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SATURDAY 26 SEPTEMBER, 2009 |

Touch of ancient values

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A colleague told me, “Come to Hung Yen, I will take you where all your wishes will be satisfied.” Though not a superstitious person and having never prayed to God or Buddha, the radiant smile and keen face of my colleague aroused my curiosity and enticed me to make a trip to Hung Yen, a northern province endowed with many ancient historical and cultural relics, some of them recognized as national sites and many of them religious works.

Traditionally, each village has a communal house next to a century-old banyan tree and a big water well which is stamped deeply onto the minds of the locals from childhood and leaves a permanent stamp on the minds of expatriates as well.

Looming behind the green bamboo ramparts are the communal houses, pagodas, temples and shrines. Even from a distance, the roof of the communal house can be seen among luxuriant green tree canopies. Huge ancient trees surround the house and their green leaves embellish the roofs, making the scenery more vivid. Most pagodas and temples are surrounded by banyans, fig trees and longan trees which all stay green year round.

The Pho Hien relic complex, of which Mau Temple is a highlight, is an attraction and a mystery. Once stepping into the temple, travelers will be amazed by the huge seven-hundred-year-old tree which makes a domed gate for the temple. Different from other temples in the country that honor powerful Vietnamese women or Goddesses, Mau Temple is dedicated to worshipping Duong Quy Phi, a beauty queen in China’s ancient history.

Legend has it that those who touch the palanquin which was once used to transport the queen will enjoy good health and good luck. Ban Nguyen Lake in front of the temple is also a nice place waiting for travelers’ footprints.

Another attraction tourists should not miss is the huge longan tree, called Nhan To, in front of Hien Pagoda. Believed to be 300 years old, the tree is a sacred place for locals as they believe the tree brings
prosperity to the land.

Another relic of the Pho Hien relic complex worth visiting is Thien Hau Temple. This temple is dedicated to worshipping Lam Tuc Mac, a nautical goddess of China. The temple attracts pilgrims for annual festivals on the 23rd day of the third lunar month and the 9th day of the ninth lunar month (October 26 this year).

Dong Do-Quang Hoi Temple is a former meeting place for traders, mainly from China, and worships three gods who are honored in a festival at the temple on the tenth day of the tenth lunar month. These two temples in Chinese architecture are historical records of commerce between Vietnam and China.

Chuong (Bell) Pagoda is endowed with poetic scenery and boasts a stone bridge spanning a lotus pond and 18 statues of Arhats. Hung Yen Literature Temple holds a collection of ancient steles.

Other relics of Pho Hien wear Vietnamese architecture, are decorated with the colors of folk belief and religion, and some are considered high in artistic value. Along with their architectural features, these relics have preserved utensils for religious offerings, palanquins, hammocks, horizontal lacquered boards and many pairs of wood panels with skillfully inscribed parallel sentences.

More importantly, the relics of Pho Hien preserve their innate ancient beauty. With the wet rice civilization and culture, we catch the colors of bronze, stone, wood, tile and soil on each roof, door and path, which create a sense of immortality of each relic.

With its role as a key link from the traffic artery of the Red River, Pho Hien was once a frontal port of Thang Long Citadel that opened to the sea, ranking second in importance to Hanoi, as goes an old Vietnamese saying. Today, Pho Hien residents are embracing the ambition to revive the glorious past.

From Hanoi to Hung Yen, catch a bus from the Luong Yen bus station or from the Giap Bat bus station.

VietNamNet/SGT

Tourists take to life down on the farm

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With a myriad of tourists attractions in the Ha Noi area, more and more people are now spending their holidays at the "Countryside Farm", a new destination in Ha Noi’s suburban district of Ba Vi.

The only way to go: Tourists travel through farmlands via open trailer.

The 12,000sq.m farm, located on a hill 60km west of Ha Noi, is an attractive destination for families or groups of students on the weekend.

Birds and cicadas sing together as dawn breaks, while the brook provides an ethereal melody all day long for visitors. Tourists are able to walk through bamboo forests and under the shade of hundred-year-old trees such as canarium tramdeums, streblus aspers and dracontomelons.

"We have successfully organised many tours around Ba Vi mountain. All tourists, including domestic and foreign ones, are satisfied with our eco-tourism services," says farm owner Ngo Kieu Oanh.

Taking part in this "agricultural tour", visitors are given the chance to discover the broad space surrounding the mountain, whose terrain and landscape are typical of Viet Nam’s agricultural landscape.

Standing on the mountain, tourists can contemplate the beautiful images before them, like Muong ethnic girls working in terraced fields that stretch for as far as the eye can see.

"What a lovely day! Such beautiful scenery and delicious food, but the bike tour was my favourite part. I don’t want to leave," says Roth Lavergre from Canada.

The next part of the tour takes about 45 minutes by boat to get to Dam Sen Vuon Vua, a large lotus lake in neighbouring province of Phu Tho. For recreation, tourists may row in a coracle to pluck lotus flowers or just enjoy the fragrance of the blooms.

Green acres: Countryside Farm, a tourist attraction in Ha Noi’s Ba Vi district.

At Ba Trai commune, which is well-known for its traditional tea-farming, visitors are able to pick, fry and dry the tea leaves. Once they are finished processing the leaves, the tourists are then able to brew and drink the final product.

The homes constructed from laterite (red clay) are another attraction that lead visitors to Ba Trai. Approximately 70 per cent of houses in Ba Trai are made of such material.

Visitors can also explore the maize and cotton fields along the Da River bank.

For most, the Countryside Farm offers tourists a chance to be "real farmers". Visitors are able to munch on the vegetables they’ve harvested and feast on the fish they caught from local streams. The fruits of labour never taste quite as sweet as those at the Countryside Farm.

"Our students have visited the Countryside Farm and other surrounding places twice. This is really a useful activity since it provides students with knowledge about nature and therefore, teaches them to love and protect it," says Chu Ngoc Quynh, principle of Kindergarten A at 88 Tho Nhuom street, Ha Noi.

"Thanks to the tour, we have been given a deeper understanding of the lifestyle in Viet Nam’s rural areas and have been able to learn more about Vietnamese culture, too," says Sessa Reiter from Canada.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News

Volunteer guards make tourist sites safer

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Tong Khac Trong Minh was on the way to a university entrance exam when he saw an injured woman – the victim of a recent traffic accident – lying on Tran Hung Dao Street.

He knew he would miss the exam if he stopped to help, but for the off duty tourism guard, there was no choice.

He stopped and took the woman to the hospital.

“I’ll take another examination later. I can’t ignore people who need help,” he said.

Minh is one of hundreds of tourism guards dispatched by the Ho Chi Minh City Voluntary Youth’s Public Benefit Service Company (BESCO) to improve the image of the southern hub in the eyes of local and foreign tourists.

Nguyen Van Ta, deputy director of the Public Service Enterprise, an affiliate of BESCO, said the volunteers were first commissioned in 2006 and that there are currently 248 guards assigned to ensuring “tourist safety” in and around major tourism areas in downtown HCMC.

The patrols work in shifts from early in the morning until late at night.

Known for their trademark dark green uniforms, the guards’ main tasks are to offer information to tourists and protect them against possible robbers, pickpockets and the harassment of beggars and hawkers, Ta said.

The all-volunteer force also operates a hotline, (08) 39250000, which people can call if they are in need of help.

A bite art of crime

The “Green Shirts,” as they’re known, busted 14 robberies in downtown over the first six months this year alone.

“These guys are very hospitable and helpful,” said Zeina Bitarov, a tourist from Czech Republic who visited HCMC recently.

Andreas Nilsson, a tourist from the US who visited HCMC for the first time, said it would have been very difficult to cross some streets without the tourism guards’ help.

More to do

Ta said that while the guards had accomplished many tasks, they still lacked manpower.

He said the good thing was that harassers often avoided streets that the tourism guards patrolled these days. But the flipside was that many had simply taken their shady tactics to smaller streets in areas without patrolmen.

In addition, police in HCMC have yet to identify several cyclo drivers accused of ripping off passengers.

In one such case last October, Malaysian Farah Hisamuddin and her mother took two cyclos from Ben Thanh Market to a hotel on Nguyen Hue Street, which is less than a kilometer away, at VND50,000 each.

However, they were taken to a backstreet instead, where they were ordered to pay ten times the amount previously agreed to VND500,000 each. The two women said they paid and then reported the case to the Ben Nghe Ward police in District 1.

A month later, a foreign tourist was ripped off in a similar case, but said she didn’t report it to the police as she had only a short time in the city.

Getting the most out of Sa Pa travel

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Located in the northwestern mountains of the country, Sa Pa is a modest town nestled within the Hoang Lien Son mountain range in Lao Cai province. Sa Pa is an excellent destination to enjoy outdoor activities with stunning landscapes that attract both domestic and foreign tourists.

In the sticks: Locals introduce brocade products made by ethnic Mong and Dao people to foreign tourists.

Cat Cat village sits atop unspoiled landscapes and is a desirable destination for trekkers seeking to spend full days walking in a world of natural charm and tranquillity.

Visiting the village, tourists will discover various traditional trades of the local people such as weaving, jewellery manipulation, metal work and stone carvings.

The road from Sa Pa winds through hilly terrain, past terraced paddy fields. A sign reads "Welcome to Cat Cat Cultural Village", greeting visitors as they arrive at the entrance of the village.

A leisurely walk within the old village provides visitors with a better understanding of the traditional customs and practices of the ethnic Mong people that live here.

While wandering around the village, I continually asked the locals about their crafts and houses. I was curious about everything and the locals were friendly and ready to help. They also politely asked me to buy some hand-made souvenirs.

Visitors in Cat Cat have an opportunity to admire and watch locals sit with looms and create colourful pieces of brocade. When these pieces of brocade are finished, they are dyed and embroidered with beautiful designs of flowers and birds. Interestingly, Mong women use plants and leaves to dye the fabrics. After dyeing the fabric, they then roll a round, smooth piece of wood, covered with wax, over the material in order to polish. By doing this it helps to make the colours more durable on the fabric.

In addition to their weaving craft, many residents in Cat Cat are good at making gold and silver jewellery. Their products are quite sophisticated, especially the women’s jewellery.

Further into the village are waterfalls along with a stream that weaves its way around boulders, hills and mountains. The pristine stream is spanned by a suspension bridge, which offers a good view of the waterfalls and mountains.

The path after the bridge passes through bamboo forests filled with wild flowers and past tranquil brooks.

Another must-see village is Ta Phin, a remote village located 12km from the centre of Sa Pa, which still retains traditional customs and lifestyles of the Dao, Tay and Mong ethnic groups.

It’s recommended for tourists to catch a local xe om (motorbike taxi) at price of VND180,000 (US$10) in order to get there. Another option is to rent a motorbike for VND100,000 ($5.50) a day, which provides a convenient and interesting way to discover the landscape and villages.

Despite the winding road to the village, tourists can see picturesque rolling hills and terraced fields on the way. Much of the Sa Pa valley has been cultivated into verdant rice paddy fields equipped with irrigation systems.

Capitalise

Sculptured: Terraced rice fields make Sa Pa picturesque.

The villagers often invite tourists to visit their homes, where they show them how they live and what they have, and tell about their families. Their living standard is still low, but their lives have been improved by the expanding tourism industry.

"We women are so active – not only do we grow vegetables and raise pigs and get wood for the fire, we also try to learn English so we can talk to tourists," said a 25-year-old Dao woman. "Before there were tourists we were very poor, but now we can make handicrafts, make money and meet people."

Ta Phin village is able to win tourists’ hearts thanks to the beautiful sights that surround it. Lavie waterfall is a common destination for trekkers. After trekking through forests, maize fields and mountains, tourists often enjoy soaking in Lavie stream and sunbathing on flat boulders.

After a long day of walking on the curvy roads and hills around Sa Pa, it was pleasant to soak my bones and muscles in a traditional Dao herbal bath at Ta Phin.

The price was reasonable, VND60,000 ($3.30) for a one-hour bath. Soaking in medicinal waters may make you feel a little tipsy. When you start feeling dizzy, it’s time to get out of the wooden bathtub. After the soak, I finally felt relaxed. The herbal bath was good for my health, mind and bones.

I was very happy to have a chance to travel to Sa Pa. I will never forget how it felt to stand in front of imposing, beautiful mountains.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News

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