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Vietnam Open Tour News & EventsFRIDAY 30 OCTOBER, 2009 |
 A new way to reach Da Dia Rock Reef Da Dia Rock Reef, around 40 kilometers from Tuy Hoa Town, is one of the famous attractions in the central coast province of Phu Yen.
Normally, tour operators take visitors to the attraction by road. However, visitors can now ask them to use the sea route through Xuan Dai Bay. The new way will offer a different view of the beauty of Da Dia Rock Reef from the sea and the beautiful Xuan Dai Bay, which is located in the province’s northern Song Cau and Tuy An districts with a water surface area of nearly 13,000 hectares. To reach the bay, visitors need to get to the small fishing port of Xuan Dai and then ask for a boat to explore the bay. There are no tourist boats here so that the traveler must use a fishing boat to explore Xuan Dai. Boat owners will ask for VND100,000 or more per guest for one hour of travel. The larger the group, the lower the price per person will be. It takes around three hours to thoroughly explore the bay and Da Dia Rock Reef. One thing to remember is to ask the boat owner to stop at Da Dia for sight seeing and to take pictures, or the boat will go around the bay and return to port. The wharf in front of Da Dia is full of fishing boats and coracles (the wicker baskets that are wound watertight and look like tubs). The tourist boat must respect them by weaving through the group at a low speed and not turning them over. Here tourists have a chance to talk with local fishermen about their craft. Xuan Dai Bay remains un-developed and so offers a relaxing experience. It’s surrounded by mountains that cast their moonlit shadows across the water. Its bed has many kinds of coral and seaweed. The bay has many islets perfect for swimming. VietNamNet/SGT
Catch a glimpse of the Central Highlands Situated in a primeval forest and near the Seperok River and several magnificent waterfalls, Thanh Ha tourist area is always an attractive destination to explore the wonders of nature and uncover some of the traditional cultural features of the Central Highlands.
At dawn, when the dewdrops still lie on the leaves, tourists are welcomed to take an elephant ride along the river and into the forest and hear the folklore of the elephant hunter kings told by young local boys who serve as tour guides. They are as agile as monkeys and can scale the tallest trees to pick wild orchids for you. Taking a boat out on the Serepok River offers a smoother ride than the elephants and gives wonderful views of the landscape. When night falls, the flickering of the campfire, the murmur of the waterfalls and the whisper of the wind through the trees are a nice background to the melodies of the local traditional artisans. Taking a gulp of ruou can (wine drunk out of a jar through pipes) and listening to boisterous rhythms from gongs, tourists surely are induced to stand up and hold hands with the villagers to dance and sing. Moreover, tourists have a chance to glimpse ethnic culture via antique collections, musical instruments, daily utensils and manufacturing equipment. “Artifacts are souls of the highlands and they prove my love of traditional culture,” said Nguyen Tru, owner of an antique collection. “I hope traditional culture does not fade away with time and younger generations always respect traditional values.” There is a house where tourists can enjoy ethnic tunes on string instruments and flutes by a seasoned couple named Y Gong and H’Uynh Bya. VietNamNet/SGT Which are exciting Vietnam-styled memmentos? As a custom, when people travel to new places, they often buy souvenir as gifts for relatives or as keepsakes to remember their trips. A souvenir, or memento, is defined as an object a traveler brings home for the memories associated with it. Souvenirs include T-shirts, hats, postcards, figurines, mugs, bowls, ashtrays, egg timers, spoons, notepads, and even specialties such as coffee, tea, fruit and cashews, ceramics, embroidery and brocade or silk.
A foreign tourist from London tries on a conical hat at a souvenir shop on De Tham Street in HCMC’s District 1. Conical hats protect people from the scorching heat and the tropical rain and they look good on Vietnamese women. They are extremely lightweight, resistant and are plaited with palm leaves. Recently, although under pressure of modernization and high technology, Vietnam has tried to preserve its handicrafts, especially the craft villages. Tour operators take tourists to craft villages to promote local craft products and to let tourists see the dexterity of meticulous processes involved. Vietnam’s craft villages include Bat Trang Pottery Village, Van Phuc Silk Village, Non Nuoc Fine Arts Stone Village, Kieu Ky Gold Village, Bau Truc Ceramic Village, Dong Ho Painting Village and Ta Phin Brocade Village in Sapa. Sapa, Dalat City and Dak Lak Province are home to ethnic women who wear colorful dresses made by brocade, or tho cam. They are made meticulously by the skillful hands of the ethnic women.
15 nominees for best souvenirs: 1. Coffee 2. Cashews 3. Coconut candy 4. Conical hat 5. Dragon fruit 6. Dried squid 7. Embroidery 8. Handicrafts 9. Lacquer ware 10. Lo Ren star apple 11. Porcelain and pottery 12. Sand painting 13. Tea 14. Tho Cam silk 15. Ao dai (Vietnamese traditional dress) When thinking about drinks of Vietnam, people firstly mention the coffee. Along the streets of HCMC are many cafés, from luxurious ones to street-rustic cafés. It is amazing to see that most offices and buildings in HCMC have sidewalk cafés where people sit on small chairs and enjoy coffee, sometimes without tables. Coffee was introduced in Vietnam by French colonists in the late 19th century and Vietnam quickly became a strong exporter of coffee. Tea, cashews, dragon fruit and Lo Ren star apples are also specialties travelers often choose as souvenirs. Dried squid is an unforgettable taste for tourists to Vietnam’s coastal regions, especially Phan Thiet and Nha Trang. In HCMC, tourists can purchase all kinds of specialties and souvenirs at the Ben Thanh Market, souvenir shops on Le Thanh Ton, De Tham or Pham Ngu Lao streets, Miss Ao dai and other shops around the city. Souvenir buffs should visit www.hcmc100e.info and vote for their favorite souvenirs. The voting deadline for international tourists is November 20 and for local tourists December 20. VietNamNet/SGT National tourism photo contest launched The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) has launched the 5th national photo contest on tourism called ‘Vietnam-My country’ to promote Vietnam’s tourism activities more widely to local and international travelers.
Photos in this contest must depict the country and its landscapes, the profound feelings of the photographers about national tourism and cultural constructions, national and regional tourism sites and the world heritages recognized by UNESCO. The photos must also reflect the cultural activities of Vietnam’s ethnic minorities, festivals and traditional craft villages. Local and international professional or amateur photographers are all invited to take part in this contest with no limitation on the quantity of photos. Photos should be sized at 30 cm x 45 cm and have never been introduced to the public. Two addresses to send photos are Du lich Vietnam (Vietnam Tourism) magazine, 30A Ly Thuong Kiet Street, Hanoi and the Vietnam Association of Photographic Artists (VAPA), 51 Tran Hung Dao Street, Hanoi. Submission deadline is May 31. VietNamNet/SGT Indonesian activist promotes green living through bicycles Use pedal power and save the environment, Indonesian activist Bambang Hertadi Mas, aka Paimo, wants to tell people of all countries.
Forget something? Bambang Hertadi Mas rides along Nguyen Van Linh Boulevard with other cyclists during a downtown tour in HCM City. On his latest trip, Paimo is pedaling through 16 major provinces and cities of Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Viet Nam. Paimo arrived in HCM City from Laos, after biking through Central Highlands province of Gia Lai, Buon Ma Thuot city as well as the southern province of Dong Nai. More than 30 other bicyclists from the Indonesian community as well as local enthusiasts gathered in District 7 and joined a bicycle rally around the city’s downtown areas before stopping at the Indonesian General Consulate for a celebration. Paimo, who left his home country on September 14 to begin the 2,565km journey through four countries, told Viet Nam News that he decided to ride around the Asian countries to experience different lives and cultures. He also hopes to promote peace and amity among nations through his trips, and write later about his experiences. "Through this journey I would like to send a message to everybody that riding is the most inexpensive and healthy sport. In the past I saw many Vietnamese riding bicycles but now they have changed to motorbikes." Fifty-one year old Paimo, began riding bicycles to foreign countries in 1980. He has since made more than 20 trips to many countries and historic places in the world such as the Tibetan Highlands, the Himalaya mountains, the Great Wall of China, Kilimanijaro mountain, Island Peak and other areas. Paimo said a three-month biking tour in 2006 through 5,424km from Bolivia and Chile was the most memorable and challenging one to date. Next year, Paimo will cycle for two months from Belgium’s Brussels to France, Spain, Portugal, and Marocco. He will leave Viet Nam today, after visiting important places in the city. VietNamNet/Viet Nam News News for Tuesday 27 October, 2009
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