Nha Trang, a hub of activity since French colonial times, is still a magnet for those seeking a sandy beach, relaxing days, and exciting nights.
“Nha Trang is located in beautiful Nha Trang Bay, which was chosen by US magazine Travel and Leisure for two consecutive years as one of the 29 most beautiful in the world,” Minh Nguyen, a guide working for Ever Green Tour, said at the start of my Nha Trang City Tour last weekend.
“The city has a temperate climate with more than 300 sunny days in a year, and storms rarely hit the city thanks to the belt of 19 islands.”
Archive for May, 2010
Halong Bay offers an incredibly beautiful landscape naturally formed by thousands of islands and islets. Recently, Halong Bay’s management board have attempted to lure tourists through an experimental project that transforms caves into natural theatres.
Dau Go Cave doesn’t just attract tourists because of its hundreds of stalactites that are all from the ceiling like a waterfall, but it also draws many for fashion and musical shows.
In the words of the local Thai ethnic people, Pu Luong means the “highest peak”. Its loftiest zenith towering 1,700m above the valleys of Quan Hoa and Ba Thuoc districts, in the northern province of Thanh Hoa, about 250km south of Ha Noi.
Pu Luong Nature Reserve is close to several other favoured tourism attractions, including Cuc Phuong National Park in the neighbouring province of Ninh Binh and Mai Chau tourist area in Hoa Binh. The close location combined with lush wildlife make Pu Luong an ideal destination.
Thai and Muong ethnic people in the hamlets surrounding Pu Luong lead lives steeped in tradition and customs, and they remain largely uninfluenced by modern means.
Their cultural observances are celebrated in every season of every year and the natural setting inspires musical performances particular to the area.
When travellers come to visit Pu Luong, they don’t expect high standard accommodation, but certainly can expect the famous hospitality of Thai and Muong people and homestays in ethnic village.
From the moment you arrive in Pu Luong, you are treated as a guest of honour, and a jar of local rice wine will be on hand to celebrate. A few drams of rice wine are sure to enhance the collective spirit, and are an important observance for local people.
Kho Muong Village nestles in a scenic valley, and greets its visitors with views of stilt houses. Drawn on the valley with brisk strokes, springs gush from the earth, and rice paddies puddle at the foot of mountains, shrouded in cloud.
A brisk walk leads to Hang Doi, the Bat Cave. Just one of many caves that riddle Pu Luong, Bat Cave is a roost for several of the 24 species of bats that live in the area.
Several thousand individuals roost here, filling its nooks and crannies, the bats giving a deliciously mysterious and eerie character. Pu Luong is a universe of experiences and sights, with the cool waterfalls of Hin Village, the spectacular views from Son Ba Muoi Village, and the water wheels of Cong and Co Lung villages.
Visiting a Thai village, you should sample the local delicacies and drink, as these aspects run deep in local culture. Com lam (sticky rice, steamed in a bamboo tube) has long been a staple in the area, and makes for a satisfying meal.
Simply put the rice into a hollow bamboo or reed tube heat over a fire. Rotate the tube to cook evenly, and the rice will soon be ready to eat. Simply crack the tube open, and peel it like a banana. Proper, well-mannered and dextrous, Thai girls know how to prepare a delicious meal in a flash.
Every evening the Thai people will welcome you to join their party. The local wild tree symbolises a longing for spring. So when the tree begins to bud and fruit fills the garden, it’s time to celebrate the abundance of food once again. The flower folk dance is particular to the Thai of Pu Luong. They dance to thank heaven and earth for the seasonal
return of their prosperity.
Hanoi, 14 May 2010 - The Responsible Travel Club of Vietnam (RTC) will have an official launching ceremony. The event 
aims to provide the participants private sector and tourism authorities with an understanding of RTC mission, planned actions, partners as well as why and to engage with RTC.
While tourism has brought significant economic benefits, there are growing environmental, social and cultural impacts of tourism. To address this, RTC was founded on late 2009 by Footprint Vietnam Travel; Indochina Travelland; Active Travel; Blue Swimmer Adventures; Freewheelin’ tours and La Vie Vu Linh; I travel and Sisters Vietnam Tours with technical advice from SNV Netherlands Development Organisation. The Club aims to promote and facilitate responsible tourism in Vietnam through working closely with travel firms, NGOs, community and authorities. RTC’s ambition is to become a globally recognized practice in responsible tourism promotion and be regarded by its members and clients as the most innovative, influencing and value creating responsible travel club in Vietnam with due respect for the ecosystem, biodiversity and local cultural values.
Backpacking trips are increasing in Vietnam thanks to lots of beautiful landscapes and diverse, low-cost services
Vietnam boats a wide range of mysterious and adventurous places to discover with low-cost services. So, they are 
wonderful choices for backpacking trips, especially in the summer season.
On this occasion, Chao! introduces some ideal places for backpacking trips with friends and family.
A safe destination for real relaxation is the first priority when a family sets out on a backpacking trip.
Co To Islet is an example. Depart from Hanoi by Luong Yen-Hon Gai bus at 5.30 p.m. to Van Don mainland in Quang Ninh Province (Bus fare is VND50,000 a person). After an appetizing dinner and a good sleep there, you will travel to Co To Islet by boat at 6:30 a.m., taking three hours. You will be surprised by the beaches there with clean, clear water. Experiencing barbecue parties on the beach, fishing for cuttlefish at night, viewing the sea from the top of the lighthouse and sleeping in a tent on beach are something special.
An NGO the local authorities, two ethnic minorities and the travel companies have teamed up to create a new destination, Chieng Yen,. Nick Ross took a trip west of Hanoi to dicover a collection of tribal villages with great potential for sustainable tourism.
Can a rising awareness of the way tourism impacts the country make change for the better? By Brian Webb
Park Chung-bae and his Ko-rean friends say that they’ll always remember the puppet shows they witnessed by farmer 
artists and elderly artisans in Dao Thuc Village, in Hanoi’s Dong Anh District.
“We were very surprised to see that local farmer artists could preserve a quintessential art that has been handed down from their ancestors for 350 years,” Park said, adding that audiences could see the beauty of the puppets playing in the rural landscapes, such as in Dao Thuc.
Park told Vietnam News that he liked the narrator, Teu, the most, and that it was the most important character and the soul of the water puppets.
“Teu plays a role comparable to an emcee, with a Vietnamese twist. He is entrusted with the task of opening the festival, introducing the programme and reviewing current village events.
“His frequent appearances enable him to serve as an intermediary, creating sympathy between the audience and the puppets,” Park said.
All of the different items, such as Phung Hung Fights a Tiger, A Buffalo Hides in a Pipe, The Dragon Dance and Thach Sanh Kills the Python, are very interesting too, said Park.
“It is very enjoyable and relaxing,” he said, adding that he was amazed to see puppeteers cut off the head of a tiger and carry it on their shoulders when combining their skills with each other.
Park’s remarks were echoed by many other foreigners in the audience, Nguyen The Nghi, head of the troupe’s marketing unit, said.
Nghi said that his troupe planned to restore 22 old items for the guests, but due to financial shortages, the troupe often played only 17 of them. But they were still very interesting, he noted.
About five years ago, the Ford Foundation and the Swiss Fund supported Dao Thuc puppeteers to help restore their old plays and build a water stage in the village’s pond, said Nghi.
“We’ve been invited to perform both inside and outside of the country, such as in Japan, China and the Netherlands. We also always win big prizes at local and national puppetry contests,” he said.
Dinh Huu Tu, 50, a artisan with a passion for performance since he was a child, said that he doesn’t tire of training young artists in the village.
“Since the troupe’s fame has been expanded far and wide, our farmer artists and villagers’ living standards have improved, because after working in the field they can perform puppet shows for local and foreign guests,” Tu said.
The troupe still boasts several elderly puppet artisans, including Dinh Nhu Sinh, 67; Dinh Huu Nghiem, 74; and Nguyen Van Bon, 75.
“Foreign guests are particularly interested in the way the stories are told through the skilled performances,” said Tu.
The troupe has 35 members and is divided into two teams. The youngest member 12 years old.
In the past, females were kept out of the art, but now artisans have changed their minds and will train anyone, male or female, if they have a passion for the art, said Tu.
Moreover, coming to Dao Thuc, guests also have a chance to visit the village’s ancient Thanh Phuc Temple and Communal House, and a 300-year-old structure where four generations lived under the same roof. They can also see a workshop producing beautiful puppets for both performance and sale, as souvenirs for guests to bring home.
The guests will also be invited to enjoy very delicious glutinous rice planted in the fields by the villagers, Tu said.
The Hanoi Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism has chosen Dao Thuc Village to host a national puppetry festival to be held in October to celebrate the capital’s 1,000-year anniversary, said Nghi.
An official from the department also said, “We chose Dao Thuc because it is a rural area that knows how to preserve and develop the very special traditions of puppetry.”
All 15 puppet troupes across the nation will join in the festival. “It will be a good opportunity for puppeteers and artisans to exchange experiences and learn from each other,” Nghi said.
He said that his Dao Thuc puppet troupe and 14 others have been proposed by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to UNESCO for recognition of their water puppetry as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Puppetry pioneer
The troupe hails from Dao Thuc Village, Thuy Lam Commune in Dong Anh District, more than 30km from the centre of Hanoi.
The villagers believe that their ancestor, Dao Dang Khiem, brought the art form to them around 350 years ago when he returned home after working as a high-ranking mandarin during King Le Y Tong’s reign (1735-40).
Khiem, also known as Nguyen Dang Vinh, was born to a strictly Confucian family and showed artistic promise from an early age.
He was trained to become a virtuous man before being appointed to work at the Le court.
When the Le dynasty began to go into decline, Khiem returned to his homeland and helped the villagers to end their dependence on rice farming and supplement their income by growing cotton, raising silkworms and making textiles.
Once living standards began to improve, Khiem helped set up four major guilds: teachers, martial artists, rice-mill makers and puppeteers, to help develop the village’s cultural life.
When he died, the local villagers turned his death anniversary into a village festival, which is held every year on the 24th day of the second lunar month to commemorate his services.
Thus, his legacy lives on, although the puppeteers comprise the only one of his guilds that has survived until the present day.
“We perform every day from 2.00 to 3.30pm for guests from as far away as Italy, France, Germany, the US, Japan and South Korea. These guests are brought to the village by roughly 300 travel agencies and companies in the north,” said Nghi.
For several generations, these markets have kept afloat rural livelihoods, a way of life, and a distinct culture
Floating markets are great tourist draws.
Found only in Southeast Asia, the sight of boats as shops and food stops, the colors of the boats and the produce, ranging from flowers to fruits and vegetables to everything else found in on-land markets, never fail to impress.
However, if you were to tarry a while, the markets have interesting stories to tell, stories of those whose families have been clothed and fed for generations by them, of those who have met their life partners there, and those who cannot imagine their lives without it.
When the first rays of the sun spread their light, thousands of boats of different sizes have already converged along the Tien and Hau rivers in locations that have remained the same for centuries, whether it is Cai Be (Tien Giang Province), Tra On (Vinh Long Province), Phong Dien (Can Tho City) or Thoi Binh (Ca Mau Province).
Not only have the boats gathered, but the markets are already in full swing at dawn. The scene of sellers skillfully throwing and catching goods from one boat to another with the skill of jugglers is one that stands out, but there are many other chaotic scenes where the underlying method is not immediately apparent.
Unlike shops and stalls in ordinary markets, sellers cannot cry out their wares since it is impossible to be heard amidst the noise of running boat engines. So samples of goods are hung on bamboo poles that can be easily seen from afar.
Floating markets draw people from everywhere, and a boat’s initials, like registration plates, identify where it is from. A boat marked “TG” is one that comes from Tien Giang Province, for instance.
Among the big boats are small ones darting in and out selling cooked food and drinks to market-goers and visitors. These swimming canteens skillfully draw alongside boats ordering food and drinks, but there are also occasions when the big boats make a food stop by the side of smaller ones.
One would expect that a floating market is no place for a service industry, but these days, they also offer several “modern” services like installing ringtones and wallpaper for cell phones and cell phone repairs.
Repositories of culture
Floating markets are also living museums of the southern traditional culture that has been fostered by the Mekong Delta’s interlacing waterway systems.
With the advent of several new road networks and bridges over many rivers, as well as the setting up of supermarkets on the mainland, the indispensability of floating markets has been dented somewhat, but the waterways still offer the only route to several rural remote areas in the region.
But many locals still prefer floating markets which have been a part of their daily lives and livelihoods for generations
The floating market has helped Van raise her three children and send them to school
Lam, a merchant from Hau Giang Province who drives his boat to Can Tho City’s Cai Rang Floating Market, one of the biggest in the south, says: “My whole clan lives as vendors on floating markets. We own more than ten boats.”
They have an advantage in working together because they can easily exchange information about prices and demand and supply in market, Lam adds.
Di Ba, as she is called by everyone at the Cai Rang Floating Market, is probably the most famous name among food sellers here. For more than thirty years, the woman whose real name is Nguyen Thi Ngoc Van, has taken her small boat to the market, serving bun (noodle) to the locals.
Her family was very poor, Di Ba says. “Like other poor people, my husband and I have to go “down” the river for a living since we don’t have any job or land.”
However, this 60-year-old woman has not only raised her three children well, but also given them a complete education that has changed their lives.
Her children don’t want their mother to continue selling noodles at the floating market at her age, but Di Ba cannot quit. “I am so attached to the market that I feel uncomfortable if I am separated from it.”
