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Vietnam Open Tour News & Events

FRIDAY 16 OCTOBER, 2009 | RSS Feed

Vietnam’s Generation 8X – Born to be wild

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Vietnam’s twenty somethings are headed out on the highway and looking for adventure. 

 
They are calling it  Phuot -  a slang term describing a new kind of tourism Vietnamese youth are embracing in large numbers -- traveling on motorbikes to discover Vietnam.

 

Phuot and du lich bui, meaning “dusty travel”,  are the holidays of choice for the “8X” or eighties generation, reports Saigon Tiep thi, a business paper with a keen eye for trends.

 

Du lich bui means opting for backpacking tourism, self-designed and low-cost tourism with four ‘nos’: no tour, no guide, no bus and no hotel.

 

Meanwhile the phuot travellers are adventurers and explorers.They like traveling to mountainous areas, where normal Vietnamese tourists would not think of going. They want to discover new lands, culture and people.

 

Their motorbikes are a means of escape allowing them to breathe fresh air and admire beautiful landscapes on their way.

 

Westerners may see the trend as replicating what first happened in Europe and North America in the fifties and sixties.   Now, in Vietnam young people with money in their jeans and bikes of their own are becoing eastern easy riders.  They want to marry later and are bored with traditional youth group activities.

 

There are many phuot groups in Hanoi organised around a common love of travelling on motorbikes, reports Saigon Tiep thi.  Generally, a young man who calls himself TtvnSpace, an experienced member of the phuot community, said that phuot groups always prepare well before trips.  Born to be wild they may be – but they still carefully plan routes to follow and draw up itineraries.

 

Packing is not a simple business either: tools to mend punctures, dried alcohol for cooking, pots for preparing meals, coffee, fast food, medicine and dressings in case of injuries. Everyone is assigned duties.

 

“When we travel on motorbikes, we can do many things during our trips,” said Thanh Nga, a phuot enthusiast. “I can touch branches of trees and blades of grass, and breathe the fragrance of mountains and forests,” she said

 

“We can stop for a while on our way if we like, perhaps to brew a cup of coffee,” Nga continued. “We can admire beautiful landscapes at any time we want, take pictures or relax.”

 

Accidents are the thing phuot travelers fear most.  Because they typically travel to remote areas in the northwest, northeast or central region, and go over bumpy roads, they face big risks: motorbikes may break down, or travelers may be thrown from the bikes.

 

However, the phuot groups are ever optimistic and they never shrink from challenges. One traveler said: “Thanks to the trips, I have experience of traveling on long-distance roads, and dealing with troubles”.

 

Thu Hoai, another member of the phuot community, does not remember accidents. She remembers instead the moment when she was so excited as her group crossed a pass and saw far below, the smoke of cooking fires rising from a valley village, children and dogs, mountains and forests and terraced fields.

 

Romances are common too. A bond forged over thousands of kilometers.  All the Phuot community in Hanoi know of the love story of TtvnSpace and his bride.  The honeymoon Phout’s first couple was also spent on bikes, a trip to four provinces in the northwest, including a first ever circuit of remote Mu Cang Chai (Yen Bai).

 

Le Trieu Duong, nicknamed Dugia, now in his fifties, was a pioneer among phuot travelers.

 

Duong is not an indifferent traveler. When he hears about the damages caused by typhoons and floods, Duong collects money, food and clothes from other people and takes them on his motorbike to areas where people need aid.

 

VietNamNet/Saigon Tiep thi

Agricultural tourism raises incomes

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A three-year pilot agricultural tourism project in three rural provinces has helped to diversify ecotourism products and raise incomes of local farmers, deputy chairman of the Viet Nam Farmers' Association Nguyen Huu Duc, said on Monday.

A three-year pilot agricultural tourism project in three rural provinces has helped to diversify ecotourism products and raise incomes of local farmers.
With the support of Agriterra, a development arm of five farmers' unions in the Netherlands, the Viet Nam Farmers' Association had chosen Tien Giang and An Giang provinces in the south and Lao Cai province in the north for the 2006-09 project to help local farmers develop their household economy and escape poverty, Duc said.

The provinces each have chosen two rural areas that have potential for agricultural tourism to participate in the projects.

Selected farmers in the rural areas are provided with professional skills courses on tourism services and are instructed to provide with tourism products that meet foreign tourists' demand.

The project has also transferred farming techniques for selected farmers and instructed them to set up farm models to attract tourists.

Under the project, tourists would stay at local people's houses, visit local tourism sites, enjoy local traditional festivals and dishes, and participate in farming activities.

Duc said local travel companies began to co-operate with the project last month to promote agricultural tours.

In Tien Giang province, 25 farmer households in Chau Thanh district's Vinh Kim commune and My Tho city's Tan My Chanh commune and the Tien Giang Province Farmers Association have co-operated with travel companies to offer agricultural tours, including visiting famous Lo Ren star apple orchards in Vinh Kim commune, Go Thanh archaeological site in Cho Gao district and small islets in the Tien river.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News

Exploring water lifestyle of Mekong Delta

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When the conversation is about the Mekong Delta, people immediately think of tropical rivers, interlacing canals, immense rice fields and the floating homes of some of the residents. Once stepping into An Giang province’s Chau Doc town, tourists can not only visit famous sites such as Sam Mountain, Chua Xu Lady Pagoda or Thoai Ngoc Hau Temple but can take a cruise to the village to learn more about the floating life of the locals.

 A view of the raft village in Chau Doc town, An Giang province.
Lazing on a small sampan, tourists can feel they are so tiny on the boundless river and under the shade of countless trees. Witnessing the trade on the floating markets surely makes an impression on those in the delta for the first time.

Upon reaching the raft village, tourists are introduced to the structure of the rafts which are designed as homes and as floating fish farms. Tourists can catch a view of farmers feeding fish and can be served indigenous dishes made from local fish.

Tourists should not miss a visit to a weaving village of the Cham people. Here, tourists can witness the dexterity and talents of Cham ladies who painstakingly weave on looms by the riverside.

On the way back, tourists should not miss the floating restaurants to enjoy specialties of the Mekong Delta in tide-water season. Floating on the immense rivers and taking a look at the lifestyle in the delta are unforgettable experiences.

Chau Doc town is about 300 kilometers from HCMC where one way bus fare is VND80,00-105,000.

VietNamNet/SGT

A treat for everyone

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The overflowing pancake known as banh xeo is as Vietnamese as it gets yet even foreigners rave about it after the first mouthful.

 
Banh xeo is a delicious concoction that resembles an omelet at first glance but is actually a rice-flour pancake colored yellow by turmeric and filled with pork slivers, shrimp, egg, mung beans and sprouts.

It’s a deceptive dish with an aroma redolent of the countryside and has long been popular in the land of its birth.

Vietnamese can go anywhere in the world yet the thought of banh xeo is never far away.

The name is interesting as it literally means “sizzling cake.” Why is it so?

If you have a chance to see an experienced hand making banh xeo, you will understand all. Its name derives from the loud sizzling sound when the batter hits the hot oil in the pan.

The ingredients and cooking style are not uniform across the land but there’s no mistaking banh xeo whether it’s made in the north, center or south of Vietnam.

In the central region, the pancake is thicker and does not have a crispy edge as it’s cooked in a small round mould.

In the south, banh xeo is fried in a big pan, which allows the batter to spread thinly and gives the edges a crispy finish. Southerners also include mushrooms and vegetables in the filling on occasion.

In the north, they like to add potato beans or yam beans (pachyrrhizus), and the starchy tuber known as taro.

Although the ingredients differ from place to place, banh xeo anywhere is characterized by the aroma of the rice and turmeric in the batter, and the taste of the spiced-up filling.

Whatever the exact recipe, banh xeo is always accompanied by lots of lettuce leaves, leaf mustard and up to 20 kinds of herbs.

The sauce is very important. Southerners usually use a diluted fish sauce with chili and garlic mixed in whereas the people in the central region dip their banh xeo in a combination of hoisin sauce, garlic and liver.

Most importantly, banh xeo must be eaten straight from the pan while it is still hot and hasn’t had a chance to become a soggy mess.

Eat it fresh with a lettuce leaf wrapping and with the hands rather than chopsticks or a fork to get the most out of banh xeo.

In Saigon or Ho Chi Minh City (whatever!), it’s an appetizing food for all the locals and impresses foreign visitors with the appealing batter and wonderful smell.

Travelers from abroad either hear about banh xeo from their new friends and acquaintances in Vietnam, or happen upon it by chance at a local eatery.

Muoi Xiem is a renowned banh xeo cook who has traveled to the United States to demonstrate her art before enthusiastic American audiences.

At her eponymous restaurant in Saigon, there are 30 kinds of banh xeo from the traditional to the exotic.

Xiem likes to experiment with the ingredients and has some imaginative fillings on her menu, like nam kim cham (enoki mushrooms), nam moi (termite mushrooms), and nam bao ngu (abalone mushrooms).

She uses very little oil to fry her big pancake to perfection, and serves it with dozens of forest vegetables.

Another restaurant with a bent toward the exotic is An La Ghien, whose menu lists banh xeo rong Nhat with Japanese seaweed, banh xeo mang with bamboo sprouts, and banh xeo muc sua with baby cuttlefish.

Diners on a tight budget can try Dinh Cong Trang, a restaurant that serves both traditional banh xeo and some adventurous creations like banh xeo bong dien dien. The latter contains flowers of sesbania sesban, also known as Egyptian pea.

The filling can vary in abundance and ingredients, it doesn’t matter. Banh xeo in all its forms is one of the most venerated residents of Vietnam’s culinary village.

VietNamNet/TN

Festival marks Phan Thiet becoming 2nd grade city

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To mark the Tourism Day of Phan Thiet City (October 24) and the day Phan Thiet becomes a 2nd grade city, Binh Thuan Province’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism has approved a plan to organize culture and sports activities to share their happiness with international and domestic tourists.

 A procession ritual of Thay Thim Cultural Festival in Lagi town last year.
The event will take place in Phan Thiet city on October 22-24 at some well-known landscapes and tourism areas. The highlights of this event are beach volleyball, beach football, surfing, traditional boat racing, traditional arts such as bai choi featuring folk songs, traditional games of the coastal region, a lantern exhibition, a painting exhibition, public arts performances, and a street festival to introduce local traditional festivals such as the Mid-Autumn, the Nghinh Ong Quan Thanh and the Cau Ngu to worship the whale.

This is also a chance to honor typical tourism businesses, travel agencies and tour operators who take the most travelers to Binh Thuan province and to vote for the best service organizations, entertainment organizations and the most attractive sightseeing spots.

*Thay Thim Cultural Festival, an annual festival worshipping Thay Thi who is regarded as a local magician, will take place at Thay Thim Palace and some tourist sites such as Mom Da Chim, Doc Ong Bang, Cam Binh and Doi Duong Beach in La Gi town, Phan Thiet city from Oct. 31 to Nov. 2.

Aiming at introducing significant cultural features and promoting tourism for Lagi Town, the new destination for tourists to Binh Thuan province, the festival will feature rituals as well as traditional artistic performances. Rituals will include incense burning, a procession and a drama of the legend of Thay Thim. Tourists at the festival will have a chance to join the jubilant atmosphere with contests of traditional singing, Ong Bang hill trekking, sand dune running, beach volleyball, fishing net weaving and tug of war.

The event also includes performances of lion and dragon dances, martial arts, folk games and a flower lantern festival. The organizers will hand out medicine at Thay Thim Palace.

VietNamNet/SGT

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