang Pagoda, which was built in the early 19th century.
The province is also home to the Ngoc Vien Buddhist temple, built in 1948 and reinforced in 1971. The temple was once a school of thought of patron saint Minh Dang Quang and houses the Chon Ly (The Truth) scripture, a collection of ten years accumulated preaching lessons of the patron saint.
The route includes visits to other attractions such as the Ngoc Hanh Zen monastery, Ngoc Hoa Buddhist temple, Phuoc Hung old pagoda, Huynh Dao Pagoda, Tay An old pagoda and Mieu Ba Chua Xu (Xu Lady Temple).
“All the pagodas and temples are easily accessible for travelers to visit during Tet,” the tour operator said.
According to the tour operator, people in the South want to go to a pagoda during the special holiday to thank Buddha for their good fortune, but they do not always have enough time. The two-day and one night day makes it possible for them to make their prayer.
Ben Thanh Tourist also offers visitors a chance to buy special local products.
The tour costs VND780,000 per Vietnamese traveler, and VND980,000 for foreigners.
Ben Thanh Tourist has also launched other tours to the North during the Lunar New Year 2008, combining travel and pilgrimage. The six or five day tours start on the second day of Tet and include Hanoi, Halong, Huong Pagoda, Tam Coc-Bich Dong.
The tour costs nearly VND8mil per person, around US$500, for the full package. Ben Thanh Tourist will offer the tour without meals, which reduces the cost of the tour by VND1.07mil, however the tourist will have to arrange their own meals.
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The tour operator expects the two-day and one night tour to attract not only Vietnamese but also foreign travelers who are interested in learning more about Vietnamese culture.
The tour will start on February 16 and February 23 in HCMC. The route from the city to Chau Doc is one of the most popular destinations for a pilgrimage because people think that “The Goddess” has supernatural powers, and the travelers will have many opportunities to visit and pray in the following pagodas, and temples.
The first stop in early morning is Thien Hau Pagoda (Goddess of Matsu) in the China Town area of HCMC. The pagoda is famous with both local and foreigners, and is included by most of the city’s tour operators.
The tour continues on to the Mekong Delta of Tien Giang, to the Vinh Trang Pagoda, which was built in the early 19th century.
The province is also home to the Ngoc Vien Buddhist temple, built in 1948 and reinforced in 1971. The temple was once a school of thought of patron saint Minh Dang Quang and houses the Chon Ly (The Truth) scripture, a collection of ten years accumulated preaching lessons of the patron saint.
The route includes visits to other attractions such as the Ngoc Hanh Zen monastery, Ngoc Hoa Buddhist temple, Phuoc Hung old pagoda, Huynh Dao Pagoda, Tay An old pagoda and Mieu Ba Chua Xu (Xu Lady Temple).
“All the pagodas and temples are easily accessible for travelers to visit during Tet,” the tour operator said.
According to the tour operator, people in the South want to go to a pagoda during the special holiday to thank Buddha for their good fortune, but they do not always have enough time. The two-day and one night day makes it possible for them to make their prayer.
Ben Thanh Tourist also offers visitors a chance to buy special local products.
The tour costs VND780,000 per Vietnamese traveler, and VND980,000 for foreigners.
Ben Thanh Tourist has also launched other tours to the North during the Lunar New Year 2008, combining travel and pilgrimage. The six or five day tours start on the second day of Tet and include Hanoi, Halong, Huong Pagoda, Tam Coc-Bich Dong.
The tour costs nearly VND8mil per person, around US$500, for the full package. Ben Thanh Tourist will offer the tour without meals, which reduces the cost of the tour by VND1.07mil, however the tourist will have to arrange their own meals.
Vietnam hotel, Vietnam hotel reservations
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