Travel Hue National High School

Travel Hue National High School
Hue Imperial City
Famously being one of Vietnam’s seven UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the Imperial City of Hue has long been a must-see attraction for tourists visiting a hidden charm of Vietnam.
Famously being one of Vietnam’s seven UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the Imperial City of Hue has long been a must-see attraction for tourists visiting a hidden charm of Vietnam. The Imperial City of Hue was actually a walled fortress and palace belonged to the ancient city of Hue which was a capital city of the Nguyen Dynasty for 140 years date back from 1805 until 1945. Vietnam tours packages
The grandeur architecture was planned to be built in 1803 by Gia Long – an emperor who founded the Nguyen Dynasty. During 27 years from 1805 to 1832, the Imperial City of Hue was finally completed under the reign of Minh Mang, making it the most massive structure being built in the history of modern Vietnam involving thousands of workers, millions cubic meters of rock and huge volume of burden workload. It locates on the northern bank of Huong River, turning South with total land area of 520 ha. The place was made UNESCO Site in 1993 with the remained buildings being actively restored and preserved after the destruction from the Vietnam War.
Hue Travel Guide- Ancient Forbidden City
The Imperial City of Hue has a circumference of 10 kilometers with the height of 6.6 meters and 21 meters thick with forts being meanderingly arranged, accompanied by cannons, artilleries and ammunitions. Initially the fortress was built solely by soil, only to be replaced by bricks afterward. Surrounding the city is the complicated canal system served not only as a protection but also as a waterway with nearly seven kilometers. Centre Vietnam travel tours

There are total of ten main majestic gates leading to the Imperial City of Hue, which can be divided into two main parts excluding houses and mansions: The Citadel and The Forbidden City. The former served to protect the important palaces inside while the latter was where the emperor and the royal family stayed as well as the court’s workplace. All the typically traditional Eastern architectures including majestic palaces, tombs and museums stand accordantly together to make an utmost amusing attraction right in the heart of Vietnam.
There is no difficulty getting to the Imperial City. From Phu Bai International Airport, head straight to 1A Highway and you’ll be standing right next to a massive gate leading its way inside; just prepare 50.000 VND for the ticket and all there’s left for you to do is sightseeing the magnificence of the Imperial City of Hue.

Hue National High School
Being the first and also the oldest high school in Vietnam, originally Quoc Hoc (National high school) was the school for children from royal and noble families.
Past
Being the first and also the oldest high school in Vietnam, originally Quoc Hoc (National high school) was the school for children from royal and noble families. On the site that used to be former squadron headquarter - a royal navy headquarters, French colonialists built this school to train those who would serve the feudal colonial government. Therefore, at that time, French was the main subject for students and the school’s gate was titled “Phap tu Quoc Hoc truong mon” (French National High School’s Gate). Now it’s named Hue National High School and is a high-profile school that all students must pass a competititve entrance exam to get the admission.
Hue Travel Guide- National High School
Established in 1896, after more than 100-year history, Quoc Hoc today is still a well-maintained French colonial-style construction. The school is a complex of five blocks of classrooms, big football field, basketball court, five badminton courts, a swimming pool, a medium stadium and also a block of dormitory. It’s considered the largest and also the most beautiful high school campus in Vietnam. This surrounding makes a great picture of red French designed building in harmony with green background of a lot of large shady trees and stone benches. Especially in spring, when “diep anh dao” (a kind of cherry blossoms) is in bloom, the whole picture is filled with pinky dots above red thatched tile. Students often call that period of time “Pinky cloud season” and regard it as the most special moments of a year. These are the reasons why Quoc Hoc is also called “Pinky school beside Perfume River Bank” in the song with the same name. Lucky if one has a chance to drop by the school during that season.
Present
Not only is Quoc Hoc famous for its charming scene, it also gains prominence for tradition of patriotism, industriousness, academic achievements and respect for the time-honored values of teacher-student relationships. Several Vietnam political leaders have been learning here, including: Nguyen Tat Thanh (President Ho Chi Minh), General Vo Nguyen Giap, Prime Minister Pham Van Dong, etc. In addtion, the school is famed for its students who are well-known poets (Xuan Dieu, Huy Can, To Huu, Luu Trong Lu etc.), scientists (Ta Quang Buu, Ton That Tung, Dang Van Ngu, etc.), musicians (Tran Hoan, Chau Ky, , Nguyen Van Thuong, etc.) or sculptor Diem Phung Thi and so on. The school also has students getting high prize in many International Competitions.
Hue Travel Guide-National High School
Tourists who want to visit Quoc Hoc High School should remember that the school doesn’t allow entrances during class’s time, which ends at 5.15 p.m. everyday (though it might be easier to go through the two side gates, in fact). What’s more, the students are very eager to talk to foreigners, especially English speakers and French speakers. That’s the place for those who want to take photos of natural background, understand more about French colonial architecture and watch female students in white aodai, sparkling in the nice background.
Quoc Hoc Highschool on the east bank of Perfume river, near Trang Tien bridge of Hue city.

Ha Giang Forest Festival

Although the Pu Peo is ethnic people in Ha Giang, they still preserved many liturgies and a folklore treasure. Along with other liturgies are held in the New Year, people prays dryad for the green of forest, security for people in the forest fest. Also, from this ceremony, the forest has the Pu Peo protected very well, especially, the sacred forest. They protect the forest in order to have water for farming and have wood for making house. Each year, on June 6th lunar calendar, people held this fest with the most solemn rites. North Vietnam tours

The fest takes place in the forbidden forest, the sorcerer faces in a big tree and bow in the ground in order to pray dryad for protecting their village. The Pu Peo always understands that preserving forest is keeping water.

All thing were displayed on the banana leaf forest, the altar was constructed of green bamboo with nearly 2 meters height, facing the mountain. The square glutinous rice pounded to a pulp to make cakes, sliced carefully. On each piece of rice is a small boiled egg. It the bottom of the altar, there has 2 chickens which are still alive. Around the altar is bottle wine and bowl. Besides, they have forced a female goat near the altar. The fest lasts several hours; sorcerer holds a fresh bamboo waving in all time of liturgy. Sometimes, he holds a dried gourd. The rite shows the respect of human divided into three stages. The first stage, chickens and goats still live, the second stage, the youngsters cut their neck and finally, people have meal in this place right. The families do not attend, they also were divided food. Halong Jasmine Cruise

During the day, with the jubilant atmosphere and the unity of ethnic groups in the village, the liturgy was implemented by the Pu Peo ethnic. The festival part is involved by whole people in the village. Having traditional sports such as: push sticks, tug, playing “ao”…attract a large number of ethnic groups. Besides, folk song programs will be presented by the Pu Peo ethnic. Jasmine Cruise

Harmony with nature, respect and protect natural forest as friend become a common sense of Pu Peo community, shown in each family, village. Each sacred forest is protected by people. It not only brings physical value and spiritual value but also contributes to protect and develop environment.

Ha Giang Praying for Rain Festival 

Praying for rain festival of the Lo Lo is common religious in agriculture. On the festival occasions, almost all activities of the Lo Lo are aimed at praying for rain. They wish the rain down to the Meo Vac field and they pray for a prosperous forever.

Every March, when the climate is dry and trees lack water, Lo Lo ethnic people in Meo Vac, Ha Giang Province often held a praying for rain festival. With typical rituals, the festival, handed down from generation to generation, is also an opportunity to meet one another.

Ha Giang Praying for Rain Festival 

The praying for rain festival is often held on the 15th, 17th, 19th of the 3rd lunar month. It is only organized when the weather is harsh or drought appears. Previously, rich people in villages used to pay for the cost of the festival but nowadays each villager contributes an item to the festival. Objects include a chicken, a dog or a kilogram of rice is taken to the house of a sorcerer or village chief. To have a successful praying for rain festival, the first procedure that cannot be avoided is to organize a ceremony to ask ancestral sorcerers for aid.

The procedure is quite easy, including a cup of water, incense and bamboo paper (a kind of papers that is used for sacrifices of the Lo Lo people). First of all, the sorcerer burns incense at the family ancestor’s altar and then, the cup of water and the paper are placed at a house corner. After that, the sorcerer starts worshipping. He covers the water cup with the bamboo paper; if the water in the cup is not absorbed or poured out of the cup, “permission is granted” and then, the praying for rain festival will be successful. Finally, the sorcerer burns the bamboo paper and the procedure is completed.

The Lo Lo ethnic people believe that after organizing the festival within three to nine days, it will rain. The festival is divided into two parts: the ritual and the festival. The ritual is made with the participation of villagers. Live objects such as dogs and chicken will be taken to the praying place and worshipped twice. After being used for worshipping for the first time, village’s boys will slaughter them and use the meat for worshipping again.

When the worship finishes, villagers drink the alcohol, eat the meat and dance. Beautiful Lo Lo girls dance in their traditional costumes weaved with colorful patterns.

The rain praying festival is a typical cultural activity bearing unique characteristics. The festival is an opportunity for villagers to pray for luck and show their faith in God

The Perfume Pagoda

One of the most popular excursions on the outskirts of Hanoi is The Perfume Pagoda (Chua Huong). The Perfume Pagoda, contrary to what its name may indicate, is a set of pagodas and Buddhist temples located 70 kilometres south-west of Hanoi, on top of the mountain of the Perfume (Ha Tay Province). In addition to being one of the most famous spiritual places of Vietnam, the Perfume Pagoda is a natural with views and incredible landscapes. North Vietnam tours Packages

Tour of the Perfume Pagoda

To get to the Perfume Pagoda, we have to take a bus from Hanoi, which usually takes 2 hours to reach the Jetty Ben Duc. Once on the Jetty we will have to mount them on a metal red boats pushed by oars, with capacity for 6 people, which will lead us through the Yen saw River until reaching the foot of the mountain of the Perfume (Huong Son). Halong Indochina Sails cruise

The Perfume Pagoda is located in the interior of a cave to the top of the mountain of the Perfume, to be able to access it well can climb a long and steep staircases road (4 km, usually takes 1 hour) take the cableway that will leave us at the top of the mountain (option we recommend) where will begin our visit the pagodastemples and caves that make up the tour by the Perfume Pagoda. PANDAW CRUISE MEKONG

The Embarcadero Ben Duc

Although you can go directly overland from Hanoi up the same mountain of Perfume, no doubt recommend stop at the Jetty Ben Duc and take a rowing boat. Price round the 2€ per person but worth it, since it is one of the most beautiful and peaceful areas of all visit parts.

The Perfume Pagoda

In Ben Duc wharf have wooden boats and boats painted metallic red. Each barge has a number that we have to aim if we use the same boat to return from the Perfume Pagoda. In the boats usually fit 6 people and the river walk Yen Vi 45 minutes.

As a curiosity, we know that in 1998 he tried to replace these boats rowing by motor boats in order to transport tourists and visitors faster. Fortunately this initiative did not prosper and today we can enjoy a peaceful and quiet ride.

The Rio Yen Vi

To reach the mountain of Perfume will have to navigate the 4 kilometers of the River Yen Vi (or River Yen), a gentle river surrounded by Karst formations in the style of Tam Coc punctuated by a landscape of green grass, rice fields and crops of medicinal herbs. Usually be delayed one hour to travel the river, to which must be added the same time to return.

The Mountain Cableway Perfume

After landing the Yen saw River, we have an 4 km climb to the top of the mountain of the Perfume, this ancient road is of Earth and stones that added to the tropical climate of Vietnam will make dent in our legs. As an alternative, by a price 2€ / way can you ride the cable car that climbs in less than 5 minutes to the top of Perfume mountain, more than option recommended since not everyone is able to climb the steps of 4 kilometers from the River to the Perfume Pagoda temples complex.

For those have minimal physical condition, we recommend you go up to the Perfume Pagoda by cable car and walk down the road, which offer spectacular views of the area.

The first temples that make up the Perfume Pagoda dating from the 17TH century, built by a Buddhist monk who was in search of spiritual enlightenment. During the following years, due to the beauty of the place, we were adding new buildings and pagodas, of says that in this place there were more than a thousand temples, but after the indochina war against the French, many of them were destroyed.

Although they needed several days to visit this vast place, highlights from the Perfume Pagoda are Den Trinh shrine, Thien Tru pagoda, the Pagoda Hinh Bong, Giai Oan Pagoda, the Thanh Son Pagoda, Huong Tich cave and the temples Long Van, Cay Khe, Tuyet Son y Mau Me.

Recommendations to visit the Perfume Pagoda

The visit to the Perfume Pagoda vary much if we go when turnout is low or if instead visited the resort in high season.

At the Perfume Pagoda is the busiest time during festivals (usually between February and March) and also during the lunar new year (Tet Festival). If you visit this place during those dates, must be taken into account that we will share with thousands of people visit (some years figures of 60,000 people has been achieved).

If possible, we recommend you visit the Perfume Pagoda outside these dates or during weekdays, in order to enjoy this spiritual place without crowds (in the following photos have the Perfume Pagoda a day with few people and one day maximum number of visitors during festivals).

As a final recommendation does not hurt to bring an umbrella or parasol to protect us from the sun during the boat ride on the Yen Vi river, especially in the summer months.

Our walk along the River Yen saw ends at the Den Trinh shrine which is the start of our visit to the Perfume Pagoda. The literal translation of this place is the sanctuary of the presentations, where the tradition instructs burn sticks of incense to the gods of our presence and that we granted good luck for the road that begins.

This sanctuary also called Temple Den Trinh, is nothing more than a striking stone structure equipped with two heights with 5 arches in on the floor below and a note, at both ends of the door have statues of elephants.

Thien Tru Pagoda

After a visit to the Den Trinh shrine the next stop before ascending to the top of the mountain of the Perfume is the Thien Tru Pagoda, also called Pagoda Chua Nhãn (outer pagoda). The literal translation of Thien Tru is the kitchen of the sky, from name of Vietnamese legend and imagination in which the rocks of the mountain resemble a Cook working in your kitchen. Perhaps this natural enclave surrounded by rocks and green forests not resembles a kitchen, and a chef, but the beauty of the place anyone can put it in doubt.

The Thien Tru Pagoda was built in the 18th century by Emperor Le Thanh Tong, made of brick and fitted with decorative curved roofs who remember to the Temple of Literature Hanoi.

Destroyed and subsequently rebuilt in 2 occasions, the highlight of this Pagoda which is one of the many temples of the Perfume Pagoda complex, is a monolith of granite called Tower Thuy Tien is located in the middle of the courtyard of this Pagoda, in that same courtyard have other sculptures with the shape of dragons, etc... Although one of the most photographed spots of this Pagoda is the exterior door, 2 heights with 3 arches on each height from which we can see the Pagoda.

For those travelers who want to spend the night at the Perfume Pagoda, near Thien Tru Pagoda of small lodges can be found and places to sleep.

Tien Son Cave

A few meters from the Pagoda Thien Tru Tien Son cave, famous for his 5 sculptures in granite and suggestive ways to the walls of the cave we have. These battered walls being sound like a traditional percussion instrument Vietnamese called Khanh, whose sound resembles the sound of a Bell.

Huong Tich Cave (Cave of Perfume) and Perfume Pagoda

One of the most interesting parts of the visit to the Perfume Pagoda is the Huong Tich cave (also called Cave of the perfume), discovered thousands of years ago (the Vietnamese say that this cave is similar to the mouth of a dragon). We descend 120 stone steps from the main road to gain access to the inside of the cave of the Perfume, which contains the well-known Perfume Pagoda, main pagoda of the complex with a very striking altar, several statues of Buddha and other historical characters and also a 1.24 bronze Bell meters height.

The highlight of this cave is an inscription engraved on the rock dating from the year 1700 which says the cave more beautiful under the sky of the Southeast.
The interior of the Huong Tich cave is filled with stalactites and stalagmites, where Vietnamese have been giving names based on forms that evoke these elements, this mode can find stalactites shaped rice plant, forms that resemble children, trees of gold and silver, etc...

Popular beliefs are still many couples who have no children to this place for the birth of your firstborn pray.

A curious fact about the entrance to the cave entrance Perfume is that this is said to find the way to heaven, you have to go down the road to hell, referring to the stone steps and entrance ways suggestive of cave.

The Perfume Pagoda

We have the Perfume Pagoda in Huong Tich cave inside. The cave, which is 50 meters high is lit by the rays of Sun that enter from the main entrance and also by the lights of candles to the pilgrims and believers left in place. The altar of the Perfume Pagoda, known for his sculptures of Buddha.

If we are lucky during our visit to the Perfume Pagoda perhaps we are making offerings to Buddhist monks, praying with incense sticks and singing hymns in honor of Buddha.

This place in Vietnam, Perfume Pagoda, is the scene of many legends, popular songs and place of inspiration for poets, philosophers, writers, painters and all kinds of artists.
Recommendations to visit Huong Tich Cave

Inside the cave often cold, so we recommend you bring warm clothes and especially not enter directly if you have traveled the way up to the mountain of Perfume walking, because the sudden temperature change can play tricks.

Festivals in Perfume Pagoda

The Perfume Pagoda is a perigranacion of the Vietnamese people during the first months of the lunar calendar (February to March) coming en masse to pray and make offerings to have luck and prosperity in the year that begins.
Traditionally a Vietnamese pilgrims can spend 3 days touring and praying for all the temples of the complex of the Perfume Pagoda.

The most important festival, called the Perfume Pagoda festival is held on 15 to 20 of the second month of the lunar calendar. This place also hosts other celebrations during the first day of the lunar year (Tet Festival) and also the 6 day of the first month of the lunar calendar. These dates mean celebrations during the months of February and March.

As a curiosity, we know that this festival is a popular place for young people to find a partner because legend has it that this magical place is the ideal place to begin a romance.

The Perfume Pagoda is located 70 kilometers southwest of Hanoi in Ha Tay province.

Traversing to the Perfume Pagoda

Best to go to the Perfume Pagoda is to hire an excursion at any tourist office in Hanoi (in the old town there are many agencies). The average price for a whole day trip round the 30€, it is important to look at the price includes the entrance to the cable car.

If we want to go to the Perfume Pagoda for free, we will have to take a bus from Hanoi to Ben Duc Wharf, if on the other hand we don't want to make the boat trip along the River Yen saw (walk that we recommend you do), you should take a bus from Hanoi to the perfume mountain. From the center of Hanoi, take the bus No. 1 to Ha Dong (Ha Ðong) and take the bus No. 75 to perfume (Chùa Huong) pagoda.

The displacement bike or ride to the Perfume Pagoda not recommended, since the pier Ben Duc have to park the bike in a secure place and also because the road through the village Van Dinh is not very comfortable. The taxi to the Perfume Pagoda is very expensive compared to the price of an organized tour or a bus for free.

The entrance to the Perfume Pagoda is free, the ticket to the cable car costs 2€ / way and boat trip along the River Yen saw costs 2€.

Must-try traditional foods when visiting Ancient Capital of Hue

Hue is the capital of Vietnam in Nguyen Dynasty, located in the Central of Vietnam. This city still remains a lot of historical vestiges and cultural heritages of an Ancient Royal Capital. Hue is also well-known with royal cuisine (foods served for the King), which is the combination between taste and aesthetic, the combination among color of ingredients to create an art of work. However, there is another thing making “amazing cuisine” of Hue is traditional foods. Hue’s traditional cuisine is so distinctive from other regions in the country, which is considered as the best in Vietnam. And these are some special traditional dishes that you should not miss when visiting Hue. Centre Vietnam tours
 Bún Thịt Nướng (grilled-meat vermicelli)
This food is totally different with “Bún Chả Nướng” from Hanoi. It is a mixture of rice vermicelli, grilled pork, fresh vegetables and other special ingredients. Bun thit nuong has no broth, but a sauce made by grinded peanut. The pork is mixed with some ingredients to be tastier and then be grilled on fire. A bowl of bun thit nuong includes rice vermicelli in the bottom, some pieces of grilled pork above, kinds of fresh vegetable around and the sauce on the top. When eating, you should add a little chili sauce and lemon squash then mix all of them together to enjoy the special flavor of the dish.
Bun thit nuong present every corner of Hue, becoming a popular street food here. Besides, in almost all “bun thit nuong” restaurants, there are also some of other dishes including bún mắm nêm (“mam nem” is a kind of traditional sauce made from fish), khoái pancake (also “xèo pancake” in Northern), nem lụi. You should try all of them because they are so specific and delicious. Mekong delta tours Vietnam

Cơm Hến (Clam rice)
Clam rice probably is the most unique and symbolic food of Hue cuisine. The primary material of rice clam is cold rice and small clam. Clam is boiled and then their flesh is taken to stir-fried. Hue people said the best clam to make this food has to be caught from Tam Giang pond. Com hen contains rice, clam, Indian taro (Hue people called it “Bạc hà”), pepper, peanuts, fried pork grease (Tóp mỡ), some of herbs and fish sauce sprinkled above. Because people here considered clam as a “cold food”, they add pretty much chili sauce or red pepper into the bowl of com hen. So, it can be very spicy. Therefore, you should prepare yourself before enjoy it. Paradise Cruise
In addition, beside the bowl of com hen, they will add a special bowl of soup made from boiled clam broth for you to sprinkle into com hen if you like. However, for people who try it at the first time, it may be really hard to eat, so remember, you should smell the soup before you try.
Now, except for Com Hen, Hue also has Bun Hen (Clam vermicelli), My Hen (Clam noodle). They are as similar as Com Hen, but they use vermicelli and noodle instead of rice to make the food more diverse.

Must-try traditional foods when visiting Ancient Capital of Hue

3.      Bún Huế
Bún Huế is general name of many variation of rice vermicelli soup having a same major ingredient called “mọc”. Mọc is small balls made from grinded meats. The meats to make Mọc can be pork or crab or shrimp. Moc is the most important thing that decides the distinctive taste of Bun Hue. Besides, it also contains cubes of brown congealed pig blood, which are very good for anyone suffer from high blood pressure. Another special thing in Bun Hue is the broth, prepared by simmering pork bone for a long period of time and after that adding other elements to create mixed taste.
Depending on the kind of meat making Moc or the additional ingredients, there are many variations of Bun Hue, including Bún bò giò heo (pig’s trotters), Bún mọc Cua ( Moc made from crab), bún mọc (Moc made from pork),…
bun Hue
4.      Bánh canh cá lóc ( snake-head tapioca noodle soup)
Bánh canh (tapioca/rice noodle soup) is the specialty of Central Vietnam. There are many kinds of banh canh representing each place, for example, Trang Bang rice noodle soup (Tay Ninh province), fish roll tapioca noodle soup (Binh Dinh province), etc. And Snaked-head tapioca noodle soup is the representative of Hue.
Tapioca is kneaded with water, then be cut into long thin slides and be hard-boiled. Sneak-head fish is a kind of fish living in freshwater. The meat of fish is cut into small slides and then be stir-fried. The bone of fish is used to boil the broth. A bowl of banh canh ca loc is pretty simple: tapioca noodle, some slides of fish, green onions, eryngium leaves, and the broth. But it is a combination of a lot of flavor, including the sweetness of broth, the greasiness of snake-head fish and the toughness of tapioca noodle. And to avoid the smell of fish, the food is added pretty much chili sauce, so it is extremely spicy. It is highly recommended that you should find something cool to drink with.
banh canh ca loc
Hue is the central of Vietnamese cuisine, so there are various foods waiting for you, including Banh beo, Banh nam, Banh loc, Banh uot, Che (sweet soup), Tom chua (sour shrimp sauce), vegetarian foods and other royal dishes. If you are an astronomer, you have to visit Hue and enjoy yourself.

Top 7 local coffee shops in Hoi An

It is no coincidence that you see a lot of coffee shops along many streets in Hoi An. Hoi An people love drinking coffee every morning. With a couple of small table and small stool along the roadside in small part of the old town, reading newspaper while sipping coffee then looking around and enjoy life –life slowly immersed in the heart of the ancient town. Centre Vietnam tours

There are many coffee shops in Hoi An but these 7 coffee shops will be the best ones:

1. Café Des Amis

Located at 52 Bach Dang Street, Hoi An, Café Des Amis is the choice of many peoplewhen coming to Hoi An. Its owner, Nguyen Manh Kim, is fluent in many languages and always satisfy his customers with his cleverness. Des Amis is not a big coffee shop but has convenient position.It faces to Hoai river port which is crowded and riotous all the time with boats and people pass by. There, you can enjoy not only coffee but also some specialities of Hoi An such as white rose, caolau while listening to classical music or flamenco. Moreover, there is a notebook inside the shop so that you can write your feelings about the shop and their staffs into it. Alova Gold Cruise Halong

Café Des Amis

2. Bep Truong (Chef) coffee shop

Bep Truong coffee shop is one of the most familiar coffee shop to both foreigners and local people in Hoi An. Located at 166 Tran Phu street, Bep Truong is a coffee shop, a restaurant and one of the biggest bookstores in Hoi An as well. The second floor in the shop is space for coffee with comfortable seats which is easy for both reading books and enjoying coffee. Books can be brought from ground floor with a variety of headings. If you like the panoramic view of the old town, you can select to sit at the balcony of the second floor or even the top floor where you can easy have an overview of Hoi An from above.   2. Drinking coffee and reading book at Bep truong (Chef) coffee shop . MANGO CRUISE
3. May Concept

May Concept is well-known for its aesthetic and subtle layout and of course its wonderful coffee filters.Its location is in a small alley to your right as you exist the Japanese Covered Bridge on to Nguyen Thi Minh Khaistreet. The exact address is 8C Nguyen Thi Minh Khai. The coffee shop is a tiny house with quite, simple rooms decked in dark wood antique furniture. It is a tasteful handicrafts shop, a coffee lounge area for reading or working and a shady walled garden with lily pond.   3. May Concept Cafe
4. Gemstone Art Museum – GAM

GAM is own by a Vietnamese- Italian couple Duong Nga and Fantini. The museum has the collection of hundreds of gemstone art from around Vietnam collected by Duong Nga and her father in more than 20 years and exhibited for tourist all around the world. At its back is a shady courtyard garden cafe that serves up coffee with condensed milk (cafe sua da). On the second floor a wine bar for those wine fan. It is situated at 133 Nguyen Thai Hoc Street.     4. Gemstone Art Museum
5. Reaching Out Tea Rooms

Reaching Out Tea Rooms is an extension of the Reaching Out brand- a charity to help the disabled in Hoi An and nearby areas. It stands out on Tran Phustreet with a hand-painted sign on the wall “The beauty of silence” which is exactly what you can feel when sitting in this shop. By enjoying a cup of one of their exquisite teas or coffees, you already help the speech and hearing impaired staff receive the gift of integration into a work environment that empowers them, and the pleasure that their hospitality brings to guests partaking in the Teahouse experience.  That’s a good way to do charity.     5. Ordering in a different way at Reaching Out Tea Rooms
6. U café

Far away from the center of the old town, U café will be a great place for those who love quiet atmosphere to enjoy coffee. The shop is on Huyen Tran Cong Chua street, in Cam Chau ward facing to Hoai river. Its owner is a Japanese women named Reiko Usuda who chose Hoi An as her second home. U Café is a beautiful structures built with local materials which is sustainable and friendly to the environment. It is green space located in a quiet place that is very appropriate for those who need to work with laptop but still want to have great moments with a cup of coffee or a delicious meal outdoors.     6. U cafT  
7. Hai Café

Located at 98 Nguyen Thai Hoc and 111 Tran Phustreet, in the heart of ‘Old Hoi An’, Hai Cafe Bar & Grill is an impressive place to enjoy breakfast, lunch, dinner or a drink. About the drinks, in addition to Vietnamese coffee which is quite strong, you can find European style coffee prepared such as cappuccino, latte, macchiato triple, flat white or simply a concentrated espresso.By night the restaurant becomes a hub of activity as guests watch the chefs in action in the open-air kitchen, cooking in large woks, and traditional barbecues and steamers. It is a great place to chill or go online with a good free wifi connection.     7. Hai CafT  
If you want to know more about coffee culture in Vietnam or wonder what coffee shop is worthyto go for, which onehasgood view, or just simply that you travel alone and want to find some friends to chat while drinking coffee, just contact us. Hoi An Food tour team will serve you all the best.

Streetwise Hanoi

Welcome to Hanoi! You’re in the political capital of Vietnam with a population of 7 million people. Like any big city, a tiny portion of those people are dodgy. Vietnam has vast cultural and legal differences to the west, that’s part of the reason why we love it. This means there’s some things us foreigners need to keep in mind. With decades of combined experience being backpackers who can’t seem to leave Vietnam, we’ve made a little list specific to Hanoi that we would like to share with you. We hope our experiences make yours even better & safer. Now don’t be worried, just be wary. Let’s get into it. North Vietnam tours

Crossing the street – Take a deep breath, look for a moment to commence and walk slowly and consistently across the street. They will go around you, have a bit of confidence and you’ll be a pro in no time.
Taxis - Some taxi drivers will try and take you for a ride. Hanoi Taxi Group (white, red & blue), Mai Linh (green) and ABC (white & pink) are most reputable. Ask our hostel to call you a taxi and write down the address for you.
Bia Hoi – Hanoi is legendary for it’s Bia Hoi, but be choosy. It’s home-brew made with varying levels of hygiene. There’s good Bia Hoi, and there’s bad Bia Hoi. The locals pay around 7,000vnd for a glass of good bia hoi. If you’re paying less than that, it’s probably not good. See our crew for some places to join the locals for some reputable Bia Hoi watering holes. Avoid cheap low quality product that could make you sick. Vietnam Halong bay tours
Cheap vodka – There is a reason why it is cheap, it can contain all sorts of nasties which can cause nausea, vomiting, drowsiness & dizziness without even having a big night out! We see this all the time. There is a big market for low quality and fake spirits in Vietnam. VBH serve only imported Smirnoff Vodka and genuine spirits. They are more expensive, but they are safe, and they taste better. If you drink irresponsibly, at least drink smart

Streetwise Hanoi

Disagreements with the locals – A rare circumstance usually involving boys and alcohol. There are 2 rules. Rule #1. – Never get involved in a fight with the Vietnamese. Rule #2 – If you’re drunk and a local does something you think deserves an act of aggression, immediately see rule #1. If a local really does do something wrong. Still see rule #1. The Vietnamese kicked China, France & the USA out of their town, you’re a small fry and they’ll treat you that way. In every circumstance, please please please see rule #1 and walk away. Peace. Vietnam Mekong river tours
Big nights out. All us backpackers understand that you never quite know when a massive night could come your way. We strongly advise that at some point during the build-up you take a moment to consider the location of your smartphone, passport, bankcards, and all your cash. If these things are in your possession when things escalate you run the risk of turning the night of your life into a nightmare. Please leave them somewhere safe before you get socially excited. There are security lockers in all rooms, and we have a safe to keep valuables in.
Getting home. Make sure you always have few a hostel cards to show your taxi or motorbike driver. Negotiate a price before you begin. Unfortunately it is rare to find a reputable motorbike or taxi driver after midnight. If you have problems, don’t make a scene, wait until you arrive at the hostel and ask night reception to assist you.
Cheap imitation tours. Be careful with Halong Bay especially. There are a number of dodgy companies that simply don’t care about your complaints after your shitty and sometimes unsafe experience. Many copycats pose shamelessly as long established reputable operators. For example there are currently 11 other places pretending to be our Castaways trip. There is only ONE real Castaways Island and it’s got a Red Buffalo. You really truly do get what you pay for. If it’s cheap, then it’s because the operator cuts corners. This means their boats can be any or all of the following: dirty, unseaworthy, environmentally disastrous, and most certainly have terrible decor. You may get lucky, but you may not. They will give you a great sales pitch and show you some great pictures, they’re experts. If you come back pissed off about your cheap shitty tour, we’ll do our best to help you, but aside from listening to you vent, giving you a cuddle and buying you a couple of beers to ease the pain, there’s not much more we can do. You’ve been warned!
Imitation hostels. Yes, you may get off a bus and a Vietnamese person with good English will tell you our hostel has closed down, or moved locations. They may even have one of our business cards. They may even get on the bus before it stops to give you some “advice”. Check online the location of our hostels, grab a card for each one, and only go to that address. If it doesn’t feel right, then it’s not. Simple.
Cash – The 500,000 note is a similar colour to the 20,000 notes! One is worth $24 the other is worth <$1. Don’t get them mixed up!
Be patient when communicating with the locals. Speak slowly, English is a very difficult language for the Vietnamese to pronounce, much harder than for Laotians, Cambodians and Thai’s. Their English is a lot better than your Vietnamese, so smile, laugh and enjoy the sign language! Even better, learn little language.
In the immortal words of Mr. T. “Don’t do drugs”. Penalties in Vietnam are so harsh we prefer not to talk about it. This is not California or the Caribbean. Weed is not ok, and harder drugs are even less ok. There is a large hemp growing industry in Vietnam and some locals will try and sell dope from these plants, but the joke is on you, you can still get done for possession, yet the plants are genetically engineered so that you don’t get you high. When it comes to drugs in Vietnam, please don’t be stoopid. As Mr. T also said “I pity the fool!”
Comply with the police. In the highly unlikely event you run into trouble, be polite, keep your cool and do what you can to remove yourself from the situation.
Vietnam is not the place to learn to ride a motorbike. If you are riding a motorbike, always wear a helmet. Pretty pretty please don’t get drunk and ride. We unfortunately have experienced a range of unfortunate circumstances pertaining to irresponsible motorbike behaviour, and because of this we would please insist you read this line again. :-)
Hope this helps and don’t hesitate to ask us anything. We’re all a bunch of backpackers who are still in love with Vietnam. We are here to help. If we don’t know, we’ll know someone who does.

Top things to do in Quy Nhon

Relatively unknown and free of mass tourism, the coastal city of Quy Nhon (the capital of Binh Dinh province in central Vietnam) will seduce those who love to travel off the beaten tracks.

Called ‘Pulo Cambi’ by Portuguese Jesuits who settled there in the 1620s, its origins date back to 11th century Champa culture.

Quy Nhon is also known as the birthplace of the eighteenth Vietnamese Emperor, Nguyen Hue. The city experienced a major U.S. military presence and its hinterland was the scene of heavy fighting during the Vietnam War. However, only a half-buried U.S. tank (on the beach, south of the Lan Anh Hotel) reflects this dark parenthesis of history. Centre Vietnam tours

Quy Nhon made up the main port for all military forces in Vietnam’s Central Highlands region. Almost all the supplies for the area were unloaded from ships moored in the port before being transported by aircraft.

A large number of U.S. Army support units were also based in the city and its suburbs, including a field hospital and a large supply center. MANGO CRUISE

Quy Nhon In 1975 the South Vietnam Navy evacuated its soldiers and some civilians before abandoning the strategic city of Nha Trang in May 1975, leaving North Vietnamese tanks and infantry to occupy nearly half of the territory of the Republic of South Vietnam.

Top things to do in Quy Nhon

Today, things have changed.

Quy Nhon has just begun to capitalize on its huge potential for tourism. At 42 km long, the coast is indeed ​​remarkable with its white sand beaches. Abundant seafood is served in local restaurants at a price that defies competition.

And if historical remnants aren’t Quy Nhon’s greatest strength, we must admit the city and its outskirts still contain some interesting sites worth visiting.

Quy NhonThe picturesque Queen’s Beach, in particular, deserves a visit.

Named in memory of last Vietnamese Emperor Bao Dai’s wife, Queen’s Beach is accessible via An Duong Vuong Street, with your back to the peninsula. Paradise Cruise Halong bay

On the way, a paved road leads to a ledge where you can see the tomb of famous Vietnamese writer Han Mac Tu, one of the great figures of Vietnamese literature. Further on, you’ll come to the famous beach where you can stop for refreshments.

Although not a good place for swimming, Queen’s Beach is interesting because of its many blue, egg-shaped, smooth stones superimposed on the small beach pummeled by waves. That is why Queen’s Beach is also called ‘Egg Stone Beach’.

Continuing on the road along the headland, you arrive at Qui Hoa Beach, very quiet and ideal for swimming. A hospital Leproserythat specialises in treating leprosy has been built nearby. In its charming garden, you can admire statues of famous French and Vietnamese doctors. Visitors are welcome.

Arguably the best spot for swimming is probably Bai Dai Beach, a beautiful stretch of white, fine sand.

Located on 13.5 hectares, Bai Dai Beach is frequented by few tourists. With a beautiful view of Cu Lao Xanh Island, Bai Dai remains quite wild. Activities available from the beach include kayak trips to neighboring islands.

The Cham towers of Banh It (20 km north of Quy Nhon, at the top of a hill that boasts panoramic views of the countryside) and those nearest to Thap Doi are remarkable for their sculptures. Despite their years, both sites are in good condition and worth visiting.

If you have time, you can also have a look at Long Khanh Pagoda, Quy Nhon’s main pagoda, built in the 18th century and famous for its 17-meter-high Buddha.

Practical Information:

- Binh Dinh Province is 1065 km from Hanoi and 680 km from Ho Chi Minh City. You can get to Binh Dinh by car, train or plane. Note that the train stops at Dieu Tri Train Station, about 10 km west of Quy Nhon.

- There is a VND 5000 admission fee to Queen Beach (plus an extra 2000 if you’re riding a motorcycle).

- You can go to the hospital that treats leprosy by turning left at the end of An Duong Vuong Street. The hospital entrance is well marked, a few hundred meters further down the road.

Can Gio Ho Chi Minh city Vietnam travel guide

Can Gio (Cần Giờ) is a coastal district of  Ho Chi Minh city, 50km (32miles) form the city center. Can Gio tourism is famous for mangroves and pristine beaches where haven’t had many tourist services. You can travel Can Gio for 1 day in the weekend.  Travel South Vietnam

Most of people, who used to visit Can Gio, comment that price of service is not expensive, seafood is cheaper than Vung Tau (another site near Ho Chi Minh city). Quiet night, suitable for relaxing. The sea is not blue because of mangrove but it’s not too bad to bath.

Can Gio Ho Chi Minh city Vietnam travel guide
Can Gio Vietnam travel guide

This article i’m going to give you helpful informations for Can Gio trip. MANGO CRUISE

Parts in the article:

How to get Can Gio | Attractions | Hotels | Day trip itinerary | Combine travelling Vung Tau

How to get Can Gio
From Sai Gon, you go along Huynh Tan Phat road, cross river at Binh Khanh ferry, then just go straight. The route is not difficult, only 1 route to get Can Gio, you can go by car or motorbike. Calypso Cruise

You can also get Can Gio by public bus-75. The bus will go through the streets: 23/9 Park – Le Lai – Tran Hung Dao – Pham Ngu Lao – Yersin – Ham Nghi – Ho Tung Mau – Nguyen Tat Thanh – Huynh Tan Phat – Rung Sat – Duyen Hai – Dao Cu and finally, stop at Can Thanh Bus Station (in Can Gio).

Can Gio Ho Chi Minh city Vietnam travel guide

Where to play and visit in Can Gio
Attractions in Can Gio according to the route from Ho Chi Minh city.

1. Vam Sat (Vàm Sát) is a eco-tourism zone of mangrove, you will go into by boat or canoe. In the zone, you will be visited Dam Doi zone (khu Đầm Dơi – where has many kinds of stork and bat), protected areas wildlife and Tam Bong tower, 26m (85ft) high, where you can see all of Can Gio mangroves.

Feed crocodile in Vam Sat eco-tourism
Crocodile feeding in Vam Sat eco-tourism

2. Dao Khi (đảo Khỉ – Monkey island, it’s not an island, just name). This’s very interesting place but you have to be careful with monkeys. They’re very naughty, usually rob foods and items of tourists. My tips for travelling in the island, you should carry a stick to scare but don’t fight them else they will call their whole flock.

3. Lang Ca Ong (Wale mausoleum). In Vietnam, wale is a very sacred animal so people usually worship them in temples or mausoleums. Lang Ca Ong is located in Can Gio market and has 17m (56ft) length skeleton of a wale.

4. Thanh that Cao Dai (Thánh Thất Cao Đài), a sacred temple in the center of Can Thanh town. The temple is quite beautiful, you can sightsee and take photos.

5. Can Thanh town is the seat of Can Gio district. This’s a small and peace town.  From here, you can clearly see Vung Tau city and its 2 big mountains. Even by night, you can see the sparkling lights of Ha Long road – the most beautiful road of Vietnam (in Vung Tau ).

6. 30/4 beach is 8k (5miles) from Can Thanh town. This’s a beautiful and very pristine beach. Near there is Hang Duong market (just 50m (160ft from beach), you can buy seafood in the market, ask them for cooking with very solf price and enjoy them on the beach.

Monkey island Can Gio Vietnam

Hotels in Can Gio
Usually, people travel Can Gio in just 1 day so they don’t rent hotel. However, in the case combine travelling Can Gio and Vung Tau, tourists want to take an overnight in Can Gio and get Vung Tau in next day.

If you travel in big group, you should rent hotels near the 30/4 beach (rate is from $15, more expensive than hotels in the town) to play in evening. You can consult:

1. Tam Ngoc hotel in Dong Hoa – Can Gio, tel: +84 8 3874 4200

2. Hon Ngoc Phuong Nam resort near Tam Ngoc hotel, tel +84 8 3874 3404

If you travel in small group, you should stay in the town.

3. Thai Duong hotel on road No.1, tel +848.3874.3985. Comfortable rooms, (2-star) have balcony overlooking rice field, very nice. Rate is $13/day.

4. Tam Tam hotel on road No.1, Tel +848.2214.4899. Similar price to Thai Duong hotel.

5. Bao Hung motel is also on road No.1, tel: +848.3874.4122

>> Click to check all hotels in Ho Chi Minh city at Agoda.com

Can Gio day trip itinerary
7am, start the trip to Can Gio,

8am, arrive at Vam Sat eco-tourism zone. You have rent a boat or canoe to come into, price is $20/boat. There’re 8 seats / boat, you will be grafted with other tourists (if your group is less than 8 people).

10am, leaving Vam Sat, keep going to Monkey island.

10.30am, arriving in Monkey island. Strolling around and visiting “the island”.

12am, lunch and rest in Monkey island about 2 hours.

2pm, go to 30/4 beach. The beach is quite close to Monkey island, you can ask the local for the way.

2.20pm, arrive at the beach. You can come to Hang Duong market to eat seafood, then play on the beach. Note, the parking just work to 5.30pm.

About 5pm. End the trip, back Ho Chi Minh city.

Combine travelling Can Gio and Vung Tau
You can combine travelling Can Gio and Vung Tau for 2 days. First day, vistiting Can Gio and get Vung Tau in next day. From Can Gio, you can get Vung Tau easily by boat.

The boat will start at 6am and 10am at Tac Suat dock (bến Tắc Suất), take 1 hour to get Ben Dinh dock (bến Đình – in Vung Tau).

Ticket: $1.3/pax. You can carry motorbike on boat but there’re few additional costs (about $3.5/motorbike).

Top 6 Markets in Saigon

Top 6 Markets in Saigon
Ho Chi Minh City is a “must” destination for shopping enthusiasts! Here at local markets you can buy literally everything – from handicraft souvenirs to fake world luxury brands. How not to get lost in such a variety of goods, what are the largest markets of the city and where to go firstly – read in our guide to markets in Saigon! HCMC & Mekong delta 4 days

Ben Thanh Market
Ben Thanh is the largest market in Ho Chi Minh City and is one of the symbols of the city: locals visit the market to buy goods for everyday life and personal use, while tourists are usually searching for local handicrafts, textiles, souvenirs and local cuisine. This is a place where you can buy EVERYTHING. It is loud, lively and it never sleeps. Ben Thanh Market is open even during the night and welcomes its visitors with a big choice of goods and great atmosphere. AMALOTUS CRUISE
Address: Lê Lợi, Bến Thành, Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam
Open: Daily 6 am – 7 pm. The Night market is open till 12 am.

Top 6 Markets in Saigon

Binh Tay Market
Binh Tay is another central market in Ho Chi Minh City. It is located at the place where years ago “The Old Market” existed. It was destroyed by fire and some time after, “The New Market” was built. It is not so famous among tourists as Benh Thanh market, so the prices here are much lower. But it doesn’t mean that the choice of goods is smaller as well! Here you will still find everything you may potentially want to buy! Pelican Cruise
Address: 57 Tháp Mười, 2, Quận 6, Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam
Open: Daily 6 am – 7 pm.

Dan Sinh Market (Yersin Market)
It is also known as War Surplus Market. The market sells genuine and authentic surplus of Vietnam War. The price for one item starts at $5. Here you can buy war memories from both, Vietnamese and American sides. As experts say, 99% of everything what is sold here are copies and reproductions. However, these items don’t lose their value and still remain important historic relics.
Address: 104 Ð Yersin, Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam
Open: Daily 7 am – 6 pm

Cai Be Floating Market
Outstanding Cai Be market is not only a destination for shopping, but also an important place for those who want to see and understand Vietnamese culture and everyday life. It is located not exactly in Ho Chi Minh City and you will need approximately 1.5 hours to get there. But it definitely worth your time! It is located in the Mekong Delta and people are exchanging goods, fruits, vegetables and many other commodities on their vessels. Many companies organize full-day tours from Ho Chi Minh City. This is a chance and experience you can’t miss in Vietnam!
Address: Vinh Long, Vietnam
Open: Daily 5 am – 11 pm

Russian Market
The market’s name speaks for itself, so obviously, it is focused on visitors from Russia. This is the largest stock of discounted winter gear in Ho Chi Minh City. But actually you can buy here not only winter outfit, it also sells ski clothing, sportswear, casualwear, shoes, accessories, souvenirs, etc. The market is new, it was re-established in 2012.
Address: 328 Vo Van Kiet, District 1, Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam
Open: Daily 6 am – 7 pm

Flower Market
After a long shopping day in Ho Chi Minh City, visit a Flower Market and make a surprise for your dear one – a bouquet of beautiful flowers, which are exotic, colourful and absolutely adorable here! You can always have a short walk through along the narrow flower-lined alleys, and for sure it will be a pleasure itself! The market is open since early morning and usually the flowers are the freshest in the beginning of the day.
Address: Ho Thi Ky, District 10, Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam
Open: Daily 5 am – 9 pm

Top 7 activities in flooding days

All travelers should be aware that annual monsoon season is from 1 September until mid-December at least! Great care by all visitors should be taken during extreme rains & when there are strong onshore North East winds during lunar calendar days close to 1st or 14th – this is when danger of flooding in Hoi An and surrounding areas are highest. In truth, there is no bad time to visit Hoi An. Even it is unusual , but you will get a special experience that not many tourist have.  There are some activities for those day. Danang – Hue – Hoian 4 days

1. Do a special trip around town.

When the old town is under water, it has a unique and special charm. If you are an adventurous guy, just take the life vest, pick a good and reliable boat and start your trip around the town enjoying one of the highlight of your trip. Remember do not take the old or ruin boat, and life vest is necessary item to you. If you want to walk with the water around, you can get some plastic boots from local market or local shops. They are better for your toes! Avoiding the low lands, An Hoi  and Cam Nam Ward are the places that you should not go which are seperated from other areas of Hoian. MEKONG EYES

2. Café and Bar

Unfortunately, most of the good bars located in the town, and most of them are under water when it is flooding. Most shops in the old town close for sercured reasons. In the day time, you can visit some nice coffee shops in the high lands. Café Shop in Hoian historic hotel
This shop is located on the left side of Hoian hotel, nice coffee, good environment and you won’t be bothered by vendors. Pelican Cruise

Top 7 activities in flooding days

Google Coffee shop: located at 10 Phan Chau Trinh street, this one mostly open because of its high location. Serve different types of local coffee, soft drink and good ginger tea (so good with this weather)
Nep Café 62- Phan Chau Trinh street: another nice coffee shop with amazing decoration!

3. Restaurant

We need to accept that most of nice restaurants in town are not available. So finding some nicer and more local one will be our solution.

Madame Phuong Bread  - 2B Phan Chau Trinh.

Famous for the recomendation of Anthony Bourdain with his show, this is one of the best banh my in Vietnam with terrific gravy that they put on the sandwiches. Luckily, it does open in the flooding days. You should go to this shop as early as possible because most of the locals go their for their food too.

If you are a vegan, or just want a quiet place for finishing your book, just go to Minh Hien Vegetarian restaurant, one of the best ones in Hoian. Located in a high area, no worry, this is our option for flooding day. Start out with one of the set menus (I prefer the first one, for one person). You get to sample delicious veg versions of Hoi An’s local specialities, including white rose dumplings, cao lau noodles, fried spring rolls, and wonton.

4. Go to Danang

The town is flooding, so let discover some places in Danang that not sinked into water. Marble Mountain, Cham Museum and Linh Ung pagoda with big statue of Laddy Bodhisattva or Goddess of Mercy will make your boring days gone! And there are more restaurants in Danang open in this kind of weather. If you have kids, they won’t get bored with many shopping and entertainment centers open in Da Nang.

5.  Join Foodtour

Event haft of Hoian is under water, there are plenty of local places that you don’t know (and don’t try without guidance of local buddies). Hence, by taking part in a custom foodtour, this is a great time to learn about the culture, local life and different things of locals. I’m sure, this one will brighten your day.

6. Get your tailor made clothes.

Most of the tailor shops are still open in flood season. Just hang around and pick some tailor shops you like and get your dress or shirt,… made. Some good ones are Yaly Couture, A Dong Silk with the highest price in town but best quality. The other recommendation ones are Mr. Xe, Bao Khanh Silk, Thu Thuy Silk, Kimmy,…

A tip when shopping: avoid tailor recommendations from unreliable sources. You will most likely encounter locals offering to tell you the best tailors.The prices you will be quoted by the tailor shop will be padded with this extra cost, which means you will probably pay about 40% or maybe 50% more if you take their recommendation than you would otherwise. So be wise!
 
7. Watch DVD or reading books.

If your heart is set on a lazy day ensconced in your room, check out some DVD shop or bookshops in Hoi An, buys some discs or books and enjoy your days indoors. Legends DVD shop on Phan Chu Trinh Street has the best selection of movies and box set series for a dollar a disc. For those who love reading, grab a book from Randy’s book exchange over on Cam Nam Island.

Vietnam unveiled as the fastest growing tourist destination

Vietnam unveiled as the fastest growing tourist destination When the Post Office recently revealed their list of the fastest growing currencies in the UK, I was not surprised to see which destination was at number one – Vietnam!

The index is a good indicator of hot tourist destinations for Brits this summer and like us at PureTravel it appears they too love Vietnam holidays! In fact sales of the Vietnamese currency, the dong soared by a massive 68% this summer (June-August). The findings come from the highly respected UK Post Office which has 11,500 local branches across the UK. Southern Vietnam with extension to Cambodia 10 days

In my opinion this should put Vietnam right at the top of the must-see destinations list for some wintersun and into spring 2013. The weather is distinctly autumnal right now in the UK so a long haul trip to Vietnam is ideal and even easier now that direct flights are operating between London Gatwick and Hanoi as we reported last year. And right now 1 GBP equals 33,760 VND which means that with just 29.61 GBP you can be a millionaire in Vietnam! Dragon Pearl Junk

The rise in popularity is also attributed to the fact that several luxury resorts have also opened up in various locations throughout Vietnam. There is also a new airport planned for the southern Vietnam province of Kien Giang; the Phu Quoc International Airport is on schedule to open late 2012 and will dramatically increase accessibility of the Mekong Delta region. The Vietnamese government has pledged to invest more money on key tourist infrastructures such as leisure and entertainment complexes, even if the addition of tuk-tuks on the city streets of Hanoi has been vetoed.

Vietnam unveiled as the fastest growing tourist destination

At a recent meeting, tourism ministers of Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar debated the feasibility of creating a ‘unified visa zone’ for the four countries, which would ease red tape for tourists visiting southeast Asia. If the system gets the go ahead its estimated that more than 25 million international travellers will visit the 4 countries, compared to 12 million foreign tourists last year (and 14% more than 2010). Of course once western travellers have made the journey it’s all the more attractive to combine several Southeast Asian countries at the same time. In fact many western tour operators already offer the multi-country trips so this move would be very appealing. AUTHENTIC MEKONG

I’ve been lucky enough to have explored Vietnam, spending time in the usual Vietnamese tourist haunts; Ho Chi Minh City, Hoi An, Danang, Hue, Hanoi and Halong Bay and I absolutely loved my visit! I hope more travellers discover Vietnam for themselves and for some inspiration check out some of the weird and wonderful hotels you could opt for.

Imagine my excitement as well when I caught the BBC Top Gear Special which featured the three famous presenters; Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James |May traversing Vietnam on motorbikes travelling 1,000 miles from Ho Chi Minh City to Halong City. They had just eight days to complete the journey with various challenges along the way but I won’t reveal who won – all I can say is that you definitely need to catch up with the episode either on a cable TV station or via the BBC site. Fantastic viewing and very funny!

And if you’re curious as to which destinations came in positions 2-10, we have published the list; Top 10 Fastest growing holiday destinations revealed.

Bat Trang Ceramic Village

Around Hanoi, there has many 'traditional trade village'. They are the villages where specialized products are made and these traditional works have been preserved by family generations. The products are handicrafts, traditional paintings, wooden furniture, bronze or silk products, etc. Bat Trang ceramic village is one of them. Bat Trang village lies on the bank of the Hong River, about 13 kilometers from Hanoi. To get there, you cross the Chuong Duong Bridge out of central Hanoi, turn right onto dilapidated, heavily pot-holed road and try to avoid being hit by the trucks, buses and motorcycles that jokey to overtake each other in both directions. Hanoi Ninh Binh Halong 5 days

Bat Trang is an ancient village, which is very famous for making ceramic products. Many of these ceramic products have been exported for years; as a result, they are a good income for the locals. There is a ceramic market in the village, where we can buy ceramic tile painting, flower vases, tea pots and cups, bowls, plates, spoons, even ceramic dogs. Not only the local houses where we can see how to mix material make and paint ceramic products but there are also classes where we can learn how to create a vase or anything from clay that we want and paint the ready-make products. In addition, it is great to walk around the village, visit some local houses which are the factories and Bat Trang Pagoda. Treasure Junk, Halong Travel

Bat Trang Ceramic Village

To make ceramic the potter must follow the stages: selection, land preparation and processing, create designs, create patterns, enameled and finally calcined product.  Experience traditional village life of Bat Trang is "Best bones, second skin, third "dac lo". The development of the profession is seen as the practice of the creative process working with the technical processes. DAY TRIP CRUISE

Entrance fee to visit pottery: Free
To model a statue: 10.000-20.000vnd/people
To bowl:                   20.000-30.000vnd/people

Top 10 delicious dishes in Hoi An

Hoi An is not only famous for unique architecture and culture, but amazing cuisine culture with a huge number of traditional foods. This article will introduce you 10 best foods and popular restaurants in Hoi An
1. Pho Hoi chicken rice
Rice used for this food is carefully selected with preference of sticky and soft type. Rice will be added ingredients, then boiled with chicken broth and pandan leaves by charcoal. The chicken must be the young, soft but not friable one. Chicken will be boiled, then ripped into small pieces and added onion, fried red onion, salt, black pepper and Vietnamese coriander. Travel centre Vietnam
The decoration of this food is very important. Ripped chicken pieces are put on top of rice dish. It is taken with onion, papaya pickle, Tra Que herbs, pepper sauce and soy sauce. Especially, Pho Hoi chicken rice is featured by a soup made by mixed internal organs of the chicken. With meticulous cooking method and special materials, people in Hoi An created a very unique chicken rice, enjoy foreigner visitor’s trust.
Addresses:
Bà Buội Chicken rice – 22 Phan Chu Trinh Street; Sân Đình Chicken rice – 16 Phan Chu Trinh Street; Bà Hương chicken rice – 18 Le Loi Street; Mermaid Restaurant – 2 Tran Phu Street; Cô Ly Restaurant – 22 Nguyen Hue Street; Canh Buom Trang Restaurant – 34 Tran Cao Van Street; Cô Thuận Restaurant – 17/4 Hai Ba Trung Street.
2.  Cao Lầu

The elders in Hoi An said that Cao Lầu appeared from 17th century, during the time Hoi An Port was opened, allowing a lot of foreign traders enter Hoi An. This is reason why Cao Lầu affected a lot by Chinese Cuisine and a little by Udon noodle of Japanese. However, Cao Lầu keeps one-of-a-kind outstanding features of Hoi An cuisine. Pearl of the Orient (SGN-PNP) 3 nights
Addresses:
Bà Bé Restaurant, Vạn Lộc Restaurant, Trung Bắc Restaurant – Tran Phu Street; Chị Liên Restaurant – Thai Phien Street.

Top 10 delicious dishes in Hoi An

3. Bánh bao – bánh vạc (White Rose cake)

Bánh bao (dumpling) and Bánh vạc are couple cakes with similar materials and processing. The main material is white, sticky rice. Banh vạc is filled in with grinded shrimp, mixed with black pepper, garlic, onion and citronella and some other secret ingredients. Bánh bao has pork, jelly ears and sliced onion and secret ingredients inside. The secret ingredients is one of the major reason for the specialty of these two cakes. Violet Cruise Halong bay
Addresses: White Rose restaurant – Nhi Trung Street
4. Bánh đập
This is the name of a pancake made form rice, including two layers: the roasted crispy layer and the wet sticky layer. When enjoying it, you have to use your hand to beat the crispy layer, making it stick with the wet layer. It is pretty simple food, but draws the interest of many people.
Another important part to make a perfect banh dap is the sauce. It is processed from mam cai (a kind of Hoi An fish sauce which is made from the best small fishes in Cua Dai sea). A reasonable mixture of fish sauce, sugar, chilly, onion and cooking oil will make a bowl of delicious sauce. Nothing can replace this sauce when enjoying banh dap.
Addresses: Bánh đập Bà Già (Old Lady Restaurant) – Hamlet 1, Cam Nam commune, Hoi An.
5. Corn sweetened porridge

This sweetened porridge is special because it is made from famous Cam Nam corns. The sweetness of this food comes from the natural and light taste of the corn. Unlike other sweetened porridges of the South, Hoi An corn sweetened porridge doesn’t have coconut milk as the sweet soup, so the only flavor is from the corn. The best time to enjoy Hoi An corn sweetened porridge is between March and September, as the harvest season of Cam Nam corn.
Addresses: Corn sweetened porridge stalls on the bank of Hoai River.
6. Bánh bèo

Bánh bèo (water fern cake) is mostly made by available local materials, such as pork, shrimp,… Although it is simple ingredient, it can be more specific as the art of making, yet to many Vietnamese it is actually the art of enjoying water fern cakes.
A different way to eat banh beo in Hoi An than other places is you have to use a special stick made by bamboo.
Addresses: banh beo is everywhere in Hoi An, but the best is small stalls outside of the ancient quarter such as Cam Chau, Cam Nam.
7. Mì Quảng (Quang noodle)

With Cao Lau, Quang noodle is one of the most two recognized foods in Hoi An.  The main ingredients of the dish are noodles, meat and vegetables. Vegetables are placed atop of a bed of rice noodles in a bowl, then topped with pork, shrimp and finally luke warm broth and meat are added.  Mì Quảng is also served with toasted Vietnamese sesame rice crackers, fried shallot and various herbs common in Vietnamese cuisine such as mint, “rau ram” or laksa leaves, perilla, lettuce … Shrimp and Pork are usually the proteins of choice because of their abundance.
Addresses: Mi Quang is everywhere in Hoi An
8. Hoành thánh (Wonton)

Wonton is a Chinese food but it exist in Hoi An for a very long time, therefore, it is adapted as a tradition dish of Hoi An. Wonton is made with rice flour and filled with ingredients such as shrimp, pork, egg, and spices. There are many kinds of wonton dishes, such as fried wonton, wonton soup or wonton and noodle soup.
Addresses: Van Loc restaurant – Tran Phu Street; some small stalls on Thai Phien street.
9. Banh Trang (steamed rice rolls)
Banh cuon is a very light crepe with ground pork, minced jelly ears and fried onion, eaten by ham, steamed beansprouts and cucumbers. Banh cuon in Hoi An is added with shrimp and eaten with mo hanh (sauce of grease and Welsh onion).
Addresses: cuisine street on the side of Hoai River
10. Banh xeo (Rice pancake)
Banh xeo is very famous dish in Vietnam, but just a few people know that the origin of it is from Hoi An. It is made out of rice flour, water, turmeric powder, stuffed with slivers of fatty pork, shrimp, and bean sprouts and then pan fried. Banh xeo is eaten with fish sauce (mix with water and pepper and lemon) and a lot of herbs. It is perfect food for rainy season.

Tác dụng của tinh bột nghệ như thế nào?

Tinh bột nghệ không chỉ có công dụng giúp liền sẹo mà còn chống viêm, chống oxy hóa mạnh, mang lại rất nhiều tác dụng hữu ích khác đối với sức khỏe con người như, phòng ngừa, hỗ trợ điều trị bệnh mạn tính, làm đẹp, mang lại vóc dáng thon gọn và làn da sáng khỏe.
Trong đó đáng chú ý là bốn công dụng nổi bật của tinh bột nghệ:
+ Giúp giảm cân, lưu thông và lọc máu;
+ Giúp cơ thể chống lại các vi khuẩn sống ký sinh trong ruột, đặc biệt tốt cho hệ tiêu hóa;
+ Giúp chống ung thư, kháng viêm, giảm nguy cơ nhiễm trùng;
+ Giúp khử trùng, mau lành vết thương.


Khi sử dụng cần lưu ý phải đúng cách để nghệ phát huy hết tác dụng.
- Đề phòng nguy cơ ung thư ruột: Uống tinh bột nghệ đen đúng cách và sử dụng thường xuyên tinh bột nghệ với mật ong sẽ giúp bạn có thể giảm được nguy cơ ung thư ruột. Hiện nay, các chuyên gia sức khỏe Hoa Kỳ đang tiến hành một cuộc thử nghiệm điều trị bệnh ung thư ruột bằng một loại thuốc được chế biến từ củ nghệ.

- Chữa bệnh viêm khớp: Tinh bột nghệ có tác dụng giảm đau khi bạn bị chứng viêm khớp quấy nhiễu. Cách làm rất đơn giản, đun nóng một cốc sữa, trước khi sôi, bắc xuống cho một thìa cà phê bột nghệ vào rồi khuấy đều. Mỗi ngày uống ba lần, bạn sẽ thấy hiệu quả bất ngờ.

- Khi gặp rắc rối với tiêu hóa: Nghiên cứu cho thấy, Tinh bột nghệ có thể kích thích tiêu hóa và giải phóng ra các emzim tiêu hóa, phá vỡ liên kết cacbonhydrat và các chất béo. Chính vì thế, trong trường hợp bị đau bụng, một cốc trà nghệ sẽ giúp ích cho bạn rất nhiều. Bạn có thể dùng bột sắn dây

Tác dụng của tinh bột nghệ như thế nào?

- Ngăn ngừa ung thư tuyến tiền liệt: Ăn nhiều rau xanh kết hợp với Tinh bột nghệ có thể ngăn ngừa được nguy cơ ung thư tuyến tiền liệt. Các nhà khoa học tại New Jersey đã chứng minh rằng, kết hợp ăn nghệ với bông cải xanh, cải xoắn, củ cải và bắp cải có thể bảo vệ bạn chống lại căn bệnh chết người này.

- Đề phòng bệnh tim: Bạn có thể giảm hàm lượng cholesterol độc hại trong máu và có khả năng chống lại chứng xơ vữa động mạch bằng tinh bột nghệ.

- Giảm nguy cơ với người hút thuốc: Bằng cách "nạp" vào cơ thể 1,5g Tinh bột nghệ mỗi ngày chỉ trong vòng một tháng, bạn sẽ thấy hiệu quả rõ rệt. Cơ thể bạn sẽ giảm đáng kể các tế bào đột biến gây ung thư.

- Bệnh ung bướu: Curcumin (thành phần hoạt chất chính trong tinh bột nghệ) có tiềm năng đáng kể như một tác nhân chống ung thư. Có rất nhiều bằng chứng trong các tài liệu cho thấy rằng tỷ lệ mắc và tỷ lệ tử vong của các loại phổ biến của bệnh ung thư như vú, tuyến tiền liệt, ruột kết và phổi thấp hơn đáng kể ở Ấn Độ hơn so với những người ở các quốc gia phương Tây như Hoa Kỳ. Tỷ lệ mắc ung thư thấp hơn ở Ấn Độ đã được quy cho mức tiêu thụ chất curcumin cao (trong các loại nghệ) của người dân Ấn Độ. Tất nhiên, các thành phần khác của chế độ ăn uống của họ như tỏi, gừng, hành tây, cà chua, các loại rau, ớt, trà xanh ... cũng có thể đóng một vai trò quan trọng trong khả năng của họ để chống lại sự tấn công của các bệnh ung thư.

Ngoài khả năng ngừa ung thư đáng chú ý của curcumin, nó cũng cho thấy khả năng ức chế sự phát triển của bệnh ung thư khắp cơ thể - di căn (tức là quá trình mà các tế bào ung thư lây lan sang các bộ phận khác của cơ thể thông qua bạch huyết hoặc máu). Curcumin cũng làm tăng cường độ nhạy cảm của tế bào ung thư với một số các loại thuốc chống ung thư hóa trị liệu giúp tạo hiệu quả hơn trong việc chống lại căn bệnh chết người này. Khả năng chống ung thư của Curcumin chống lại ung thư vú, ung thư phổi, khối u não, ung thư máu, gan, ruột, thực quản, ung thư ruột, u ác tính, ung thư phụ khoa ... đã được chứng minh dựa trên nhiều nghiên cứu khoa học cũng như các thử nghiệm lâm sàng và tiền lâm sàng được thực hiện bởi các nhà nghiên cứu ở Mỹ, Ấn Độ, Nhật Bản, Israel, Australia, Trung Quốc và Hà Lan.

- Bệnh viêm loét dạ dày, tá tràng: Tinh bột nghệ có hoạt tính chống loét dạ dày và chống rối loạn tiêu hóa. Cao chiết từ nghệ cho thỏ uống làm giảm tiết dịch vị, tăng lượng chất nhầy trong dịch vị, bảo vệ niêm mạch dạ dày tá tràng, chống thương tổn loét gây bởi thắt môn vị và bởi stress do cầm giữ, nhịn đói và do tác dụng phụ của một số thuốc. Nghệ kích thích sản sinh chất nhầy ở thành dạ dày. Curcumin ức chế sự tạo khí trong ruột.

- Tác dụng làm đẹp da, trị mụn: Tạo mặt nạ với tinh nghệ giúp chiến đấu chống lại mụn trứng cá và mang lại làn da tươi sáng trẻ trung. Mặt nạ truyền thống này thường được các cô dâu và chú rể sử dụng trước khi đám cưới. Tinh bột nghệ làm sáng da và giúp làm giảm các nhược điểm khó coi qua đêm.

Công dụng tinh bột nghệ không chỉ dừng ở đó, Tinh bột nghệ còn có thể xóa mờ vết nhăn quanh mắt và cải thiện da bị khô và dầu.

- Tinh bột nghệ cải thiện tình trạng bị nứt gót chân: Để cứu trợ gót chân bị nứt ngay lập tức, sử dụng một hỗn hợp gồm 3 muỗng tinh bột nghệ với 3 giọt dầu dừa. Sự kết hợp này cũng sẽ giúp ngăn ngừa nhiễm trùng nấm có thể hình thành giữa các ngón chân.

- Tinh nghệ cải thiện sắc tố da: Nếu bạn bị những vết sẹo do mụn trứng cá hoặc các loại tăng sắc tố làm ảnh hưởng đến làn da, hãy sử dụng hỗn hợp gồm tinh nghệ và nước chanh đối với vùng da bị ảnh hưởng trong 20 phút. Để có kết quả tốt nhất, thoa hỗn hợp một lần một ngày.

- Tinh nghệ vàng cải thiện sức khỏe da đầu: Gàu và các vấn đề về da đầu khác có thể dễ dàng điều trị bằng tinh bột nghệ và dầu ô liu. Sử dụng hỗn hợp này đối với da đầu của bạn trong khi tắm. Để trong 15 phút, sau đó rửa hỗn hợp với một loại dầu gội tự nhiên.