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Posts Tagged ‘Vietnam’

What should we do on this Spring break? Should we make a tour of a foreign country which is tremendously beautiful and gorgeous, with its culture, its fine scenery and its dishes enhancing the beauty of the country? If so, come to Vietnam, and travel with a professional guide to take you on a wonderful trip.
Mr. Chu believes that Vietnam is one of the most beautiful countries in the entire world. It’s not only the beauty that brings people to visit Vietnam. But it’s also about its culture, its food and its people. “You will never experience anything else anywhere in the world with its beautiful bays and islands, ancient temples, and its world famous grottoes and caves. It is also full of delicious and tasty dishes,” Mr. Chu said.
The first place to visit is Hanoi, the cradle of the Vietnamese culture and civilization. “It is not only the capital of the present day Vietnam, but was the capital a thousand years ago, too, ” Mr. Chu said. In the year 2010 Hanoi will celebrate its 1000th anniversary.
South of Hanoi, along the coast is Hue. “Up to now, there are no places in Vietnam that retain a lot of original historical vestiges as in this old capital city,” Mr. Chu. “Hue was a capital of Vietnam under the reign of kings of the Nguyen,” he said. The kings wanted everyone to remember their dedication to scholars of Confucianism. They told skilled masons (builders) to carve many beautiful tablets for themselves and scholars in the Temple of Literature.
There are now only 34 tablets of the Nguyen Dynasty of great cultural and historic value remaining. On these tablets were written the names, ages, and places of births of 239 of the most successful candidates in the Nguyen dynasty.
In spite of wars and weather, in Hue there still exist hundreds of pagodas built more than 300 years ago and 1000 temples built in the early 18th century. “In December 1993, Hue was recognized as a world cultural heritage site by UNESCO (United Nations Education, Science, and Children’s Organization),” Mr. Chu said. Hue is also an important center of Buddhism.
North of Hanoi is Halong Bay which is on the South China Sea. Halong Bay is known as the one of the most beautiful and most famous bays. “It has been recognized as a world natural heritage by UNESCO for its thousands of natural islands,” Mr. Chu said. These islands represent the most ancient images of a very old geographical site. The processes of erosion and weathering have created the unique Halong Bay. In a small area, “thousands of islands with different forms look like virgins by the blue sky with sunshine spreading light on the bay to make a shining surface,” Mr. Chu said. “From a boat tourists can see the bottom of the sea because the sea is so clean and very clear.”
Traveling around Vietnam, tourists should not miss the taste of Vietnamese dishes. The most popular Vietnamese dish is Pho. Pho has been a popular dish for all Vietnamese people since a hundred years ago.
Pho is made of beef. Pho may have some other kinds of meat. For the best taste, Pho always goes with beef. If you want to change the taste of beef, chicken can be a good choice.
Two types of delicious and very popular cakes with Vietnamese people are Banh Chung and Banh Giay. Banh Giay is a rounded convex cake of glutinous rice, white dough, soft and sticky. At the top of the cake, is a shape said to be the shape of the heavenly vault.
“Banh Chung is served during the first three days of the first month of the lunar calendar,” Mr. Chu said. It is square cake, wrapped in banana leaves, and tied with lacings of flexible bamboo slivers. It is a very rich food made of bean paste to which maybe added small bits of pork meat, both fat and lean.
This filling is pressed between layers of glutinous rice. “Its square shape is considered a symbol of thankfulness of the Vietnamese people to the Mother Earth which helps them with nutritious food throughout the four seasons of the year,” Mr. Chu said.
How are you feeling at this moment? Aren’t you fascinated, excited and so willing to take a tour in Vietnam for Spring break? “Seeing is believing, so the best way to enjoy a tour program is to go by overland,” Mr. Chu said. “I guarantee you will enjoy it and have a wonderful trip in Vietnam, a popular tourist destination in the world.”
Recommended reading about Vietnam culture, history, traditional custom and more from http://www.indochinaguides.com

Why travel to Vietnam

Most people still think of Vietnam as a battle field, in fact, HOWEVER, that old history has all gone for long, giving place to a brand new era when peace and safety reside! These days, instead, you may often hear CNN, BBC, or many other prestigious channels talking about something like “Vietnam – a safe destination of the new millennium”, or “Vietnam – the Hidden Charm” , etc. Yes, it’s now opening to the world as a friendly and exotic place on earth!

You’re curious? Oh, so why don’t you think of coming? Here are some of the reasons why you should visit “her” – the charming-like-a-girl Vietnam:

1. “She” is a new place. It’s not touristy like in Thailand and many places you go, people got stunned by your appearance.

2. “She” is safe and friendly. The majority of people in Vietnam are farmers, pure farmers. Many of them have never learnt of much apart from the village they were born in. Naturally, they’re almost all friendly and safe to be around. Moreover, the communist government does a good job in ensuring securities all over the country. Nothing of a crime has happened to tourists for the last decades.

3. “She” has lots to see: A thin country stretching for thousands of Km from North to South. It has beautiful mountains with colorful and rich culture hill tribes. It has beaches and many of those are considered best in the world but still, they’re not touristy. Sound cool enough? Not end yet, she’s home to 7 UNESCO World Heritages. Almost anywhere you go, you’re stumble on a World Heritage.

4. “She” is marvelous, but money-saving. If you want to, then 1 US dollar could buy you a basic lunch or dinner. Wandering around and you want to find somewhere to sit and drink? Normally, you don’t have to pay more than one dollar for it. Cheap accommodations and services are everywhere around the Old Quarter in Hanoi and Pham Ngu Lao street or Bui Vien street – Sai Gon (if you’re traveling on a tight budget). If yours is not a tight budget? Never mind! You can also find the world top hotels and resorts in here.

I am Vietnamese. I love my country very much and I hope you will do the same after your Vietnam holidays. Today, I give you some useful travel tips and tricks to make your Vietnam holiday unforgettable. The problems which I mention rarely happen. However, some tourists met them before. The reason I talk about them today is that I hope no more tourists to Vietnam get those problems and Vietnam will keep its leading choice for Asia holidays.

Normally, it is very safe to join Vietnam holidays because Vietnam is considered as one of the safest destinations in the world. However, you may take an illegal taxi by accidentally. Especially from the airport to big cities like Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh. And the illegal taxi driver will try to charge you more money than the actual cost. The problem starts at the similar sounds of some words. For example, fourteen and fourty, eighteen – eighty, hunder and fourty and fourty…. etc. The solution to this problem is that you should write down the cost on a piece of paper before sitting on the taxi.

You may ask what is the solution if you are already sitting on illegal taxi? Or how can you realize that you are sitting on illegal taxi? Here, they are: When you take a taxi to your hotels from the airport or somewhere, the driver does not drop you off right in front of the hotels, but he stops very far from your hotels and ask you to get off and pay him. My advice is that do not worry, do not get off and say to him that your friends are in the hotel with your money. Ask him to drop you right in front of your hotel and ask the staff of the hotels for help. The driver does not dare to demage you because tourists and foreigners are highly protected in Vietnam. Definitely, he will get the right amount of money. If not, he would be in the trouble with the policemen.

 Another problem you may have come from foreign tourists themselves if you travel by yourself. Some hotel owners hire foreign tourists to take more tourists to their hotels and say much higher price than its cost. Therefore, they can have free food and launderỵ( only with mini hotels).  Read more...

Product Description
No matter what your budget or whether it’s your first trip or fifteenth, Fodor’s Gold Guides get you where you want to go. In this completely up-to-date guide our experts who live in Vietnam give you the inside track, showing you all the things to see and do — from must-see sights to off-the-beaten-path adventures, from shopping to outdoor fun. They’ll show you hundreds of hotel and restaurant choices in all price ranges — from budget-friendly B&Bs… More >>

Fodor’s Vietnam, 2nd Edition: Completely Updated, Where to Stay, Eat, and Explore, Smart Travel Tips from A to Z

The Luxury Travel Vietnam Company has just launched a new luxury tour “Vietnam’s Heritage and Cultural Tour 11 days” with one night bonus and 10% Discount.

Luxury Travel, Vietnam’s first luxury tour company, continues to create niche tourism products for high end travelers, the company has just launched a new luxury tour “Vietnam’s Heritage and Cultural Tour 11 days” with 10% discount and one night free of charge at luxury Sofitel Metropole Hanoi.

The Luxury Travel Company is Vietnam’s first luxury tour company and full travel service agency. Luxury Travel is experienced in providing special services and unique tourism products to luxury global travelers.

Start in colonial and charming Hanoi, Vietnam’s tangible and intangible heritage. Explore the fascinating Old Quarter and its hundreds of specialty shops selling silk clothing, lacquerware, embroidered linens, furniture, bamboo, cooking utensils, ceremonial objects and more. Walk around Hoan Kiem Lake, ride a cyclo to dinner, and watch a performance of at the Thang Long Water Puppet Theater.

Full day city tour Hanoi. Enjoy people watching at stylish cafes. Shop for impressive modern art in the city’s many galleries. Also visit Hanoi’s main cultural attractions, including the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, his House on Stilts, the One Pillar Pagoda, the Fine Arts Museum and the Temple of Literature. Dine in French colonial villas converted into upscale gourmet restaurants.

Next, guests take a day trip to Halong City and board on a junk in Halong Bay, famous Halong Bay Natural World Heritage where thousands of limestone rock sculptures jut dramatically from the sea and numerous grottoes have created an ephemeral, fantastic landscape.

Next, fly to Hue, the former Imperial capital that is a quiet city renowned for the magnificent architecture of its citadel, palaces, royal tombs, pagodas and temples, built under the Nguyen dynasty on the banks of the Perfume River.  Enjoy a Royal banquet dinner in this former Imperial Capital to enrich your experience in Hue, one of five World Cultural Heritages of Vietnam.

Drive to Danang and stay several days at the beachfront Furama Resort. Nearby, see ancient sculpture in the Cham Museum or My Son World Cultural Heritage, and tour Buddhist cave temples in the Marble Mountains. Visit atmospheric Hoi An a UNESCO-designated World Heritage Site and riverfront port town crammed with historic homes, tiny museums, cafes, and bustling silk and fish markets.  Read more...