Phu Quoc Tours & Resorts Vietnam

Exploring the Islands of Ha Long Bay, Vietnam

2010-09-03T01:42:00.000-07:00

Legend says Ha Long Bay was formed by a Mother Dragon and her children, sent by the Jade Emperor to protect the Viet from foreign invaders. The dragons flocked from Heaven, spitting out pearls which formed small islands and stopped the invaders and destroyed their ships. Mother Dragon and her children didn’t return to Heaven after the battle, but settled into the bay; the Mother Dragon forming Ha Long Bay and the children forming Bai Tu Long.

Exploring the islands of Ha Long Bay almost makes this incredible story seem true. Weaving through the almost 2000 islands while sitting atop jade-green water is surreal to say the least; spiritual at most.

Halong bay, Vietnam

Islands
Ha Long Bay is dominated by Cat Ba Island. The local inhabitants are concentrated toward the southern end at Cat Ba village. These people generally make their living from the sea but tourism has seen a boom in the last ten years and hotels have sprung up to meet this demand. Nearly half of the island was designated a national park in 1986 and protects the island’s incredibly diverse ecosystem. Subtropical evergreen forests, freshwater swamps, and coastal mangrove forests, along with small freshwater lakes and offshore coral reefs, are all included under national park protection. With very few roads built on the island, visitors have an excellent opportunity to hike along trails weaving through these ecosystems to explore either the numerous waterfalls and grottoes carved in the limestone hills or the rocky coastline searching for elusive beaches.

Tuan Chau Island is a 2.2 square miles schist island located north of Cat Ba Island with a thick forest and warm white beaches. A road connects this island with the mainland, making it easy to stay here without taking a boat ride. Tuan Chau Island has been slowly turning into a tourist resort with villas by the sea and attractions including dolphin and seal performances, golf courses, and a market among others. As a contrast to these modern tourist attractions, Tuan Chau has a variety of archaeological sites dating back 3,000-5,000 years as well as a shrine to President Ho Chi Minh.

Ngoc Vung “Gem” Island lies south of the city of Cam Pha on the mainland and southeast of Ha Long City near Phuong Hoàng “Phoenix” Island. This island is rich in mother-of-pearl and has long been famed for its white sand used in making high quality glass. Rising from the center of the island is Van Xuan Mountain which recently revealed an ancient village letting archaeologists dig into Ha Long’s past civilizations.

On the southeast side of Ha Long Bay lies Cong Do Island, an island that displays numerous lagoons and a coral reef on its southwest side. This reef is more than 700 meters long and 300 meters wide and is nearly undamaged after preservation in the World Heritage program. Plans are underway to make a part of this reef a zone for scuba-diving. Vestiges of a city were found as well on the southwest side of the island. These confirmed the existence of Van Dong, an ancient commercial port important in foreign trade.

Ti Top Island, named after an astronaut from the former Soviet Union, welcomes travelers to its large, crescent-shaped beach and white sands. Various tourist services are available on this island including hotels, kayaking, and scuba-diving opportunities.

Dau Be Island, off the southeastern tip of Cat Ba Island, is home to the famous Ba Ham Lake. This lake is made of three pits joined by narrow caves at the water’s level. Travelers can journey from outside the island through all three lakes by these caves. Schools of fish and shrimp can be seen swimming through under the water while stalactites and other rock formations hang from the ceilings above.

Grottoes
Dau Go “Wooden Stakes Cave” lies just southeast of Tuan Chau Island, easy reach for a day trip from Tuan Chau. Dau Go is made of three connected caves; the largest is able to hold three to four thousand people and sports the most stalactites and stalagmites of the three. The middle chamber has a large crystal that refracts light into rainbows against the cave walls. The last chamber is famous for its multicolored stalactites and freshwater springs. This grotto is one of the most famous in Ha Long Bay and has long been visited by dignitaries from Vietnam and other countries. Inscribed next to the cave’s entrance are words of appreciation from King Khai Dinh, the last of the Nguyen dynasty.

Kim Quy “Golden Tortoise Grotto” is named after the story of a golden tortoise that helped Emperor Le Loi defeat his enemies. After Le Loi was done the golden tortoise left back across the sea, but encountered numerous evil spirits. The tortoise fought these spirits and won, but was tired from the battle. He found this grotto to rest in and turned to stone once inside. A large rock inside this grotto is said to be the golden tortoise. There is also a spring that flows from this grotto year-round under the delicate snow-white stalactites. This grotto can be found just off the north side of Cat Ba Island.

Toad Islet rightly gains its name because it looks like an 8 meter tall toad waiting for rain. It is located east of Cat Ba Island.

One of the more famous islets, But “Pen” Islet is a large pillar of rock balanced on a narrow neck barely extending out of the water. 30 minutes away from Con Coc Islet, there is a small beach available for visitors to rest.

These are just a few of the many sights available in a trip through Ha Long Bay. Scattered throughout the thousands of islets are natural wonders, hidden beaches, and fantastic shapes needing only and imagination to recognize them.

Source: BootsAll World Adventure

To have more information about Halong bay, Vietnam, enter www.indochinasails.com

Two months in Southeast Asia - Travel Vietnam, Laos, Thailand

2010-07-25T21:48:00.000-07:00

Since my second backpacking trip through Europe, I wanted to journey to Southeast Asia.

I chose to visit Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos, and developed a loose itinerary, starting in Bangkok, Thailand.

Halong Bay, Vietnam

Bangkok was everything I expected. The number of people everywhere was staggering, but before long I got used to the crowds, the heat and the food.
I visited many temples and shops, including the Grand Palace and the famed Khao San Road. The Grand Palace was amazing. Inside there were countless statues of Buddha. To my disappointment, Khao San was the typical tourist trap, with vendors selling T-shirts and bootlegged CDs.

After a few days I headed to Phuket, where I played beach bum for a few more days before flying to Saigon, Vietnam.

Scooting around Vietnam

Now, that was exactly what I pictured an Asian city to be - scooters everywhere! Crossing the street in Bangkok was like crossing a street in Des Moines compared to trying to cross the street in a Vietnamese city. The first time in Saigon was a big leap of faith. The trick is to just walk and keep your head turned to oncoming traffic.

I spent three weeks in Vietnam traveling from south to north. The highlights were eating the food in Hoi An, enjoying Hanoi’s famed Bia Hoi beer gardens and eating snake, and seeing the rock karsts of Halong Bay.

I had many choices of border crossings into Laos from Vietnam but I chose the crossing near Vinh in central Vietnam. This meant that I had an eight-hour bus ride from Hanoi to Vinh followed by a 14-hour bus ride to Phonsavan, Laos.

Phonsavan is famous for its “Plain of Jars” fields. These are fields of stone jars, each about 4 feet tall and 2 feet wide, scattered everywhere. Other jars are scattered in jungles surrounding Phonsavan.

Floating through Laos

After a day in Phonsavan I headed to Luang Prabang for a few days and then to Vang Vieng. My time in Vang Vieng was some of the best. There I went on a two-day trek that included hiking over mountains, spelunking through caves and kayaking the Nam Song River that runs through the town. The town has become a hotbed for young tourists who tube down the river. The river has a number of bars along its banks. Some have zip lines, bungee jumps and slides for the patrons to enjoy and all blare techno music.

Cambodia was the biggest surprise of the trip because I knew the least about it. The biggest draw to Cambodia is Siem Reap where Angkor Wat is located. Many people go only to see Angkor Wat but there are many more temples around Siem Reap and Cambodia. I felt like I was on another planet when I went to Angkor Wat to watch the sun rise over the temple.

I spent two months in Southeast Asia and there are still parts I didn’t see. I enjoyed every minute. Many people ask if I felt safe. I did.

Recommendation in Halong bay, Vietnam: Indochina Sails

Crystalline waters shine in Ha Long Bay, Vietnam

2010-06-06T20:47:00.000-07:00

Last April, I finally had a chance to get a glimpse of the country where my maternal grandfather fought in the Vietnam War. Based on the stories my grandfather told me while I was growing up, I arrived in Vietnam expecting to see evidence of the war. Instead I was surprised to see how modern the country is.

Halong bay view

But honestly, the thing that really impressed me was the food, and the bakeries in particular. Although we have bakeries in Korea, the coffee and bread in the bakeries of Vietnam overwhelmed me with their flavors, a mix of tastes and textures from France and Asia, surely a remnant of the country’s colonial past.

I was in Vietnam at the invitation the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry and Asia Europe Foundation to report on an Asia-Europe Meeting workshop that took place from April 28 to 29 in Ha Long Bay in Quang Ninh Province in the northeastern corner of Vietnam. At the workshop, ASEM workshop participants agreed to forge stronger ties through cultural diplomacy linking Asia and Europe.

On the last day of the workshop, the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry took us on a cruise of Ha Long Bay, which covers 1,553 square kilometers (600 square miles) and has 1,969 islands. After the 10-minute ride from the Halong Plaza Hotel where we were staying we arrived at the pier and boarded a waiting cruise ship.

The other passengers and I sat down at tables set out on the deck and were treated to a feast that was a mixture of Western and Asian cuisine. Around us, thousands of limestone islets rose out of crystalline emerald waters that glistened in the sun.

Pham Sanh Chau, director general of the department for cultural relations and UNESCO under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam, said Ha Long Bay is the first World Heritage Site in Vietnam. UNESCO recognized it as a World Heritage Site in 1994 and again in 2000 in recognition of its natural beauty and geological value.

“Ha Long Bay deserves to be named as one of the seven new wonders of nature because it’s like paradise. There is nothing like it anywhere in the world,” Chau said. “It’s not an area just for tourism. It also serves as buffer zone against climate change. It’s rich in marine biodiversity and many scientists say this should be a geological park.”

As we sat back with our plates full of food, fishing boats large and small passed us on their way to their next catch. People exclaimed in excitement when they saw a small tent set up on the waters of Ha Long Bay. The tent, we learned, had been built to accommodate fishermen in need of a break or a place to sleep.

Our trip around the bay was nothing if not idyllic, but our tour guide explained that tourists who visit the area usually take overnight cruises to Ha Long Bay. The cruise starts with lunch aboard the ship and continues with stops at various caves for kayaking and swimming. Guests then sleep on the boat that night.

Because of my tight schedule, I had to return to my hotel that night and wasn’t able to take advantage of what sounded like a lovely diversion, but before I did I took a tour of the boat’s lower deck, where the sleeping rooms are located. The rooms are cozy and designed to accommodate two people. Each one is fully furnished with a bed, sofa, shower booth and toilet, just like in a hotel.

Although my journey to Vietnam was short, I picked up a few tips for my next trip that I’d like to share. First, you don’t have to set an alarm because there is an endless stream of honking motorbikes whizzing by every morning in Hanoi and the noise is enough to force your eyes open. Most Vietnamese people start the day early and most offices open at 7:30 a.m.

Second, you need to be extremely brave when crossing the street. There are no street lights like the ones you find in other major cities. When you try to wade into the traffic that is rushing by, drivers of cars and motorcycles swerve around you without slowing down. On my first day in Hanoi, I stood on the street for 10 minutes waiting for the right time to cross when I finally found a group of Vietnamese women intent on jaywalking.

Third, although the traffic is insane, make sure you stroll around the city on foot. This is the best way to experience a typical day in the life of the Vietnamese people. Women balance poles laden with heavy baskets of vegetables and flowers on their shoulders, passing people who squat on the sidewalk or sit in plastic chairs, sipping tea and eating pho (beef noodle soup) at outdoor food stalls. This is where you can feel the energy of the people.

If you are planning a trip to Vietnam, I recommend you go to Hanoi first, take a tour of Hoan Kiem Lake and the Old Quarter and then take the overnight cruise of Ha Long Bay.

By Kim Mi-ju [mijukim@joongang.co.kr]

Recommendation in Halong bay, Vietnam: Indochina Sails

Indochina Sails donates Cua Van School in Halong bay , Vietnam

2010-04-22T03:09:00.000-07:00

On 12 March, 2010 the Staff and Management of Indochina Sails made a gift of twenty new desks and chairs, along with a large assortment of school supplies to the students of the Cua Van Floating Primary School. The school is located in the Cua Van Floating Fishing Village and has about 70 students aged from 6 to 14 years old. The village itself is home to about 600 people, who live there permanently, on about 130 floating houses.

Cua Van Primary School in Halong bay, Vietnam

The school is an important part of our daily itinerary. We visit the Fishing Village every afternoon and on days that school is in session our guests are allowed to visit. It is a fascinating experience, as you can see from the pictures. The schoolrooms and equipment are very basic, and the dedicated teachers do a fantastic job with limited recourses.

In the past, Indochina Sails has made cash donations for the betterment of the village in general. However, recently, one of our staff suggested; “What if we collect some money ourselves and try to fix up the school somehow to make it better for the kids?”

So, the idea was born. Donations were collected from every member of our staff, and added to that was a donation from the company’s Management Team. We then asked the teachers how best we could use the money to help the students.

Mr. Jerry Bowes, the General Manager of Indochina Sails makes donation in Cua Van Primary School in Halong bay, Vietnam

If any guest coming to Ha Long Bay would like to help the young students of the Primary School we suggest you bring donations such as pens, pencils, markers, crayons or chalk. Also, coloring books for the younger students and notebooks for the older ones. And what kid wouldn’t like some sweets!

Indochina Sails

Add: 27, A6, Dam Trau Quarter, Hanoi, Vietnam
Tel: 84-4-39842362
Fax:84-4-39844150
Email: info@indochinasails.com
Website: http://www.indochinasails.com

Ha Long Bay

2010-04-09T19:15:00.000-07:00

Halong bay view

Since December the 14th 1994 at the 18th session of the World Heritage Commission in Phuket- Thailand Ha Long Bay has been inscribed in the World Heritage List by UNESCO. The decision of recognizing Ha Long Bay as a World Heritage area confirms the exceptional and universal value of this landscape.

For Vietnamese people Ha Long Bay is not only a great landscape but it is also a sacred and longstanding symbol of the country. In the Vietnamese people's consciousness the stone islands in Ha Long Bay are not only limestone but biotic. When the Nation was in danger Mother- dragon and her children landed and stay forever to depend the country.

Vietnamese Vinh Ha Long (?Where the Dragon Descends to the Sea?), bay on the northwest coast of the Gulf of Tonkin, near the city of Hong Gai, Quang Ninh province, northern Vietnam. Situated 102 miles (164 km) southeast of Hanoi, the 580-square-mile (1,500-square-kilometre) area contains some 3,000 rocky and earthen islands, typically in the form of jagged limestone pillars jutting out from the sea, and several caves and grottoes.

The system of grottos in multiform islands in Ha Long Bay are really heavenly palaces in the world. But Ha Long is not only beautiful within range of the traveler?s vision but also within their profound mind with respect to the far- off past and changes of nature and cultural history.

Visiting Ha Long Bay travelers can see the remains left by primitive people at the last 20000 years. Three famous prehistory cultures continuously developed in this landscape from the late Paleolithic age to age to early metal age. They are the Soi Nhu culture Cai Beo culture and Ha Long culture.

The most impressive of the grottoes is the Hang Dau Go, a huge cave of three chambers, while the Thien Cung Caves are also very impressive. The name Ha Long means ‘where the dragon descended into the sea’, and refers to a legend about a dragon that created the bay and islands with its flailing tail. There’s even a modern legendary creature, the Tarasque, said to haunt the area.

Taking a tour of the bay is the main activity here; most book a tour at a cafe or hotel in Hanoi. If you want to arrange things independently, be ready for lots of hard sell from touts in Halong Bay City. To see a lot, choose a fast boat. If you want a romantic experience but with the risk of getting hardly anywhere, look for one of the old junks. You have to charter the whole boat, but there are usually enough travelers around to make up a party and keep costs down.

The main town in the region is Halong City, which is in two halves, bisected by a bay. Bai Chay (the western part) is the more scenic and has the most hotels, restaurants and persistent touts. Hon Gai (the eastern part) is connected to Haiphong by a ferry. Masochists might try seeing the bay on a day-trip from Hanoi. Another option is to travel to Cat Ba Island, where you can arrange a tour of the bay with less hassles.

The name Ha Long Bay is literally translated as “Bay of Descending Dragons.” Prior to the 19th century, this name was not recorded in any document or archive. When mentioning the present-day Quang Ninh Sea or Ha Long Bay, old historical books often referred to them as the seas of Giao Chau, Luc Chau, Luc Thuy, Van Don, Hai Dong or An Bang. Not until in the late 19th century did the name of Ha Long Bay appear on the Bac Bo (Tonkin) Gulf chart or in press articles in French and in Vietnamese.

A legend has been handed down in the local area relating to the name Ha Long Bay, which says: ?Long ago, in the first founding days, the Viet people were attacked by foreign aggressors. The Jade Emperor sent the Mother Dragon and a herd of Child Dragons to help the Viet fight the invaders. While the enemy vessels were lauching massive attacks against the mainland, the dragons descended in flocks from the sky. They spat out innumerable pearls which, in a moment, were changed into innumerable jade stone islands linked together into firm citadels that checked the enemy?s advance and smashed their vessels into pieces. The Viet won at last.

After the invaders were driven out, Mother Dragon and her Child Dragons did not return to Heaven but stayed on earth, right at the place where the battle occurred. The spot where the Mother Dragon landed was Ha Long, and where the Child Dragons came down was Bai Tu Long. The place where their tails violently wagged was called Long Vi, the present-day Tra Co Peninsula with its soft sandy beach stretching dozens of kilometers.?

Source: newsfinder.org

Supported by: Indochina Sails

Ha Long Bay, Vietnam: As close to Avatar as you can get

2010-03-31T02:16:00.001-07:00

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Ha Long Bay, Vietnam: As close to Avatar as you can get
By Indochinasails | Location: Vietnam | 03/24/10
I couldn't help but think we were in a fantasy world. I could almost picture the scene we were looking at illustrated on a paperback book with a dragon or Pegasus flying by. Heck, if the limestone outcroppings were floating in the air we'd be in the world of Avatar. I wonder if James Cameron was inspired by Ha Long bay. More http://matadortravel.com/travel-blog/vietnam/indochinasails/ha-long-bay-vietnam-as-close-to-avatar-as-you-can-get

có liên quan tới:

"Subscribe RSS Ha Long Bay, Vietnam: As close to Avatar as you can get By Indochinasails | Location: Vietnam | 03/24/10 I couldn't help but think we were in a fantasy world. I could almost picture the scene we were looking at illustrated on a paperback book with a dragon or Pegasus flying by. Heck, if the limestone outcroppings were floating in the air we'd be in the world of Avatar. I wonder if James Cameron was inspired by Ha Long bay"
- Ha Long Bay, Vietnam: As close to Avatar as you can get | Matador (xem trên Google Sidewiki)

Cruising Halong Bay, Vietnam on a Chinese Junk

2010-03-31T02:11:00.001-07:00

One of the must do’s if you are visiting Hanoi is a side trip to Halong Bay. I personally have done it twice – once on a bit of a budget and most recently in style on Indochina Sails. Indochina Sails presents a truly elegant cruising experience on its lovingly restored, lacquered wood, antique junk. More http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474978136652

có liên quan tới:

"One of the must do’s if you are visiting Hanoi is a side trip to Halong Bay. I personally have done it twice – once on a bit of a budget and most recently in style on Indochina Sails. Indochina Sails presents a truly elegant cruising experience on its lovingly restored, lacquered wood, antique junk"
- Cruising Halong Bay, Vietnam on a Chinese Junk | Gather (xem trên Google Sidewiki)

Kayaking tours in Halong Bay Vietnam

2010-03-31T02:09:00.001-07:00

Active Travel Asia offers longer kayaking expedition of Halong Bay in this tours include Summer Promotion. Travelers will paddle amongst islets, visit hidden caves, lagoons, unspoiled beaches, floating fishing village and talk with local fishman. More http://www.live-pr.com/en/kayaking-tours-in-halong-bay-vietnam-r1048436904.htm

có liên quan tới:

"Active Travel Asia offers longer kayaking expedition of Halong Bay in this tours include Summer Promotion. Travelers will paddle amongst islets, visit hidden caves, lagoons, unspoiled beaches, floating fishing village and talk with local fishman"
- Kayaking tours in Halong Bay Vietnam (xem trên Google Sidewiki)

Vietnam Travel News: Tourism is booming in Vietnam

2010-03-29T03:24:00.001-07:00

At a tourist booth at the international airport, arriving foreigners are offered enticing brochures, including a thick little booklet with a lovely pastel urban lake scene on the cover and the incongruous title: "Hanoi, City of Tourism."

Source http://news.activetravelvietnam.com/2010/03/vietnam-travel-news-tourism-is-booming.html

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"Tourism is booming in Vietnam"
- Vietnam Travel News: Tourism is booming in Vietnam (xem trên Google Sidewiki)

Advice for gay and lesbian travellers in Vietnam

2010-03-24T01:17:00.001-07:00

Vietnam is splashed with color, from verdant rice fields, hot pink lanterns and day-glo boutiques, to the increasing visibility of gays and lesbians adding their own special hues to Vietnam’s rainbow. More http://www.activetravelvietnam.com/traveltips/gay_lesbian_travellers.html

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"Vietnam is splashed with color, from verdant rice fields, hot pink lanterns and day-glo boutiques, to the increasing visibility of gays and lesbians adding their own special hues to Vietnam’s rainbow"
- Advice for Gay and Lesbian Travellers Travelling Vietnam, Vietnam Travel Tips (xem trên Google Sidewiki)

Travel Reviews about ActiveTravel Asia

2010-03-23T21:43:00.001-07:00

ActiveTravel Asia (ATA) offers a wide selection of Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar adventure tours, travel guide and experience from local travel experts including hiking and trekking, biking, motorcycling, overland touring and family travel packages. More at http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g293924-d1469397-Reviews-ActiveTravel_Asia-Hanoi.html

có liên quan tới:

"ActiveTravel Asia"
- ActiveTravel Asia - Hanoi - Reviews of ActiveTravel Asia - TripAdvisor (xem trên Google Sidewiki)

Halong bay cruises by Indochina Sails Vietnam attends TUR 2010 at Göteborg, Sweden

2010-03-23T21:36:00.003-07:00

Indochina Sails will participate in the International Tourism Exhibition " TUR 2010 at Göteborg ", the second-largest city in Sweden

có liên quan tới:

"Indochina Sails will participate in the International Tourism Exhibition " TUR 2010 at Göteborg ", the second-largest city in Sweden"
- Halong bay cruises by Indochina Sails Vietnam attends TUR 2010 at Göteborg, Sweden (xem trên Google Sidewiki)

Halong bay cruises by Indochina Sails Vietnam attends TUR 2010 at Göteborg, Sweden

2010-03-23T21:36:00.001-07:00

Indochina Sails will participate in the International Tourism Exhibition " TUR 2010 at Göteborg ", the second-largest city in Sweden

có liên quan tới:

"Indochina Sails will participate in the International Tourism Exhibition " TUR 2010 at Göteborg ", the second-largest city in Sweden"
- Halong bay cruises by Indochina Sails Vietnam attends TUR 2010 at Göteborg, Sweden (xem trên Google Sidewiki)

The Travel Bug by John Soltes: Vietnam

2010-01-04T21:49:00.000-08:00

Vietnam, with its verdant countryside and bustling cities, has a lot to offer adventurous travelers and those wanting to put a face on the Vietnam War.

Ho Chi Minh City, formerly Saigon, is a metropolis that moves like the rapids in a river. Motorbikes putt-putt-putter down the avenues. Artisans sell their wares from street-side stalls. Teenagers line up to get their nightly dose of pho noodles and dancing at the local discotheque. Devotees walk to their churches, their pagodas and their shrines to light candles and incense for someone who came before.

Vietnam - Photo by John Soltes

It’s a city that seems endless. But there is an end to the throngs of humanity — a semi-quieter place where a few lessons can be learned.

On the outskirts of Ho Chi Minh City is a network of underground tunnels that was used by the Viet Cong during the war, particularly during the Tet Offensive.

Four decades ago, the tunnels were a harried place of strategizing for guerilla fighters.

Today, Coca-Cola is available in the gift shop.

A visit to the Cu Chi tunnels is chiseled into most tourists’ itineraries. Located roughly a one-hour drive (depending on traffic) outside of Ho Chi Minh City’s center, the underground ravines should be visited as a means to engage with the history of the tumultuous war. It is sacred ground that cost many a soldier’s life — and it should be visited with a respect for the casualties of conflict.

As tour buses pull up to the complex, the first stop is a meeting hall where cool drinks are served as plentiful as the propaganda. Before entering the tour, visitors sit through a video presentation that pushes the Viet Cong’s righteousness and the strategic mastery of the tunnel system.

You’ll probably get more satisfaction out of the cool drink.

Next is the actual tour of the tunnels, which stretch for miles or kilometers, depending on who’s talking.

In this particular area — in between Saigon and the border of Cambodia — where the tour buses corral like vultures, there are several holes that have been maintained for passersby to take a look and even take a descent.

Most groups visit the tunnels with an official tour guide, which can be booked back in Saigon.

Along the tour, you’ll have the chance to see grisly contraptions of torture, the place where the Viet Cong and their families ate and slept and a few demonstrations of what life was like in the tunnels (from eating fresh tapioca to an artillery range where visitors can pay money to shoot firearms such as an AK-47).

A group of tourists in front of me were clamoring at the chance to shoot a gun. I kept walking, slightly disgusted, to where visitors can crawl through one section of the tunnel (widened, rumor says, to accommodate larger Western tourists). The experience of crawling through the tunnel starts off easy enough — it’s kind of like ducking under a blanket to play in the dark.

But when you realize how far the tunnel goes, that the walls and ceiling are made of unsteady dirt and that the light from which you entered quickly becomes a pinhole, fear does sidle up next to you.

When you emerge, sweaty and panting, you’ll be thankful for the light in the sky.

Anyone who visits a sight like this probably has a curiosity for war stories and what exactly happened in this country in Southeast Asia. Visiting the Cu Chi tunnels may not provide any answers, but it may set you in the right direction.

It’s a preserved testament to days of sorrow. And for that, it can boast an importance beyond the ubiquitous gift shop selling war propaganda.

Source: leadernewspapers.net

Recommendation in Vietnam:
- Travel Guide in Vietnam
- Adventure tours in Vietnam
- Short Excursions in Vietnam

Phu Quoc, Vietnam: the coast is clear - Vietnam Travel Guide

2010-01-04T21:17:00.000-08:00

Phu Quoc island in Vietnam offers chances to relax on the beach, explore fragrant countryside, marvel at wildlife – and enjoy sumptuous seafood. Just get there before mass tourism, says Sam Llewellyn.

The plane crawls high above the Mekong delta – flooded paddy, intestinal loops of river, roads crammed with Honda 50s and lined with shops selling rice and Marlboros. Then suddenly there is sea, muddy at first, then a cheerful turquoise. The propellers change pitch. The nose drops. A green mountain flicks past the wing, then a white beach. We bank steeply, lining up with a runway on which two people seem to be riding bicycles. And down slams the plane on the pockmarked concrete of Duong Dong airport, gateway to the Vietnamese island of Phu Quoc.

Phu Quoc beach, Vietnam - Photo by Getty

Outside the terminal a little group of drivers are whisking red dust off Japanese four-wheel-drive taxis. In Duong Dong high street, our driver carefully skirts a cow and calf, who regard us with soulful Jersey eyes. "Manchester United," says the driver, using the universal language of south-east Asia. He grins. His English gives out. So does the tarmac. Towing a lofty plume of red dust, we pass a memorial bearing a star and the likeness of Uncle Ho, and jounce into the interior.

Phu Quoc is the biggest island in Vietnam. It sits in the Gulf of Thailand, minding its own business. Until recently, this consisted of the manufacture of a world-beating nuoc mam fish sauce, the cultivation of black and white pepper, and the maintenance of a nature reserve occupying most of the northern part of the island. The fish sauce is so pungent that Vietnamese Airlines is reputed to have installed special sniffers to prevent passengers taking it in their luggage and endangering the purity of the baggage hold; the pepper is undeniably delicious, growing in palm-shaded vineyards in the sandy interior. During the Vietnam War, a camp on its east coast held 40,000 North Vietnamese prisoners, but little trace now remains. As Ho Chi Minh's tanks drove into Saigon and Americans scrambled into choppers on the Embassy roof, the population of Phu Quoc got on with its farming and fishing.

The island's northern extremity lies less than 10 miles from Cambodia, and in 1975 it was briefly invaded by the Khmer Rouge. Soon after the Khmer Rouge had been chased away, backpackers started to arrive. A few hoteliers followed. The four turboprop flights a week became four 64-seater turboprop flights a day. And there they seem to have stuck, for the moment. "We are roughly where Phuket was 25 years ago," said one of the co-proprietors of the Mango Bay Resort, leaning back in his armchair as the sun plunged into the sea.

Phu Quoc now has many hotels, mostly of the beach-bungalow type. Most are concentrated on Long Beach, a 12-mile strip of white sand running south from Duong Dong. Those closest to the town back onto a dusty dual carriageway studded with melancholy hawkers' stalls selling cans of green tea and the aptly-named Harpoon Gin. A safer distance down the beach is La Veranda, an elegant air-conditioned establishment with a swimming pool, cooled towels and sorbets delivered to sunloungers at noon. La Veranda is the poshest spot on the island and appeals to colonial nostalgics with deep pockets. A charming hotel at the opposite extreme is the Bo Resort, on Ong Lang beach well to the north of Duong Dong. Bo is a group of cottages dotted around a beautiful garden on a headland with splendid views over wild sea and empty shore, and knock-down prices.

Somewhere between la Veranda and Bo in both style and location lies Mango Bay. This is an eco-friendly straggle of elegant cottages with verandas, sprawled along three quarters of a mile of wooded coast. More than half the Mango Bay's guests do not leave the resort, and as you lie in the warm, glass-clear water watching a squid boat on the horizon, it is easy to see their point. The restaurant is simple and excellent, the cocktails cheap and powerful, the massages deeply relaxing. One of the three owners has started a butterfly breeding programme and a propagation scheme for endangered orchids that grow wild in Phu Quoc's jungly interior. The cottages are not air-conditioned, but they are made cool and airy by the sea breeze. We lay in the gauzy cloud of our mosquito-netted four-poster, breeze wafting in at the linen-curtained windows of the hardwood bungalow, watching a fat lizard patrolling the bamboo ceiling for stray mosquitoes. The only sounds were the brush of waves on the beach, the distant thud of a fishing boat engine and the hoot of an animal in the far wooded distance. It might have been one of Phu Quoc's resident gibbons. Whatever it was, it was calling us forth to look at the world beyond Mango Bay.

There are rumours (unsubstantiated by recent sightings) that Phu Quoc is one of the few places in the world where dugongs still live. I asked the French hotel manager. "Dugong? Non," he said. "They keep very much to the deep forests of the nature reserve." Suppressing a well-founded suspicion that the dugong is a marine mammal, I asked how we could visit the nature reserve. "You cannot," said the Frenchman, with powerful Gallic finality. "It is for nature, not people."

This was a good point, and unanswerable. So we rented a Honda 50 from one of the Mango Bay's gardeners and set off into a land without tourists.

Red dust rose behind us. Peppercorns wafted spice from the roadside, where they lay drying on blue tarpaulins watched over by Buddhist shrines. The road narrowed to a five-foot path. It wound behind the beach, threaded fishing villages studded with reeking piles of anchovies, crossed causeways through mangrove swamps, passed mile after mile of empty beaches. Farmers had limed their mango orchards with shell-sand. Fish pens the size of kitchen gardens lined the sides of creeks. A watchtower stood in the forest, flying the red flag of the People's Republic, the guard keeping an eye on things from a hammock strategically slung in the gun emplacement. We paused to let two wild bulls fight it out in the middle of the road. A feathery-trousered eagle sailed out of the clouds on the mountains and sat gigantic in a tree, regarding us with a fierce yellow eye.

In the early afternoon we arrived at Cape Ganh Dhau, the island's northwesternmost corner. Howling and clanging emanated from a rickety building overhanging the beach. This turned out to be the proprietor of the local restaurant, a noted poet and electric guitarist. He laid down his guitar to show us to a table on the shaky terrace. Five miles across the sea, the first islands of Cambodia loomed out of their thundercloud. This is smuggling country. Some of the islands in these seas are no-go areas, full of drugs and guns, gangsters and brothels. Another is one of at least six islands on which Captain Kidd is said to have buried his treasure. Lunch arrived.

This consisted of a saucepan of boiling broth on its own gas stove, and slabs of raw fish to cook in it. After a mighty repast of squid and sea snails I waddled onto the beach. Small boys were walking past, eating white berries off sprigs of greenery. A polite child gave me a handful to try; they tasted a little like myrtle. At this point the restaurateur picked up his radio mike and launched into a poem for the benefit of our five fellow lunchers. They clapped politely when he had finished. "What was that?" I said to the slightly bilingual waitress.

"Hymn to Sea Insect," said the girl, watching apprehensively as her boss headed for his guitar.

We drove back to Mango Bay and soaked off the road dust in the warm sea, watching a remora trying to attach itself to a bather until it was time for cocktails at sunset. It had been a day fraught with interest.

Naturally, there are plans to make Phu Quoc even more interesting by bringing in mass tourism. A government minister appeared recently and inaugurated the building of a new international airport capable of accommodating full-sized airliners. Completion is promised for 2012. "Which means 2015," said an Australian in the bar. "If at all." Before the world financial system caught flu, tourism entrepreneurs had parcelled up the island into lots and erected billboards showing vast developments with canals, marinas and thousands of villas. These schemes are now in abeyance, but they may return. Phu Quoc is one of the world's great islands. Go now, while the going is good.

Best time to visit

Between October and April. May and June can be ferociously hot. In July, August and September there is a slim chance of good weather (and a high chance of cut rates in hotels) – but torrential rains turn the roads to red slime and the sea to soup.

How to get there

Vietnam Airlines flies from Ho Chi Minh City and Rach Gia; then get the fare from Ho Chi Minh to Phu Quoc. It is wise to get return tickets, as the small number of daily flights makes it possible to get stuck on the island.

Singapore Airlines offers London to Ho Chi Minh return inc tax from March 3 to April 3. Less frequent ferries are also available from Rach Gia (six hours, daily) and Ha Tien (four hours, every other day). Both these mainland ports can be problematic of access.

Recommendation in Phu Quoc, Vietnam
- Hotels and Resorts in Phu Quoc
- Beaches in Vietnam

Source: by Sam Llewellyn/Telegraph.co.uk

Ha Long Bay: one of the world’s natural wonders

2009-11-05T21:06:00.000-08:00

The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism said on October 8 that Ha Long Bay has been ranked as one of the 150 most beautiful natural wonders in the world by a French leading e-magazine.

Indochina Sails on Halong bay

An article portraying Ha Long Bay – a world natural heritage, was published in September in the Voyager (tourism) column of L’Internaute magazine.

The article noted that apart from its thousands of charming islands and beautiful caves, Ha Long Bay is also home to a wide biodiversity that includes eco-systems like mangrove forests, coral reefs and tropical forests.

The Bay, twice recognized by UNESCO for its landscape and geological value, has advanced to the final stage of a campaign to vote for the world’s seven new natural wonders by the NewOpenWorld.

It currently ranks 4th out of the 28 successful landscapes in terms of votes.

Vietnam is making an effort to promote and preserve the Bay to encourage the community, especially friends across the world to vote for it.

Reported by: VOVnews

Recommended for vessels on Halong bay, Vietnam:

Indochina Sails: info@indochinasails.com

Website:http://www.indochinasails.com

The little dragon- Halong bay, Vietnam

2009-11-05T21:05:00.001-08:00

Often called the baby of Ha Long Bay, beautiful and diverse Bai Tu Long Bay holds its own.

Indochina Sails on Halong bay

The Vietnamese nation was invaded so often in ancient times that God was moved to send a dragon and its child to fight the enemies.

After the fighting was over, the dragon refused to return to heaven. The mother became Ha Long Bay (Descending Dragon) and her children, Bai Tu Long Bay (Dragon children cheering their mother). The children are beautiful, like the mother, but not as well known.

Located around 200 kilometers to the northeast of Hanoi, Bai Tu Long Bay includes the seas off Cam Pha Town, Ha Long Town and Van Don District.

The bay hosts hundreds of large and small islands of various characteristics. One island looks as if it were made by piling up stone bowls. Locals call it Dong Chen (Bowl Pile). Yet another, called Dua (chopstick), is like a giant chopstick lying on the water surface.

Quan Lan Island does not have a particularly striking shape like its neighbors, but it has sandy and rather wild beaches, like Ngoc Vung and Minh Chau, alongside a 300-year-old primeval forest.

The sixth lunar month is festival season on the island. No locals are allowed to leave, but visitors are welcome to join the festivities.

Other islands carry different flavors. Ban Sen Island, for instance, brings to tourists cups of tea produced from trees whose seeds were first sowed hundreds of years ago. Meanwhile, Minh Chau Island presents the pristine lifestyle of a fishing village.

Like its mother, Ha Long Bay has several caves such as Dong Trong Cave and Hang Quan Cave. The latter served as a Vietnamese army base during the Vietnam War.

Other attractions at the bay include temples dedicated to famous generals during the feudal period and seafood specialties like snout otter clams (Lutraria Rhynchaena), locally known as tu hai.

National ‘water park’

Covering nearly 16,000 hectares of land on 30 islands, Bai Tu Long National Park boasts considerable biodiversity with mangrove forests and coral reefs that are home to rare flora and fauna.

The park also has considerable archeological significance with scientists finding traces of people who lived there 14,000 years ago.

Located at the end of a mangrove forest, Doi (Bat) Cave is the home of thousands of bats and other animals like foxes and otters, while the Cai De Cave, about one kilometter away, goes through a range of mountains for about 500 meters at a maximum width of 60 meters.

Although the cave is decorated with stalactites and a plentiful source of marine life, visitors can only enter when the tide is low.

Cai De was proposed to be introduced to visitors in 2007, but nothing has been done so far to make this happen.

Reported by Thy An-TNnews

Related to Halong bay:

Halong bay cruise

Halong bay kayaking

Tags: Halong Bay cruises | Halong Bay tours | Cruise Halong Bay | Halong Bay Vietnam | Halong Bay Travel | Halong Bay Junks |

Mid-Autumn Children's Festival, Vietnam

2009-11-05T21:05:00.000-08:00

Mid-Autumn Children's Festival or Tet Trung Thu is a wonderful time to visit Vietnam. The festivities last for several days and there is singing and shouting. Children wear masks, parade happily in the streets and bang their drums. Parents buy lanterns and toys for their children and prepare their favorite dishes. Special cakes are made and exchanged, and fruits are plentiful.

Full Moon Festival in luxury cruise on Halong bay

The festival is celebrated on the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month, the day of the first full moon closest to the autumn equinox when the moon is at its fullest. The autumn equinox always falls on September 23. This year, the Children's Festival will occur on October 8. At the spring and autumn equinoxes the duration of day and night is equal and the sun appears directly overhead at noon at the equator. After September 23 the days become shorter and the nights grow longer.

During the Children's Mid-Autumn Festival, although the moon is then at its greatest distance from the earth, it appears larger than at any time of the year and takes on a reddish glow. In the West, this large, full autumn moon is called a harvest moon. In its partial phases, the moon represents the incompleteness of life and potential for completeness, fullness and prosperity. The Mid-Autumn celebration is then a celebration and a prayer for the fullness and completeness of life.

In many ancient agricultural cultures, when the nights got longer and the light and heat from the sun decreased, there were prayers and ceremonies urging the sun not to forget to rise again the next year. The theme of light after darkness is a key to understanding fall festivals. In ancient times in northern Europe farmers held a great festival with bonfires and they rolled firewheels down hills to recall the descent of the sun and then to invoke its ascent and return. The lanterns which Vietnamese children play with on this festival day recall the wish for the return of the sun's warmth and light. There are several different shapes of lanterns including the five-star lantern representing the sun and the frog-shape representing the moon. There are lanterns which spin around when a candle is placed inside, symbolizing the seasonal spinning of the earth around the sun.

During the festival, children wear paper-mache masks of Ra Hu who looks somewhat like a tiger. According to the myth, during the creation of the world the gods stirred up the sea to activate the ambrosia of immortality. The demon Ra Hu, lord of the nine planets and ruler of the gods of the nine planets, stole it and the sun god punished him by cutting off his head. The myth also says that Ra Hu ate pieces of the full moon and that is why it has phases and eclipses. Children wear the masks and growl like tigers to frighten Ra Hu so he will not gobble up the entire moon. Nowadays there are also many kinds of plastic masks, including Mickey Mouse and Superman, to frighten off the monster.

The masks, lanterns, toys, decorations and drums are sold on Hang Ma Street in the commercial quarter of Hanoi. Days before the fifteenth of the month the street is crowded with children and their parents. In the evening, pagodas and temples, especially those temples dedicated to goddesses, are open for worshippers to light incense and make offerings of flowers and fruit and to pray.

Several types of special cakes called banh trung thu are eaten at the festival time and are sold all over town. Some cakes take on the shape of a carp. In Vietnamese tradition the carp represents the soul of the moon. Other cakes are round and white and still others are square and golden brown. The brown ones represent the yang elements, or the sun, and the white ones are the moon. Most of the children don't know the symbolism but just enjoy the taste. We see a yin and yang aspect to many of Vietnam's seasonal festivals. In the balance of the female and male elements of the universe, the fall festival represents the ascendancy of the female powers over the male, the prominence of the moon over the sun's influence.

Banh trung thu are not raised like Western cakes. They are filled with lotus seeds, orange peel, ground beans, and sometimes egg and pork fat for flavor. It is traditional that one offers a box of these special cakes to someone that you want to please or owe a favor, like your landlord or the local police. In addition to cakes, fruits are plentiful during this time, especially watermelon and grapefruit. Grapefruit sections can be transformed into animal shapes like the rabbit of the moon, who according to legend pounds the ambrosia of immortality at the foot of a cassia tree. In addition to the rabbit, there are other mythical inhabitants of the moon. One is the three-legged toad, an incarnation of the moon maiden who stole the elixir of immortality from her husband. And the old man who, as a punishment for displeasing a revengeful god, is forever cutting down cinnamon trees which regrow as soon as his ax chops them.

The dragon dance is an important aspect of many festivals including the Mid-Autumn Children's Festival. The dragon dance expresses the duality of Vietnamese festivals. The dragon dance is a re-enactment of the earth and sky duality, the yin and yang of the world. The Lord Earth, called Ong Dia in Vietnamese, is the dancer who dances around the dragon, urging it on. Ong Dia has a very round, happy smiling moon-face. He represents the wealth or fullness of the earth.

The meaning of the Mid-Autumn Festival has been transformed over time. Originally it was not specifically for children. The Vietnamese people believe that only when one is innocent and pure can they get close to the natural and sacred world. So by becoming like children, they can acquire attributes of the gods. Because of its interesting legends and customs, and because the weather is mild, the Mid-Autumn Festival is a special time to see Vietnam.

Please enjoy Mid-Autumn Festival with Indochina Sails !!!

Indochina Sails: Email: info@indochinasails.com, http://www.indochinasails.com

How to Enjoy a Trip to Halong Bay, Vietnam

2009-11-05T21:04:00.001-08:00

Vietnam is a country of stunning natural beauty and a turbulent history. In the northern part of Vietnam, near Hanoi and the country's border with China, lies Halong Bay, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The towering natural cliffs and islands that rise above the bay offer a picturesque view and the smooth water is an ideal surface for boats of all sizes.

Indochina Sails on Halong bay

Step 1 Tour the bay. One of the most popular activities in Halong Bay is a boat trip across the bay. Peruse the range of tours and tour operators available until you find one that suits your needs and budget. For excellent views and a romantic atmosphere, take a sunset cruise. When out on a boat, take a jacket; the weather in this part of Vietnam can change rapidly.

Step 2 Rent a boat. If boat tours with large groups of people are not suitable, consider renting a kayak or smaller boats. You might choose to tour Halong Bay in a group of kayakers, or set out on your own. Be sure to ask about safety standards and ideal itineraries. Remember to bring sunscreen and plenty of water, as Vietnam’s sun can be harsh during the warmest part of the day.

Step 3 Bring your camera. Halong Bay offers countless photo opportunities. It has arguably the most stunning natural scenery in all of Vietnam, and is ideal for photos at all times of the day. For dramatic photos, head out to Halong Bay at sunrise or sunset to capture the reflection of the colored sky on the water, with the cliffs in the background. Be sure to bring extra sets of batteries and ask your hotel staff about the best vantage points.

Step 4 Learn basic Vietnamese phrases. Many vendors and hotel owners near Halong Bay will know a significant amount of English, but it is a good idea to memorize handy phrases in Vietnamese. Locals will appreciate that you took the time and effort to appreciate their culture, and you will likely receive kinder treatment. Bring a Vietnamese phrasebook on your trip to Halong Bay, and refer to it as needed.

Step 5 Be prepared for culture shock. Vietnam has seen an increase in tourism in recent years, but visitors should still be prepared for a vastly different culture. Because Halong Bay is a popular destination for foreign and national tourists alike, there is a significant infrastructure. If you arrive prepared to be patient in situations that will inevitably be frustrating, your trip will be infinitely more enjoyable.

Step 6 Travel safely. Vietnam is generally a safe and friendly country, but dangers exist in high-traffic tourist areas like Halong Bay. When in public, be careful to keep your bag across your chest and in front of you to avoid petty theft; keep wallets in a front pocket to avoid pickpockets. When choosing meals, be careful to choose food that has not been left to

Source: ehow

Recommend vessels for Halong bay cruises:

Indochina Sails: Email: info@indochinasails.com, http://www.indochinasails.com

Cruising in Ha Long Bay

2009-11-05T21:04:00.000-08:00

Ha Long Bay in the northern province of Quang Ninh has thousands of islands and many beautiful areas.

Cruise on Ha Long bay by Indochina Sails

For nearly a decade, the nominee for a Natural Wonder of the World title has attracted more tourists since the bridge linking Bai Chay (Chay Beach) and Hon Gai (Gai Islet) was built.

In the bay area, there are many caves, beaches, restaurants, hotels and entertainment sites. Among its well-known scenic spots and tourist sites are Thien Cung, Dau Go and Trinh Nu caves, and Ti Top, Tuan Chau and Ba Trai Dao beaches.

At hotels on Bai Chay, visitors can ask at reception desks to hire tourist ships to visit the bay. You can choose which ship from photos and decide beforehand how long the tour should be and which places to visit or if you will have lunch on board.

The ships usually have sofas on the top deck for tourists to sit and watch the seascape. The deck below has tables and chairs made from precious woods worth billions of dong. Some cruises from big travel agencies also have karaoke rooms and bars.

According to Ha, who is a helmsman, tourist ships have to compete with one another because hundreds of them operate in the bay. A ship is considered successful if it is recommended by its customers. For this reason, tourist ships strictly observe the itinerary and respect customers.
Tourist ships usually take people to see Bai Chay Suspension Bridge first and then take them to visit Thien Cung Cave, one of the biggest and most beautiful caves in the bay. If there is time, they will stop at other caves and Ti Top Beach, a beautiful coral beach.

The ships also go past Ga Choi Islet, two rocks which look like roosters fighting each other.
The crew normally brings along fresh seafood for customers’ lunch. During the boat tour, you can see small boats selling fish, crabs and shrimp that you can buy and grill them to eat on board.

Reported by Phan Huy Tram/ TNnews

Recommended for vessels in Ha Long bay : Indochina Sails & Huong Hai Junk

Halong bay - Offshore paradise

2009-11-05T21:03:00.000-08:00

Spending a couple of days floating on the waters of Halong Bay is always an unforgettable experience for Duc Hanh

I arrive in Halong at noon. The sun is high in the sky and burning bright. On the pier countless wooden junks, sailboats, speedboats and tiny bamboo boats bob in the water expectantly as tourists arrive from Hanoi in vans, cars and buses. Personally after a four-hour-stint on the road, I’m dying to get out the water and feel the sea breeze running through my air. I presume as normal with Halong tours we’ll be left “sitting on the dock of the bay” for the best part of an hour, but almost instantly a speed-boat arrives with a flourish and as soon as we pile on board we’re zooming towards our large and handsome junk, the Indochina Sails, which the captain proudly announces is 44m?long and 8.5m?wide – and indeed it seems a fine, seaworthy vessel to me!

In my time I’ve been on board a few of the bay’s shabbier junks. It is one point worth making: when it comes to visiting Halong Bay don’t go for the budget trips! Thankfully there are more than a few classy junks to choose from these days that are also reasonably priced.

On board the Indochina Sails, there’s a restaurant, a bar, a massage room, a gift shop and even a library. Guests can also avail of binoculars, snorkelling equipment or top-of-the-line Canadian made kayaks. As we set off into the bay, I make use of the binoculars and survey the glorious setting all around us.

A trip to Halong is first and foremost about relaxing so within minutes every single passenger arrives on deck to sip drinks in the sunshine while basking at the brilliance of bay. Sun-shy, I stretch out on a lie-low on the more shaded lower deck and listen to the the sound of the boat chopping through the waves. As time slowly passes, I happily doze off in the salty air.

Eventually a call for lunch stirs me from my light slumber. A Vietnamese five-course lunch is devoured by the hungry guests even though we’ve hardly worked up an appetite. Afterwards, we drop anchor by Ti Top Island. The tiny island takes its name from the cosmonaut Ghermann Titop of the former Soviet Union, who came here on a trip with President Ho Chi Minh in 1962.

To mark the significance of their visit, Uncle Ho named it Ti Top Island. Thirty-five years later, in 1997, Ti Top returned. Deeply moved, he wrote in the souvenir book of the Management Board of Halong Bay: “My deepest thanks to destiny, which has allowed me to come back to this tiny island.”

It’s a small island, but certainly one to be proud of. It is quiet and airy atmosphere as well as its clean white sand and clear waters. The beach is ideal for swimming nearly all year round. The island’s main attraction is possibly the pagoda-styled lookout point at its peak.

After climbing the 427 stone steps that wind up to the summit, one is treated to a most incredible 360-degree view of Halong Bay. Heading back to my cabin to shower and change for dinner, I discover a card inviting me to a wine tasting. So when we’re ready, we head back to the deck to sample the offerings of Chilean, South African and American grapes.

We sip and savour the taste on our palettes as the sun slowly drops behind the surrounding islands and the twilight dwindles – just another perfect Halong moment. Slightly tipsy after a sampling the wine, I’m happy to head for the restaurant and fill my stomach.

Sweet melodies of a traditional Vietnamese dan bau (a monochord instrument) fill the air as we feast on an international buffet with Vietnamese sweet-and-sour salad, crab and corn soup, fried rice, BBQ crab, shrimp, oysters and cuttlefish as well as seasonal fruit and green-bean and lotus seed cake for dessert.

With a canopy of glittering stars above us, a refreshing coolness in the air and flashes of fluorescent lamps from the cuttlefish boats in the distance, at night the bay is truly magical. It is pure bliss just to sit around with the other travellers, your friends or partner.

Some may be tempted to try an adventurous night activity and join fishermen casting out nets for cuttlefish before heading for bed but I’m perfectly happy to sit and quietly contemplate life with a nightcap. After a deep and dreamless slumber, the voices of vendors who have rowed up to our junk to sell snacks, seafood, souvenirs and cigarettes wakes me up.

Once roused, I head up to the deck where I’m informed we are heading to Ngoc Vung Island before kayaking around Cong Do fishing-village. Aye, aye Captain. We disembark the Indochina Sails and clamber onto a smaller wooden boat to dock on the shores of Ngoc Vung island where we are presented with mountain bikes for a cycling trip across this ruggedly beautiful island, which sits amongst the awe inspiring Halong archipelago.

Ngoc Vung (Mother Pearl) island is 50km from Halong City’s Wharf. Once – or so it is said – all around the island you could plunge below and find a plethora of pearls, hence the name Mother Pearl island. You can also find the most incredible deserted beaches!

From the wharf, we cycle along a coastal road that skirts the island’s hilly terrain while near the shore fishermen caulk their bamboo boats with tar. The road from the wharf to beach is rather short, just 5km. When we arrive the white sandy beach sparkles and glistens under the sunshine.

There is not a soul bathing on the beach – truly for tourists looking for a remote hidden getaway spot this fits the bill. The island is 12sqm in area with over 1,000 inhabitants living mainly off fishing, farming, aquaculture and afforesting.

But there are no bars or restaurants, no showers or toilets. But that’s why we’re here: to escape the crowds! After swimming, sun-bathing and walking along the beach, we head back to the boat where our tour guide introduces us to our kayaks. Again, taking a leisurely pace, we paddle around Cong Do, a floating fishing village in Bai Tu Long bay, 25km southeast of Halong wharf.

Here you can find shrimp, crab, fish, squid and aquatic plants. If you’re not shopping for dinner, it’s fun just to soak in the incredible atmosphere of a true Halong fishing village. Personally, it just reminds me that I’ve been promised a seafood dinner tonight back on board the Indochina Sails!

Full steam ahead captain! The Indochina Sails is currently offering a Sensational Summer Savings promotion package for a three day and two night cruise. Check out www.indochinasails.com

Cruises on Halong Bay

2009-11-05T21:02:00.000-08:00

Northern Vietnam’s climate is tropical. The dry season is cool, and lasts from October to April, while the wet season, from May to September, is warmer. The average temperature is 23°C.

Hanoi is not only the country’s capital but also the cultural centre of Vietnam. A modern city, it is home to over 600 pagodas and temples and offers visitors a chance to experience the culture and history within a constantly bustling urban setting.

From Hanoi, visitors can embark on an overnight train heading further north into the mountains of Sapa. Trekking through the breathtaking scenery over natural waterfalls, rice paddy fields and wild bamboo forests, you can also stay overnight in a traditional Vietnamese long house hosted by one of the many hill tribe families.

If you head east for three hours from Hanoi, you will reach Halong City, your gateway to the awe-inspiring Halong Bay, the treasure piece of Vietnam. Listed with UNESCO, this pristine turquoise bay comprises of almost 2,000 islands, and it is picturesque from every angle.

There are many hotels and tourist companies offering their services here, but be warned – you do get what you pay for. For those looking for a little luxury, Indo China Sails operate the newest junks in Halong Bay, offering one- and two-night stays. The extra night is highly recommended, as it allows you to enjoy the full range of activities on offer including kayaking, cave exploring, squid fishing, and a visit to the fishing communities.

RECOMMENDED CRUISE

Offers various packages for the Halong Bay experience. All prices include transfers to and from Hanoi.

www.indochinasails.com, info@indochinasails.com.

TRAVEL TIP

If you are travelling overnight on a train, don’t forget a pillowcase and a sheet.

Source: http://www.gurusexplore.tv/

Explore Halong Bay

2009-11-05T21:01:00.000-08:00

Ever since I saw the movie "Indochine," I've wanted to visit Ha Long Bay. I loved the haunting scenes where Camille and Jean Baptiste, her beloved French soldier (originally her adoptive mother's lover - it's a French film after all) float through the islands in a small junk. Camille's just killed a French soldier, they're fleeing the French army, and they're without food or water and are barely conscious, but it's all terribly romantic, like they are the last two people on earth, together at last.

My Ha Long Bay journey was not exactly cut from the same cloth. I was about 60 years too late for the sexy French soldiers. I took a package tour on a junk like everyone else, since it's the easiest and cheapest way to see Ha Long Bay from Hanoi. After researching a few companies

and reading lots of stories on-line about nightmare trips, I booked a 3 day/2 night trip with Active Travel Vietnam.

: Halong Bay

The first leg of the journey was a 3 hour bus ride through the North Vietnamese countryside where highly industrial meets pre-industrial. After we left the urban sprawl of Hanoi, the road was lined with giant factory complexes. Our guide proudly pointed them out as examples of recent foreign investment. In between the factories, in between the houses, and seemingly in every available scrap of land are the green, green rice fields. Huge power lines tower over them, factories abut them, towns surround them, but the rice fields do not yield. Vietnam is the second biggest exporter of rice (next to Thailand), and that’s after the immense amounts of rice consumed by a domestic market of 85 million people. It’s a lot of rice.

And on this freezing cold, drizzling day the fields were filled with farmers bent over, tending to the plants, thigh-high in cold water and mud, both men and women, wearing conical hats and flimsy plastic ponchos as protection against the rain. All throughout my travels in Vietnam, rice fields were everywhere, filled with farmers doing the back-breaking work of tending to the crops manually. On the way back, we saw a bus that had catapulted off the road into a rice field (at this point, our guide explained that buses in Vietnam are called “flying coffins”).

We reached Ha Long City, a pretty unattractive place filled with many hotels. Our guide explained the difference between European and Asian tourists: the European tourists like to sleep on the boats in the bay, while the Asian tourists like to take day trips and come back to town to do karaoke, gamble, shop and party. The port is jam-packed with tourist junks – there are literally hundreds of them jostling for space at the landing, stacked 5 or 6 deep, and even more anchored off shore. Tour guides herded groups of tourists bundled up in scarves and raincoats from mini-buses to boats.

: Wow! Halong Bay_ Vietnam

We boarded our boat, and as we were pulling out of the harbor, I received my first surprise of the trip. I went to ask the guide about the train ticket the travel agency was supposed to book for me, and instead he told me, “Um, you signed up for the 3 day trip, but actually, you can only do a 2 day trip…”

Supposedly some people had cancelled, and since I was only one person, it was impossible to do the 3 day trip, but they would refund my money and here was the itinerary for the 2 day trip. I expressed disappointment, regret, outrage, but ultimately, considering that they had waited to tell me until I was on the boat that was chugging out of the harbor, there was nothing I could do but accept the refund and resign myself to the change in schedule. In the end, considering the weather was so miserable, it wasn’t such a tragedy.

We were seven in the group. There was a French Swiss couple who spoke little English and kept explaining how they’d spent 10 days in the far North where it had been very cold and there was no heat anywhere. They were clearly tired of being cold. Then there were the Aussies: a mother and daughter pair from Alice Springs, and two thirty-something women from Sydney, who were a lot of fun.

After crossing the bay, we glided into the limestone karst forest that is Ha Long Bay – a green sea crowned by thousands of oddly shaped limestone islands, like the tops of mountains sticking out of the sea. They’re uninhabitable, all sloping sides and stone, so people live on boats and in floating houses. They were cloaked in mist on this cold, grey day and there were islands as far as the eye could see. In some of the narrower passages it was as though we were in a canyon of green and stone. It was quite beautiful. I went up on the “sundeck” (I wasn't to see sun for another 2 weeks) to take photos, but the rain soon chased me inside.

It was gorgeous, but the weather was lousy. We tried to make the best of it, and six of us bravely set off in the cold drizzle to go kayaking. Our bottoms were soon soaked and frozen, and the legs and arms were next. Still, it was quite something to be so close to the water, the karst islands towering above us. Our guide led us through a small archway into a lagoon that lies in the center of an island. For a moment, it was as though we were the only people in Ha Long Bay, drifting through the mist.

: Kayaking with Active Travel Vietnam

But this feeling was not to last. We headed toward TiTop Island (named in honor of a Soviet astronaut who visited with Ho Chi Minh), where you can climb up to the top and get a panoramic view of the bay. According to the postcards on sale, it’s quite a view on a clear day. We pulled our kayaks up on the beach. Looking around, we realized that we were the only people who looked like drowned rats. All the other visitors had arrived on very solid looking wooden launches, looked quite neat, tidy and dry. Some of the tour groups even wore matching hats and jackets.

Between the six of us, we sported bare feet, plastic ponchos, the white plastic shower sandals that are standard issue in every Vietnamese hotel, dripping wet shorts, and men’s thermal underwear bottoms (that was me). We were also very wet. And lest I forget, we wore lovely bright orange life jackets (for extra warmth). Not bothering to take off the lifejackets, we made our way up the stairs as the impeccably groomed groups moved to the side and pointed and stared at us. We were clearly the comic relief for the afternoon, and as we ascended, one of us overheard someone say “Aussies for sure.” As the only non-Aussie in the group, I took it as a compliment.

After we returned to the boat and had very short, semi-hot showers, we discovered the main event of the evening: Vietnamese soap operas. Our guide had told us that dinner would be at 6.30. We all arrived early and sat expectantly at our tables. 6.30 came and went, and nothing happened. Instead, the entire crew – all male, mostly quite young – sat transfixed in front of the TV that sat over the bar. No one was going anywhere, and nothing was happening in the kitchen. I sat there, hungry and cold, trying to write in my journal, with my back to the TV, until I finally gave up, turned around and started asking questions.

It turned out that it was the equivalent of the season finale, a sacred event not to be interrupted by banal activities like feeding the tourists. The heroine was running away from her arranged wedding to the grave of her dead lover, while flashbacks to happier days played. Just as the man she was supposed to marry showed up to reclaim her, the ghost of her lover flew up from the grave and swooped her into the underworld, leaving only flowers and smoke. It was far more dramatic than I describe here, but the best part was watching these young Vietnamese men completely absorbed in this romantic doomed love drama, which oddly mirrored (in a same, same but different kind of way) the romance story that brought me to Ha Long Bay in the first place. I just hadn’t expected to find it on TV.

Halong Bay–The Most Beautiful Place on Earth

2009-11-05T20:58:00.000-08:00

Just got back from Halong Bay this afternoon and it was absolutely breathtakingly beautiful–even more than I expected. We left at around 8am from the hostel and were picked up by Active travel Vietnam _ the tour company that we’d booked with. We picked up 6 others, a Scottish couple living in Malaysia and a pair of couples from Spain. We then departed for Halong Bay, about a 3 and 1/2 hour drive. We also then met our tour guide Ngoan, a slim young woman who spoke pretty good English. She was no Wasa though! She briefed us on Hanoi and Halong Bay history and then told us about where to go in Hanoi to find good dog and cat meat. (We weren’t too interested). And she told us about how Vietnamese people like to string up live cobras from trees, skin them, and then drink their blood while it’s still hot from the dangling end, like some kind of bizarre tribal beer bong. Yummy.

About halfway through the trip and after a much needed nap, we stopped for a break at a place that sold local handicrafts made by handicapped children. I bought a very cool picture done in embroidery of a Vietnamese woman carrying some mangos on those balancy things that Blake carried in the infamous pineapple fiasco. I talked the price down from to which was fair especially because as the 4 foot tall salesman kept reminding me ‘made by handicap’ children’. no word if the kids get any of the profit though.

After the break we piled back into the van and about an hour later we arrived in Halong Bay City. We jumped out and headed straight to our boat, the cruise and man was it ever. It was soooo nice. A new boat with space for 14 and just beautiful on the inside. Lauren and I shared a room with two big windows (for a boat) and Blake got his own room since there were just 9 of us total. After we set down our belongings, we headed up to the main deck to the open dining area for our seafood lunch. And it was incredible. They just kept bringing out dish after dish! We had the freshed squid salad, huge shrimp, lovely vegetables, rice, noodles, a whole grilled fish, fruit… the food just didn’t stop coming!

Fully stuffed to the gills, we slathered on some sunscreen, threw on our bathing suits and went up to the top deck. By then we were really getting out into the bay amidst the nearly 2000 islands there and it was incredibly beautiful. The islands are all made out of limestone from decayed oysters, clams, etc from the past 350 million years that grew to form a mountain range because of the pacific rim tetonic plates shifting. Eventually the mountain range was eroded by the water and the islands formed. Now they are all protected by Unesco which is fortunate because the only one that can be inhabited is the national park on Cat Ba island. Just beautiful!

[caption id="attachment_158" align="aligncenter" width="299" caption="Indochinasails Sundeck "][/caption]

After sunning ourselves we then docked briefly to visit the Amazing Cave which is the biggest of the 8 or so caves that have been discovered so far in Halong Bay. And it really was amazing. Especially interesting though were the trashcans inside in the shape of dolphins and penguins which gave the weird sensation that we were at an amusement park of sorts.

From the cave, we moved onward to an island with a lookout pagoda at the very top. One 10 minute very vertical climb later we were super sweaty but enjoying the wonderful view. Blake showed me how to do a stitch assist too on my camera so I think I should be able to join several of the photos together to make a nice panoramic. Next, we returned to the boat and then jumped off from the top of the boat into the water. I was quite scared at first seeing as I’d really never done a high dive before, but it was worth it and then it was great! And the water was wonderful, just warm enough to be enjoyable but not so warm that you feel like the person next to you just ‘relieved’ themselves in the water.

After the swim we towelled off and then were fed another enormous and delicious seafood dinner. Dinner was followed by a great conversation with the Scottish couple that had been living in Malaysia the past 2 years, a little bit of World Cup viewing, and then Blake and I laying out on the top deck to look at the stars. It was the perfect day and we didn’t go to sleep until after midnight when we pried ourselves away from the night sky.

The next morning, Blake woke me up early to have a look at the sunrise, but at 5:15 am it was already up. So we went back to bed and then got back up in time for a 7am breakfast (also way too much food). Breakfast was followed by kayaking which was incredibly fun. We paddled around for about an hour and a half, with 2 people in each kayak. Lauren and I paddled together, and with her excellent instruction I eventually got the hang of it. It was difficult though because even though the water was pretty calm, the current was really strong. We all paddled together into these beautiful lagoons by Cat Ba island which was just such a peaceful experience (aside from the aching arms) that made me feel like we were in the movie “the beach” (which I am appropriately reading at the moment).

After kayaking, Lauren and I had another swim, then it was time to pack our bags… but not without yet another inordinately huge seafood meal that we could hardly finish! It really was the perfect get away. And amazingly enough, it only costs 00 to rent out the boat per week, including food. So I’m thinking, grab a group of 14 and come back sometime in the future for some R&R.

Well I’m back in Hanoi though, wearing my new Halong Bay pearl necklace (they do a lot of pearls there) and getting very excited about tomorrow’s trips to Hanoi’s museums and then the following day at China beach between Da Nang and Hoi An! It’s going to be great!

Source: SMU

A new paradise aboard with Indochina Sails

2009-11-05T20:51:00.000-08:00

Ha Long – a Unesco World Heritage site and one of the world’s most spectacular natural wonders- may have never been easier and more comfortable to discover with INDOCHINA SAILS. Let’s get aboard.

The boarding time is 11h 30 am. Passengers are welcomed with smiles and the sound of drums. The friendly staff provide each with a fresh cool tower and a welcome drink to refresh after a long travelling distance. One hour to take a short rest before lunch at magnificient seascape.

This traditional junk is special from its materials to decoration. It is made by Aroma woods, a relaxing perfume living in every corner of the ship. With 15 air-conditioned rooms of twin, double and single, Each room is luxuriously and neatly decorated in 4 star style. It is a truly perfect paradise for those who travel in couple, with friends or alone.

Lunch time seems everlasting as the ship moves very slowly, the gentle music sound and every dish is served in a very professional way by servants in Vietnamese traditional costume. This is one of the most unforgetable experience during the day as the sun shines brightly over green water and trees. After lunch, boarders can either walk freely around to take marvellous pictures/photos, sunbathing on the sundeck. Sun tan oil is available at the reception for free.

The trip also takes boarders to Cua Van Fish village where more than 600 people live and earn their living on water surface. The details in their daily life must be a very exciting impression for tourists. On returning to Indochina Sails, boarders are provided with cool towers before having a swim at Soysim beach nearby and enjoy the sunset.

Indochina Sails by night is even more romantic. Passengers are dressed themselves like King and Queen. In good weather, buffet will be served on sundeck restaurant so that everyone may feel the sea breezes and hear the sea breaths. Not just seafood but each dish got its own taste through the skillful hands of experienced chefs.

Huong Hai Junk is finishing its own pier opposite Halong Bay hotel which is very convenient for tourists of small groups or free and easy style. The pier may act as an interval before boarding. The design includes souvenir shops, restaurants and can accommodate up to 200 guests.

“We wish to provide our valued customers with best service quality and we are trying our best for that. Many other leisure activities will be put into operation soon” said Mr.Bui Tuan Ngoc, Director of Huong Hai Company.

“For those who want to travel from Hanoi, we can also pick them up at their hotels if informed early. They may drop in Dong Trieu Ceramics on the way Ha Noi – Ha Long or buy green bean cakes in Hai Duong on the way back to Hanoi” , he added.

Huong Hai has been very popular with Ha Long aboard discovery tours with Huong Hai Junk trademark on a number of cruisers: Huong Hai Deluxe, or Gingers.

On soft opening of Indochina Sails, Huong Hai Junk is now offering special rates of accommodation and package tours:

The two daily trips are 2days/1night and 3 days/2 nights aboard at 285 USD and 570 USD based on double or twin share respectively.

For reservations, Please email info@indochinasails.com

Supported by Active Travel Shop,