vietnam travel guide

VIETNAMTRAVEL GUIDE

VIETNAM TOURSEXPLORE DESTINATION AND PLACE

WITH MERCURY TRAVEL2015

VIETNAM - ULTIMATE GUIDE 2015 - www.mercurytravel.com.vn2

INTRODUCTION

Mercury Travel proudly presents Vietnam - Ultimate Guide 2015 providing full detail information about famous travel destinations in Vietnam. All the information was careful evaluated and presented in an easy way to read. This guide book will help you understand your upcoming destinations, what to expect and especially help you decide the best itinerary for your trip in Vietnam.

We hope this guide book will become a useful source of travel information, guiding you on a life time journey with great expe-riences in Vietnam. For further help and more detail information about destinations please contact support center of Mercury Travel at [email protected]

VIETNAM - ULTIMATE GUIDE 2015 - www.mercurytravel.com.vn 3

TABLE OF CONTENT

2 Introduction3 Content4 About Us 6 Chapter 1: North Vietnam7 Hanoi17 Ha Long Bay23 Ninh Binh28 Mai Chau32 Sapa36 Northeast Vietnam41 Chapter 2: Center Vietnam42 Phong Nha Ke Bang46 Hue52 Da Nang56 Hoi An64 Nha Trang70 Da Lat75 Mui Ne79 Chapter 3: South Vietnam

80 Ho Chi Minh City91 Mekong Delta99 Phu Quoc Island105 Tours in Vietnam106 Highlight of Vietnam 107 Highlight of the North108 Beach Break109 Explore Southern Vietnam110 Vietnam Culinary Tour111 Indochina Tour113 How to book with us114 Contact us


» About usMercury Travel is a leading tour operator located in Vietnam; specializing in private and tailored tours to Viet-nam. Here we share and work with a great passion of bringing to people the best travel experience in Asia. Our products is the combination of expert knowledge of the region, innovative itinerary, great flexibility and the best value of money. We’re passionate about what we do and we believe in sustainable and responsible tourism. Using our portfolio of expertly-crafted itineraries, we create tailor-made travel packages to match your preferred travel period, touring needs and budget. Contact us to start creating your unforgettable journey through Asia.

» Why choose Mercury Travel?#1 You will travel with Vietnamese Local Company who know Vietnam tourism best! We are Vietnamese local tour company and we love our beautiful land and no one knows our land better than us. All the tours and services we offered are the things we have gained experiences with great reputation. #2 Enjoy holiday arranged by travel experts who have HIGH RESPONSIBILITY for your journey. We put ourself into your mind to understand your needs and desires when you travel. One step you take one action we do. Our travel consultants always follow your tours and want to make your days in Vietnam worthy and exciting. #3 Travel in dream holiday, full of UNIQUE EXPERIENCES and HIGH STANDARD SERVICES. Our services are based on our real experiences and careful chosen and evaluated before offered to you. We only offer high standard services because we want you to come back and recommend us to others. #4 You will get LOWEST PRICES - guaranteed and no extra - hidden cost. After many years in Vietnam tourism, we have contract with all of hotels, cruises and able to offer you the best rate. Once you confirm your tours and make a deposit, no additional service fees and extra costs require. #5 CUSTOMER CARE 24/7 - 100% Travelers are satisfactory. We are always available to support you 24/7 - ready to listen and answer whenever you need. You can pick the phone up or send us an email, our travel consultants will be so happy to talk and give you the directions.

ABOUT US

ABOUT US

CHAPTER 1 - NORTH VIETNAM


About HanoiHanoi is capital of Vietnam, situated in the Vietnam’s Red River delta, nearly 90 km away from the coastal area. Hanoi is the heart of Vietnam which is per-haps Asia’s most graceful, atmospheric and exotic capital city with showcasing weeping boulevards, tree-fringed lake and ancient pagoda. It’s an energetic city on the move, and it often seems Hanoi ambitious citizens are determined to make up for lost time. Hanoi is suitable for all of visitors: cou-ple, family, single and group for relaxing. Come to Hanoi, visitors are not only know about the nature, history and culture but also the life of people in Ha-noi.When to go?There are four seasons in Hanoi but you can visit Hanoi at any time of year, each has particular beau-ties. However, end of September to November and March to May is the best time. Ha Noi is the most beautiful and romantic in autumn.

How to get there?Center of Hanoi City is the Old Quarter, about 32km from Noibai airport and it takes 45- 60 minute to get there.• Private Car: Email Mercury Travel or call us to arrange private car picking up at the air port and drop off at Hanoi Center (We recommend private car to make sure tourists get transfer safely, smoothly and stay away from any possible scams or disturbing services)• Taxi: Taxi to Hanoi center takes around 45minute, price 450.000 VND/4seats taxiMove in Hanoi• Cyclo: In Vietnamese means “Xich lo” a bike which was redesigned so tourist seat at front and the rider will take you around city for sightseeing. This is an exciting experience and a good way to visit center of Hanoi. • Electric-car: Electric-car is the safest, cheapest and most convenient way to travel in Hanoi. You can buy a ticket for 45 minute driving around the city with only about 2$. You can buy tickets at one of three main ticket offices: at Dong Xuan market (at Dong Xuan Street), Hoan Kiem Lake and at Tran Quoc pagoda at Thanh Nien Street.

HA NOIthousand years civilization


SIGHT & ACTIVITIES

Old quarter is the oldest developed area of Vietnam. Hanoi’s Old Quarter has a history that spans 2,000 years and represents the eternal soul of the city. These days, most Vietnamese and Westerners are familiar with the phrase “Hà Nội - Ba mươi sáu phố phường” (translated as “Ha Noi - 36 districts” or “Hanoi – 36 Old Streets”), or “Phố cổ Hà Nội” (translated as “Ha-noi’s Old Quarter”). In the old time, people came to this old quarter and settled their business by selling the same product on the same street. After time, each name of street was named by what they sold like Hang Cá (Fish street), Hàng Muối (Salt Street), Hàng Gà (Chicken Street), Hàng Bạc (Silver Street)….. Although nowadays, many of the streets no longer sell the prod-ucts after which they were named, some still do. Visit-ing Old Quarter, you will discover the fun city, full of color and life vibration, see the lifestyle of local people and go to shopping with traditional handicraft products and enjoy unique cuisine.

The tour to Hochiminh complex will be very educa-tional one which helps you understand more about Vietnam’s modern history and especially life of Ho-chiminh president and his credit and influences to Vietnam. It is available on all the morning (except Monday and Friday). Note that respectful attire – meaning long trousers, skirts below the knee and no sleeveless tops – should be worn for this trip.

• Ho Chi Minh’s House. It made by wooden and ar-range simple. It will show you the Uncle Ho’s simple and pure lifestyle when he was alive. Surrounding house is the garden with full kind of tree and peace-ful fishpond.• One Pillar Pagoda is a unique structure built. It is pagoda that was built on one pillar in the middle of Lotus pond• Ho Chi Minh museum is the last spot in complex. It will tell you about Ho Chi Minh’s life in the war and Vietnamese people under his lead.

This is a complex where is relative to Vietnam’ great-est hero – Ho Chi Minh. It includes: • Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum is the place where pre-serve Ho Chi Minh’s body for the following genera-tion to come and visit him.• In front of Mausoleum is Ba Dinh square where Ho president read Independence statement in 1945.• The next is President Palace. It has a French struc-ture and architect

This is a nature lake in the center of Hanoi and a part of Red river before. It is not only a tourism desti-nation but also a symbol of the capital. Come here,

Hanoi Old Quarter

Ho Chi Minh complex

Hoan Kiem Lake

A Vietnamese woman on Old Quarter Street

Sunset on Ho Chi Minh mausoleum


It a consider a the first university in Vietnam and the symbol of the Hanoian’s studying spirit, all the ancient architect complex will bring you back in 11th century. It was founded in 1070 for chil-dren study, do examination. Nowadays, before the each exam, students come here to pray for the lucky. Come and visit this temple to understand more about Vietnam ancient history and admire the beau-tiful architect of the temple. Address: Quoc Tu Giam Street. Street P Quoc Tu Giam. Prices:adult/student 20,000/10,000vnd. Opening hours :8am-5pm

Voted as one of 4 best museums in Asia, museum of ethnology is not a place to be missed. For any-one with an interest in Vietnam’s minorities, it’s an essential visit – though it is located way out in the suburbs. In the grounds are examples of tradition-al village houses – a Tay stilt house, an impressive Bahnar communal structure and a Yao home. Don’t miss the soaring, thatch-roofed Giarai tomb, com-plete with risqué wooden statues. This museum is

This excellent museum showcases women’s role in Vietnamese society and culture. Labelled in English and French, it’s the memories of the wartime con-tribution by individual heroic women that are most poignant. There is a stunning collection of propa-ganda posters, as well as costumes, tribal basket-ware and fabric motifs from Vietnam’s ethnic minority groups. Address: 36 Ly Thuong Kiet Street. Admis-sion 30,000d. Opening hours 8am-5pm.

The prison was built in Hanoi by the French, in dates ranging from 1886–1889 to 1898 to 1901, when Vietnam was still part of French Indochina. The French called the prison Maison Centrale - a tradi-tional euphemism to denote prisons in France. It was located near Hanoi’s French Quarter. Hoa Lo Prison is a historical attraction to many local and foreign visitors. You should pay a visit to the prison to experi-ence the history with your own eyes and learn more about Vietnam history. Address: 01 Hoa Lo Street. Opening hours: 8am-5pm.

you can hear a legend about king Le Loi returned the sword to golden turtle. You will be enjoy fresh air in middle city and hear the legend of lake by your guide. Near the lake is a historical complex of Ngoc Son temple, The Huc Bridge, Pen tower.

Hoa Lo prison

Temple of Literature

Women’s museum

Vietnam museum of ethnologyTemple of Literature’s gate

A traditional house in museum


AROUND HANOIalso a fun place for kids since it has a large garden and plenty of interesting traditional houses. The mu-seum is in the Cau Giay district, about 7km from the city centre and around 200,000vnd each way in a taxi. Remember to book a tour or a guide to make sure you understand all the interesting tradition and local lifestyles.

Đồng Xuân Market (Vietnamese: Chợ Đồng Xuân) is a old market in the center district Hoàn Kiếm of Ha-noi, Vietnam. Originally built by the French admin-istration in 1889, Đồng Xuân Market has been ren-ovated several times with the latest in 1994 after a fire which almost destroyed the market. Nowadays, Đồng Xuân Market is the largest covered market of Hanoi where the wholesale traders sell everything from clothes, household goods to foodstuffs. Take a walk around this market to stay close to local’s life style. You will not only see but also smell, taste, amazed by this dynamic market.

The Perfume Pagoda, one of more than thirty pep-pering these hills, occupies a spectacular grotto over 50m high. The start of the journey is an hour’s ride by row-boat up a silent, flooded valley among karts hills where fishermen and farmers work their inundat-ed fields. From where the boat drops you (memorize your boat’s number as there are hundreds of identical craft here), a stone-flagged path shaded by gnarled frangipani trees brings you to the seventeenth-century Chua Thien Chu.Note that respectful attire – meaning long trousers, skirts below the knee and no sleeveless tops – should be worn for this trip; nobody will berate you for not doing so, but you might be the subject of unflattering comments. A hat or umbrella is also a help, as the boats have no shelter.

Thay Pagoda is one of famous attractions around Hanoi - 30km southwest of Hanoi. It is also known as Thien Phuc Pagoda dedicated to Thich Ca Bud-

Sixty kilometers southwest of Hanoi the Red River Delta ends abruptly where steep-sided limestone hills rise from the paddy fields. The most easterly of these forested spurs shelters north Vietnam’s most famous pilgrimage site, the Perfume Pagoda, Chua Huong, hidden in the folds of Ha Tay Province’s Mountain of the Perfumed Traces, and said to be named after spring blossoms that scent the air.

You can go around Hanoi Old Quarter to see the beauty of it, go to eat the street food or go to Night market in Hang Dao St in the Saturday and Sunday (from 7.30pm to 11.30 pm). Remember to get a taste of fresh beer (Bia Hoi) at Ta Hien street, the at-mosphere here guarantee you a fun interesting night. You can also go to Ca Tru concert – a traditional music of Vietnam in Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at CaTru Thang Long (28 Hang Buom).

Dong Xuan market

Perfume Pagoda

Activities at night

Thay Pagoda

Locals selling foods in tradition outdoor market

One hour boat ride to perfume pagoda


This village is about 16 km south east of Hanoi from the center. Bat Trang is a ancient ceramic village ( 1000 years old ). History of Bat Trang village 1010, King Ly Thai To moved the capital to Thang Long , Thang Long became the political center of the Repub-lic of Vietnam . Due to the development needs of the city, many merchants, craftsmen came here and form the society and later became Bat Trang Village. Bat Trang ceramic village has become a normal famous pottery center was chosen to provide the court trib-utes to the Ming Dynasty. Nowadays tourist visit this handicraft village to see the old tradition works still running widely and well reserved among the com-munity. You can also put your hand down and make your own pottery products, guided by the local arti-san and take it home as souvenir later.

ha, Sakyamuni and 18 arhats. Built in the 11th cen-tury during the reign of King Ly Nhan Tong, Thay Pagoda consists of three sections: the outer part for offerings and ceremonies, the middle part for wor-ship of Buddha and the inner part for worship of the monk Tu Dao Hanh, the master after whom the pagoda is named.In front of the pagoda is a small stage built on stilt in the middle of Long Tri Pond. It is the place where water puppet performances are held during festivals from the fifth until the seventh days of the third lu-nar month. Interesting sites can be visited outside the main pagoda are Phat Tich and Cac Co Caves (a steep 10-minute climb). Take a tour to Thay pagoda to learn more about Vietnam history and religion un-derstand the worshiping life of locals and especially calm your mind and soul within the peaceful atmo-spheres of the pagoda.

Van Phuc silk village is far about 10 kilometer from the center of Hanoi. This is the most famous silk village from ancient time; there are many patterns and long-stand of Vietnam. Located on the Nhue River, Van Phuc silk village retains many features ancient such as the well, lotus flower, tree… According to legend, about 1.200 years ago, Ms. A La Thi Nuong is a famous person with skillful weaving brought the se-crets of Chinese weaving silk to teach people who live in the village. When she passed away, she was respected as tutelary deity.Van Phuc silk village became famous from the reign of Ly. Van Phuc silk was the first introduced at the

(+) Bat Trang pottery villageHandicraft Villages

Van Phuc Silk Village

Tourists participating in making pottery

Drying silks


Marseille International Fair (1931) and Paris (1938), it was evaluated as the sophisticated products of In-dochina. Van Phuc silk is very popular in France, Thailand, and Indonesia… From 1958 to 1988, Van Phuc silk were exported to Eastern Europe coun-tries, from 1990, it was exported to many countries in the world. For many years, Van Phuc village still retains intact the traditional values.In general, the special features of Van Phuc silk and in particularly Hang Van silk is warm in the winter and cool in the summer, wearing it people find soft and gentle. Decorative patterns on silk are diverse such as Song Hac sample, Tho Dinh sample, Tu Quy sample… and it always follows the traditional methods. Van Phuc village has 785 households who weave silk, accounting for 60% of households living in villages. The ancient village of Duong Lam on the outskirts of Hanoi is also known as a museum of later-ite, home to many houses built three or four centuries ago with lateritic bricks. It is also the birth village of two Vietnamese kings.

About 60 kilometers north of Hanoi, is a trip tracing the origins of Vietnam’s culture and traditions due to the large amount of well-reserved ancient architec-ture in the village. Duong Lam has been described as the last stronghold of northern Vietnam’s wet rice farming culture. The only noticeable change that has taken place in the village over the past 400 years is its division into nine hamlets, including Mong Phu, Cam Lam, Cam Da and Mia. Of these, Mong Phu is

its biggest and the most famous.There are around 300 houses still standing in Duong Lam, 50 of which date back 300 years and the rest about 200 years. The interesting thing is that most of these houses were built from laterite and mud, both abundant in the area. Laterite was used for house walls, gates, wells and temple walls. Tourists to the village can wander along its narrow alleyways, visit temples dedicated to the two kings born there, and most interesting of all, chat with locals living in the ancient houses. Mong Phu is the only hamlet whose original village entrance gate remains intact. The laterite-brick gate is roofed with yin yang tiles and has two iron and wood doors four-to-five centimeters thick.Mong Phu hamlet is a site recognized by the Ministry of Culture and Information as a national cultural and historical heritage. The Mia Pagoda, also known as Sung Nghiem Tu, sits on a small hill in Dong Sang hamlet. The pagoda, which was constructed before 1632 and has been restored and upgraded many times, houses 287 Buddha statues, the most beau-tiful of which is Quan Am Tong Tu, or Kwan Ying Bodhlsattva.

Remember to book a tour or at least a guide to these destinations for more details of interesting information

Duong Lam Ancient Village

Little old road in Duong Lam village

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EAT & DRINKING

Restaurant: Street food:Looking for Vietnamese cuisine served in restaurants, here are our best choices:• Quan An Ngon restaurant (18 Phan Boi Chau

Street or 34 Phan Dinh Phung Street). Great Viet-nam traditional foods serving in genuine Viet-namese styles. It’s a little busy at lunch time but definitely worthy to come and enjoy foods in this French style architect restaurant.

Hanoi is street food paradise and you won’t be dis-appointed with our recommendation:• Phở: if you come to Vietnam and don’t try Pho yet

then you are not in Vietnam. This is the elegance noodle soup with beef or chicken topping with fresh onion. It sounds simple but extremely hard to cook and takes normally few hours to finish. Try the best Pho at 49 Bát Đàn Street, Phở Lý Quốc Sư on Nhà Chung Street, Phở Sướng on Đinh Liệt Street, Phở 24 on Huỳnh Thúc Kháng Street.

• Italian Style: Angelia ( 56 Ly Thai To), Mondo gelato ( 30 Ba Trieu)

• Koto Restaurant (59 Văn Miếu Street): Located right next to Temple of literature, this modern restaurant will serve you stunning dishes and great cocktails. The menu has everything from Vietnamese food to pita wraps and beer-battered fish “n” chips. Koto is an extraordinarily success-ful not-for-profit project that provides career train-ing and guidance to disadvantaged kids.

• Highway 4 (03 Hàng Tre street or 25 Bát Sứ): There’s an outstanding array if dishes from bite-sized snacks like super Nem ca xa lo through to meaty dishes like Lon luoc mam tep (Pork fillet with shrimp sauce). Mixed with a little bit western style to make it easier for those who not familiar with Vietnamese foods, this is still an outstanding restaurant to try Vietnamese foods.

If you’ve just flown in, get stuck into local cuisine, the capital’s cosmopolitan dining, including Japanese, French, Italian… will be a welcome changeSome suggestion:• Japanese Style: Shakura ( Trang Thi) Ashahi sushi

(Ba Trieu) • French style : Shalimar Restaurant (63 Mã Mây)

, La Shansa ( 25 Nha Tho)

• Xôi Xéo – A popular lunchtime at “Xoi Yen restau-rant”. This is Vietnamese sticky rice topping with different meats that you can choose and some fried onions. I think best served with chicken and with pate. Try this at Xoi Yen, 35B Nguyen Huu Huan streets.

A bowl of “Pho”

Xoi Xeo – Sticky rice with meat topping


Drinking:

• BúnMọc – Fresh noodle soup with pork chop. This is my favorite breakfasts in Hanoi. A tiny Bún mọc eatery on the west side of Ta Hien street, 4 or 5 doors north of the intersection with Luong Ngoc Quyen street.

• BúnChả: This is fresh noodle serving with BBQ pork and pickle vegetable and fresh vegetables. This is Hanoi signature dish and you can find the best Bun Cha at 01 Hàng Mành Street.

• BBQ Street – Ma May Street. On this street you will find plenty of BBQ street food shops. You will have not only great BBQ meal but also fun and interesting atmospheres to enjoy your meals.

• BúnRiêuCua: You will need to get this incredi-ble simple and incredibly popular spot early, as it sole dish of Bun rieu cua (crab noodle soup) is only served for a couple of hours from 7am. Look forward to what is just maybe Hanoi’s best breakfast, a hearty combo of noodles and broth made from tiny rice-paddy crabs. Laced with fried shallots and garlic, and topped with shrimp paste and chili, it’s a Hanoi classic. Try this at 40 Hang Tre (7-9am)

• Café Trứng – EggCoffee. No, I did not mis-type, it is the legendary egg coffee of Hanoi city and trust me it tastes much better than it sounds. There are only few coffee shops in Hanoi offer this amazing egg coffee because it is hard to make. Adding a layer of white egg and cream, the local here have elevated coffee to a new level. Don’t let the name of the coffee fool you, if you like coffee then you will love the Hanoi’s egg coffee. Find this coffee at 2 of oldest coffee shops in Hanoi (open since 1945): Café Giang, 39 Nguyen Huu Huan street and Café pho co, 11 Hang Gai street (in a small alley).

• TràChanh(Lemontea): It is the favorite drink of youth in Hanoi. It very cheap, only 10.000 to 12.000 / per cup for a lemon tea glass. In fact, most of tourists come here to enjoy the local drink style and atmosphere rather than the drink itself. Try this on Nhà Thờ Street.

• BiaHoi(Freshbeer):One of the great pleasures of travelling in Vietnam, Bia hoi is brewed daily without additive or preservative, to be drunk that day. Incredibly cheap (15000VND) and widely available, bia hoi places offer a very local expe-rience. Ta Hien Street and Luong Ngoc Quyen Street is the street where the local people and foreign tourist crowded gather to enjoy Bia hoi.

• Finnegan’s IrishPub: Irish pubs are popular in any city and Hanoi is no exception with this ven-ue being particularly welcoming. Saturdays are Guinness and Murphy’s nights with ‘buy three get one free’ offers on drinks. They serve refreshing-ly ice-cold beer and have quiz nights, fish-and-chips nights and even Irish-stew nights. Play pool or just enjoy the vibes of this fun place. Address: 16A Duong Thanh, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi

• LePub: Le Pub in Hanoi always seems to be bus-tling with locals, expats and visitors keen to try its ice-cold beer and pub grub. Customers also come to make the most of the free Wi-Fi on offer or to join in the fun watching sport on TV. 25 Hang Be, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi

• Rock&RollTavern: A long-established popular bar in Hanoi where people come to relax over a beer or two and enjoy some regular pub grub. There is an upstairs lounge for those who want to watch sport or play pool, or you can join in the fun at the regular pub quiz nights. Address: 10 Tho Nhuom, Hanoi

• CK Bar: Several of the hotels in Hanoi have nightly performances by live bands and the CK Bar in the Meliã Hanoi is one of the better plac-es. Enjoy a selection of tapas and kick back and listen to the lively band that performs late into the evening. Located on the third floor, there is an outdoor terrace if it gets too hot in the bar. 44B Ly Thuong Kiet, Hanoi


TOURS TO HANOIFor the best services and reliable tour organizer in Vietnam, please contact Mercury Travel - organizing group and private tours to Vietnam, Laos and Cam-bodia:

In this tour, you can visit famous sites in Hanoi with an expert guide for best information about the city:• Ho Chi Minh Complex including of Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum, Ba Dinh square, Presidential Palace, Uncle Ho’s House on stilt, One pillar pagoda.• Temple of Literature – Vietnam’s first university, built in 1076 and at first used for royal children only. Have lunch at local restaurant and try Vietnamese food.• You will visit Museum of Ethnology later. Ana from Dubai

“I loved Hanoi, I should say the old quarter. It was a mixture of old and new, sophisticated in places very basic in other aspects. Noisy, loud, smelly, a driver’s nightmare, crossing the street an adventure. A shopper’s para-dise, a foodies heaven, I loved it, I thought it had wonderful people and a great vibration. Every street has its charm, every corner re-veals a new surprise, the smells and the noise soon become charming. Take the time to ex-plore this area, it is well worth it”

Travel Tips1. Hanoi is a very charming city with many beauties hidden so our advice is “don’t save your money on tour guide”. Visit Hanoi with-out a guide you will be easily lost and miss tons of stories and traditional life of the locals. A knowledgeable guide is essential for this city 2. Don’t hesitate to try some street foods. Hanoi is famous for street foods so don’t miss it. If you afraid of foods’ quality you can join Mercury Travel’s street food tour for safe, hygiene and amazing foods.

The tour guide and car will come to your hotel and take you to visits the most famous and oldest handi-craft villages in outskirt of city. We will visit 2 villag-es out of 4 villages: Bat Trang pottery village, Van Phuc Silk village, Ha Thai Lacquerware and Dong Ho village.• Bat Trang Pottery village: The riverside ‘ancient’ village leans more towards earthenware and pottery products. There is also a large ceramics market with many small business people selling a wide variety of items large and small.• Van Phuc Silk village: local families have special-

ized in weaving and dying silk over many centuries, and retain many of the ancient secrets for producing their distinctive and gorgeous fabrics. Clothing, wall hangings, and other intriguing choices abound.• Ha Thai Lacquer ware village: famous far and wide for the distinguished lacquer ware made here for over a thousand years.• Dong Ho village: The village is well known for its traditional woodblock paintings. Carved wood is pressed onto prints that illustrate wishes for good luck and typical scenes from rural life

Mercury Travel is one of the best tour organizer in Vietnam, organizes group tours and private tour dai-ly. You can book separate tour or full package tours easily at Mercurytravel.com.vn

Hanoi City Tour (Full Day):

Hanoi Handicraft Villages (Meals: lunch)

» See more Tours in Hanoi

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About Halong BayImagine 2000 or more islands rising from the emerald wa-ters of the Gulf of Tonkin and you have a vision of breath-taking beauty. Halong translates as ‘where the dragon de-scends into the sea’, and legend claims the islands of Halong Bay were created by a great dragon from the mountains. Designated a World Heritage site in 1994, this mystical landscape of limestone islets is often compared to Guilin in China or Krabi in southern Thailand. In reality, Halong Bay is more spectacular. The bay’s immense numbers of islands are dotted with wind- and wave-eroded grottoes, and their sparsely forested slopes ring with birdsong.To have the best time in Halong Bay, you should take a tour on Halong Bay Cruises. Beyond a boat cruise, visitors will come to explore the caves, kayaking or rowing boat activ-ities, visiting floating fishing village and of course plenty of time to relax within breathtaking scenery of the bay.

When to go?It is the fact that Halong Bay is magical and beautiful in any kinds of weather. However the best time to visit is October to January. From May to September is also good since it is hot and clear sky for very good views. Tropical heavy rains, however, are frequent this period. February to April is often cool and drizzly, and the ensuing fog can make visibility low, but also adds an ethereal air.

How to get there?Halong bay is about 175km east from Hanoi city and car is the best way to get there (The drive takes 3.5 hour). All the tours to Halong bay include coach trans-fer. If you want a private comfort-able drive, you can book private cars easily from travel agents.

HA LONGwonders of the world


SIGHT & ACTIVITIES

Caves

Fishing Villages

Pearl Farm Village

Sung Sot Cave (Surprise Cave) is situated in the cen-ter of Halong Bay’s heritage zone. The cave was found by the French in 1901 and called as Grotte des surprises (Cave of the surprise). Sung Sot Cave is a large cave with the size of 12.200 square meters. The cave has three compartments and high ceiling with lots of stalactites in various shapes. The ceiling’s maximal height is 30 meters. The mouth of Sung Sot Cave is about 25 meters above the sea level and you will walk up over 100 small steps to reach the entrance. Sung Sot Cave is typical for karst caves on Halong Bay and has high scientific value in the field of geology. Since this is one of the most beautiful caves in Halong bay, most of overnight tour cruises in Halong bay put this cave in their itinerary.

Floating fishing village is a beautiful feature of Halong Bay. Local fish men has been living here for many generations and floating houses and boats are their homes. Most of the tours take you to floating fishing villages and you can explore the area by yourself on Kayaking or sit down on rowing bamboo boat then the local will take you around. These fishing villages are very interesting since you can witness the floating lifestyle of local people. Tourists joining in the day trips also have chance to stop at some floating fish-ing villages where you can buy fresh seafood and ask the chef on boat to cook for you. Tourists who stay 2 nights on cruises will usually visit a local pearl farm village in which local farming oysters and culti-vating pearls.

In Vietnam, there are few places locals farm oysters and cultivate pearls and Halong bay is one of those places. There is a small pearl farm village where locals farm and cultivate thousand of different pearls. Visit the pearl farm you will understand more how people collect pearl and these pearls are perfect souvenir from Vietnam. Most 2 nights cruise visit this pearl farm on their second day.

Come to Halong bay you shouldn’t miss the Kayaking activities. Water in Halong Bay is very calm, making kayaking safer and a much better experience. Kay-aking fee is normally included in the tour price and 30-45 minutes is fairly enough. If you love kayaking,

Thien Cung Grotto (Heavenly Cave) is situated on Dau Go Island (Wooden Stakes Island) in the south-western Halong Bay and about 4 kilometers from tourism wharf. Thien Cung Grotto is at the height of 25 meters above the sea level. Visiting the grotto, tourists will feel like visiting an art museum with va-riety of sophisticated statues and reliefs. In the cen-ter of the grotto, there are four big pillars propping against the roof. Nowadays, entering Thien Cung Grotto, visitors can gaze party sceneries in the set-ting of stalactites and stalagmites inside. Thien Cung Grotto is considered as one of the most beautiful caves of Halong Bay and most of day tours cruise will visit this cave.

Inside Sung Sot cave

Vung Vieng floating fishing village


Titop Island

Ba Trai Dao Island

Cat Ba Island

Soi Sim Island

There are nearly 200 islands in Halong bay but most of them are rock island and very few are inhabited. This Tiop Island is one of those and very popular in Halong Bay since many tour cruise stop by this island. If you can walk up over 400 small steps, you will reach the peak of the island where you can take amazing panoramic view of the bay. If you don’t want to walk up, the little beach on the island is a good alternative. Notice: good health condition is required for the walk to the peak.

This is a little island but contain a very beautiful white

please contact Mercury Travel for those Halong Bay Trips with longer kayaking time and more beautiful kayaking spot. You can also take the 2 nights tour on cruises for better kayaking experience because cruis-es will take you to Lan Ha Bay, a very beautiful and peaceful spot for kayaking. You can also explore tunnel caves on kayaking on 2nights tours as well.

sand beach. You can also follow the little trail to go up to the top for the view of the bay. The Peak of Soi Sim Island is not as high as Titop’s Peak but equally beautiful. Notice trail to the top is the path with no step; prepare good trainers if you want to hike up.

Both locals and tourist consider Ba Trai Dao island as the most beautiful part of Ha Long Bay. The island is located in Lan Ha Bay, close to Cat Ba Island. The area is far away from the Bai Chay harbor and normally approached by 2 nights cruise tour or boat trip from Cat Ba Island. The island has a small and beautiful white sand beach with pristine water and extremely peaceful since not many tourists or even locals go here. If you are looking for a road less travel tour in Ha-long Bay then Ba Trai Dao Island is definitely a per-fect spot. Join in 2 night cruise tour and on the sec-ond day, the cruise will take you there for full day kayaking. You can also access the area by little boat from Cat Ba Island. Contact support team of Mercu-ry Travel for further information.

Cat Ba island is 45km east of Hai Phong and 50 km south of Ha long City. At over 200km2, Cat Ba is the largest island in Halong Bay. The island is easily accessible and matches neighboring Halong Bay and Bai Tu Long Bay for stunning natural beauty. In April 2005, Cat Ba was officially recognized as a World Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO. It also offers


visitors the added options of relaxation, adventure and cultural exchange. There are many ways to get to Cat Ba Island.(+) Take a 2 night tour to Halong Bay, one day stay on boat and the other stay on the island. Please con-tact Mercury Travel for (+) Take a bus to entrain of Tuan Chau Island. From the entrain, catch a taxi to ferry station on the island and then go on the ferry to Cat Ba island. When you get there, catch public bus or taxi to Cat Ba town.

The Cat Ba National Park is home to an extraordi-nary biodiversity earned it in 2004 to be classified as a biological reservoir UNESCO World. This is a pristine forest that is one of the biggest national parks of Vietnam. The planned area is about 15.200 hect-are. The Cat Ba National Park covers 4,200 hect-ares of seawater and 9,800 hectares of forest.

The Island has a little beach but fun with many mon-keys. Monkeys here are quite friendly and they are high light of the island. You can also take part in scuba diving or snorkel at scuba diving center at Monkey Island Resort; you will be trained by an in-structor on 30 minutes.

There’s way more to northeast Vietnam than Halong Bay. The sinking limestone plateau, which gave birth to the bay’s spectacular islands, continues for some 100km to the Chinese border. The area immediately northeast of Halong Bay is part of Bai Tu Long Na-tional Park.Bai Tu Long Bay is every bit as beautiful as its famous neighbor. In some ways it’s actually more stunning, since it’s only in its initial stages as a destination for travelers. Improved boat transport means it is quickly growing in popularity with domestic tourists, but the bay and its islands are still unpolluted and relatively undeveloped. For Western travelers, it’s a laid-back alternative to the touristy bustle of Halong Bay.

The cave is about 10km north of Cat Ca Town on the road to the national park entrance. Hospital Cave served both as a secret, bomb-proof hospital during the Vietnam War and as a safe house for VC leaders.

From Cat Ba Town, you can go by foot, catch a mo-torbike or electric car to the beaches: Cat Co I and Cat Co II (about 1km from center tower). They are beautiful beaches. In addition, there is other beach named Tung Thu but it doesn’t have waves like Cat Co I, II.

(+) Discover Cat Ba national park(+)Visit Monkey Island

(+)Visit the hospital Cave

(+) Relax on the beach

Cat Ba National Park

Bai Tu Long Bay


TOURS TO HA LONG BAY

Our bus or private car will pick you up at your hotel. Arrive at Halong City, go on board. Having lunch – delicious Vietnamese set menu. Head to Bai Tu Long Bay. Visit the Vung Vieng fishing village by lo-cal rowing boat (01 hour) or Kayak into the village then return to the vessel for your leisure or join one of the following optional activities: Sunbathing, tradi-tional massage, swimming etc. Vietnamese cooking demonstration on boat. Overnight aboard on cruise.

Start your day with Tai Chi on the Sundeck while complimentary tea & coffee are served. Transfer to Smaller boat for Lan Ha Bay excursion. Guided kayaking and swimming at Three Peaches beach, a pristine natural beach lapped by the turquoise water. Continue to discovery Toi and Sang Cave, the most remote point in Lan Ha Bay and bordering the Gulf of Tonkin. Visit its quaint fishing village and lagoon. Kayaking through an amazing tunnel under a karst mountain

Explore the Surprise Cave (Sung Sot Cave). Walk up about 100 steps to the cave entrance and tour the cave for approximately 45 minutes. Walk down about 100 steps and return to the boat. Arrive at Hon Gai Harbor. Transfer by tender to the pier, get-ting on Van back to Hanoi.

Charter boats can be arranged to Bai Tu Long Bay from Halong Bay; rates start at around 300,000d per hour and the trip there takes about five hours. There are few cruises operating itinerary to Bai Tu Long and stay 1 night in this area is the best choice. Hanoi travel agencies, including Mercury Travel, run trips into the Bai Tu Long area.

Day 2: Halong Bay – Lan Ha Bay

Day 3: Amazing Cave - Hanoi

Day 1: Hanoi – Bai Tu Long Bay – Vung Vieng fishing village

HA LONG BAY OFF THE BEATEN TRACK TOUR (3days 2nights)


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Juko from England reviewed “Simply stun-ning ”No trip to Vietnam would be complete with-out a visit to Halong Bay - it’s absolutely stun-ning and an incredible natural occurrence. You literally can lose yourself for hours in the seemingly endless rock formations, none like any other, whilst the fishing villages add an-other element to this stunning place. Exciting small caves, abandoned beaches, beautiful islands - this place has it all and, come night, the silhouettes of the rock formations make for a stunning view. This is genuinely one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been.plore this area, it is well worth it”

Travel Tips1. “Go on road less traveled” and “Stay 2 nights on Cruise” are our best advices we al-ways tell travelers. Staying 2 nights will give you more time to explore the untouched Lan Ha Bay. Going on road less traveled Bai Tu Long for peaceful and stunning view is abso-lutely worthy every single penny. 2. If it is possible, spend more for Halong Bay tours. Ha Long Bay is world nature wonder and Unesco heritage site and should be add-ed on every tours in Vietnam. To take most of advantages of the the area, spending more and avoid cheap tours is recommended. 3. Many tourists now are confused by hundreds of cruises in Halong bay and don’t know which one is good. Recommendation and advices from professional agent like Mercury Travel is extremely necessarily

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About Ninh BinhNinh Bình province is about 100 kilometers south of Hanoi and home of great travel destinations: Hoa Lu ancient capital, Tam Coc, Trang An Complex, Bai Dinh pagoda, Cuc Phuong national park, Phat Diem church, Ke Ga hot spring. Hoa Lu Ancient Capital was chosen as the first capital of Vietnam feudal centralism regime and the Dai Co Viet’s political, economic and cultural centre with the name of Kings Dinh Tien Hoang, Le Dai Hanh and Ly Thai To in 10th century. In 1010, King Ly Thai To moved the capital from Hoa Lu to Thang Long (Hanoi now), opening a new era for Vietnamese people. Ninh Binh’s topography is divided clearly into 3 parts: the mountainous area in the west and northwest; the delta and coastal area in the east and south. With many beautiful scenery and on 2.5 hours drive from Hanoi, Ninh Binh has huge reputation and become favorite places of tourists. End of June 2014, UNESCO recognized Trang An Scenic Landscape Complex (in Ninh Binh) as World Heritage Site. Ninh Binh now is a popular travel spot many tourist because of short distance from Hanoi, breathtaking sceneries and historical relics.

How to get there?Ninh Binh is located about 100km south from Hanoi city and tourists normally get there easily by 2.5 hour car ride. From Ninh Binh city to tourist attractions is about 07-15 Km. Follow a tour or renting a private car is the most convenient way to visit Ninh Binh. Please contact Mercury Travel to arrange tour to Ninh Binh. You can go by train to Ninh Binh and from Ninh Binh train station, you can follow public bus, taxi or rent motorbike for your own tour.

NINH BINHworld heritage sites


Trang An Eco-Tourism Complex is a complex beauty - landscapes called as an ‘outdoor geological mu-seum’ with numerous caves, mountains, valley wa-ter, trees and the historic relic. End of June 2014, UNESCO recognized Trang An Scenic Landscape Complex as World Heritage Sites.According to statistics, Trang An eco-tourism com-plex has over 310 species of higher plants, many algae and fungi. In particular, there have some rare woods and amount of valuable trees using for food, medicine. Trang An cave has thousands of hectares belongings to Truong yen, Ninh Xuan, Gia Sinh, Gia Hai commune with more than 100 caves, tourists can go from this cave to other cave. Run longer than 20 kilometers next to the cave is connected valleys. It is said that this place is the rear of the reign of Dinh Tien Hoang over a thousand years ago. Trang An has 31 valleys, 48 caves and it has some cave with 2000 meters length. This feature creates a beautiful landscape with limestone mountains, surrounding the valley is many lakes and little river running by. Com-ing to Trang An eco-tourism complex, tourists can en-joy the grandeur of the mountains, explore majestic caves and have a pure of relaxation.

(former Vietnam) and proclaimed to be Emperor. He was the first King of Dinh dynasty (King Dinh Tien Hoang), and named the country Dai Co Viet. Then he set up Hoa Lu, his home country, as the capital of Dai Co Viet. His meaningful success was a great landmark of Vietnam as transferring from a district of China into a truly independent nation. Even though most of relics were ruin by time but come here, visitor can learn a lot about Vietnam ancient history and the structure of the first imperial capital of Vietnam.

The Dinh Tien Hoang Temple in Hoa Lu was built in the 17th century, with a special architecture, the interior of which had an “I letter” shape, surrounded by a square land. Here you can witness there wor-shipping King Dinh Tien Hoang and his three sons. You may have to admit that the temple is an origi-nal architectural work of art full of folk sculptures! It attracts tourists for so many valuable relics hidden in thick bricks, tilts, Buddhist prayer-book pillars, and more importantly its meaningful history of the first an-cient capital of Vietnam.

Hoa Lu is the first imperial capital of Vietnam. The very first meaningful stop-over in Ninh Binh should be Hoa Lu, the capital of Vietnam from 968 until 1010. Before the year 968, the nation was colo-nized by China. As time went by, several indepen-dence revolutions have occurred, yet none was of a long success until Dinh Bo Linh’s troops rising. In 968, Dinh Bo Linh defeated 12 lords of the district

Trang An Eco-Tourism Complex

Hoa Lu

Tam Coc – Bich Dong

Boat tour on river in Tam Coc


Tam Coc – Bich Dong is called “A terrestrial Ha Long Bay”, or the “South second nicest grotto” (to Huong Tich) for its poetic and inspirational natural scenery of beauty. It is a grandiose complex of Bich Dong pagoda and Tam Coc grotto. King Le Canh Hung ever said: “This is “the South second nicest grotto of Vietnam, after the Huong Tich Grotto in Ha Tay province”. Its pristine natural beauty together with a simple but nice countryside landscape, and a sacred spiritual life have converged into a fascinating and attractive Tam Coc-Bich Dong to numerous tourists. Nowadays, tourist visit Tam Coc Bich Dong will spend hour traveling along the beautiful little river surround by aquatic rice fields and spectacular karst mountains. It is absolutely beautiful and intriguing ex-perience when the little sampan boat going through the tunnel caves throughout the mountains and stop by the pagoda.

cal tour guide to visit Cuc Phuong. In the tour you will visit Primate Rescue Center where rarest primate spe-cies living and getting treatment and protection from NGO, 1000 years old tree, Ancient Man Cave and a peaceful walk under thick canopy of the forest. Tourists love adventurous can join in Adventure Tour which go through the national park in 3 days or join in Watching Bird Tour for rare tropical birds. Con-tact Mercury Travel for further tour information.

This primeval tropical forest was discovered in 1960, and it was turned into a national park two years lat-er. Cuc Phuong is famous for dozens of picturesque caves. The most interesting of them is Dong Nguoi xua (Ancient Man Cave) where stone tools of pre-his-toric humans were found.

Phat Diem Cathedral is a symbol of a rich religious life in Vietnam. It was built between 1875 and 1899 with four roofs and six sets of iron wooden pillars, and consists of a network of ponds, lakes, churches, and artificial caves. On both sides of the church our smaller churches of different styles. But, unlike these structures, as built by Europeans and resembling typ-ical churches of the era, Phat Diem Cathedral was designed by a Vietnamese priest, known as Father Sau. Come here, you can not only learn about the Christian religion in Vietnam, but also see the unique architecture and learn more history of Vietnam reli-gion.

The National Park is home to some 2,000 species of flora. Some rare wood trees of the Parashorea and Dracontomelum families are about 1,000 years old and from 50m to 70m high. In particular Cuc Phuong boasts at least 50 varieties of orchid; many of them fragrant all the year round. Today, tourists normally join in a full day tour with lo-

Cuc Phuong national park

Bai Dinh Pagoda

Phat Diem Cathedral

An endanger primate in Rescue Center


There are two pagodas in Bai Dinh: old pagoda and new pagoda. The new pagoda is very famous. It is a large population is known to many Asian re-cords and Vietnam are established as the temple has the largest area of Vietnam, the temple is gold-plat-ed copper statue of Asia’s largest, operating temple Horn lang Asia’s longest ... The temple is located at the western gateway to the ruins the ancient capital Hoa Lu, the National Highway 38B, Gia Sinh Com-mune - Gia Vien - Ninh Binh, Ninh Binh City and 15 km, 95 km from Hanoi. The pagoda is crowded and very popular to local people since they come here for praying admire the beautiful structure and nature.

Depart from your hotel in Hanoi and drive to Ninh Binh (2,5 hours). Upon arrival, you will take 2-hour sampan boat trip at Tam Coc (Three Caves). It is very beautiful scenery along the row with vertical sides of Limestone Mountains and rice paddy-fields. The local rowers will take you gently through three beautiful limestone caves with hundreds of stalactites above your heads. Back to the dock and transfer to a local restaurant for a Vietnamese lunch.After lunch, you will jump on a bike for a stunning ride along the back roads through the beautiful scen-ery of towering karsts on the ground of ponds, rice paddies and rural villages to Hoa Lu Commune. Arrive at Hoa Lu, walk to visit a beautiful temple, which dedicated to a Vietnamese heroic king, Dinh Tien Hoang. Strolling around and learn the typical architecture of Vietnamese religious buildings and a bit about Vietnamese history after a thousand years under the Chinese domination.Climb to the nearby Yen Ma Mountain for the pan-orama view over the karst landscape in the area, and then back to your private vehicle for returning to Hanoi.

TOURS TO NINH BINHYou can book tours to Ninh Binh with Mercu-ry Travel in full packages tour or single tour as follow:Hoa Lu – Tam Coc Tour (Day Trip)


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Geci from Philippin reviewed “Amazing Site”After seeing Halong Bay, I am curious about this “Halong Bay in Land” place that a lot of people are talking about. But I had a di-lemma if I should go between Tam Coc and Trang An, I am glad I chose Trang An! The view is sooo amazing and the ride is long so you can just really enjoy the view. And our group had a little fun; we had a paddle race on our way back! Haha! Really great experi-ence. Glad I visited this place.

Travel TipsIf you don’t have much time in Vietnam and want to take a short excursion from Hanoi then Ninh Binh is the place to go. It is a per-fect combination of beautiful nature, historical relic and fun activities.One day trip to Ninh Binh should be fine and enough for this place. The distance from cen-ter of Ninh Binh to Tourist destination is pretty far, so you should join in a tour in which car was prepared. If you are independent travel-er you can rent a motorbike and explore the area by yourself, remember to check the bike and fill up gas.

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About Mai ChauMai Chau is located in Hoa Binh province, approximately 135 km from Hanoi and 60 km from Hoa Binh. From the top of Cun Mountain, one can admire the superb panora-ma of Mai Chau surrounded by a green valley and stilt houses. Many minorities, including the Thai ethnic group, live in Mai Chau.Mai Chau is perfect place for those who want to escapes the hassle of big city and want to find themselves within nature. This enchanting destination offers a perfect oppor-tunity to admire a stunning sunrise on the highland, enjoy mind blowing views over flowery valleys and exploring colorful hill tribe culture. With alluring landscape and endearing culture, Mai Chau makes an ideal destination for trekking and home-stay trav-el. Tourists especially enjoy the minority specialty dishes including rice cooked in bamboo and grilled meat. They also enjoy watching traditional dancing, music perfor-mances (bronze, drums, gongs), and Thai minority singing and dancing.

When to go?October-November and February-June are the best times to go. It’s not too hot with sunny weath-er. You can feel comfortable in the atmosphere in home-stay, visit the village and discover the beauty of nature.

How to get there?Mai Chau, located in Hoa Binh province, some 140km from Hanoi. For transportation, public bus at 8.00 in My Dinh bus station. Tourist bus is available and normally departs from Old Quar-ter. The bus ride takes about 4 hours from Hanoi to Mai Chau.

MAI CHAUthe beauty of green peace


SIGHT & ACTIVITIES

Lac village is located in Mai Chau valley, Hoa Binh Province with unique traditions. There are five Thai ethnics live in Lac village: Ha, Lo, Mac, and Loc. According to the head of Lac village -Ha Cong Tim, Lac village has over 700 years old. Previously, the professions of the local people were rice planting and weaving brocade. Later, the hidden beauty of Lac village is explored by tourists.From weaving scarf, brocade dress to wear, women in the village have made a lot of souvenirs for tour-ists such as: scarf, skirts, lovely wallet… Coming to Lac village, tourists can enjoy bamboo cooked rice, experience their daily life. Ethnic people are very gentle, friendly. In the afternoon, there has strangely beautiful with the rays of the sun into the valley. Lac villagers will roast meat, cook a pot of bitter bamboo for tourists. They can enjoy traditional dishes and lis-tening to the thrill gongs. Visiting to Lac Village, all kinds of tiredness will be disappeared. The range of mountain blends with cloud and green of rice fields along with stilted houses creates spectacular scene of Lac village. Let’s spend your holiday at home-stay here to experience exciting feeling.

The special of Pom Coong has “pure Thai” space with clean water, water construction which creates comfortable and safe feeling. Coming here, tourists will feel the fresh air and peaceful of life, you will forget the fatigues. In addition, you will have chance to meet local girls in the dance. Tourists visit Pom Coong village who are foreigners, students. They want to understand more about ethnic life, the Thai and soak into the Thai daily life, traditional dance, gong festivals, home stay and other activities… Tour-ists are not only sight views but also join hands with Pom Coong to help poor families.

Like others minority groups at the mountainous area in Vietnam Thai people live in the stilt houses. The hous-es are quite large with palm leaf roofs and polished bamboo-slat floors. The kitchen is put in the center of the house, that’s the place for cooking and also for the woman making their colorful “brocade”, the material used by Thai minority to make their clothes. The house has many windows, large and decorated with patterns. Each house also usually has a pond to breed fish. These can be seen clearly at Lac village,

Pom Coong village belongs to Mai Chau town, Mai Chau district. Like other villages of the Muong, Thai, the Pom Coong village often live in area which has rivers, streams. The Thai is famous for traditional dance. Different from stilted houses of other ethnic, stilted house of the Thai often taller that that one so that it always creates comfortable feeling. The sou-venir is various and beautiful with vivid color which

make stilted become more attractive.

Lac village

Pom Coong Village

Home-stay experience


TOURS TO MAI CHAU

the stilt houses now are using as the home stay for the tourists with communal room and private room. Tour-ists also have chance to enjoy some special foods and Can wine while watching traditional dancing, music performances (bronze, drums, gongs), and Thai minority singing and dancing.

will be the local traditional party. At the party, lo-cal people will dance the tradition dance following by the singing and music. Meanwhile you will be invited to try the legendary Can wine, this famous tradition wine was made from rice and you drink it through a tiny bamboo stick. Joining this White Thai’s ceremony you will feel local’s hospitality and their rich tradition that has been passed through cen-tury. Go back to Hanoi and end tour.

Those who want to shop in Mai Chau should look forward to the Sunday market. People from different ethnic groups residing in the mountains come down to Mai Chau to sell various products, including corn, bananas and other fruits, as well as the Tho Cam woven by skilled Tai women. Ducks, pigs and dogs in bamboo cages are also for sale. The Sunday mar-ket is also a place to get nicely made traditional Tai cuisine. Come here, you can have a interesting experiences. It’s very difference from the supermarket or market in the cites.

In the morning, tour bus and tour guide pick up at your hotel and drive 3 hour to Mai Chau valley. We first stop at a White Thai family and start walking into Pom coong and Lac village. Then you will discover the local daily life and see how the minority live with-in nature and respect Mother Nature reflected on their work or ritual and ceremonies. You also have chance to learn the technique that they make silk and traditional textile from the traditional weaving looms. Have lunch and try local traditional food.In the afternoon, the high light point of the afternoon

Mai Chau Market

Hanoi – Mai Chau (Full day)


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Saban from Sydney reviewed “This is Viet-nam”After 2 weeks in Vietnam this was our high-light. Two packed days walking, riding and experiencing this friendly area. We walked through the fields, and cycled the roads until we fell. All the home stays are great it seems. What stood out: our kids playing football with the local kids into the evening and asking our hosts to arrange local dancers and musicians to put on a show to remember. Make visit this rural area a must and get out of the normal tourist route.

Travel TipsThe distance from Hanoi Mai Chau is pretty far so make sure you join in at least 1 night tour and chose the home-stay experience, it will make the trip much better. Remember to bring your passport, change of clothes, sun-glasses & hat, sun cream, insect repellent, good shoes, personal first aid kit & medicines, VND for personal expenses.If you don’t have a time to go to market, you can haggle or bargain with your hosts to have the tradition-al textile items.

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About SapaSapa is about 380km from Hanoi in the north west of Vietnam. It is a former French hill station situated in the valley near the Chi-nese border. It also is the one place in the northwest where tour-ism is booming. Sapa’s high elevation of 1600 meters creates its cool climate. This inspired the French to build villas there as a summer retreat. Today, it attracts visitors for its stunning scenery, comfortable climate, colorful tradition markets and a variety of ethnic hill tribes. Sapa has fascinated numerous travelers cause this is a perfect place for relaxing, exploring culture and Hill tribe’s traditional lifestyle, adventurous trekking with breathtaking sceneries.

When to goThe best time is between Septembers to December.. From March to Jun is also excellent time as it is not so cold and the flowers all brilliantly blossoms but rains intensify from June onwards. During winter time January to February temperature is regularly around 0ºC and there is snow sometime.

How to get there? There are 2 ways to go to Sapa: By coach: Catch public coach from Hanoi to Lao Cai city then catch another coach to Sapa town. However, this is not recom-mended due to dangerous terrain in Sapa. By train: Catching a night train is the most common way to go. Many night trains leave Hanoi around 8-10pm and reach Lao Cai train station around 4-6Am in the next day. From Lao Cai train station, catch a public bus or book a private car in advance to Sapa (book private picking up car and guide from your travel agent). To make it safe and convenient, most of tourist book train ticket and also picking up car and guide from Lao Cai train sta-tion through a tour organizer or travel agents.

SAPAstunning breathtaking sceneries


SIGHT & ACTIVITIES

Ta Phin: reputes with the terraced rice fields, streams, ect. It has Red Dao ethnic minority and Black H’mong. Come to Ta Phin, visitors will know more about their customs, traditions and lifestyle of ethnic people. A common sight in the village is to see the woman and the girls sitting together, glossing and laughing, head down focused on a piece of indigo colored cloth.Cat Cat village: Nestled in a beautiful valley about three kilometers from Sapa Town, Cat Cat- the old village of ethnic groups- attracts tourists from all over the world for its distinctive customs and practices which have been lost in almost ethnic villages. The village is within easy walking distance from any ho-tel in downtown Sapa.Ta Van: Located far from Sapa less than 10 kilome-ters, Ta Van - a village of Lao Cai province is lying peacefully in the valley of Muong Hoa. Residents are mainly the H’Mong ethnic, Giay, and Red Dao... with approximately 1000 people. The road leads to Ta Van village that is small and narrow. Along two sides has a fertile terraced field which adorns by the green of corn and rice. When visitors come to Ta Van village, they will not be amazed at the simple beauty of the houses in the village. A night stay here will give you a close-up experience of the life-style and culture typical of the area.Ban Ho: Ban Ho is far from Sapa town about 20 y but has become commercial in recent years. These days there are kilometers. It is divided into three ar-eas: Ta Trung Ho, Xeo Trung Ho and Hoang Lien, which is place of the Mong, Dao, Tay. Have no specific price but guides usually pay 20.000vnd/people/day for accommodation.

The owner doesn’t appreciate it as important; they bring foods and wine for tourists. Come to Ban Ho, you will be alive and living in the cozy ambiance and friendly family. Because the cli-mate in Ban Ho is warmer than Sapa (between 18-250C), in the afternoon, tourists can enjoy yourself in the stream Lave, sight Da Nhay waterfall.

This mountain is located 9km south-west of Sapa Town in the Hoang Lien Mountain Range. At 3143m, Fansipan peak is the highest peak in Vietnam and the entire Indochina peninsula. This remote trek origin, to the French influenced hill retreat town of Sapa with its minority groups, beauty. As we ascend Vietnam’s many ethnic minorities.

For the trekking to Fansipan peak you have to book a tour with guide and potters. The best time is between October and December, as this period is more of-ten than not free from the heavy rains that obstruct the jaunt. Others prefer their tours to the peak of the mountain from February to April, as it is not so cold and the flowers all brilliantly blossoms; violets, or-chids and rhododendrons.

Hill-tribe people from surrounding villages go to Sapa market most days to sell handicrafts and ethnic-style clothing. Saturday is the most frantic, as tour groups from Hanoi visit for the evening love market, which see hill tribe teenagers trek into town to find a mate. Visit the market and buy some ethnic-style clothing as souvenir is good idea.

Hill tribe villages

Hill tribe villages

Sapa Market


TOURS TO SAPA

EATING & DRINKING

• Red Dao House: 4B D Thac Bac; meals from 100.000VND. This small restaurant in a mock hill-tribe house has a nice front terrace and staff who wear Dzao style costume.

• Nature View (Phan Si Street): opposite the Cat Cat View hotel offering a good mix of Vietnam-ese and western flavors. The set lunch of four course is great value

If you take a trekking tour and choose to overnight in Home-stay then the locals will prepare for you a great tradition dinner (our tourists came there and loved it).

Tourist visiting Sapa can’t miss trekking for those breathtaking views. For the best services and espe-cially safe and reliable tours in Sapa, please contact Mercury Travel – professional tour organizer in Viet-nam.

After breakfast, we start the day with an easy trek of 10 km to visit 2 villages of the red Dzao, the H’mong (Giang Ta Chai & Su Pan). The trekking will take you along local paths, up and down rice terraces and into the villages and home of local hill tribes. Enjoy a beautiful waterfall and rattan bridge with picturesque landscapes… through bamboo forest on the way to the main road to get the jeep to return to Sapa. 6pm take a bus transfer to Lao Cai train station for night train back to Hanoi.

(Hotel or Home-stay accommodation as your wish)Day 01: Sapa –Y Linh Ho - Lao Chai – Ta Van Arrive in Lao Cai station at 5:00 in the morning. You are welcomed by driver, and then transfer by bus to Sapa. The bus ride uphill to Sa Pa takes a little over an hour, giving you a glimpse of the stunning vistas and impressive rice terraces. You will have breakfast at hotel before we start 12 km of trekking to visit Lao Chai villages of the H’mong minority. The trekking route offers some challenges as you balance on the rice terraces and a small trail on the steep mountain-side. The vegetation is dense as the trail leads up to a peaceful village perched on the Hoang Lien moun-tainside. Head downhill and relax by a local stream for a picnic lunch. After lunch, we continue trekking to Ta Van village of the Dzay where we have a unique home stay experience. Day 02: Ta Van – Giang Ta Chai – Su Pan – Sapa

Restaurants:

Sapa Home-stay Tour (2 trekking days)


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Nick from Canada“In Sapa we chose overnight at home-stay and we were treated as family. Stayed at the Home stay house and was welcomed with open friendly smiles all around. Dinner was fun to watch being prepared and even more so enjoyed when eaten. The medicinal bath was great so says my mate. This was rice planting time and was a special time to be able to know some of the folks in the fields. It is a growing area moving up the mountain. A must for the list”

Travel Tips1. Well preparation for the trekking trip. Trek-king in Sapa is quite hard and requires good health condition. Since weather in Sapa is of-ten cold and wet, make sure you have proper hiking boots, insect spray, sun scream, long-sleeved clothes, light raincoat, hats.2. Experience local home-stay. Home-stay is extremely interesting experiences that you tried at least once in life. Eat and sleep in hill tribe’s houses, see their farming activities and participate in their local life styles will guarantee you amazing experiences.

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Ethnic girl in traditional customeMercuryTravel


When to go?Northeast Vietnam has different beauty de-pend on each season. However, the best time to visit is from August to September when Ban Gioc waterfall filled with water. November to December is time when all kinds of flowers blossom all over the place and create a para-dise view on mountain.

How to get there?The most beautiful site of the area is Ba Be national Park, 240 km from Hanoi. Ban Gioc waterfall is 192 km from Ba Be national park and 342 km from Hanoi. For the most con-venience and safety, tourists normally book a package tour to go to each destination or Northeast combine tours.

About Northeast VietnamNorthern highlands of Vietnam shares borders with China and is home of many ethnic minorities including the Tay, Nung, Dao, and H’mong. Northeast Vietnam has huge reputation in Vietnam tourism for its numerous attractions include Thang Then Lake, Ban Gioc Waterfall and Ba Be Lakes in Ba Be National Park. There are also several historical sites where president Ho Chi Minh lived and worked before the August 1945 Revolution including Pac Bo, Coc Bo Cave, Lenin Stream, and Khuoi Nam Stream. Cao Bang city is also known for the Battle of Cao Bang, the first major decisive victory of the Viet Minh against the French Army.More than 80% of the area’s natural area is covered by mountains and forests hence tours to northeast is suit-able for adventure trekking, sight-seeing and explore deeply Northern Vietnam’s nature, hill tribe lifestyle and history.

THE NORTHEASTdeeply nature and history of Vietnam


SIGHT & ACTIVITIES

Ba Be National Park (ba Be lake located inside) lo-cated in Bac Can Province, 240km from Hanoi and covers more than 23,000 hectares boasting water-falls, rivers, deep valleys, lakes and caves set amid towering peaks. The whole area is home to many ethnic minority communities. Ba Be Lake is in fact three lakes linked by wide chan-nels, about 8km long and 400m wide. The surface is always calm, making a boat trip a peaceful expe-rience. To reach Ba Be, it is an approximately it is an approximately six to eight -hour drive on rough road but excellent scenery compensated.It’s a complex including lakes, rivers, streams, forests, and caves. Mother Nature loves it too much that she decides to give Ba Be a warm weather in winter and a cool weather in summer so that it can become an ideal destination for people from everywhere to come, admire and cherish in just any season. Visitors who come to Ba Be not only enjoy the cha-risma of nature but also get to know many traditional and scientific values of this natural park through the helpful and energetic tour guides. In sunny days, the scenery resembles a Feng Shui painting that mesmer-izes even the most demanding visitors. The surface of the lake is flat; it transforms the whole lake into a mir-ror that reflects the figures of the majestic mountains and the shining cloud. People in here are extremely hospitable in Ba Be so you can even have a chance to visit their house and experience for yourself the breath of Ba Be’s mountains and forest.

From Thai Nguyen City, capital of Bac Thai prov-ince, you drive along Highway 3 to the towns of Bac Can and Phu Thong. After another 16 km you will arrive at Ba Be Lake which is about 225 km from Hanoi. Ba Be is some 145m above sea level, 8 km long, 3 km wide and about 20-30m deep. Ba Be Lake is surrounded by Limestone Mountains and thick forest, home of many species of rare birds and animals. The best time to visit Ba Be is in spring. You can take a dugout canoe to visit the small islands of Po Ga Mai and An Ma, and Puong Grotto. The Grotto is about 300m long, and 30-40m in height and width. The stalagmites and stalagmites inside the grotto are beautiful and diverse in forms. If you have time, you can travel one hour by boat to visit Dau Dang Fall. The 100-m, three-level waterfall makes the scenery even more magnificent.

Ban Gioc Waterfall on the Quy Xuan River is located in Cao Bang Province, nears the Sino-Vietnamese border. The waterfall falls thirty meters. It is separat-ed into three falls by rocks and trees, and the thun-dering effect of the water hitting the cliffs can be heard kilometers away from Trung Khanh.

Ba Be National Park – Ba Be Lake

Ban Gioc Waterfall


Ban Doc Waterfall is situated in Dam Thuy Com-mune, Trung Khanh District. The Quay Son River rises from China flowing into our country in Po Peo (Ngoc Khe Commune) and to communes including Dinh Phong and Chi Vien. When it reaches Dam Thuy Commune of Trung Khanh District, the mild river cir-cles around Co Muong mountain bottom and flows to rice fields of Dam Thuy towards the large maize alluvial plain of Ban Gioc village. Here, the flow di-vides into many branches and lowers its flow to creat Ban Gioc Waterfall.Water from Quy Xuan River falling down on the stone creates water droplets columns that can be seen from a distance. The temperature near the wa-terfall is remarkably cool, due to the water mist in the air. At the foot of the waterfall is a large river, as calm as glass, surrounded by many precious kinds of flowers. The sight in Ban Gioc Waterfall bears a poetic, fresh, quiet beauty of water, forest and cloud area mixed with village atmosphere of mountainous ethnic minorities.

Nguom Ngao is a really amazing cave, huge and attractive with various shaped stalactites. Some sta-lactites can create echo also.Nguom Ngao means “tiger’s cave” in the language of the local Tay ethnic minority. It is said that a long time ago, many fierce tigers sheltered in the cave and would enter the nearby village to hunt for live-stock and even humans. At its main entrance, you can feel the fresh, cool air from the natural mist inside. Nature has endowed the cave with stone formations that look like human beings, trees, plants and mythical animals.The cave was formed due to weathered process of Limestone Mountains by wind and water over a long time. Stepping in the cavern, you seem to see a miraculous world. From high stone cliffs, hanging wonderful sparkling seven-colored stalactites. Along the way are stalactites of all shapes that look like boats, cactus, forests, and terraced rice fields - a symbol of mountainous region of Vietnam and poles and valleys that are said to create a link between the earth and the heaven and a loving tie between men and women.Nguom Ngao has been recognized as a national relic. Without doubt, Nguom Ngao Cave and Ban Gioc Waterfalls are two must-see natural wonders in the northern province of Cao Bang.

Pac Bo is in Ha Quang District of Cao Bang Prov-ince, 50km from Cao Bang Town. Pac Bo was the place Ho Chi Minh returned to Vietnam after 30 years traveling the world seeking ways to liberate Vietnam from the French rule.After an hour or so following the scenic road, you’ll come to a breathtaking valley inhabited by the Nung people. Following the path along the main stream for an hour on foot, we’ll arrive at the foot of a high mountain where the water comes out from under-ground. This is the mountain where Pac Bo cave is located.Pac Bo Cave was where President Ho Chi Minh lived and worked after returning to Vietnam. It was here that he prepared documents for the coming revolution and where he contacted his comrades to discuss about the course of the revolution. President Ho Chi Minh was specially protected by the local Nung people.Hiking through the forested mountains, you’ll come to a rocky area where Pac Bo Cave is located. There are also many small caves like this in the area. China is only a few meters away from here. Pac Bo was a secret area and it was easy to escape to China

should there have been be an ambush.

Pac Bo cave

Nguom Ngao Cave

TOURS TO NORTHEAST VIETNAMRoad less traveled (6days)Hanoi–Ba Be-Cao Bang-BanGioc WaterfallDay1: Hanoi – Ba Be Starting from hotel in Hanoi for transferring to Ba Be Lake, 7 hour driving – 260 km from Hanoi. Stop en route to visit a tea plantation and a sugar facto-ry. Arrive at Ba Be Lake. In the late afternoon, visit surrounding villages, home to a number of ethnic groups: Tay, Nung, San Chi, etc. You may join your hands preparing dinner with your host. Overnight at


home stay in Pac Ngoi villageDay 2: Ba Be Start our day with a bike ride. We drop by Pac Ngoi and Peng village to explore the newly discov-ered Hua Ma Cave. In the afternoon, embark a little boat to cruise the emerald Ba Be Lake and soak in its sublime serenity and beauty. The surrounding mountains are covered with lush vegetation, home to diverse flora and fauna. We continue our cruise towards the scenic Dau Dang waterfall, on the way visiting some ethnic minorities. Overnight at home stay in Pac Ngoi villageDay 3: Ba Be – Cao Bang Morning drive from Bao Lac to Cao Bang town (160km from Ba Be). Make a visit to Pac Po cave- where Ho Chi Minh lived from 1941 to find out the way to liberate the country. Visiting this histori-cal area, visitors will learn more about the great life of President Ho Chi Minh which is part- reflected through his optimistic revolutionary verses. The rest of the day is free for relax. Day 4: Cao Bang – BanGioc Water fallBegin our morning by visiting Ban Gioc Water fall, 90km from Cao Bang town. Have a picnic lunch while contemplate the magnificent waterfall. Contin-ue visit Nguom Ngao cave then back to Cao Bang. Stop at Thang Hen Lake – 25 km from Cao Bang, embark for a boat trip to discover this lake surround-ed by the forest and rocky formation. Overnight at the hotel in Cao bangDay 5: Cao Bang – Lang Son Our journey continues through the history of Indochi-na via the Route Colonial No. 4 (RC 4, also known as thi high way 4) famous for a French military disas-ter in 1950, passing Dong Khe and That Khe. Arrive in Lang Son (135km) in the late afternoon. Lang Son is a small town where we can find the market well stocked with variety of products imported from Chi-na. Overnight at the hotel in Lang SonDay 6: Lang Son – Hanoi Morning visit to the Tam Thanh Grotto in Lang Son including Nhat Thanh cave, Nhi Thanh cave and Tam Thanh cave located on the western end of Ky Lua street, inside the chain of mountains, which have the shape of an elephant herd crouching on the grassy field. Transfer back to Hanoi (155km). End of our services


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Tatyana from Russia“We were traveling across the country so we plane our trip around places that we wanted to see. Ba be National park was one from the “must see” list. We came to Babe and it was very peaceful, we saw few more tourists – and it was great! Because it feels like we found lost paradise, land that does not exist on the maps with beautiful nature and friendly people. We stayed in the Homestay for one night (arranged by Mercury Travel). Golden Vacation helped to organize private boat tour for 2 of us. So in the morning tour guide (boat driver) + two of us go to the Waterfall, then we sail through all lake and came to the beautiful cave. We were lucky to see Ba be lake in the morning, but I am sure that on the sunset it also amazing!”

Travel TipsTours to Northeast Vietnam are likely suitable to adventurer or those who love explore wild nature and trekking. This is perfect off the bit-ten track route but also hard to arrange vehi-cles and book accommodation by yourself. You should easily book a tour (group or pri-vate) for the safest, well organized trip.

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CHAPTER 2 - CENTER VIETNAM


About Phong Nha Ke BangPhong Nha - Ke Bang national park is designat-ed a UNESCO World Heritage Site, located in Quang Binh Province, in north-central Vietnam, about 500 km south of the nation’s capital, Ha-noi The remarkable Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park contains the oldest karst mountains in Asia, formed approximately 400 million years ago. Riddled with hundreds of cave systems – many of extraordinary scale and length – and spectac-ular underground rivers, Phong Nha is a speleol-ogists’ heaven on earth. Its collection of stunning dry caves, terraced caves, towering stalagmites and glistening crystal-edged stalactites represent nature on a very grand scale indeed, and are beginning to create a real buzz in Vietnam, as more and more riches are discovered.Serious exploration only began in the 1990s, lead by the British Cave Research Association and Hanoi University. Cavers first penetrated deep into Phong Nha Cave, one of the world’s longest systems. In 2005 Paradise Cave was dis-covered, and in 2009 a team found the world’s largest cave – Son Doong.Above the ground, most of the mountainous 885 sq km of Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park is near-pristine tropical evergreen jungle, more than 90% of which is primary forest. It borders the bio-diverse Hin Namno reserve in Laos to form an impressive, continuous slab of protected habitat. More than 100 types of mammal (including 10 species of primate, tigers, elephants, and the saola, a rare Asian antelope), 81 types of reptile and amphibian, and more than 300 varieties of bird have been logged in Phong Nha.

When to go?The best time to visit Phong Nha is in March and April. Between May and September is ok but can be very hot so March and April is the sweet spot. In October and November the Phong Nha area can see heavy flooding due to a combination of being on low ground and ty-phoon season.

How to get there?There are various connecting options such as bus, train or flight from Hanoi, Hochiminh to Dong Hoi city. From Dong Hoi city, you can take a taxi, motorbike taxi or a shuttle bus to Phong Nha-Ke Bang (50km distance). Tours to Phong Nha cave from Hue city is available as well and please contacts our team for detail information.

PHONG NHA KE BANGworld heritage national park


SIGHT & ACTIVITIES

Formed approximately 250million years ago, Phong Nha Cave is the largest and most beautiful cave in Vietnam. It is remarkable for thousands of meters of underground passageways and river caves filled with abundant stalactites and stalagmites. This is not a place to miss.Phong Nha means Cave of Teeth and was used by the Northern Vietnamese as a hospital and ammuni-tion depot during the American war. In 1990, British scientists surveyed 35km of the cave and discovered the main cavern is nearly 8km long with 14 other caves nearby.To get to entrain of the cave you have to pass a river and boat is the only transportation means to explore Phong Nha Cave. Once you get further into the cave, it is mostly unspoiled. The cave system is electrically lit but you can bring a torch for better exploration.

Tourist route discovery of Sinh Ton (Survival) Valley and Hang Thuy Cung (Aquarium palace cave) has a total length of 9 km (4.5 km for exit and 4.5 km for entry). Travelers will be taken to the start point at the Km15 or Km18 on West branch of the Ho Chi Minh road, the Survival valley of 2,000 ha width, surrounded by huge limestone mountains and the vast primeval forests, caves in the middle of the Aquarium with watercolor blue, cool, create beauti-

Thien Duong cave is situated the forestry sub-region of ecological recovery and the limestone core region of the World Natural Heritage of Phong Nha - Kẻ Bàng, Bố Trạch district, Quảng Bình province. This is among caves which do not have underground rivers and was discovered by explorers of the British Cave Research Association (BCRA) and geographical pro-fessors of the Hà Nội University in 2005.Thien Duong cave is some 7km from the Western branch of Hồ Chí Minh Road. Nature forms special features for the cave from the entrance gate to holds inside. Lying in the middle of the mountain side, the cave is surrounded by well-off old and wild forests. Despite being a 4km part of the cave being dis-covered, Thiên Đường shows the value of a karst structure which appeared millions of years ago, cre-ating a mysterious beauty of pillars of stalactites. You won’t want to leave because of its beauty.

Tien Son Cave is a dry cave in the mountainside just above Phong Nha Cave. You can walk to it from the entrance to Phong Nha Cave (1,000m) – look for the sign at the foot of the stairs. This cave was discovered in 1935 by locals and named the Fairy Cave due to its extraordinary beauty, later it was called Dry cave to distinguish it from Phong Nha cave which is the water cave. The Chams used the cave’s grottoes as Hindu sanctuaries in the 9th and 10th centuries and till today, the remains of their al-tars and inscriptions can still be seen. This cave was last used as a hospital and ammunition depot during

the War and thus one of the key entry points to the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Come here, visitors can not only discover the cave, but also learn about the history in Vietnam.Phong Nha Cave

Thien Duong Cave (Paradise Cave)

Tien Son Cave

Sinh Ton (Survival) Valley and Hang Thuy Cung (Aquarium palace cave)


TOURS TO PHONG NHA

ful scenery to fascinating people. The Survival valley is more attractive because there are plenty of oil otter population’s endemic trees, patches of paintings un-touched, and many plants species richness. It is an opportunity for visitors to gain a better understanding of the value of forest biodiversity World Natural Her-itage National Park Phong Nha - Ke Bang.After experiencing at the Survival valley by flashlight, visitors will continue to explore the 600m depths of Hang Nuoc Lan (Water Diving cave) – the backdoor of Hang Toi (the Dark Cave) and Hang Thuy Cung (Aquarium palace cave) with exotic color of blue wa-ter. Here, travelers will explore the mysterious Aquar-ium palace cave which is located in the heart of the limestone between the jungles.This new route will be a mysterious and ideal des-tination of world natural heritage site - Phong Nha - Ke Bang national park for people who like discov-ering the wild raw nature.

Vietnam’s Demilitarized Zone, or DMZ, is the area around the former border between North and South Vietnam. Historically it was a narrow band of ter-rain extending from the Laos border to the coast, five km on either side of the Ben Hai River, roughly on the 17th parallel north latitude. The area saw heavy fighting in the war, and ruins of old American mili-tary bases still exist. Even if you’re not interested in the history, the area has some spectacular mountain scenery and rugged jungles.There are many places you can visit in DMZ:Hien Luong Bridge crosses the Ben Hai River at the middle of the DMZ and marks the former border be-tween North and South Vietnam from 1954 to 1972 when the North Vietnamese Army captured Dong Ha town in the 1972 Easter Offensive and pushed the

The bus and tourist guide pick up you at Hue City. Depart for Phong Nha Ke Bang national park. On the way, we will stop at la Vang Holy - land and pass DMZ of Quang Tri, the Macnamara line, 17th Paralle, Ben Hai River, Hien Luong Bridge. The stop is remarkable educational, provide you more infor-mation about Vietnam War and history. Have lunch at the restaurant at Xuan SonTownAfternoon: The cars will take you to Paradise case in the ecological tourist zone of Paradise cave. Spend your time wandering in “The Eden on the earth”.

border to the Thach han river in Quang Tri town, some 20 miles further south. During the partition of Vietnam, the bridge was painted with the two differ-ent colors. There is a monument on the north side.Vinh Moc Tunnels where an entire village lived for two and a half years. 17 babies were born in the tunnels. There is a small but informative museum here, with photos of the construction of the tunnels, and of daily life underground.Camp Carroll is the largest fire base of the U,S Ma-rines below the DMZ. There were 24 big guns there to provide fire support for the Marines. In the 1972 Easter Offensive it was captured by the NVA when Ltn Colonel Pham Van Dinh of the Army of Republic of South Vietnam surrendered the entire 1.600 sol-diers and 24 guns to the NVA.Dak Rong Bridge is midway along Highway 9, and is the starting point of Highway 15, which leads south to the A Shau valley and the infamous “Ham-burger Hill”. Though not entirely legitimate, there is a monument commemorating it as a point on the Ho Chi Minh Trail, Khe Sanh Combat Base, just east of the Lao border, was the site of a U.S. base which fell under attack in early 1968. The attack of the NVA on Khe Sanh was a diversion for the 1968 Tet Offensive in the south. The old airfield of red dirt still remains.

DMZ

Hue – DMZ – Phong Nha Ke Bang (Full Day)

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About Hue Hue City is one of most attractive destinations in Vietnam, which has many cultural heritages. Up to now, there are no places like Hue remaining a lot of originally historical vestiges as in this ancient Capital City. Visiting Hue, travelers will be amazed with an ancient, romantic and delicate city, architect, wonderful natural sites, exquisite cuisines and intriguing ancient history. Exploring Emperor’s life and history in Imperial Enclosure, an-cient architect in Royal toms, Tu Duc tomb, Khai Dinh tomb…, cultural religion in Thien Mu pagoda, Citizen’s studying spirit in Temple of Letters. Relaxing, sightseeing and enjoying magnificent natural scenery in Perfume River, Lang Co beach, Thuan An beach…Furthermore, Hue has huge reputation for elegant cuisine; you will get unforgettable memories with Hue’s cuisine such as Bun bo Hue, Mussel rice, Hue sweet pudding, salted rice.

When to go?The best time to visit Hue city is between March and April, when the weather is warm and the rains have yet to start and climate is not too hot. It is com-fortable for tourists to visit landscapes and enjoy cuisine in Hue City. Sept and Oct is also great time to visit Hue.

How to get there?-Byair:Vietnam Airlines is currently the only airline that serves Phu Bai International Airport (about 20 km South of Hue city center). Domestic routes connect Hue to Hanoi – 3 flights daily, and Ho Chi Minh City - 4 flights daily. Travel time is approximately 1 hour, either from Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City.-Bytrain:Travelling to Hue by train is really a pleas-ant way; the state-run railway network runs the entire length of Vietnam from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City. There are daily train stopping at Hue, with two tightly departures at 19.00 and 23.00. Get around -By taxi:Taxi drivers are usually honest, but make sure they turn the meter on: trips start at 15,000 dong for the first 2km and tick upward at 11,500 dong/km. -ByTourvehicles:You can contact travel agent to arrange private car for your tour around the city or join in coach in group tours. This is most reliable and convenient way to see the city.

HUEcultural heritages city


SIGHT & ACTIVITIES

Lying at Hue city center, it was the imperial city during Nguyen dynasty. In December 1993, Hue Imperial City was recognized as a World Cultural Heritage Site by UNESCO. Now it has become a must see attraction for anyone travelling to HueBuilt throughout 27 years during the reign of Emperor Minh Mang (1805 – 1832), the citadel is situated on the Northern bank of the Perfume River, on an expansive area 500 ha wih: Capital Citadel (Kinh Thanh), Royal Citadel ( Hoang Thanh) and Forbid-den Citadel ( Tu Cam Thanh) from outside to inside.Come here with a local tour guide, you will have memorable time to discover a dynasty in Vietnam – Nguyen dynasty and ancient history.

Location: Located in a narrow valley in Duong Xuan Thuong Village, 8km from Hue City.Tu Duc tomb is one of Nguyen dynasty’s finest ex-amples of imperial tomb architecture. Built between 1864 and 1867, Tu Duc’s tomb required an incred-ible amount of money and labour, thus resulted in a rebellion of workers.It is said that no other Royal Tomb in Hue can com-pare to Tu Duc’s for its size and luxuriousness. Oper-ating Hours: 8:00am to 6:00pm

About 20 kilometers to the South from Hue City, on the banks of the perfume River, is The Imperial tomb of Gia Long, where lie the first emperor of the Nguy-en dynasty & his family and relatives. Gia Long is the King who moved the capital from Hanoi to Hue, where, with French assistance, he built the famous citadel.Those tombs were built between the years 1814 and 1820 and recognized as one of UNESCO World Heritages. Gia Long tomb is open daily at 7:00 to 11:30 and 13:30 to 17:30 schedule.

Built in 1601 between a river and a pine forest, the Thien Mu Pagoda (“Heavenly Lady Pagoda”) in Hue is one of the oldest and prettiest religious buildings in the country. Among the many interesting artifacts housed at the complex is the car that took the monk Thich Quang Duc to his self-immolation in 1963 Sai-gon.Tourists in Vietnam travel admire about its architec-ture, because it’s wonderful architectural pagoda in the area of Hue. The initial temple was very simply constructed, but over time it was redeveloped and expanded with more intricate features. In 1665, an expansion was undertaken under the reign of the

The tomb was started constructing in September 1840 under the order of King Minh Mang. In Janu-ary 1841, while the work was implemented, Minh Mang passed away. After the father’s dead, King Thieu Tri continued the task and completed the con-struction 2 years later in 1843.Opening hours: From 8:00 Am to 5:00 Pm

Khai Dinh tomb is far about 10 kilometers from Hue city. Khai Dinh tomb was built for the Nguyen Emper-or Khai Đinh. This is a smaller tomb compared to the other ones in Hue city but definitively the one that left the biggest impression with blend of Western and Eastern architecture.The construction of the tomb was started on Septem-ber 4th 1920 and lasted for 11 years. This is best preserved tomb you can find in Hue with amazing European and Asian architecture. You can find Ro-man and Gothic style, Hindu & Buddhist style in this tomb. The carvings and glass decorations inside the tomb are utterly gorgeous and there’s a pretty good view of the surrounding countryside from the top of the many stairs.It’s really a nice place to visit and it is considered as the most impressive tomb above all. Khai Dinh Tomb opens from 7.30AM to 5.00AM

The Tomb is on the west bank of the Perfume River and about 12km south of Hue City center. As one of the most visited tombs in Hue, the Minh Mang tomb complex is one of immense beauty and symmetrical genius.

Imperial City

System of Tombs in Hue Khai Dinh Tomb

Minh Mang Tomb

Tu Duc Tomb

Gia Long Tomb

Thien Mu pagoda


EATING & DRINKING

Nguyễn Lord Nguyễn Phúc Tần.Coming to Thien Mu Pagoda, travelers in Vietnam travel can choose to do many different things, like urn incense and pray for blessings, sit on the wall to observe the special Huong River, or walk around the pagoda to explore the garden or listen to the monks reciting the Buddhist scriptures, or watch them as they sweep the yard or go about their daily routines, for those images bring you to a peaceful feeling nev-er achievable in the hustle and bustle of the daily life.

This is a dream beach, where you can have plenty of activities to do from sea sports — snorkeling, scuba diving, kayaking.Besides, Lang co beach is very close to other famous tourist destinations like Son Tra Peninsula, Bach Ma National Park, Hoi An Ancient Town.

The Truong Tien Bridge is built over Perfume River, Hue city. It’s one of the oldest steel bridge built in Vietnam as well as Indochina during French colonial period.Constructed 115 years ago, in 1899 and designed by Gustave Eiffel, Truong Tien Bridge is 400 meter long and 6.20 meter wide with 6 spans. Its shape is pleasing to the eyes, and the construction is incred-ibly solid.Huong River: Visiting to Hue would not be complete without a boat excursion on the Perfume River (Huong River) which has long been considered an important part of Hue city. (Mercury Travel also arranges tour including boat excursion on Perfume River).Travelling by boat along the river will take you to a series of Hue beauty spots like Truong Tien Bridges, the Tomb of Minh Mang, Thien Mu Pagoda.The river is especially beautiful at night when the surface of the river glistens under the moonlight. Just come here and you will feel the pure atmosphere of romance and beauty! Pick the most suitable itinerary for you and start exploring the beauty of this poetic river!

Quoc Hoc High School is the century-old-high school, also known as the first and the oldest high school in Vietnam.The school was founded in 1896 in order to train children from royal and noble families. The school had many famous Vietnam political leaders studying there, including President Ho Chi Minh, General Vo Nguyen Giap, Prime Minister Pham Van Dong.Walk by the school to admire the nice architecture of old architect and also the beauty of girls, who wear ao dai (Women’s traditional costume in Vietnam)Open every day but outside of school hours (after 5.15 p.m).Address: 2 Le Loi St, Hue

Lien Hoa Restautant: Address: 3 Le Quy Don StPrice: 30.000 – 50.000 VND/per meal. Superb, highly authentic Viet veggie restaurant renowned for providing top-drawer food at rock-bottom rates. Eat like an emperor on fresh Banh Beo (steamed rice pancake), noodle dishes and steam pots on a peas-ant’s pay packet. The menu has photos and (rough) English translations to help you order (staff speak little or no English). It’s a bout 800 m southeast of Trang Tien Bridge.Anh Binh Restaurant: Address: 65 Vo Thi Sau StPrice: 40.000 – 155.000 VND/ per dish. A veri-table foodie heaven, this elegant upmarket Vietnam-ese restaurant has a refined ambience and thoughtful service. It serves delicious Hue cuisine including fresh crab, rice patties with shrimp, and grilled chicken with chilli and gingerRestaurant Bloom Address: 14 Nguyen Cong Tru

Hue city is so well known for the ancient tombs, cit-adel that you may neglect the incredible Lang Co Beach, recognized in 2009 as one of the 30 most beautiful bays in the world.Located in Phu Loc district, 30 kilometers from Da Nang and 70 kilometers from Hue city, Lang Co Beach with 10km-long coastal line is noted for green mountains, tropical forests, white sand and crystal clear waters.

Huong River (Perfume River) and Truong Tien Bridge

Lang Co Beach

Quoc Hoc high school

RESTAURANT


Considered as street food heaven and the most el-egant cuisine in Vietnam, Hue city is not a place to miss the city. Cơm Hến: Com Hen (rice with river mussel) is a very unique cuisine of Hue and only served here. Com Hen contains rice, boiled mussel, star fruit, fish sauce, cabbage, onion, pepper, peanut, chili, and a vari-ety of herbs. The specialty is all of these elements are cold. When people eat Com Hen, they add all the above ingredients to a bowl, and slowly add boiled mussel broth with chili sauce into the bowl (the broth is the only hot thing in Com Hen). (We recommend this dish but don’t order rice, order noodle instead for the best flavor)Bún Bò Huế: Bun bo Hue (Hue style beef vermicel-li) or more detail, Bun bo gio heo (beef and pig’s knuckle vermicelli) is a popular Vietnamese soup ver-micelli dish, and one of the most typical foods of Hue, Vietnam. Fine combination of ingredients make the food fa-mous; the broth is prepared by simmering beef and bones for a long period of time, after that a large range of different spices containing lemon grass and chili are added in. Shrimp paste holds no less im-portance. The specialty is commonly served with a plenty of herbs like sprouts, lime wedges, cilantro sprigs, onions, and sliced banana blossom. It is high-ly recommended for tourists to add a few of shrimp paste directly into the soup.The best place in town is Bun Bo Hue 17 Ly Thuong Kiet St, a block south of Hanoi St. And it’s quite goodThe bowls are prepared up front -- just order, sit and await the bowl.Bánh Bèo: Banh beo (water fern cake) is a kind of small steamed rice pancake. The name is to refer from the shape of the cake. It is white in color, some-times nearly transparent and usually has a dimple

in the center, which is covered with savory recipes including chopped dried or fresh shrimp, scallions, mung bean paste, crispy fried shallots, fish sauce, rice vinegar, and oil.Bánh xèo: Bánh xèo (literally “sizzling cake”) are Vietnamese savoury pancakes made out of rice flour, water, turmeric powder, stuffed with slivers of fatty pork, shrimp, and bean sprouts and then pan fried. Traditionally, they are served wrapped in mustard leaf, lettuce leaves, and stuffed with mint leaves, ba-sil, fish leaf and/or other herbs, and dipped in a pre-pared nước mắm called nuoc cham (Vietnamese fish sauce thinned with water and lemon). In the Central region, the pancake is dipped in a special ‘tuong’ sauce which consists of liver, hoisin sauce and garlicBánh Khoái : Banh khoai (delicious pancake) is so much like Banh xeo (sizzling pancake) since they both are made from rice flour, water, turmeric powder, added slivers of fatty pork, shrimp, bean sprouts and then pan fried. Banh khoai and Banh xeo also are wrapped in mustard leaf, lettuce leaves or rice paper, and stuffed with variety of herb, like mint leaves, basil and served with a sweet and sour mixed sauce. In Hue, Banh khoai is placed open-face instead of being folded in half like Banh xeo. Moreover, Banh khoai always goes with a fermented soy bean sauce, and people consider it a winter food owing to its greasiness and spicy taste of the sauce. Therefore, most Hue citizens only make them when winter coming. You can try to eat Bánh Khoái at Dinh Tien Hoang StBánh Canh Cá Lóc : Banh canh is a kind of noodle made from tapioca flour or a mixture of rice and tapioca flour and looks similar to Japanese udon. Banh canh can be cooked with various ingredients in different ways to create peculiar tastes and fla-vors. You can eat Banh canh with cá lóc (carp fish) and small eggs. You can try to eat Bánh Canh Cá Lóc in Nguyễn Huệ St (from 4pm – 10pm)Nem lụi : It’s very different from the fry spring roll (a traditional food in Vietnam, which is usually eaten on Tet holiday). Nem lui is a local food in Hue, which made by meat. You can eat nem lui in many stores in streets, one of is Bến Đò in Chi Lang St. You should come here from late morning to early afternoon

StPrice: snacks from 150.000 VND. Ideal for a sand-wich, baguette, croissant or homemade cake (baked on the premises), the likeable little acfe employs dis-advantaged youths and graduates of the ACWP (Aid to Children without Parent) training program

STREET FOOD


TOURS TO HUE

NIGHT LIFEListening “Ca Hue” on Huong River: The ancient cap-ital and now a tourist drag, still remains its vaguely quaint beauty. Once you have time, let’s experience a night on Scent River. On one bank of it, large verdant grassland at the foot of Ngo Mon gate of Dai Noi palace is ideal for some walk. On the other bank, there are some lovely informal cafes, with hun-dreds of seats outside (normally full of families and pilgrims). You can also hire a boat for 2 hours and listen to Hue royal music on boat, or a slow but cool cyclo across Trang Tien Bridge.Enjoy the local food: Wanting to explore famous food in Hue? An address to enjoy traditional sweet-ened porridge is 17 Hung Vuong Street. It is not very common for tourists, but worth trying.Buy souvenirs: In the evening, if you have free time, you can walk to the Cho dem (night market) to buy some souvenir of Hue.

who posed no threat to the royal concubines. Nearly destroyed in the Tet Offensive, the ruins today house the Royal Library and the grounds flourish with mimo-sa plants and vegetable gardens

In the morning, start your trip by boarding a boat for a trip on the Perfume River to visit the towering Thien Mu Pagoda, one of the most famous Vietnam-ese landmarks. We then take a short drive into a lush valley of the river where seven tombs were built for seven Nguy-en emperors. Each is an expression of the unique personality of the man whose remains it holds and each is comprised of three elements: a temple ded-icated to the worship of the deceased emperor and his queen, a stone stele that records the biograph-ical and historical high points of his life, and the royal tomb itself. We will visit two of the tombs of emperors Minh Mang and Khai Dinh before driving outside of town for a lunch of classic Hue cuisine at a restaurant in a beautiful garden setting.In the afternoon,we return to the center of Hue city. The massive Kinh Thanh Citadel is the most well known and iconic site in Hué. We also visit the Forbidden Purple City, originally built in the early 1800s for the personal use of the emperor and staffed by eunuchs


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Nick Tivikora from Australia said “Must See”“We had a wonderful day trip visiting several tombs that were all unique and I would not want to miss it. The tombs are quite different from the western style and most have also re-ally nice gardens you can walk and relax. Make sure you have enough time to linger there. We had a fantastic private tour with bikes from Golden Vacation, who tailored the trip for us.”Jame Jaimi From England said “Not to be missed”“The citadel was amazing- to see the city cen-tre and what still remains from so many years ago! I was in awe. Get a guided tour though so you know what you are looking at.”

Travel Tips1. A city of long and intriguing history like Hue is not a place to travel without a guide. Don’t save our money on tour guide, just book a tour or hire a guide and you will have extremely educational and interesting time in this city.

Hue City Tour (Full day)

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2. Hue culinary is the best in Viet-nam, don’t miss. You can follow our street food guide above or join in cooking class in Hue for the best ex-perience. Spend one or two nights is likely enough for this city.


About Da NangDa Nang is Vietnam’s third largest city, and is located on the Eastern Sea coast, midway between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City and the largest city of Central Vietnam.The city itself has neither the atmosphere of Hanoi nor the hustle-bustle of Ho Chi Minh City, but has its share of sights and is close to the charms of Hoi An and the imperial capital of Hue, making it a popular vacationing spot for those looking to explore the attractions of central Vietnam or soak up some rays while hanging out on the city’s beaches. Danang has other various interesting attractions as Ba Na Tourist Resort, Ngu Hanh Son (Marble Mountains) as well as the Linh Ung Pagoda, Han River, and My An, Non Nuoc beaches, stretching on dozens of kilometers...

How to get there?- By Air: The Danang International Airport is 2.5km south-west of the city center. You should easily book daily flights to Danang from Hanoi, HoChiminh city.- By Bus: Danang’s newish intercity bus station is 3 km west of the city centre.- By Train: The rail way system in Vietnam goes through North to South. You can easily catch a train and stop at Danang Train Station.Get around: You can easily get around by taxi in city. The most popular route is visiting Hoi An and Hue city from Danang. In this case, you can arrange private car for most convenient of the whole trip

When to go?The best time to visit Da Nang is from February to August. In that time, it’s not rain so much, sunny and suitable to a beach trip. However, if you want to avoid the crow and save money, you can visit Da Nang from January to April because this is low season and no many locals visit Danang.

DA NANGa provincial backwater


SIGHT & ACTIVITIES

The Marble Mountains, located at Hoa Hai Ward, Ngu Hanh Son District, are a major tourist attraction in Da Nang and are alongside the Da Nang-Hoi An roads, 8 km to the southeast of the central area of Da Nang. They consist of 5 mountains with many myste-rious caves, Buddha statues and beautiful pagodas. Each mountain is named after the natural element it is said to represent: Thuy Son (Water), Moc Son (Wood), Hoa Son (Fire), Kim Son (Metal or Gold) and Tho Son (Earth). Come here, visitors can learn about Buddhism in Vietnam, see the beauty of nature and architecture of pagodas.

Mỹ Khê beach lies on the ideal position closed to the city with beautiful space and landscape and diver-sified tourism services. Numberless high-level resorts gather here. Continuously 30km to the Southeast,

The museum of Cham sculpture is located at No.02, 2/9 Da Nang city. Museum of Cham sculpture is the creativeness which base on Champa ancient art. It is small architecture but unique. Some architects appreciated that it was one of the most beautiful ar-chitectural museums in Southeast Asia and the world.

this arc of beach will take you to Cửa Đạ beach.In 2005, Mỹ Khê beach, Đà Nẵng was, by Amer-ican Economic Review Forbes, voted as one of six most charming beaches in the planet. According to Sunday Herald Sun, early 2010, Mỹ Khê beach was continuously listed in Top Ten of Asia’s best beaches.Visiting to Mỹ Khê, tourists can be content with green and windy space, see sunset and down sightseeing on the beach. Mỹ Khê beach with white and gently sloped sand beach, blue water is the best place for bathing and relaxing.Neighboring the beach, it is Kinh river; behind the beach, it is the green birch forest. Mỹ Khê beach has kinds of precious seaweeds such as gracilaria verrucosa, gracilaria eucheumoides. Gracilaria eu-cheumoides has high value for export, is one of the main sources of economic benefits besides attrac-tion of tourism section. From this crossing beach, it is easy for tourists to come to the famous travel places in Hàn river city such as: Sơn Trà peninsular, Bụt beach, Ngũ Hành Sơn, Bà Nà telpher, Thuận Phước bridge, Chăm museum…Visiting here, tourists can’t help tasting fresh and de-licious seafood such as lobsters, sea-crabs, sea fish, cuttle-fish… at restaurants lying on seaside resorts. It will be an interesting experience.

The Marble Mountains

My Khe Beach

Museum of Cham Sculpture

Illuminated By Sunlight, Marble Mountain, Da Nang


The museum is the unique place in Vietnam as well as in the world research about Champa culture. Ar-tifacts displayed in the museum including sculpture arts such as reliefs, animals, human statue… They represent the development stages of Champa sculp-ture from the first period to the final period. It helps tourists as well as researchers know the whole stages of Champa art.Come here, visitor can see Cham sculpture which is very interesting and beautiful.

Ba Na Hill is known as a famous tourist area of Da Nang… Ba Na - Nui Chua is a mountain of Hoa Vang district, Da Nang to 40 km to the southwest, 1487 m higher than sea level. Annual average tem-perature from 17ºC to 20ºCIn Ba Na, visitors will experience four distinct seasons in one day since the temperature changes quickly ev-ery day. Especially when the rains appear, we see the rain falling around the summit ridge, which is always dry, still cloudy sky optical identity, clear cool air system. From the top of the mountain, visitors can cover the immense space: the sea, Da Nang city, the green rice paddies make horizon.The Ba Na Mountain, Mo stream is very crowded tourist spots, especially in the summer. Is there a hair falls first nine floors, this waterfall is called first be-cause the hair falls from the stands at the foot wa-terfall waterfall looking up as a hair of a fairy. Land-scape between the mountains and forests combined with the immense stream of white clear, cool day helps us to forget the fatigue of life to enjoy the first moments of mental relaxation.

On 25 March 2009, a Guinness World Record representative Ba Na Hills, in Da Nang City, Viet-nam, to present an official certificate to the Ba Na Cable Car Service Joint Stock Company for the great achievement of two new Guinness World Records, one for the longest non-stop cable car and one for the highest non-stop cable car.

Han River Bridge is the first bridge that Vietnamese architects and workers designed. Han River Bridge

Non nuoc village belongs to Hoa Hai ward, Ngu Hanh Son, Da Nang city. The Non Nuoc stone has been used since the middle of the 17th century. Stone can be found anywhere in cave of Marble Mountain, this village is located at the foot of Marble Mountains. The products of village help beautify the Marble Mountains landscape.According to craftsmen of Non Nuoc village, the profession appeared nearly 200 years. This village formed in the end of the 18th century. The 19th century, this profession kept their alive. Today, Non Nuoc village located on the foot of Ngu Hanh Son, belonging to Hoa Hai, Ngu Hanh Son. This place worshiped “Thach Nghe” and on January 6th lunar annual year, Non Nuoc village often holds cere-mony. It is said that Non Nuoc village formed and established due to using and combining with ma-terial, capital and market to create the current fa-mous trade-make. In Non Nuoc village, tourists will be chosen valuable souvenir which are made from professional craftsman. Each sculpture art is the result of each craftsman. Each art represents the love with profession, nation and ancient profession.

Non Nuoc Stone Carving Village

Ba Na Hill

Han River Bridge


Linh Ung pagoda in Son Tra peninsula was inaugu-rated, it is considered not only as the first processing of Vietnam Buddha in the 21st century but also as the place that gathers quintessence of the earth.Linh Ung pagoda faces to The Eastern sea, on the left is Cham Islands, on the right is Hai Van Moun-tain. Passing the fall and rise of time and history, Linh Ung-Bai But pagoda was built and standing on Son Tra Mountain like the evidence for the combination between belief and nation. It marked the develop-ment of Vietnam Buddhism at the 21st century. Linh Ung-Bai But pagoda is considered as one of the biggest pagoda in Da Nang city in both of scale and architecture. This pagoda has a combination between modern style and traditional style. The main area has a large capacity and it is the most solemn place. Especially, in Linh Ung-Bai But pagoda, there has Guan Yin statue that is considered as the highest statue in Vietnam (67 meters height approximately 30 stories). This statue put its back to the mountain, faces to the sea. Above the Guan Yin statue is Bud-dhahood statue with the high of 2 meters. From here, you can contemplate the whole city, mountain and Son Tra peninsula. In addition, from the distance, you will see Ngu Hanh Son Mountain along with white sand-bank. The beautiful landscape creates a unique impression that you cannot find in other place. It can be said that Linh Ung-Bai But pagoda was built in the tourism relic of the city- Son Tra peninsula tourism place. The pagoda becomes to famous destination for tourist and spiritual place for the Da nang.

was built by the people of Danang and holds a spe-cial place in their pride for their city. The bridge is the unique swing bridge to be built in Vietnam and it is also an important part of Danang’s cityscape. The Han River Bridge is the symbol for new vitality and the developing desire of the city-was built with the contribution of the entire city’s people. It is not also facilitates transport and potential for tourism but also a cultural spot of Danang people today left behind for the future generations.

Linh Ung pagoda


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Kathy from Australia “We hired a private driver for the day who took us to Ba Na Hills. Exceptional views. The beauty of this place is surreal. Would highly recommend ba na hills as a must see when staying in Danang/ hoi an. Allow at least five hours. Great for kids as well with an amusement park at the top of the mountain under cover.”

Travel Tips1. If you looking for a place just for relaxing, then Danang is the one. Remember to stay at a resort or hotel on the beach for relaxing. 1-2 days is enough to discover this beautiful city. Danang is normally a stopover on the trip from North to South Vietnam and tours to Hoian will stop by Danang to visit Cham Mu-seum, Marble Mountain, Linh Ung Pagoda.

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About Hoi AnHoi An Old Town is located 30km south of Danang City, and 60km northeast of Tam Ky. Hoi An used to be an international trade cen-ter by sea on the east area in the 16th and 17th centuries. It was the busiest trading port in Dang Trong region of Vietnam during the reign of Nguyen as merchants from Japan, China, Portugal, Spain, Holland...often stopped over to exchange and purchase commod-ities. Hoi An was an important meeting place of many cultures, such as Champa, Vietnamese, Portuguese, Japanese and Chinese, and has been greatly impacted upon by Vietnamese and Chinese civiliza-tion. In 1999, the old town was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO as a well-preserved example of a Southeast Asian trading port of the 15th to 19th centuries, with buildings that display a unique blend of local and foreign influences.Today, the town is a tourist attraction because of its history, tradition-al architecture and crafts such as textiles and ceramics. Many bars, hotels, and resorts have been constructed both in Hội An and the surrounding area. The port mouth and boats are still used for both fishing and tourism.

When to go? The best time to visit Hoi An is be-tween February and April, October to December when rainfall is low and temperatures are comfortable. From May to July is also good but very hot due to hard summer.

How to get there?- By Air: The closest airport is in Da-nang City; from there you take a car drive 45 minutes to Hoian town.- By Bus: You’ll find every regular bus connection to and from Hue (4 hours drive), Da Nang (1 hour drive) and Nha Trang (12 hours drive).

HOI ANremarkably harmonious old-town


SIGHT & ACTIVITIES

The house is located at 4 Nguyen Thi Minh Khan Street. It was built in 1780, when Hoi An was pros-pering, and it is a typical commercial house rep-resentative of Vietnam’s urban areas in the 19th century. Conferred the title of “National Historical and Cultural Site” in 1993, the house has kept many documents about the architecture, culture, art and lifestyle of the Hoi An’s business circle from the old days. Phung Hung House bears the popular style of the 19th century – tubular shape, with a wide façade.The architecture of Phung Hung house represents the combination of Vietnamese, Japanese and Chinese styles. There are a lot of designs carved by carpen-ters in the Kim Bong Village. The house used to be a shop trading in cinnamon, pepper, salt, silk, chi-naware and glassware. Now part of the house is used as a workshop for making commercial embroi-deries.

Phuoc Kien Assembly Hall, located at 46 Tran Phu Street, was founded in 1690 and served the largest Chinese ethnic group in Hoi An (the Fujian). It con-tains the Jinshang golden mountain temple and is dedicated to Thien Hau, the goddess of the sea and protector of the sailors. The pagoda is also a place of gathering for the natives of Phuoc Kien. You must visit this assembly hall to discover an excellent work of architecture, also considered a heritage of histori-cal significance.

Phuoc Kien Assembly Hall is religious relic. It is the biggest assembly hall and displays rich architectural and artistic features. Annually, on the 15th of January lunar year, 16th of February lunar year and 23th of March lunar year many activities are organized, attracting a lot of foreign as well as domestic tourists. On 17th of February 1990 Fukien was listed a na-tional historical vestige.

The Japanese Covered Bridge or Cau Chua Pagoda (in Vietnamese “Cau Nhat Ban”) is one of the most famous tourist attractions in Hoi An, Vietnam. The original Vietnamese name of this bridge is “Lai Vien Kieu”. It is considered that the Japanese Covered Bridge belongs to the Japanese community in Hoi An, and was built in the early seventeenth century. No trip to Hoi An would be completely without vis-iting Japanese Covered bridge. The image of Cau pagoda is on a side of 200.000VND. So it’s not

a place to miss!

Linh Ung pagoda

Cau Pagoda

Tra Que Village

Phuoc Kien Assembly Hall


Tra Que is a charming little village located just a few kilometers from Northeast of Hoi An. Its location is between De Vong River and Tra Que alga pond (Cam Ha commune - Hoi An town). This village is fa-mous for many kinds of vegetables in a long time: let-tuce, salad, houttuynia, flagrant knoutwed, basil and coriander vegetables etc., The village is named after the sweet scented vegetables that spice up the every-day meals of the Hoi An people. Here a new spirit for traditional Hoi An dishes like Cao Lau, Quang noodles, the local ‘Tam huu’ spring roll (made from Tra Que vegetables) and cake with meat (Banh xeo) has been enlivened.

The farmers use neither nature nor chemical fertilizers but a kind of algae found only in a lagoon in Tra Que. As a result, the vegetables both look beautiful in their fields as well as possessing outstanding taste and flavor. Products sell well and are highly appre-ciated due to the freshness, good quality and safety. Everyday all the year round, 8 tons of Tra Que veg-etables are sold and people in Quang Nam-Danang area are addicted to having them in their meals. That is why many eaters, even the easiest ones said that they feel tasteless if their meals lack in Tra Que veg-etables.Come here, visitors can try to become a Vietnamese famer, a fun and interesting experience all of visitors love.

Hoi An’s main beach is Cua Dai, located at the end of predictably named Cua Dai Road. Some of the beach is given over to high-end resorts, but the public section is the first part you see where the road meets the beach. Coastal erosion has become a huge problem along the Cua Dai coast and many resorts are left protect-ing their ever-diminishing beaches with huge and un-attractive sandbags, so if you are staying at a beach

The Hoi An Silk Village, officially opened in August 2012, is based on the ancient silk weaving tradi-tions of Quang Nam province that used Hoi An as a commercial seaport for over 300 years. Located down the street from Hoi An’s town center, the Silk Village offers an experience like no other. During the tour you’ll learn about the entire production of silk from silkworm to dress.

Leisurely stroll through the lush garden of mulberry trees as our expert guides teach you about the his-tory of Quang Nam and the silk making process. Additionally, visitors will be shown the life cycle of silkworms in action! Visitors can help harvest mul-berry leaves, feed silkworms and even watch as silkworms weave their cocoons. Guests will then be shown how cocoons are transformed into silk thread and how the silk is treated and refined to become ready for clothing. And of course, visitors will end the tour in our silk showroom where they’ll receive a hands-on tutorial on deciphering between true and synthetic silk.

Hoi An Silk Village

Beaches in Hoi An

Cua Dai Beach


EATING & DRINKING

The museum supplies plenty of information on the ancient people of Sa Huynh civilization, who were the first owners of the Hoi An trading port, having trading relationships with the people of China, India, and South East Asia.There are a total of 216 exhibits in the museum. They were all acquired from the Hau Xa, Thanh Chiem, An Bang and Xuan Lam villages. The artifacts at the museum are considered the most unique collection of the Sa Huynh civilization in Viet Nam.Come here, visitors can learn about the Sa Huynh

Hoi An is one of the best places in Vietnam to take a cooking class. With fresh ingredients from lively local markets, great instructions, simple recipes but delicious tastes. Your family will have great time to work together. Let’s challenge your cooking talent, explore authen-tic Vietnam cuisine and enjoy your results right in class. But please, don’t forget to discover the charm of Hoi An ancient town. If you want to join in cook-ing class, “Hoi An cooking class tour” of Mercury Travel is good chose for you.

culture in Vietnam.resort for the beach, it’s worth checking it still has one. The public area of Cua Dai is a stunning stretch of palm-fringed whitesand with views out to the near-by Cham Islands. It’d be an idyllic spot to relax if it weren’t for the hardcore beach traders -- on a quiet day they’ll almost be queuing up to sell you tiger balm and tell you how they struggle to make a living. For some this is true, but on average these vendors pull in a very good daily profit, so if you don’t want anything, politely make it clear you are not buying and they will quickly leave. There are plenty of seafood places so you can eat and drink yourself silly in between swimming and basking in the sun. Avoid the places off the beach, which offer lower prices but lacklustre food, and try the places on the sand — Mama Ly’s and Sen to the end of the line of restaurants come highly recom-mended.Don’t neglect Hoi An’s “other” beach, An Bang, which is to the north at the end of Hai Ba Trung Street, about six kilometres from Tran Hung Dao. It’s one of the few stretches of public beach left so it gets busy with local Vietnamese at sunrise and sunset, when whole families flock to the beach setting up little barbecue picnics. It’s a more Vietnamese scene, a bit more laidback, and is becoming the preferred option over Cua Dai for its more family-friendly din-ing options and lack of hawkers. The two beaches are only six kilometres apart via the new beach road. It’s possible to walk the stretch of beach between An Bang and Cua Dai, which is pretty much deserted save for a few fishermen. It’s a beautiful walk and if you keep your eyes peeled there are even some old war bunkers left over from the American war.

Sa Huynh Culture Museum

Cooking class

Morning Glory Street Food RestaurantAdress: 106 Nguyen Thai Hoc StThis simply outstanding restaurant concentrates on street food and traditionally prepared Vietnamese food and dishes (primarily from central Vietnam, but there are also some key dishes from the north and south)

Hai Cafe Address: 98 Nguyen Thai Hoc StMaking the most f a wonderful Old Town trading house, the effortlessly hip and inviting Hai Cafe has a front porch for people-watching , a rear courtyard garden and atmospheric dining room. On the menu are good sandwiches, Western breakfasts, Vietnam-ese dishes, Eroupean mains and vegie specials.


There’s also a popular barbecue – try the smoked pork ribs – and plenty of wine by the glass, or bottle.Soul Kitchen (near An Bang beach)Price: 70.000 – 160.000 VND /per dishTime: closed Mon eveningThis wonderful beach restaurant has a prime setting above the waves and a menu that changes daily. Specials are chalked up on a blackboard and might include an chovies carpaccio, chicken with mashed potato and green-pepper sauce, or seafood salad.Street FoodFamous for elegant foods, trying Hoian street food is the experience you shouldn’t missCao Lầu: If you are on the hunt for a few Hoi An food spe-cialties and love a bit of noodle, then you can’t go wrong with cao lau, a delectable dark pork broth with fat yellow noodles, slabs of tender pork, bean sprouts, fresh greens and crispy croutons — the noo-dles must be made with the water from one of the closely guarded ancient Cham wells hidden through-out Hoi An.

Almost every restaurant in town will serve you up cao lau, but having ploughed my way through most of the dishes on offer, I still can’t find a single one that beats Ms Chien’s Pho Cao Lau Hu Tieu. This is a small, one-dish stall in the heart of the central food market that serves up a consistently delicious cao lau daily from 07:00 till 18:00, for 20,000-30,000 VND, depending on your bartering skills — this lady is one of the bestMỳ Quảng: (Quang Noodle)Quang noodle originated from Quang Nam prov-ince. This dish is made with rice noodle and variety of herb, lettuce and the flower of bananas. Interest-ingly, there are three kinds of quang noodles served

with different types of broth. Broth can be made by simmering pork and tibia shin, chickens, or snake-head fishes seasoned with salt, sugar, black pepper, shallot, garlic and lemon grass.

The people living in central Viet Nam put Quang noodle into a big bowl, peanut and Vietnamese crackers are sprinkled after pouring broth. Above all, the chief have to make sure that the broth is strongly flavor and only a small of it is used to wet the noodleCơm gà: (Chicken rice)

The best cooks use free-range chickens raised in countryside gardens, not the industrial factory-style birds. Poultry raised in the gardens is stronger and more springy, with a far richer flavor than the sog-gy stuff produced in “industrial agriculture” facilities. While westerners often prefer fattier, tenderer chick-en meat, Vietnamese birds considered the best for eating are often smaller with dense, muscular meat. The trick of the recipe is to skillfully make the chicken pieces smell fragrant and spicy without loosening the meat.The towns of Hoi An is the best place to try the dish. Hoi An even has its own cooking style that varies


TOURS TO HOI AN

slightly from other central-region styles.Bánh CănhA bowl of Banh Canh and chewy fried bread (XI QUAY) is really original eating style only people in Da Nang city. Banh canh is thick Vietnamese noodle that looks quite like Japanese udon which has the thickness of a chopstick, more or less. Noodle can be made from cassava, wheat or rice and the broth of Banh Canh is cooked from pork, crab, and fish. People do not linger when they eat banh Canh, they take a spoon of soup, make it cooler and eat after that.Bánh xèoIn cold weather and rainy days, pancake restaurants are crowded with a group of friends and family be-ing fond of the hot cake planes. Actually, enjoying oil and mix sizzling sound as pouring on a hot pan and awaiting with fragrant and crunchy cakes is memora-ble experiences. Sizzling cake is best choice to miss empty stomach and warm the cockles of people’s hearts in the winter.

Different from surrounding areas, sauce is made with peanut, ground pork liver and seasoning; besides, this sauce is also used for the rice vermicelli with grilled pork. Specially, every restaurants selling siz-zling cake also have the rice vermicelli with grilled pork.

Q BarAddress: 94 Nguyen Thai Hoc StThe hippest bar in town, Q Bar offers stunning light-ing, lounge music and electronic, and the best cock-tails in town. It always draws a cool crowd. Not cheap, but very classy and it’s also gay-friendly

In the evening, you can walk around Hoi An – an-cient capital to see the beauty of Lanterns and archi-tecture of old houses.You can also by some souve-nirs, clothes, lanterns…for you and your friends, your family. In addition, you can try to eat many delicious street foods with a little money.If you want to drink cocktail, beer or coffee, you can go to bars or coffee shops. However, you can relax in your hotel if you feel tired and see the life of Hoi An people from your room’s window

Day 1: Hanoi - HoianOur car will pick you up at you hotel and transfer you to Noi Bai airport. Catch the early flight to Da Nang city.Arrive to Danang airport; you will be welcomed by our guide and transfer by car to Hoian town. On the way to Hoian town, we will stop at the Cham Muse-um then our guide can introduce to you more about Cham civilization. Stop at carving marble handicraft villages and walk on foot to the top of Marble Moun-tain for the beautiful view of the area. Arrive in Hoi An, you will check in hotel. On the rest of the day, you can explore the town by yourself or go shopping at numerous shops in Hoian. Have din-ner at local restaurant. Overnight at hotel in Hoian.Day 2: Hoian cooking class – Hoian city tour (Meals: Breakfast, Lunch)In the morning, transfer you to cooking class. You will have a chance to visit local market and buy fresh ingredients based on what dishes you make. The trip to the local market is one of highlight since you see the genuine Vietnam lifestyle, touch, smell and taste fresh ingredients. Our guide also introduces and explains to you about Vietnam culinary culture and traditional eating life of local. Take all the ingre-dients and star cooking under the guidance of our chef. This will be excellence experience when you will be encouraged hands on participation, explore authentic Vietnamese cuisine and learn how to make

Where to drink?

Night activities

Hanoi – Hoian Tour


delicious dishes by yourself. Begin your afternoon in Hoi An, a former port that welcomed Chinese, Dutch, French, Japanese, Por-tuguese and Arab merchants between the 16th to 18th centuries. And not forgetting expert tailor shops and delicious food. The tour includes stops at several famous landmarks. The first is Chua Ong Pagoda, Next, pop into Phuc Kien Assembly Hall, to see the Jinshang Temple which is dedicated to the goddess of the sea and the protector of sailors. From there it’s a short walk to Tam Ky House, a 200 year old ancestral house and finally, stroll across the often photographed 17th century covered bridge built by Japanese craftsmen. The beautifully built bridge dou-bles as a temple and is a major landmark of Hoi An. Overnight in Hoi an. Day 3: Hoian – MySon - Hoian (Meals: Breakfast, Lunch)This tour is a must-see for those who are interested in architecture and ancient my son civilizations. My Son sanctuary was an imperial city during the Cham-pa dynasty, between the 4th and the 12th centu-ries. We travel about 50km from Hoi An to My Son sanctuary. It comprises many Champa temples, in a valley roughly two kilometers wide, surrounded by two mountain ranges. It was the site of religious cer-emony of kings of the Champa dynasty, and was also a burial place of Champa royals and national heroes. The My Son temple complex is one of the foremost temple complexes of Hinduism in South East Asia and is the foremost heritage site of this nature in Vietnam. Lunch at local restaurant. Transfer back to Hoian, free at leisure on the rest of the day.Day 4: Hoian - Danang - Departure (Breakfast) Have breakfast at your hotel. Transfer you to Danang airport and catch early flight to Hanoi. Upon arrival at Hanoi, you will be transfer to Hanoi center. We say goodbye to you and hope to see you on other tours. End tour.



Nick Brooke From US “One of the most beautiful towns I’ve ever been too. It makes you feel like you have stepped back in time. So many restaurants to choose from and really good shopping. And everything is dirt cheap! I would 100% go back. It’s a must see while traveling in Vietnam” Nick Cenza1 rated Tra Que Vegetable Village “We didn’t know what to expect when we en-tered the Tra Que vegetable village but we were certainly entertained and put to work in a most enjoyable way. Some of us cycled to the village from our nearby resort, others were taken by van and we received a warm welcome as well as typical farming outfits to wear while we took it in turn to dig and rake the soil and then plant some seeds. We watered the old fashioned way by hooking watering cans across our shoulders and despite our somewhat awkward techniques, we got the job done while having lots of laughs. After this, we were taught how to make Vietnam-ese pancakes and then each made their own using locally produced fresh vegetables, again employing a variety of clumsy methods but in the end, we enjoyed a delicious and quite satisfying morning tea before saying goodbye. If you are looking for a different, fun and quite interesting experience, try this, you won’t regret it.”

Travel Tips1. Hoi An is a perfect travel destination to ev-erybody. Just add Hoian in your travel plan and make sure you stay there at least 1night for the romantic night in Hoian2. Tailor made clothing in Hoian is famous throughout Vietnam, don’t forget to get some good clothes in Hoian or buy some as souvenir.3. Because of Hoian reputation, the town itself is pretty crowded with tourist, if you want to stay away from crow, you should book a hotel near the beach or in the midway between beach and the town.

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About Nha TrangNha Trang is a seaside town, also the capital city of Khánh Hòa Province – on the South Central Coast of Vietnam. It’s about 1200 km from Hanoi and 450 km from Ho Chi Minh City.According to historical records, Nha Trang was known as Kauthara under the Champa, as it is still home to the famous Po Nagar Tower built by the Champa. Until the French colonization, Nha Trang used to be no more than small fishing villages. The French recognized Nha Trang as a perfect place for bathing, so they invested in the transformation to turn Nha Trang into a resort town.Nha Trang has consistently maintained its position as one of the most beautiful bays of the world. It’s con-sidered Vietnam’s most famous seaside resort-town; Nha Trang attracts foreign tourists for not only its stunningly pristine beaches but also the urban atmo-sphere of a young tourist city.

When to go?The best time to visit Nha Trang would be from Feb-ruary till April, when temperature is kept moderate at around 26-27 degree Celsius, and precipitation stay at the lowest level of the year. May to Jun is good for outdoor activities here but getting very hot. Spring months are also the best time to dive here. Some coral-rich dive sites that diving enthusiasts should not miss out on are Small Hill, South Reef, and Moray Beach After, all around Mun Island.

How to get there?•By Flight: To Nha Trang, 4 daily flights from Ho Chi Minh City (1 hour) and 3 from Hanoi (1.5 hours). Cam Ranh Airport, which is about 30 km away from city center, used to be an old port for military goods during Vietnam War.•By Bus: From Ho Chi Minh City, it is recommended that you purchase a ticket from Mai Linh or Phuong Trang or tour bus. The trip lasts 9 hours. Public bus-es depart from Eastern bus station but expect guests pick-up along the way and not recommended.•By Train: One of the popular options to travel to Nha Trang is by train. + From Ho Chi Minh City, there is currently only option of overnight train to Nha Trang, which often arrives very early in the morning. + Trains departing from Hanoi are lengthy and make many stops along the way - each one way trip can take as long as 12-20 hours.

NHA TRANGone of the most beautiful bays in the world


SIGHT & ACTIVITIES

Forming a magnificent sweeping arc, Nha Trang’s 6km-long golden sand beach is the city’s trump card. Various sections are designated for swimmers, where you won’t be bothered by jetskis or boats. The turquoise water is fabulously inviting, and the promenade a delight to stroll.Two popular lounging spots are the Sailing Club and Louisiane Brewhouse. If you head south of here, the beach gets quieter and it’s possible to find a stretch of sand to yourself. The best beach weather is generally before 1pm, as the afternoon sea breezes can whip up the sand.During heavy rains, run-off from the rivers at each end of the beach flows into the bay, gradually turn-ing it a murky brown. Most of the year, however, the sea is just like it appears in the brochures.

entertainment complex found on Hon Tre Island just two miles off the coast of Nha Trang in Central Viet-nam. For decades Vinpearl Land has been a favorite with local families and Westerners alike looking for family-safe activities to enjoy near Nha Trang. The well-manicured grounds, ocean views, and multitude of things to do make Vinpearl Land an entertaining stop in Central Vietnam.An incredible amount of energy has been put into creating an atmosphere on the island that will ap-peal to couples, families, and kids. Adults can enjoy fine dining, shopping, bars, and a nightclub while kids love the amusement park, animal shows, and walk-through aquarium. Many of the attractions can be visited on day trips from Nha Trang without stay-ing at the Vinpearl Resort.Five-Star Resort: With 485 rooms, Vinpearl boasts the largest spa and resort in Vietnam. All rooms are meticulously maintained and even a Royal Suite is available for guests who feel the Presidential Suite isn’t good enough! Swimming Pools: As if the 700-meter-long sandy beach and bay weren’t enough, Vinpearl is home to the largest outdoor swimming pool in Southeast Asia.Amusement Park: The small amusement park at Vin-pearl is a separate attraction and can be enjoyed by tourists not staying in the resort.Amphitheater: The 5000-seat amphitheater at Vin-pearl was recently in the spotlight as the venue for the Miss World and Miss Universe pageants.Shopping Mall: Although prices aren’t as cheap as those found on the mainland, the 20,000-square-foot mall is beautifully designed to feel like the old town of Hoi An, Vietnam.Water Park: The massive water park in Vinpearl has 200,000 square feet of slides, pools, a lazy river for tubing, and other activities to keep kids happy while the adults get some sun.Aquarium: A moving sidewalk transports visitors through Vietnam’s largest underwater world which is home to over 300 species of fish - including sharks.Food Village: From Vietnamese specialties such as pho to fine dining by the sea, Vinpearl hosts a large, open-air food area with international cuisine.VinPearl Land - formerly known as the Vietnamese

Pearl Resort - is a massive five-star resort, spa, and

Nha Trang Beach

Vinpearl Land


Built between the 7th and 12th centuries, these four Cham Towers are still actively used for worship by Cham, ethnic Chinese and Vietnamese Buddhists. Originally the complex had seven or eight towers, but only four towers remain, of which the 28m-high North Tower (Thap Chinh), which dates from AD 817, with its terraced pyramidal roof, vaulted inte-rior masonry and vestibule, is the most magnificent.The towers stand on a granite knoll 2km north of cen-tral Nha Trang on the banks of the Cai River. The towers serve as the Holy See, honouring Yang Ino Po Nagar, the goddess of the Dua (Liu) clan, which ruled over the southern part of the Cham kingdom. There are inscribed stone slabs scattered throughout the complex, most of which relate to his-tory or religion and provide insight into the spiritual life and social structure of the Cham.All of the temples face east, as did the original en-trance to the complex, which is to the right as you ascend the hillock. In centuries past, worshippers passed through the pillared meditation hall, 10 pil-lars of which can still be seen, before proceeding up the steep staircase to the towers.The Central Tower (Thap Nam) was built partly of recycled bricks in the 12th century on the site of a structure dating from the 7th century. It is less finely constructed than the other towers and has little orna-mentation; the pyramidal roof lacks terracing or pilas-ters, although the interior altars were once covered with silver. There is a linga inside the main chamber.The South Tower (Mieu Dong Nam), at one time dedicated to Sandhaka (Shiva), still shelters a linga, while the richly ornamented Northwest Tower (Thap Tay Bac) was originally dedicated to Ganesh. To the

This striking pagoda was founded in the late 19th century. The entrance and roofs are decorated with mosaic dragons constructed of glass and ceramic tile while the main sanctuary is a hall adorned with modern interpretations of traditional motifs.Behind the pagoda is a huge white Buddha seated on a lotus blossom. Around the statue’s base are fire-ringed relief busts of Thich Quang Duc and six other Buddhist monks who died in self-immolations in 1963.The platform around the 14m-high Buddha has great views of Nha Trang and nearby rural areas. As you approach the pagoda from the street, the 152 stone steps up the hill to the Buddha begin to the right of the structure. Take some time to explore off to the left, where there’s an entrance to another hall of the pagoda.

rear of the complex is a less impressive museum with a few examples of Cham stonework.This site has a continuing religious significance, so be sure to remove your shoes before entering.

Nha Trang Beach

Long Son Pagoda

Thap Ba Hot Spring Center


EATING & DRINKING

This was the original hot thermal mud centre, and it remains decent value. For 250,000/500,000d you get a single/double wooden bathtub full of goo-ey mud, or it’s 120,000d per person for a commu-nal slop-up. There are also mineral water swimming pools, though the more expensive VIP packages are overpriced. This is a perfect spot for relaxing and recovering your health and it has been become a great attraction to many tourists.

Although not as famous as the diving in Sabah, Nha Trang is Vietnam’s center for scuba diving. A multi-tude of dive shops around the tourist strip run boats to many of Nha Trang’s 25 dive sites. Visibility can hit 30m, though usually more like 15-20m, and the marine life includes reef sharks and stingrays. For something different, ask your dive shop about the many small underwater caves that can be explored.Plenty resides above water in the ocean around Nha Trang, so diving is not essential as swimming and snorkelling are just as easily enjoyed -- simply hop on one of the many

Hoa Hung bakery, 39 Phan Boi Chau St Near the market to the north of the tourist area. Sponge cake < US$1, pate-chaud, chocolate cupcake, sesame tof-fee. Open daily 7AM-10PM. Founded from 1936 and recommended by the travel guide Le Routard, Hoa Hung is one of the best bakery in the country.White House, 30B Nguyen Thien Thuat St. Main courses US$6-8. Open daily 9AM-11PM. This place has a very innocent atmosphere and it is very relaxing while you enjoy your Western food.Truc Linh, 21 Biet Thu St.. Main courses US$1-10. Open daily 7AM-11PM. Both Asian and Western food can be found here.Lac Canh, 11 Hang Ca Street. 7AM-9PM. What’s different about this restaurant is that you get to cook yourself. It seems that both locals as well as tourists love it. Food is excellent at low prices, try their spe-ciality BBQ beef. Large San Miguel bottled beers are served by pretty San Miguel attired waitresses for 18,000 dong. US$1-10.Lac Viet Quan Chay, Vegetarian, Huynh Thuc Khang St. just Southeast of market, 1 1/2 blocks Northwest from To Hienh Thanh St. Plate of mixed vegetable and tofu/veg meat dishes with rice or a bowl of noo-dle soup, less than US$1. Just a little humble place, but a nice option for vegetarians and it is right next to the market that might be worth having a look.Restaurant at Long Son Pagoda, (At the entrance to Long Son Pagoda). The restaurant serves vegetarian meals only. Great Vietnamese food.

A wonderful little secret for inhabitants of Nha Trang, the Ba Ho Waterfalls are 35km outside the city-cen-ter. The day begins moving along the coastline where you can stop for photos at the Chong Rocks and Ponagar Temple. Feel the breeze as we take you around the meandering coastline with breathtaking views on Ninh Van Bay, followed by a stop at the fishing village and Ngoc Son Pagoda. As we move off the main road towards the mountains, the terrain

becomes different and some great cycling is had here. The base of the waterfalls is where we leave our bikes and a lovely trek over numerous stepping stones and rocks brings us towards the 3 waterfalls. No doubt you will be hot and sweaty at this stage, and your effort is rewarded by a wonderfully refresh-ing dip in the crystal clear and cold pools under the waterfalls.

Scuba Diving

Ba Ho Waterfalls

Eatings


TOURS TO NHA TRANG

Nha Trang at night offers plenty of bars, clubs, mu-sic, and merry people. Though it is wise to leave your valuables in your room, just take enough cash for the night.Altitude, 28th floor Sheraton Hotel. 4PM to 10PM. For a great view of Nha Trang at night, perhaps visit the highest bar in Nha Trang. Heineken costs 70,000 dong.Spicey Fingers (formally Bar Oz), 26b tran quang khai street. Formally known as Bar Oz but now under new management. Small bar and restaurant in the main tourist area. Cheap beer but food not so cheap but extensive menu. So far not proving as popular as the previous Bar Oz.Guava, 17 Biet Thu St., Closed at 1 a.m. Music is great here and the scene seems more for the younger crowd. Expat bar with comfortable lounge seating and movies in the daytime. Featuring resident DJs and the only vinyl decks in Nha Trang. The food is also great.Ha Van ‘A’ Rooftop Lounge & Restaurant, 3/2 Tran Quang Khai, 5th floor. 7AM till late. On the 5th floor of the Flamingo Suites’ Ha Van Hotel, offer-ing the coldest beers, drinks and cocktails. Small but very good menu of food. Great city views. One of expats favorite joint. Great fun every night. Internet stations and Wi-fi free (good connection). 50 inch TV for movies and sport events. Live NHL hockey available in the morning Great alcohol at budget price but only quality products | no ethanol served here.Patrick Wine, 67/35 Hung Vuong (In the alley be-hind Nice Hotel). Offering a charming blend of ro-mance and revelry, Patrick wine is an insider’s gem that is easily found. It offers hundreds of bottles of imported wine for sale. After 6PM, there is a full bar and restaurant, featuring French and Vietnamese food. Crepes, pates, and local specialties at excep-tional prices, with the wine shop still open. Sailing Club, Nha Trang, 72-74 Tran Phu St. Open till late, and even later on Saturdays. Popular night club with a good mixture of foreigners and locals. The cover charge is reasonable on weekends and includes one drink. Every Saturday, except in low season, they have massive beach parties.

Letimo Bakery Restaurant, 25 Nguyen Thiet Thuat, This family-owned restaurant also offers a moderate selection of bakery goods such as cheesecake and other cakes. (Apparently) HAPPY HOUR: After 6PM (or 8 PM for some items): 30% off. From 60,000 up.Mocka Cafe, 74 Hung Vuong St. They serve espres-so, cappuccino and cafe latte. Happy hour every-day (30% off) from 3PM to 6PM.Café Louisiane, This is a microbrewery bar and restaurant with a bakery selection. Tran Phu St.. De-cent range of bakery goods from 60,000 up.

Day 1: Ho Chi Minh arrival - Ho Chi Minh City Tour (Meals: Dinner)Our guide will welcome at Tan Son Nhat Airport and transfer you to the downtown for hotel check-in. In the afternoon, you will embark on Ho Chi Minh city tour including The Reunification Palace, Notre Dame Cathedral, Old Post Office, Remnant War Museum, Giac Lam Pagoda, China town with an-cient pagodas and temples, and bustling Binh Tay Market. Overnight in Ho Chi Minh city.Day 2: Cu Chi Tunnel – Cao Dai Temple (Meals: Breakfast, Lunch)Around 8.00 Am our guide and car will pick up at hotel and tranfer to Tay Ninh. At Tay Ninh we will visit the Cao dai holy see – centre of religion found in 1926 and combines Buddhism, Christian-ity, Taoism, Confucianism. Enjoy a noon ceremony of Caodaism and observe the beautiful and unique architecure of the temple. Lunch at local restaurantAfter Cao Dai temple we return to visit Cu chi tun-nel – the amazing complex of underground tunnels. In Cuchi, you can go down the tunnel to see and learn more about Vietnam history. The tour to tunnel complex will be very educational and can also help you to understand more about Vietnamese people and mordern history. Then it will be a visit to Ben Duoc Memorial Temple. Cuchi tunnels is a former

Drinkings Cafés

Beach Break Tour


commander of Vietnamese guerrillas described how these “spider hotels” were used during Vietnam war. Transfer back to Ho Chi Minh City. End of services.Day 3: Hochiminh – Nha Trang (Meals: Breakfast, Lunch)In the morning transfer to Tan Son Nhat airport for to Nha trang. In the afternoon take a boat trip cruising on the Nha Trang Bay to visit Tri Nguyen Aquarium on Mieu Island to enjoy hundreds of nice and pre-cious marine creatures. Then continue the trip to Mun Island -the best island for snorkeling with lots of lives colorful corals and fish. Taking a fresh dinner at the Con Se Tre Island before back to hotel. Overnight in Nha Trang.Day 4: Nha Trang (Meals: Breakfast)Oda. Start the day with the visit to Long Son pago-da, Ponagar Cham Tower for the educational tour. Join the tour and our guide will introduce to you much more about ancient history of Nha Trang, Cham civ-ilization and Buddhism in Vietnam. Lunch at local restaurant.Take a tour to visit Ba Ho water fall and spend fun relaxing time there with your family. Transfer to Thap Ba Hot Spring Center for a mud bath, a healthy ther-apy to recover your health and relax. Overnight in Nha Trang. Day 5: Nha Trang (Meals: Breakfast)Today is a free day at leisure in Nha Trang for relax-ing and unwinding on the white sand beach, over-looking beautiful Nha Trang Bay – one of the most beautiful bay in the world. Join in beach sport or snorkel or dive among the coral reefs in crystal blue waters, hike nature trails, cool off in your private plunge pool, indulge in spa treatments or just relax on the white sand beach and admire the unspoiled mountain and sea views. Over-night in Nha Trang.



Jessica from US “Nothing to say more about this beach ex-cept: beautiful, fantastic and looks like heav-en. Soft sand, cool ocean, sunny...perfect place for you to get tan”Ronny from UK “Recommended for fami-lies” “We stayed at VinPearl and it met all our family holiday needs in one location. Accom-modation was clean and comfortable and the fun was right in our doorstep.Beach is lovely like being on a private island with the amusements arcades water land and much more at the same location it’s great for families.We loved being able to enjoy the attractions but be back in our room for a rest when it got so hot.Highly recommend a stay here as you can also take the cable cars to Nha Trang when you want to see Vietnam but return where the kids are entertained when you want too”

Travel Tips1. Nha Trang is beach capital of Vietnam hence it attracts huge number of locals come here especially in summer (May to August). If you want to visit a beach city for diving, swimming and fun then Nha trang is the place. If you just want to stay relax in quieted nature then you should go up 50 km north of the city. There are few resorts locating on the beach which is quiet-ed and perfect for an escape trip. Nha Trang Doc Let spa & Resort is recom-mended.

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About Da LatDa Lat is located 1,500 m (4,900 ft) above sea level in the southern parts of the Central Highlands region.Da Lat also called small Paris because of its archi-tecture; city of flowers, the city with pine’s forest and mist’s city. Da Lat was developed as a tourist desti-nation after Alexander Yersin, a Swiss scientist with a state for adventure, trekked 1839 into the region and persuade the French colonial administration of its value as highland resort.Dalat is always be special attractive to tourist by its poetic scene and legend romantic love stories. In peaceful and quite atmosphere, poetic and romantic Dalat by the cold highlands night, early morning fog and the pine range surrounding the city. To be gifted a mild climate of the sub-tropical, Da Lat seem to be not suffer the heat from the south or the cold from the north but the weather is always mild and cool.

How to get there?-By Plane: You can flight to Da Lat from most of main city in Vietnam. Dalat’s Lien Khuong Airport is 30km (19 miles) south of town. A drive from the airport to the city takes about 30 minutes.-Local buses: Local buses connect Dalat with Nha Trang and Ho Chi Minh City, as well as Buon Ma Thuot, the next town north of Dalat along the high-lands ridge -- a grueling all-day ride. Buses leave from the Express Bus Station southwest of the city center.Getting AroundBy Taxi -- For taxis in town, try Dalat Taxi, at tel. 063/383-0830, or Mai Linh Taxi, at tel. 063/351-1511.By Car : Contact your travel agent to book for a private day tour around with private car.By Motorcycle: Dalat is a good place to rent your own motorbike and getting in adventurous ride. Be sure to check the brakes, and be sure the horn is working, because you should beep-beep all the way, especially when passing or on curves.

When to go?Surrounded by pine forest and mountains Dalat is one of the beautiful places in Vietnam. The weather condition stays good for tourists most of the time here at Dalat. However the best time to visit the place would be between Novembers to April. This is the dry season in Dalat. In the dry season days are sun-ny but the nights are cool. Dalat is a perfect place for people who are looking to hide from the scorching sun.

DA LATcity of flowers


SIGHT & ACTIVITIES

Also called Ve Chai Pagoda, it was built mosaic style from glass, pottery and porcelain shards be-tween 1949 and 1952 in a residential area south east of Dalat. The front of the pagoda is lined with ornate pillars in the shape of flying dragons, while a 4.8 meter tall statue of Buddha sits amidst 12 glaze-work reliefs which illustrate the story of Buddha. The 49 meter long winding mosaic dragon standing near the pond is the main draw card.Not like any other pagoda in Vietnam, this particu-lar pagoda has unique architect and absolutely well worth a visit. Highly recommend.

This waterfall, also called Lieng Rowoa Waterfall, is considered as the most beautiful and majestic waterfall in the highlands province of Lam Dong. It is more than 30m high, about 15m wide with the water flows make an area be obscured by the very white spray.The transparent water flowing through granite moun-tain sides looks really spectacular, especially when the waterfall is illuminated by the brilliant sunlight, seven-colored rainbow will appear.Next to the waterfall is Gio (wind) Cave. The road to enter the cave is narrow between two cliffs, but inside the cave there are many wide spaces and full of wind. Elephant Waterfall looks like a lively picture which has been carved by nature with the particular-ly interesting caves hide after craggy cliffs and many rocks now appear, now disappear look like as many elephants are jostling to bath. At the foot of the wa-terfall stream there are many large, flat and smooth stones like the nature set up to offer tourists sit to chat.Elephant Waterfall is waiting to be discovered by the natural lovers. The waterfall is still keeping the original’s features. Some guest houses, tourist clubs, some poetic bridges are looming in the deep eye-sight. Every year, the Elephant Waterfall welcomes thousands of visitors in Vietnam travel. If you are the people who like wild, quiet, go to this place to con-template the hills and mountains, pine forests and rocky waterfalls.

cation Palace in Ho Chi Minh City.

Thien Vien Truc Lam (Truc Lam Monastery) is an im-portant Buddhist centre in Vietnam. It is perched on Phoenix Mountain near Tuyen Lam Lake. Set amidst stunning landscape, Truc Lam Pagoda is considered the biggest and most beautiful pagoda in Dalat. It is one of the many impressive constructions designed by Ngo Viet Thu, the famous architect of the Reunifi-

Linh Phuoc Pagoda

Elephant Waterfall

Truc Lam Monastery

DA LATcity of flowers


Bao Dai’s Summer Palace

Hang Nga Crazy House

Lang Bian Mountain

Da Lat Cathedral

A faded art-deco-influenced villa, this was one of three palaces King Bao Dai kept in Dalat. The build-ing’s design is striking, though it’s in serious need of restoration and the once-modern interior is distinctly scruffy, with tatty net curtains and chipped furniture.Bao Dai’s imposing office, with its royal and military seals and flags are still impressive. The white bust above the bookcase is of the man himself (he died in 1997); the flags, huge desk, spears and crossbows add to the sense of occasion.Upstairs are the living quarters. The huge semicir-cular couch was used by the emperor and empress for family meetings, with their three daughters seated in the yellow chairs and their two sons in the pink chairs. The palace is set in a pine grove, 2km south-west of the city centre. It’s very much on the local tourist trail, so expect lots of tour groups. Also called Lam Vien Mountain, this spot has five

volcanic peaks ranging in altitude from 2100m to 2400m. Of the two highest peaks, the eastern one is known by the woman’s name K’Lang, while the western one bears a man’s name, K’Biang. Only the upper reaches of the mountain remain forested, whereas just half a century ago the foothills had lush foliage that sheltered many wild animals. The hike up to the top’s spectacular views takes three to four hours from the ticket booth. Lang Bian Mountain is about 13km north of Dalat. Follow Ð Xo Viet Nghe Tinh until you reach Tung Lam Hamlet. Continue straight on (northwest) rather than to the left. On bicy-cle it takes about 45 minutes.

In Da Lat city we can find the Christian Cathedral in honor to Saint Nicholas (Nhà thờ chinh toa), built by the French colonists during the first half of the 20th century. With a height of 47 meters, this French building is visible from almost any point in the city of Da Lat. The Dalat Cathedral began to be built in the year 1931 and was completed in 1942. As most of the buildings of the Vietnam of Indochina, the stained glass windows were brought directly from France, 70 stained glass to be exact. The building measures 65 meters long, 47 meters high and 14 meters wide, which makes this Cathedral the largest church in Dalat.

with 100 Roofs’ was torn down as a fire hazard because the People’s Committee thought it looked antisocialist.Hang Nga started the Crazy House project to entice people back to nature, and though it’s becoming more outlandish every year, she’s not likely to have any more trouble with the authorities. Her father, Truong Chinh, was Ho Chi Minh’s successor, serv-ing as Vietnam’s second president from 1981 until his death in 1988. There’s a shrine to him in the ground-floor lounge.A note of caution for those with young kids: the Cra-zy House’s maze of precarious tunnels, walkways and ladders are certainly not child safe. Be extra vigilant.

A free-wheeling architectural exploration of surre-alism, Hang Nga Crazy House defies definition. Joyously designed, outrageously artistic, this private home is a monument to the creative potential of con-crete, with sculptured rooms connected by super-slim bridges and an excess of cascading lava-flow-like shapes. Think Gaudi on acid. Wander around as you please; getting lost is definitely part of the expe-rience.The brainchild of owner Mrs Dang Viet Nga, the Crazy House has been an imaginative work in prog-ress since 1990. Hang Nga, as she’s known lo-cally, has a PhD in architecture from Moscow and has designed a number of other buildings around Dalat. One of her earlier masterpieces, the ‘House


TOURS TO DA LAT

Cam Ly Waterfall

Valley of Love

Da Lat Flower Garden

Cam Ly waterfall is located at the end of Hoang Van Thu Street which is 2 km far from the city center. The name “Camly” is explained in many ways with legends according to regions.Cam Ly waterfall flows gently through the range of granite rock and it looks like the hair-style of a girl. There, tourists can take a horse-riding, take photo and go for a walk around the waterfall. In 1998, Cam Ly waterfall was recognized as a National-level Cultural historical heritage.

At the beginning, the valley was called Vallée D’amour (Valley of Love) by the French before being renamed The Valley of Piece. In 1935, its beauty and captivation persuaded people to once again name it after the most wonderful thing in the world: Love. If tourists want to make a tour to Dalat, a rhyth-mic land of flowers and romance, you should add the Valley of Love to your itinerary because it is a wonderful destination for those who love a romantic trip.

These gardens were established in 1966 and in-clude hydrangeas, fuchsias and orchids, the latter in shaded buildings to the left of the entrance. Like any good Vietnamese park, the gardens have been embellished with kitsch topiary.

Day 1: Ho Chi Minh City – Arrival (Meals: Lunch Dinner)Arrive in Ho Chi Minh City. Get pick up from airport and transfer to hotel. Free at leisure on the rest of morning. Lunch at local restaurant. In the afternoon, take a cyclo tour around Saigon Center for visiting to War Remnant Museum, Notre Dame Cathedral, Centre Post office and so on. You then have a visit to Ben Thanh Market, the central market of the city with lots of product available in-

cluding plenty of souvenirs. Overnight in hotel.Day 2: Hochiminh city – Da Lat (Meals: Breakfast, Diner)Depart early in the morning for Da Lat. Locates on Langbiang Plateau, 1500m above sea level, Da Lat is a beautiful mountain resort city that called the City of Love and flowers. The drive will take you through breathtaking scenery with some stops to visit tea, cof-fee plantation and hill tribe village. Arrive in Da Lat in the late afternoon and after checking in you will have some time to relax or wander around the beautiful Xuan Huong Lake before dinner. Overnight in hotel. Day 3: Da Lat (Meals: Breakfast, Lunch)Today, you will have a city tour around Da Lat city for its interesting sites such as: Bao Dai King’s Palace, Da Lat Central Market, Old Train Station, Dantala waterfall and take a sky-cab ride to have the great view of Da Lat from the height then visit to Truc Lam Zen pagoda. Free in the evening at your leisure for dinner and relax. Overnight in hotel.

Mark from Germany “We decided to tent a bike and set off for the waterfall. The journey down was fun; the journey back was a bit of work. However it was worthy it for the views and interaction with the locals as you cycled through. It’s pretty easy to find too, for the most part you stick to one road. The waterfall itself is 5000 to enter, and has im-pressive views, walking through to the bottom of the waterfall is a must. Regarding safety. Yes it’s slippery. However for a waterfall in rural Vietnam what would you expect? Maybe not suitable for small children.Daren from Australia “Having visited China and now Vietnam in the last year I have seen many pagodas of late but Linh Phuoc is one of a kind a short journey by train followed by a 10 minute walk you arrive to something you just have to see to believe the size, color and detail that has been put in to this Pagoda is amazing still work be-ing carried out on it today,make sure you climb the tower about 7 levels which of-fers great views of the nearby rice fields and shows you how big the complex is ”

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About Mui Ne22 kilometers North Eastern Phan Thiet, Binh Thuan Province, Mui Ne is a hidden beach paradise waiting for those who love wild untouched beaches.Mui Ne, meaning “sheltered peninsula”, is an idyllic, laid-back beach town featuring all that you need to help recharge those batteries. Palm trees, white sand beaches, great seafood and a range of hotel op-tions make it a great weekend away. However Mui Ne isn’t just about lazing by the beach and reading a book, there are also some exciting water based activities, including kite-surfing and windsurfing, that are guaranteed to get your blood pump-ing. You can also hire a motorbike and cruise off to the photogenic red or white sand dunes, or get your feet wet at the fairy stream, or simply wake up early to take in a beautiful sunrise and watch last night’s catch unloaded on shore.When you talk to someone who’s visited Mui Ne you often hear; “it was just so relaxing, with all those great little beach bungalows, stacks of different restaurants, beautiful dunes and white sand beaches.” However you could just as easily hear, “Mui Ne was unreal! We tried our hand at dune sledding, kite-surfing, windsurfing and even snuck in a round of golf. And we partied by bonfires every night on the beach. What a wicked weekend away!” Whichever Mui Ne you experience, you are bound to have a great time.

How to get there?- By Bus: Open-tour buses are the most convenient option for Mui Ne, as most public buses serve Phan Thiet. -By train: runs daily from HCM City to Phan Thiet, departing at 6:50AM and arriving four hours later. The return trip leaves Phan Thiet around 1:30PM. The railway station in Phan Thiet is about five km (80,000VND taxi ride) from the beginning of the Mui Ne resort strip, and taxis are abundant to take you there-By Motobike: There are some Easy Riders in Mui ne, although not as many as in Da Lat or Nha Trang. One of the best trips to experience by motorbike is actually the triangle between these three destinations, as the mountain roads from Mui ne to Da Lat and on to Nha Trang are some of the most dramatic in the south.

When to go? As always on the south coast of Vietnam it is best to visit during the dry season which runs from October/November through to April/May. However, Mui Ne has a unique climate that means it sees very little rain in comparison to nearby Nha Trang, Hoi An and even Phan Thiet (just 30kms south) thus making it a great choice year round.

MUI NEhidden beach paradise


SIGHT & ACTIVITIESKe Ga lighthouse

The Sand Dunes

Poshanu Towers

About 30 km south of Phan Thiet along the coast is an area known for its lighthouse on a small island just across the water. It’s an absolutely gorgeous stretch of beach, and as you get closer to the lighthouse there are strikingly colourful and intricate rock forma-tions all along the shore.You can visit the island that hosts that lighthouse by arranging a trip on one of the fishing boats -- price negotiable, anywhere from 50,000 to 200,000 VND depending on the number of people you want to bring over and your bargaining skills. Once on the other side, the boat should drop you at a small station run by the army -- they’ll give you a key and you can enter the lighthouse and climb up to the top to enjoy the view. On the way out, it wouldn’t hurt to tip the army guys a couple of bucks.Ke Ga Island and the lighthouse are on their ways to become an attraction to tourists coming to Phan Thiet because they are both picturesque scenery and distinctive architectural vestige. Poshanu Towers, located on Ba Nai Hill - 7 km to

the northeast of Phan Thiet City, are one of the most precious and important cultural vestiges of the Cham-pa Kingdom. Built in the late 8th century, this group of towers worships the Shiva Genie, who is highly respected by the Cham. Beside these three towers, there was once a temple, but it has been buried in the ground for more than 300 years. Inside the main tower, there is an altar, on which a couple of Liga-Yoni, a symbol of the existence of the Shiva Genie, is worshipped.Nowadays, Champa people from surrounding ar-eas come to the Towers every year to conduct dif-ferent custom rituals. Another interesting fact is that the fishermen also come here to pray for luck in their up-coming trip to the open sea. In the lunar Janu-

cool. Another interesting activity is kite flying as well as catching the beautiful sunset here. These dunes are a popular picnic place for locals too.

Opening Hours: All year round. Best time to visit is either early in the morning or late afternoon as the sand can get very hot during the day. Take lots of water.

The Red Dunes, as the name suggests, features red-dish-brown sand that makes them a more popular place for photography. Smaller than White Dunes, they are easier to reach. Sand-sledding is a common (and fun) activity here, but it is hard to nail down where the best location to do so is as the sands shift from season to season so it’s best to look around. Dry sand is much more enjoyable to sled on.Visitors can rent plastic sleds and it is a wise idea to check the price and agree on it beforehand. Some travelers have had unpleasant experiences with the youngsters renting them out so be alert and keep


Suoi Tien – Fairy Stream

Surf point Kite boarding School

ary, the Rija Nuga and Poh Mbang Yang festivals are organized at the foot of the towers and people come to these festivals to ask for luck in the newyear.Come here, you can see the architecture of towers and learn about Champa’s culture.

With well-trained instructors and a friendly vibe, it’s no surprise Surfpoint is one of the best regarded kite schools in town. A three-hour taster costs US$145. Surfing lessons on soft boards are also offered (from US$50) when waves permit.

About 18 km of North East Phan Thiet, visitors will meet an extremely romantic poetic place that is Suoi Tien (Fairy Stream). Suoi Tien is situated in a nice place, one side of Suoi Tien is white and red sand mountain intermixing together, another side are rows of shading coconut palms, lines of trees with luxuri-ant leaves. All of these things create a poetic and charming stream.The water stream of Suoi Tien has the red color from the sunlight and from the red sand in the bottom of the stream. The stream has the source from the mountain side around Ham Tien about 6m high and the desti-nation to the sea. This has made Suoi Tien become a dreamlike area. The intermixing white and red sand hills come from nature evolving the treasure that no other place has. Once hitting Suoi Tien, visitors can not skip enjoying GIONG dish, a traditional dish of sea territory. The GIONG dish can be cooked or processed in variety ways such as baking over a fire, frying, roasting, grilling, cook with coconut. This also makes visitor once coming to Suoi Tien cannot help visiting and hope to be back again.



Dean from US review White Sand Dune “My family had rent a Jeep to the sand dunes in Mui Ne from 4:30 am to race up the sun to take the most beautiful picture with sunrises. It’s won-derful to come here to watch the natural beauty of nature, the sand dunes is so beautiful and ro-mantic, We rent a 4-wheel motorcycle run up all the sand hill , at the top of hill we could see all, when the sun rises first sunshine spread out over the sand dunes become most beautiful. Go down the sand dune is the fresh lotus lakes and from here we can capture panoramic images. It was a memorable moment when visit to Mui Ne”Jody from UK“What a great day i had in Mui ne .... from the centre of town 7 of us rented mopeds and set off along the beautiful whinding coastline to a small fishing community to experience all the local cul-ture.After an hour or so we all arrived at the beauti-ful sand dunes, I can only describe these like a scene from star wars!!All in all the sand dunes and quad biking was awesome a defo must for mui ne!!”

Travel Tips1. Mui Ne is perfect place for those who want to relax in a wild and less traveled route. Don’t forget to visit local fish village and get up early for sunrise and chase sunset on the sand dune. 2. Chose White Sand Dune over Red Sand Dune since it more beautiful and fewer tourists despite further distance. If you want to book a tour to the sand dune, remember to indicate clearly whether tips, entrain fees included or not. You might contact Mercury Travel for the reliable ser-vices at reasonable price to make sure you have a great trip in Muine. 3. Slide on sand dune, riding ATV or quad bike and even riding ostrich are great ex-periences you should try.

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CHAPTER 3: SOUTH VIETNAM


About Ho Chi Minh CityHo Chi Minh City – former name Sai Gon, many centuries ago was already a busy commercial center. Merchants from China, Japan and many European countries would sail upstream the Sai-gon River to reach the islet of Pho, a trading center. In the year of 1874, Cho Lon merged with Saigon, forming the largest city in the In-dochina. It had been many times celebrated as the Pearl of the Far East. After the reunification of the country, the 6th National Assembly in its meeting of the 2nd of July, 1976, has officially renamed Saigon, Ho Chi Minh City. The history of city relates closely with the struggle for the independence and freedom of Vietnam.Today, Ho Chi Minh City is the big tourism center in Vietnam, attracting a large of visitors to Vietnam. Ho Chi Minh City has various at-tractions as Ho Chi Minh Museum, formerly known as Dragon House Wharf, Cu Chi Tun-nels, system of museums, theatres, cultural hous-es... Recently, many tourist areas are invested such as Thanh Da, Binh Quoi Village, Dam Sen Park, Saigon Water Park, Suoi Tien, Ky Hoa..., which draw numerous tourists.Despite its quite recent past, Ho Chi Minh City nevertheless possesses various beautiful build-ings, displaying a characteristic combination of Vietnamese, Chinese and European cultures. After more than 300 years of development, Ho Chi Minh City presents many ancient architectur-al constructions, famous vestiges and renowned sights. It is remarkable for its harmonious blend-ing of traditional national values with northern and western cultural features.

When to go?The best time to visit Ho Chi Minh City is during the dry season, starting from December and lasting until April. This period of the year is known to be the hottest, with average temperature of 28 °C (82 °F). The peak is 39 °C (102 °F) around noon time in late April, while the lowest may fall below 16 °C (61 °F) in the early mornings of late December. Humidity is moderate in December and be-gins to decrease from January to April. Hence, if travelling during this period, foreign travelers can escape from the normal sticky weather of Saigon. In term of activity, this is surely an attractive occasion as tourists can celebrate Christmas and New Year explosively with local people here. During Lunar New Year (around late-January and mid-February), many stores will be closed in few days and air tickets will occasionally be fully booked just before it, so plan your trip accordingly.

How to get there?-By Air: You should easily book flights to Tan Son Nhat In-ternational Airport from any airport in Vietnam. The airport is 8 km to District 1 which is tourist area. -Train: Saigon train station (Add: 1 Nguyen Thong Street, District 3; ticket office 7.15-11am & 1-3pm) serve coastal cities to North.-Bus: Most of the open-tour companies sell tickets to Mui Ne (200km – 4 hour), Nha Trang (440km – 9 hour) and Dalat (310km – 8hour). Mien Tay bus station serves all ar-eas south of HCMC, which basically means the Mekong Delta. This huge station is about 10km west of HCMC in An Lac. Buses to locations north of HCMC leave from the immensely huge and busy Mien Dong bus station.-Cars: It’s illegal for foreigners to drive in Vietnam with-out a Vietnamese license. Contact Mercury Travel for Car rental or private tours with private cars.

HO CHI MINH CITYPearl of the Far East


SIGHT & ACTIVITIESWar Remnants Museum

Cho Lon Market

Ben Thanh Market

For those who are interested in Vietnam War, this museum should not be missed. Once known as the Museum of Chinese and American War Crimes, the War Remnants Museum is consistently popular with Western tourists. Few museums anywhere drive home so effectively the brutality of war and its many civilian victims. Many of the atrocities documented here were well publicized but rarely do Westerners get to hear the victims of US military action tell their own stories.While the displays are mainly one-sided, many of the most photographs illustrating US atrocities are from US sources, including those of the infamous My Lai Massacre.US armored vehicles, artillery pieces, bombs and in-fantry weapons are on display outside. One corner of the grounds is devoted to the notorious French and South Vietnamese prisons on Phu Quoc and Con Son Islands. Artefacts include that most iconic of French appliances, the guillotine, and the notorious-ly inhumane ‘tiger cages’ used to house Viet Cong (Vietnamese Communists; VC) prisoners.The ground floor of the museum is devoted to a col-lection of posters and photographs showing support for the antiwar movement internationally. This some-what upbeat display provides a counterbalance to the horrors upstairs.Even those who supported the war are likely to be horrified by the photos of children affected by US bombing and napalming. You’ll also have the rare chance to see some of the experimental weapons

used in the war, which were at one time military secrets, such as the flechette , an artillery shell filled with thousands of tiny darts.Upstairs, look out for the Requiem Exhibition . Com-piled by legendary war photographer Tim Page, this striking collection documents the work of photogra-phers killed during the course of the conflict, on both sides, and includes works by Larry Burrows and Rob-ert Capa.Even though the museum is very informative, remem-ber to hire a tour guide to make sure you understand Vietnam history fully.Add: 28 Vo Van Tan St, District 3, Ho Chi Minh city. Opening hours: 7.30am-noon & 1.30-5pm

Cholon, Saigon’s Chinatown district, dominates the west bank of the city, boasting the attractions of Quan Am Pagoda, Thien Hau Temple, Binh Tay Market and numerous teahouses. Visit this long-es-tablished Chinese community (the largest of its kind in Vietnam) and soak up the fascinating culture, ar-chitecture and sights. Quan Am Pagoda - a Chinese-style Buddhist temple - features beautiful courtyards, gardens, a pond and a Jade Emperor. At Thien Hau Temple, dedicated to the goddess of the sea, check the stunning carved porcelain ceiling designs.Cholon Mosque and Cha Tam - the catholic cathe-dral - as well as the thriving Binh Tay market also add to the rich texture of this historic community.

This market is huge with so many vendors and stores

HO CHI MINH CITYPearl of the Far East


you can imagine, selling everything from clothing, foods, drinks, souvenirs, coffee, tea, handicrafts, bags, snacks, daily necessities etc.Things tend to repeat itself here, so there should not any problem for you to find the same stuff at other shops. Almost all vendors and sellers here, under-stands simple English, or they will show you a calcu-lator for you to input the price you wanted.Opening hours is from 5.00 am to 6.00 pm. On 5.00-6.00 am you can visit the wet market with-in the main market,so you can see the livestocks , like fishes ,eels , pork ,shrimps, frogs and so on.If your time is short and cannot visit the market during morning, daytime or afternoon, you can always visit the Ben Thanh Night Market. This market flanks the 2 sides of the Benh Thanh Building; vendors will sell their stuffs here after the main building closed.

Built in 1929 by the Société des Études Indochi-noises, this notable Sino-French museum houses a rewarding collection of artefacts illustrating the evolu-tion of the cultures of Vietnam, from the Bronze Age Dong Son civilisation (which emerged in 2000 BC) and the Funan civilisation (1st to 6th centuries AD), to the Cham, Khmer and Vietnamese.Highlights include valuable relics taken from Cam-bodia’s Angkor Wat, a fine collection of Buddha statues, the perfectly preserved mummy of a local woman who died in 1869, excavated from Xom Cai in District 5, and some exquisite stylised mother of pearl Chinese characters inlaid into panels. Also housing a branch of the shop Nguyen Freres , the museum is just inside the main gate to the city’s bo-tanic gardens and zoo.Add: Street Ð Nguyen Binh KhiemOpening hours: 8-11.30am & 1.30-5pm Tue-Sun

The Fito Museum in Saigon is the first museum of Vietnamese medicine. On display are nearly 3,000 items dating back to the Stone Age. Exhibits include tools used to prepare medicine, knives, mortars and pestles, documents and objects from a traditional pharmacy. The museum regularly screens a docu-mentary about the history of medicine. When in HCMC check out The Fito Museum. Ad-mire the many documents and books on display that deal with traditional Vietnamese medicine. Browse through the scales, cabinets, printing molds, spirit gourd, tea pot, lime pot and other ceramic pieces. The Fito Museum regularly screens a documentary about the history of Vietnam’s traditional medicine called ‘A Century of Health Care Experiences’.Open daily from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm. Add: 41 Hoang Du Khuong, District 10, Ho Chi Minh.

Surrounded by Royal Palm trees, the dissonant 1960s architecture of this government building and the eerie mood that accompanies a walk through its deserted halls make it one of the most intriguing spectacles in HCMC. The building is deeply associated with the fall of Saigon in 1975, yet it’s the overblown kitsch detailing and period motifs that steal the show.The first Communist tanks to arrive in Saigon rum-bled here on the morning of 30 April 1975 and it’s as if time has stood still since then. After crashing through the wrought-iron gates – in a dramatic scene recorded by photojournalists and shown around the world – a soldier ran into the building and up the stairs to unfurl a VC flag from the balcony. In an

Fito Museum

Reunification Palace

History Museum


ornate reception chamber, General Minh, who had become head of the South Vietnamese state only 43 hours before, waited with his improvised cabinet. ‘I have been waiting since early this morning to trans-fer power to you’, Minh said to the VC officer who entered the room. ‘There is no question of your trans-ferring power’, replied the officer. ‘You cannot give up what you do not have.’

Ask any local people about the location of the city’s center or its symbol, the answer would definitely be Ben Thanh Market or Saigon Notre Dame Cathedral (officially Basilica of Our Lady of The Immaculate Conception). While the market stands at a modern and crowded corner of the business district, the an-cient cathedral is located in a very peaceful pictur-esque corner in the downtown of Ho Chi Minh City.Constructed between 1863 and 1880 by the French colonists, following their conquest of the city,

In 1868 a residence was built on this site for the French governor-general of Cochinchina and gradu-ally it expanded to become Norodom Palace. When the French departed, the palace became home to the South Vietnamese president Ngo Dinh Diem. So unpopular was Diem that his own air force bombed the palace in 1962 in an unsuccessful attempt to kill him. The president ordered a new residence to be built on the same site, this time with a sizeable bomb shelter in the basement. Work was completed in 1966, but Diem did not get to see his dream house as he was killed by his own troops in 1963.The new building was named Independence Palace and was home to the successive South Vietnamese president, Nguyen Van Thieu, until his hasty depar-ture in 1975. Designed by Paris-trained Vietnamese architect Ngo Viet Thu, it is an outstanding example of 1960s architecture, with an airy and open atmo-sphere.The ground floor is arranged with meeting rooms, while upstairs is a grand set of reception rooms, used for welcoming foreign and national dignitaries. In the back of the structure are the president’s living quarters; check out the model boats, horse tails and severed elephants’ feet. The 2nd floor contributes a shagadelic card-playing room, complete with a cheesy round leather banquette, a barrel-shaped

bar, hubcap light fixtures and groovy three-legged chairs set around a flared-legged card table. There’s also a cinema and a rooftop nightclub, complete with helipad: James Bond/Austin Powers – eat your heart out.Perhaps most fascinating of all is the basement with its telecommunications centre, war room and warren of tunnels, where hulking old fans chop the air and ancient radio transmitters sit impassively. Towards the end are rooms where videos appraise the palace and its history in Vietnamese, English, French, Chi-nese and Japanese. The national anthem is played at the end of the tape and you are expected to stand up – it would be rude not to.Reunification Palace is open to visitors as long as of-ficial receptions or meetings aren’t taking place. En-glish- and French-speaking guides are on duty during opening hours.Street: Nam Ky Khoi NghiaOpening hours: 7.30-11am & 1-4pm

Sai Gon Notre – Dame Cathedral


the building reaches a height of up to 60m. Bish-op Lefevre put the first stone for construction of the church on 28 March 1863. Initially, it was called Saigon Church. The name Notre-Dame Cathedral was given after Bishop Pham Van Thien held a cer-emony to install the statue of Peaceful Notre Dame, made with granite from Rome, in 1959. In 1962, Vatican anointed it as Saigon Chief Cathedral con-ferred it basilique. Since this time, this cathedral is called Saigon Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica.Address: No. 1 Cong truong Cong xa Paris St., right at the intersection of Pham Ngoc Thach St, Le Duan St and Cong xa Paris St. The Cao Dai Temple was finished in 1955 when the

Cao Dai Army was formed following the Japanese occupation of Indochina. Caodaists believe that all religions are ultimately the same and seek to promote tolerance throughout the world.The Lord Buddha, Jesus Christ, Muhammad and Con-fucius, in addition to Joan of Arc and Julius Cesar are all honoured at this temple.Watching Caodiasts pray is one of the major high-lights when visiting the temple as they dress in long flowing robes of white for lay followers, yellow, blue or red for priests whilst bishops have the Divine Eye embroidered on their headpieces. During worship men are seated on the right and women on the left with all devotees seated in orderly rows. The build-ing is a combination of Neo-Gothic, Baroque and Oriental design and is very ornately decorated in-cluding dragon wrapped pillars, seven-headed co-bras and ceilings of sky blue.

Leaving the hustle and bustle of Ho Chi Minh City behind, take a 2.5-hour journey west towards the Cambodian border bound for the Cu Chi Tunnels. The Cu Chi tunnels were built by local fighters during the Indochina conflict as a base from which the Viet Cong could operate from close to the Southern Viet-namese capital. Initial construction started in 1948 when the Viet Minh required somewhere to hide from French air attacks and by 1965, the Cu Chi tunnel complex was estimated to consist of 200km’s of tun-nels. It included, hospitals, schools, meeting rooms, kitchens and sleeping quarters. Life was difficult for the inhabitants and to protect against outside intrud-

One of Ho Chi Minh City’s most prominent land-marks, the Saigon Opera House was custom built in 1897 by French architect Eugene Ferret. In 1955 it was transformed into South Vietnam’s Assembly House and has undergone several refurbishments since. It is only open to the public during events. Tick-ets are available on location in District 1, Saigon. Great photo opportunities await travelers who seek out the Saigon Opera House as the building is a fine example of French colonial architecture. Take a seat in the fade and watch the action of Saigon whiz by. The Opera House is surrounded by a wide, tree-lined boulevard and you may need to remind yourself that you are in Ho Chi Minh City, not Paris. The Ho Chi Minh City Ballet Symphony Orchestra and Opera performs here. Add: 7 Lam Son Square, Ben Nghe Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City.

Opera House

Cao Dai Temple

Cu Chi Tunnel


Suoi Tien Theme Park is located about 40 minutes from downtown Ho Chi Minh City, in Thu Duc dis-trict. It’s no wonder that Vietnamese culture is the main theme of Suoi Tien entertainment. The park is famous for its Oriental architecture, with the concept based on oriental beliefs. This concept is shown by all the statues, buildings and games in the park. They sym-bolize the wish for peace, happiness and wealth. As an amusement park, Suoi Tien offers numerous kinds of game, from scary, thrilling to adventurous ones such as: Mystery of the Forest, 4D Theatre, Roller Coaster and Air Bycicle. No one would be disappointed when come to this recreational area, especially children, as there’s a specific area called The Children Kingdom. This place has a lot of fun-ny and attractive games from superman electric car, children train to ball house.The park opens daily from 8AM to 6PM. On week-ends, it closes a little bit later, at 6:30 PM. On spe-cial occasions like national holidays, it closes at 11PM.

dise with local handicrafts and the latest boutiques. Come here, visitor can have comfortable time to buy souvenir, clothes, jewels,for yourself or your friend, your family. There are a lot of places for shopping. Some of them are:Parkson PlazaWith locations throughout the city, Parkson boasts a thorough selection of cosmetics and a wide range of clothing. This is a good place to go for quality kitch-enware and appliances. Located on the top floor is a small in-store supermarket that sells imported prod-ucts.Opening Hours: 9:30 AM – 10:00 PM DailyVincom CentreWith two locations, Vincom Centre features an array of luxury brands, from Chanel to Armani, with an impressive food court, which is more like a collection of restaurants. Opening Hours: 9:00 AM – 10:00 PMDiamond Plaza This shopping centre offers an array of familiar luxury items, from appliances to fashion. The top floor has a large entertainment area with video games and a bowling alley, a good place to bring the kids for a dose of quarter-plunking, mind-numbing entertain-ment when tired of touring the busy city. Major credit cards accepted.Opening Hours: 9:30 AM – 10:00 PM DailySaigon CentreSaigon Centre is a great modern one-stop destina-tion to browse for electronics, clothing and accesso-ries. A Highlands Coffee Shop is also located within the mall for snacks and drinks. Major credit cards accepted.Opening Hours: 9:30 AM – 9:30 PM from Mon-day to Thursday, and until 10:00 PM from Friday to SundayÀ Ố ShowÀ Ố Show is a new kind of art performance com-monly acknowledged globally as [new circus]. The show surpasses all the limits that were previously con-structed by many other art shows in Vietnam over the years. Audience is offered the opportunity to let loose their imagination once they are set off by the visu-al creation and lighting of each performance. The Ho Chi Minh City or Saigon is a shopper’s para-

ers bobby traps were laid throughout the complex.

Your local guide will take you on a fascinating tour around the Cu Chi Tunnels where you’ll learn more about the conditions the Vietnamese people lived in, the hardships they faced and the amazing ingenuity employed to maintain life in the tunnels.

Suoi Tien Theme Park

Shopping in Ho Chi Minh


EATING & DRINKING

word “amazed” does not even begin to describe it the moment the audiences see themselves walking on a small walkway of the sweet and breezy South-ern Vietnam, wondering pass the surging dunes of the Southern Central only to find themselves ended up in front of a lotus swamp. Every now and then audience can hear echoes of a southern chanty and the traditional music of “Don Ca Tai Tu”. All the de-tails that are portraited and recorded of the show reflect the spirit of the Vietnamese people and their heritage.The chastity of bamboo, basket boat and its use in the daily life of many Vietnamese are leading visuals for the show. À Ố Show has no script, no climax and no sequence. During the 60 minutes of the show, the audience is gently introduced to many different tones of emotion as some may see flashes of their own reflection through the vivid yet poetical render. À Ố Show may still be within the path of pursuing perfec-tion but it does take pride in providing audience an hour long of peace, comfort and serenity mixed with astonishment and joy. It is almost as if the audience was captured in a Vietnamese dream of life, survival, love and everything else in between.Add: 7 Cong Truong Lam Son, District 1, Hồ Chí Minh.

Make no mistake: Mandarine is aimed firmly at wealthy tourists. Traditonal architecture and night-ly musical performances create a magical setting, while the set menus offer a temting array of dishes from all the regions of the country.Maxim’s Nam AnAddress: 15 Dong Khoi StSomething of a Saigon legend, this supper club is distinguished more for its over-the-top jazz club am-bience and live music than for the food, which is fine if not jaw-dropping. If you are after a memorable experience, you could do a lot worse.

Bún thịt nướng

Bun thit nuong (pronounced: boon-tit-nun) is a deli-cious staple of southern Vietnamese cuisine and their answer to the north’s bun cha. Bun, a cold, thin white rice noodle, also known as vermicelli, is placed in a bowl. Thit nuong, grilled strips of pork, are then placed on top and, unlike bun cha, served as a single dish. Often you have the option of adding cha gio (pronounced: cha zo) or small, crispy spring rolls, which are also placed on top. In the south, this dish is commonly served with pickled daikon and carrot and garnished with roasted peanuts. And of course no Vietnamese dish would be complete with-out pouring on some nuoc mam, or fish sauce.Bun thit nuong is generally served over lettuce and cucumber, with herbs and bean sprouts. Depending on the street stall you attend they may have more or less of these extra ingredients. Luckily, unlike bun cha, which is generally served only for lunch, bun thit nuong is served all day. A breakfast stall commonly runs around 06:30-10:30, a lunch stall will go from

Nha Hang NgonAddress: 160 Pasteur StOpen: 7 am – 10 pmAlways heaving with locals and foreigners alike, this is one of the most popular places in town, offering the opportunity to sample a large range of the very best street food in stylish surroundings. Set in a leafy garden ringed by food stalls, each cook serves up a specialized traditional dish, ensuring an authentic taste. Follow your nose and browse the stalls.MandarineAddress: 11 Ngo Van Nam St

EatingsRestaurant:

Street food


10:30-14:30 and a dinner stall will be open from 18:00-22:00 or until food runs out. Be sure to get there early as these popular stalls can sell out fast.Bánh khọtBanh khot is a very unique dish, if it is made correctly, it will be golden-brown and crispy on the outside but soft in the middle. Banh khot usually comes in two va-rieties, pork and shrimp, but some restaurants make specialty versions, like oyster and fish. It is served with a plate of leaves, mustard or lettuce, which you wrap around the banh khot. They are snack size but a little too big to be taken in one bite — if you try the people watching you eat might think it’s the most hilarious thing they’ve ever seen.

Banh khot carts are easy to spot because they sport a unique cooking apparatus, consisting of what looks like a thick cupcake pan. The pan holds the banh khot as they fry in oil. This is a faster street food — generally the cook pumps them out pan-by-pan and you buy from the lot sitting on display.Banh khot is a great street treat because it works as a snack or a meal. If you’re hungry, order a plate of 8-12, or just grab two or three if you want a quick bite. One will usually only cost 5,000 VND on the street, but if you’re in a restaurant expect to pay up-wards of 15,000 for one. Either way, they’re worth the price; be careful though, they are deceptively filling. First you just try one, then you have two, next thing you know you’ve eaten a dozen and you have a stomach ache…Bánh tráng nướngA mixture of pork, scallions, and red peppers are placed in the centre of the rice cracker. Next, a quail egg is broken and added to the mixture, which is followed by the cracker being placed on the grill. The egg cooks while the rice cracker is slightly ten-derized by the flames. Once it is done, it’s removed

from the heat, smothered in hot sauce and folded in half. The end product is a small, spicy and crispy treat.

Carts that make banh trang nuong can be tricky to find. On your walk through the park, you may find yourself passing unmarked cooks, who grill the rice cracker over small clay pot grills on the ground, or watching mobile food slowly peddle past. The easiest way to spot a banh trang nuong food cart, marked or unmarked, is by the colourful assortment of toppings, which stand out next to the small grill. The makers of this dish usually set up streetside, in-stead of in the centre of the park, as they can then easily serve motorbikes as well as foot traffic.Hủ tiếuHu tieu is a common dish in the south, as it was introduced in the Mekong region, and carts and streetside restaurants serving it up are common. If a cart is unmarked, like my neighbourhood vendor, a quick way to spot hu tieu is to look for multiple styles of displayed noodles but specifically look for the thin white noodles. Outside of that, go for the normal soup indicators like a large pot for boiling, a stack of bowls, or giant ladles.


TOURS TO HO CHI MINH

Ala MezonAddress: 10 Chu Minh Trinh StOpen: 11.30 am – 1 amAs chic as only a French-managed and Japa-nese-theme bar could be, Ala Mezon serves up in-ventive cocktails and Japanese tapas in several cosy spaces. You can play board games, Wii or Xbox in frilly pink room done up like a Harajuku girl’s bed-room or head up to the roof terrace for an altogether more elegant tipple.LushAddress: 2 Ly Tu Trong StOpen: 7.30 pm –lateOnce you’re done chatting in the garden bars, move to the central bar for serious people-watching and ass-shaking. The decor is very manga, with cool graphics plastering the walls. DJs spin most nights, with Fridays devoted to hip-hop

Hu tieu is one of the cheaper soups on the street and it is very common to find bowls in the 20,000 to 25,000 VND price range.A street, where is known as Paradise of food for officer in Sai Gon. It’s a small lane on Hai Ba Trung St, District 1, Ho Chi Minh. There are a lot of street stalls sell many kinds of Vietnamese food. They only open from 3pm – 6pm every day.

visit Ben Thanh Market where an incredible display of fresh produce is offered. Simply stroll through the market seeing and enjoying the variety of goods for sale.This afternoon visit the War Remnants or History Mu-seum (choose which one you would most like to see) and the former Presidential Palace, from there stroll (your vehicle will be available at all times) to the major sights of colonial Ho Chi Minh City: the Old Saigon Post Office, Dong Khoi Street (formerly Rue Catinat), Continental Hotel, Opera House and City Hall. At the end of the afternoon head back to your hotel.

Day 1: Ho Chi Minh arrival (Meals:Lunch, Dinner)Upon arrival in Tan Son Nhat International Airport, you will be greeted by local guide and transfer you to central of Saigon – a vibrant metropolis, Saigon teem with energy, activity and motion.Take a short orientation tour includes a quick visit to the neo-Romanesque Notre Dame Cathedral, Cen-tral Post Office. Strolling along Dong Khoi Street, for-merly known as the Rue Catinat, the main shopping thoroughfare and heart of old colonial Saigon, pass-ing by classic European-style landmarks such as the ornate City Hall (Hotel De Ville), the old opera house (both may only be viewed from the outside). Chi-na Town (Cholon) – the sprawling, densely packed Cholon retains a traditional Asian feeling, unlike the more modern Saigon city center. Explore the high-lights of this fascinating area, beginning with a visit to Thien Hau Temple, build by the Cantonese con-gregation and dedicated to the heavenly goddess. Continue to visit Binh Tay Market, the vast wholesale market selling every kind of good from dried foods to T shirts to electronics. Have dinner at restaurant! Overnight in Ho Chi Minh city.Day 2: Ho Chi Minh – Cu Chi Tunnel (Meals: Break-fast, Lunch, Dinner)After having a breakfast at your hotel, take a half-day tour with the main sites of Saigon including the Reuni-fication Palace where the South finally fell to North Vietnamese troops in 1975; War Remnant Museum which comprehensively documents the travails of the long Vietnam- American War.. Have lunch at local restaurant.

Cho lon – Thien Hau pagoda – FITO Museum – Ben Thank Market – War Remnants Museum (Meal: Lunch)Depart your hotel at 0800 for a full day tour of Ho Chi Minh City. Head to Cholon, the city’s China-town district, discover the markets and shops of the area, and also the Cantonese Thien Hau Pagoda – dedicated to the goddess of the sea. Next, visit the FITO Museum, Vietnam’s first traditional medicine museum. Head back into the centre of the city to

Drinkings

Ho Chi Minh City Tour (Full Day)

Glimpse of Southern 3 days)


Then drive to the famous Cu Chi tunnels – an incred-ible underground tunnel network constructed by Viet-namese resistance fighters during the long struggle for independence. The tunnels, over 250km in length and up to three levels deep in places, played a huge part in the Viet Cong’s victory over the Americans, allowing them to control a large rural area surround-ing Ho Chi Minh City. Today, some of the remain-ing tunnels have been opened to tourists, offering a unique insight into what underground life must have been like during the ‘American’ war. Drive back to Saigon and have dinner at restaurant. Overnight in Ho Chi Minh City.Day 3: Ho Chi Minh- Ben Tre (Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)After having a breakfast at your chosen hotel, you will be met by your guide at your hotel and depart Saigon City for a scenic morning drive through the Mekong Delta. At My Tho, take a boat to an orchard garden. Enjoy a brief walk on the island, trying some tropical fruits grown in the region. Boat along green and empty creek before experience horse cart. Stop at local family to visit bee farm. Sipping Vietnamese tea mixed with bee honey and lemons. Enjoy the Mekong beauty and quietness when rowing sampan through narrow water coconut- creek.After lunch at restaurant, visit a family-run business making coconut candies. Before returning to My Tho, visit the 150 year old Vinh Trang Pagoda combines Vietnamese Khmer and French architecture which re-flects the religion and history of the land. Drive back to Saigon for for shopping at Cholon (Big Market) or Ben Thanh Market and have dinner at restaurant. Overnight in Ho Chi Minh City.



Ecjune From Italy review Cu Chi TunnelDid it as a day tour. My guide was excellent; he was 25 during the war and actually lived and experienced it. He had amazing stories to tell. Before you visit the tunnels you see a video on the war and a huge - interesting map. Then you move on and see some of the traps the VC prepped for the US soldiers. You only go down in the tunnels if you feel like it. It is an experience. However, claustrophobics should avoid it. It is narrow down there”Susan from Califonia review Fito museumAn informative and charming docent leads you through a very interesting private collec-tion. The building is a house re-decorated in a graceful, traditional Vietnamese style. Two doctors amassed this collection of pots, vas-es, old medical implements, art, statuary, etc. and chose to share it with the public in a singular setting. You don’t need an interest in medicine to appreciate the lovely offer-ings and insights into daily life in past times. Unique.

Travel Tips1. Chose a hotel in District 1 is strongly rec-ommended since District 1 is tourist area, close to attractions with many restaurants, bars, cafes, hotels and booking offices.2. Visit Pham Ngu Lao or Bui Vien Street at night for a bottle of beer and street food is good experience. These are backpack-er streets which create fun atmosphere attracts both locals and tourist.3. Attraction like Cu Chi tunnel or War remnant museum is suitable for those in-terested in history. If you are not chose Mekong Delta for a culture exploring.

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About Mekong DeltaThe Mekong River is one of the world’s great rivers and its delta is one of the world’s largest. Mekong Delta is known as one of the widest and richest delta in ASEAN. Besides that, Mekong del-ta is the place of different tropical fruits such as durian, coconut; banana, pine-apple, dragon fruit… and when you come here you can enjoy the seasonal fruits all round year. Life in the Mekong Delta revolves much around the river, and many of the vil-lages are often accessible by rivers and canals rather than by road. The uniquely southern charm with its wel-coming introduction to life along the river is the real draw, and visitors can explore quaint riverside towns, sample fruits bartered in the colorful floating markets or dine on home-cooked deli-cacies before overnight as a home stay guest. Other highlights include visits to local orchards, flower markets and fish farms. It’s the highlight of this region to attract visitors.Come here, you can see the region’s fertile land as possible, with orchards, sugarcane plantations, rice paddies, fish and flower farms jostling for space amongst bird sanctuaries and national parks. You can also enjoy the atmo-sphere of floating markets and the life of local people.

How to get there?- Air: Can Tho is the most famous destination in Mekong Delta. Flights head from Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh to Can Tho is easy and convenient.- Boat: Some delta towns have ferry connections between them – which is a fascinating way to travel. The trip between Ca Mau and Rach Gia is particularly scenic. - Bus: If you are coming to from Ho Chi Minh City, delta buses leave from Mien Tay bus station, 10km west of the centre. To avoid slight inconvenient of getting to Mien Tay, you might want to consid-er booking one of the cheap day tour to My Tho departing, contact Mercury Travel for further tour information .- Car: The most flexible way to see the delta is by private car. This is more expensive than tour bus or public bus but definitely worth your money because of its convenience and privacy.

When to go?Life in Mekong Delta is woven by water and season. It is most vibrant in spring (flower season: late January - March) and early summer (fruit season: April - May). This is the best time to visit Me-kong Delta, also the best time to visit Ho Chi Minh City and South Vietnam in general.

ME KONG DELTAtropical great river


SIGHT & ACTIVITIES

Farmers from the region bring their goods, fruits and vegetables mainly, to the markets and sell them to lo-cal dealers. These dealers sell the products to shops in the neighboring towns and to wholesale dealers from the big towns. In the picture you can see a local farmer with fruits for sale. All big boats have a pole. Each wholesaler hangs the goods he buys/sells on this pole. This way, people on small boats know where they have to go from a certain distance. In this case, this is a floating vegetable supermarket. On the floating markets you do not only find peo-ple buying and selling goods, you also find floating restaurants, floating bars, floating gas stations, and many other floating shops. Canals are here the easi-est and fastest way of transportation.There are a lot of floating markets in here. Some of them are Cai Be (in Tien Giang), Cai Rang (in Can Tho), Phong Dien (in Can Tho), Nga Bay (in Can Tho) , Nga Nam (in Soc Trang), Song Trem (Trem River – in Ca Mau)Cai Be: one of the many well-known floating mar-kets, located in Tien Giang province, 70 km south of Ho Chi Minh City and easily reach by bus. The Cai Be Floating Market is always busy, bearing all the characteristics of the locals’ life in the western region. All the goods are transported to the market by rafts and boats.It is opened from 5am to 5pm. It is best to go ear-ly in the morning. Wholesalers on big boats moor here, each specializing in one or a few types of fruit or vegetable. Customers cruise the market in smaller boats and can easily find what they’re looking for, as the larger boats hang samples of their goods from

tall wooden poles.One interesting thing you won’t see at other floating markets is the huge Catholic cathedral on the river-side - a popular and fantastic backdrop for photo-graphs.It takes about an hour to reach the market from Vinh Long, but most people make detours on the way there or back to see the canals or visit orchards.Phung Hiep Floating Market: The market meets all day long, but most noisy and busy in the morning. The precious evening, from far-and-wide, boats full of seasonal vegetables and fruits: mangoes, durians, bananas, oranges, coconuts... left their villages to head for the sunrise market. Every boat is full of fruits. Some boats are covered with roofs, some are not. On boats without roofs, the sellers have to hold high a stick hanging with fruits as signals. Market-goers do not bargain, just a few words exchange, they sell and get paid.It’s a floating market’ but services are available, foods and drinks on small boats twist and turn to serve hungry sellers and buyers. Signal to buy is only a whistling or waving band. Apart from fruits, local products: snakes, birds, turtles... are easy to find near Phung Hiep bridge. These specialties are almost bought and brought to restaurants in Can Tho or Ho Chi Minh City.Cai Rang Floating Market: one of the biggest and most famous floating market in Vietnam, located around 170 km south of Ho Chi Minh City. You can visit the market by joining is many tours (contact Mercury Travel for tours to this floating market) on bus or flight to Can Tho air port and drive here. The market opens all day but it is busiest from sunrise to about 9am. The main items sold there are farm products and specialties of Cai Rang Town, Chau Thanh District and neighboring areas. Every boat has a long upright pole at its bow on which samples of the goods for sale are hung.

Floating Market


During the early morning market hours, larger sized boats anchor and create lanes that smaller boats weave in and out of. The waterway becomes a maze of hundreds of boats packed with mango, bananas, papaya, pineapple, and even smuggled goods like cigarettes. Small boats that sell beer, soft drinks and wine go among the other boats to serve market-goers and visitors. Sellers tie their goods to a tall pole so that buyers can see from a distance what they are selling.Each boat is loaded with plenty of seasonal goods. Activities at the market are also an occasion for tour-ists to study the cultural aspects of southerners.To visit Cai Rang Floating Market, visitors can join a tour of the Mekong Delta. On the way to Can Tho, visitors can stop to visit My Tho and take a boat trip to visit orchards, bee farms and coconut candy es-tablishments in Ben Tre.Floating Markets will make you great experiences. It’s a pity to miss. There are a lot of tours from Ho Chi Minh City to Mekong delta with floating markets included in their itineraries. Mercury Travel organizes many tours ranging from group to private tours suit-able to your own travel style and budgets.

sand. This is a very important process which will de-cide on the quality of the products. The mixed clay is then carefully kneaded, with the kneaded clay put into moulds and then into kilns. Finally, artisans have to whittle until the products are perfect.In Vinh Long, tourists can see many outstanding works in diverse types such as vases, pots, jars, bas-relief, paintings and statues. The most interesting thing for tourists is the process of making ceramic works.Tourists will see a combination of ceramics and bricks in houses in the village. One of these houses will surprise visitors Vietnam travel as the pillars are made from pottery while the roof is made from red-tile and the floor by bricks. The house is decorated with bas-relief and paintings made by pottery.Dinh Yen Mat craft village

Dinh Yen Mat craft village is located around 33 kms from Sa Dec Town of Dong Thap province. This is an attractive destination for Vietnam travel. The village which is by the side of Hau River, has been famous for its traditional mat-making craft which has existed for nearly 100 years.For a long time, sleeping mats were a way of life in Vietnam. People still use the mats to sleep or sit on and not only in homes as they are used in religious ceremonies or sacred places or festivals. In Vietnam-ese culture, a beautiful sleeping mat is very important for newly-weds and the mat is considered part of many love stories.Coming here, tourists will have a chance to attend the village’s market where millions of products of dif-ferent kinds from the Cuu Long River delta and the eastern area of Southern Vietnam are exchanged every year. Particularly in the last month or the first and second months of the year of the lunar calen-

Pottery village in Vinh Long

Vinh Long ceramics are popular not only due to their elegant shapes but also by their distinguished color of pink that makes them different from other ceramics of other regionsComing to the village, tourists in Vietnam travel will see the many phases involved in making ceramics. First, artisans have to dig out clay from under the river, load it off boats, classify and then mix it with

Handicraft Village


dar, mats are much sought-after. One of the most out-standing features of the market, different from those in other regions, is that buyers will stay at a place to wait for sellers who carry products on their shoulders.Another unique feature of the market is that the mar-ket is held at night for two hours because the locals are busy weaving mats all day long and they only go to the market at night.Visiting the market, tourists will be impressed by an exciting atmosphere of the market on the yard of An Phuoc Pagoda. It will be an excited experience for tourist travel to Vietnam as well as impressed travel spot of tours in VietnamCoconut Village in Ben Tre

Come here, visitor can have a great experience and have some souvenir from coconut for your family and your friends.Home-stay

Would you want to join in a family of local people to have real experiences about the life of them? Home-stay is the best chose for you. Home-stay is a tour service in which you stay in the local’s house, sleep, eat and witness their traditional daily life with them. Using home-stay, you can have chances to commu-nicate with local people and living as a member of their family.One of the biggest advantages of home-stay travel is that you can explore Mekong Delta in depth and soak in its laid back yet wonderful life. You will walk on gravel track and dirt path, ride a oxen cart or row a sampan to visit villages, catch fish in pond by hand and prepare a typical Mekong Delta meal with grilled elephant ear fish, spring rolls, sour soup and caramelized pork. You will also experience the daily life activities and rhythms in rural Vietnam: chil-dren cycle excitedly around, dogs laze in the heat, chickens scratch soil for food and people swing in hammocks while humming a folk song, all will cap-ture your heart and remain in your memory for long.If you want to have memorable experience at home-stay, you might consider booking a good tour. Mer-cury Travel provides you many tours to explore Me-kong Delta. If you are interested in, please find detail information at www.mercurytravel.com.vn.

Garden fruit

Located 87 km south west of Ho Chi Minh City and easily approach by bus. Literally translated, Bến Tre means Bamboo Port. It is a small province of Viet-nam, located in the Mekong Delta. Ben Tre is fa-mous of its coconuts.Bến Tre is the leading producer of coconut goods... rice bowls, chopstick, spoons, you name it they can make it....out of coconut! Most famous of all, is Kẹo Dừa (Coconut Candy). Fresh grated coconut is squeezed to obtain coconut milk. Coconut milk is then mixed with sugar and boiled until the soft crack stage. The candy is then cooled until cut into thin strips. The thin pieces are then cut into smaller pieces of candy. Easier said than done. The candy hardens when it cools, thus the candy must be cut while still warm. Being warm means it’s extremely sticky which re-quires a very shape knife to cut.

Locals are making coconut candy


hustle and bustle and wonderful colors of the floating markets.

Mekong Delta is very famous with Garden Fruit. So Fruit garden tours in the Mekong Delta are drawing a large number of tourists. Usually, the owner of the garden often takes tourists around the garden and works like a professional tourist guide. Tourists are allowed to pick up any fruit they like in the garden to enjoy. Special dishes are also available in his garden.Having toured the garden, tourists can rest in ham-mocks or talk to one another over cups of hot tea and breathe fresh air.Come here, you can relax under shade of trees, pick the fruit in the garden by yourself and become a farmer in the garden. That’s very interesting.Each garden in each province has different fruit and feature. For example, travelling to Vinh Long, enter-ing each fruit gardens, picking the bunches of fresh and tasty fruits and listening to don ca tai tu (đờn ca tài tử _ one kind of folk singing) are the way joining in real Southern garden cultural air. So if you travel to Mekong Delta, Garden Fruit isn’t place to miss. River CruisingIn Mekong Delta, there are cruising services, which provide tourist opportunity to relax and witness the floating life along the great river. Especially if you want to travel to Cambodia from Ho Chi Minh, cruis-ing is one of great way to go. You can cruise the massive Mekong Delta that covers an area of some 15,000 square miles. This picturesque area is dot-ted by rice paddies, fish farms, fruit orchards, and moreCruising on the Mekong River, you can discover the

Biking tourCycling Mekong Delta on unique bike routes will be a worth choose for you. The Mekong Delta is as flat as a pancake so all different levels of cyclist can ride bicycle easily to smell and taste the real Mekong Delta’ countryside.Take part in biking tour, you not only do exercise to improve your heath, but also explore Vietnam locals’ life style deeply.

Rambutan Garden


TOURS TO MEKONG DELTA

Hochiminh – My Tho – Ben Tre (Meal: Lunch)Start from your hotel in Ho Chi Minh City at 8AM for 2 hour drive, escaping the crowded and chaotic Ho Chi Minh for My Tho and Ben Tre in the Mekong delta. This upper part of the Mekong delta with fer-tile soil and abundant water supply is home of ever-green vegetation and kingdom of beautiful tropical fruits. Today you will have a chance to discover the stunning landscape and local life on the banks of the world’s 12th-longest river.Upon arrival in My Tho city, you will take a boat cruise on the mighty Mekong River. Our local guide will take us to visit an island with lush tropical gar-dens where we have a chance to sample tropical fruit freshly picked from trees. Continue with anoth-er visit to some local cottage industries where you will observe the process of manual work to make up beautiful handicrafts and sweets from coconut and rice before taking motor cart for a ride around is-lands of Ben Tre province. During the ride, you will have some stops to visit farms and local home for lo-cal interaction and to learn about traditional lifestyles of the people here.Lunch is served with local specialties in a fresh gar-den before you take a sit on sampan for a fasci-nating rowing trip to explore the mangroves of the Mekong Delta along meandering canals. Drive back to Ho Chi Minh City. Trip ends in Ho Chi Minh City at around 4.30PM.

Can Tho, check in hotel. Free at leisure for the rest of the day. Overnight in Can Tho.Day 2 Can Tho – HochiminhEnjoy your breakfast at hotel. Morning cruise to Cai rang and Phong Dien floating market, fruit garden. Floating market and fruit garden are considered as symbol of southern life style so the tour is definitely perfect if you want to discover traditional life style of Vietnamese. Transfer you back to HCMC. End of services.

Day 1 Hochiminh – Cantho - Mekong Delta Around 8.00 AM our guide will pick you up at your hotel in Ho Chi Minh City and transfer to Mekong Delta. Stop at Cai Be floating market. Boat trip to visit Cai Be floating market. Stop at local traditional handicraft village for rice crispies mill, rice paper mill and then by boat along river for enjoying fishing ….…… Stop over at fruit garden at noon. Continue to Vinh Long with Binh Hoa Phuoc Island with a visit of Bonsai garden to have tropical fruit and we can drink honey tea, medical rice wine. Cruise to Vinh Long quay. Drive to Can Tho crossing a ferry. Arrival

Day 1 Ho Chi Minh City – Can Tho (Meals: Lunch, Dinner)Leave the city behind this morning as you travel about two hours to reach Cai Be, a gateway to the Mekong Delta. Then hop aboard a small boat and travel along the winding waterways to take a peek into life on the water. Stop off at Dong Phu and An Binh where you will see small home-based factories that produce oil, matting, candy and even wine from coconuts! Then visit an old French colonial house that is more than 150 years old. After a quick stop for lunch, hop aboard another boat that will take you to the ferry hub of Vinh Long and then drive to Can Tho arriving in the late afternoon.Day 2 Can Tho – Chau Doc – Tra Su (Meals: Break-fast, Lunch, Dinner)It’s an early start to the day as you go by boat the daily floating market of Can Tho. Experience the flur-ry of vendors trading their wares as boats teeming with fruit, vegetables and household goods ply the waters. Then it’s off to Chau Doc, a sleepy riverside border town, about three hours by road. Later this afternoon take a trip to the Tra Su Forest an eco-logical reserve spanning 850 hectares. Glide qui-etly by sampan, through the thick mangroves and keep an eye out for the myriad of bird life. Along the way stop off at a small village that is home to ethnic Khmer people and meet the monks at the pagoda.Day 3 Chau Doc – Ho Chi Minh City (Meals: Break-fast)Say good bye to the delta and travel to Ho Chi Minh City about seven hours by car. There will be plenty of stops along the way to stretch your legs and take photos.

Mekong Delta Day Tour (Full Day)

Mekong Delta Home Stay Tour (2 Days)

Experience Mekong Delta Tours (3 Days)


Day 1: Ho Chi Minh City Arrival (Meals: Lunch, Dinner)Upon arrival in Tan Son Nhat International Airport, our guide will transfer you to hotel in Ho Chi Minh City. Take a short orientation tour includes a quick visit to the neo-Romanesque Notre Dame Cathedral, Cen-tral Post Office. Strolling along Dong Khoi Street, the main shopping thoroughfare and heart of old colo-nial Saigon, passing by classic European-style land-marks such as the ornate City Hall, the old Opera House (both may only be viewed from the outside). China Town– the sprawling, densely packed Cholon retains a traditional Asian feeling, unlike the more modern Saigon city center. Explore the highlights of this fascinating area, beginning with a visit to Thien Hau Temple. Have dinner at restaurant! Overnight in Ho Chi Minh City.Day 2: Ho Chi Minh City – Cu Chi Tunnels (Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)After having a breakfast at your hotel, take a half-day tour with the main sites of Saigon including the Reunification Palace; War Remnant Museum which comprehensively documents the travails of the long Vietnam- American War. Have lunch at restaurant. Then drive to the famous Cu Chi tunnels – an incred-ible underground tunnel network constructed by Viet-namese resistance fighters during the long struggle for independence. The tunnels, over 250km in length and up to three levels deep in places, played a huge part in the Viet Cong’s victory over the Americans, al-lowing them to control a large rural area surrounding Ho Chi Minh City. Drive back to Saigon and have dinner at restaurant. Overnight in Ho Chi Minh City.Day 3: Ho Chi Minh – Ben Tre (Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)After having a breakfast at your chosen hotel, you will be met by your guide at your hotel and depart Saigon City for a scenic morning drive through the Mekong Delta. At My Tho, take a boat to an orchard garden. Enjoy a brief walk on the island, trying some tropical fruits grown in the region. Boat along green and empty creek before experience horse cart. Stop at local family to visit bee farm. Sipping Vietnamese

tea mixed with bee honey and lemons. Enjoy the Mekong beauty and quietness when rowing sampan through narrow water coconut- creek. After lunch at restaurant, visit a family-run business making coconut candies. Before returning to My Tho, visit the 150 year old Vinh Trang Pagoda combines Vietnamese Khmer and French architecture which re-flects the religion and history of the land. Drive back to Saigon for for shopping at Cholon (Big Market) or Ben Thanh Market and have dinner at restaurant. Overnight in Ho Chi Minh City.

Hochiminh – Cu Chi Tunnel – Mekong Delta (3 Days)

Weboy from Germany review Mekong Del-ta“My tour in Vietnam was fantastic. One of the highlights of the trip was a boat cruise through the villages in the Mekong River Del-ta. I highly recommend this if you plan a trip to Vietnam.”Jacob from Australia review Biking tour“We had a great time in Mekong delta to-gether with bike tours arranged by Golden Vacation. Biking along the banks of Mekong is a wonderful experience. We drove about 100 km taking small boats between the Is-lands. We were pretty tired but it was great and absolutely worthy”

Travel Tips1. If you want to experience real Vietnam southern life style, Home-stay is the experi-ence we highly recommend. You will be fas-cinated by the atmosphere and found brilliant time in Mekong Delta. 2. Day trip to Mekong delta is good choice for those who don’t have much time in Vietnam. We recommend you book a tour which stay away from touristy area and route. By this way you can feel the genuine floating life of local farmers here.

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About Phu QuocPhu Quoc is a very mountainous and densely forested Island of 1320 sq km; it is 48 km in length from south to north.Blessed with white-sand beaches and with large tracts still cloaked in dense, tropical jun-gle, Phu Quoc quickly changed from a sleepy island backwater to a must-visit beach escape for Western expats and sun-seeking tourists. Beyond the resorts lining Long Beach, it’s still largely undeveloped, so there’s ample room for exploration and escaping. Dive the reefs, kayak in the bays, eat up the back-road miles on a motorbike, or just live the life of a lotus eater by lounging on the beach, indulging in a massage and dining on fresh seafood.

Despite development, much of this island is still protected since becoming a national park in 2001. Phu Quoc National Park covers close to 70% of the island, an area of 31,422 hect-ares.The most valuable crop in Phu Quoc is black pepper, but the islanders here have tradition-ally earned their living from the sea. Phu Quoc is also famed across Vietnam for its produc-tion of high-quality fish sauce (nuoc mam).The island is also well-known for its hunting dogs. Muscular and energetic, they are said to be able to pick up their master’s scent from over 1km awa. Unfortunately, the dogs have decimated much of the island’s wildlife.

How to get there?By plane: You can fly to the Duong Dong airport, Phu Quoc Island from Ho Chi Minh City on about five daily Vietnam Airlines flights or Flights directly from Hanoi.

Move around•Bicycle and motor bike are the most pleasant and conve-nient way to move around town and the main beach areas but because of the conditions of most roads it is advisable to stick around town! •Taxi/Private Car would be the most comfortable way to tour the island especially if you are a small group or family.

When to go?Weather in Phu Quoc is hot and good to visit all year around. However, the best time to visit Phu Quoc is during the period between the end of October to the end of February, when the daily temperature is about 27 – 31 C and 24 – 26 C at night, water temperature is 28 – 30 C and the humidity is at its lowest throughout the year, the sky is blue and the sea is calm.

PHU QUOCthe cleanest and most beautiful beach


SIGHT & ACTIVITIES

Diving and snorkeling around the warm waters of Phu Quoc takes place on the North-Western side of the island or around the small archipelago to the South. Diving is only really acceptable between Oc-tober-April. The best location for diving truly depends on the prevailing winds, which unfortunately can change quickly, so our expert local knowledge is somewhat essential! Due to the Islands proximity to the Mekong delta region visibility is rarely as clear as found in high season in Nha Trang or Whale Is-land. However the nutritious run off from the Mekong and the constantly warm water temperatures give Phu Quoc some excellent hard coral growth.

in that time and the paint and heroes of Vietnamese people. The visit to the prison is definitely education-al but also terrifying. If you are interested in history then this is not a place to be missed.

Phu Quoc National park is located in the North of the island and covers close to 70% of the island. The reserve has various animals, including reptiles, and around 900 kinds of trees are growing here. One more point of interest here is the island’s unusual hunting dog with ridgeback (the fur on its back goes in the other direction). These days Phu Quoc dogs are domesticated and not aggressive at all, but very friendly. If you love the nature, it’s not a place to miss.

The distillery of Nuoc Mam Hung Thanh is the largest of Phu Quoc’s fish-sauce makers, a short walk from the market in Duong Dong. At first glance, the giant wooden vats may make you think you’ve arrived for a wine tasting, but one sniff of the festering nuoc

Phu Quoc Prison was built in 1949-1950 by the French colonists to keep Vietnamese people. Many of the high ranking leaders of Vietnam were detained here. It is ranked a special historical relic of national importance by the government of Vietnam. The most famous site in this prison is “tiger’s cage” (chuồng cọp). Come here, visitor will fell the cruel of colonists

Diving and snorkeling

Phu Quoc National park

Fish sauce factory

Phu Quoc Prison


mam essence jolts you back to reality.Most of the sauce produced is exported to the main-land for domestic consumption, though an impressive amount finds its way abroad to kitchens in Japan, North America and Europe. There’s no admission charge to visit, although you’d be best off taking a guide along unless you speak Vietnamese. Keep in mind that although nuoc mam makes a wonderful gift for your distant relatives, you may not be able to take it out of the country. Vietnam Airlines, among other carriers, has banned it from its planes.

walk through the forest to the falls.Suoi Da Ban is a white-water creek tumbling across some attractive large granite boulders. There are deep pools and it’s nice enough for a dip. Bring plenty of mosquito repellent.For both of these falls, the best months to visit are between May and September – by the end of the dry season there’s little more than a trickle.

In the center of town beside the Duong Dong River is the Town market. Best time to visit is the early morn-ings from 6am to Midday. This will be a great place to experience the daily life of the locals and see many interesting fruits, vegetables, meats & seafood.

The island’s main town and chief fishing port on the central west coast is a tangle of hotels, restaurants, bars and shops. Scenic Long Beach ranges to the south, where most of the beach hotels, resorts and bars cluster. The old bridge in town is a great van-tage point to photograph the island’s fishing fleet crammed into the narrow channel.The town itself is not that exciting, though the filthy, bustling market is really interesting where you can get a taste of real fishing life. In contrast, the excel-lent night market is scrupulously clean and filled with delicious food stalls

The Pepper from Phu Quoc is reputedly one of the world’s finest and a visit to any one of the farms on the Island is well worth it even if only to stock up on some tasty inexpensive black or white pepper to take home.

Though Sunrise is the best time, anytime really is a good time to visit this old Mountain Pagoda. For a special visit proceed to the back of the property to the right hand side of the existing Pagoda following the path up to the old pagoda, go up to the first level for some prayer and enjoy spectacular views!

Compared with the waterlogged Mekong Delta, Phu Quoc has very little surface moisture, but there are several springs originating in the hills. The most ac-cessible of these is Suoi Tranh ; look for the entrance sign and concrete tree from the Duong Dong–Vong Beach road. From the ticket counter it’s a 10-minute

Pepper Plantation

Local town market

Su Muong Pagoda

Cao Dai temple of Phu Quoc

Tranh Spring & Da Ban Spring


EAT & DRINKING

Cao Dai religion is a unique religion of Vietnam and the foundation of Cao Dai religion was right here in Phu Quoc. It was here that reputedly the third eye was seen in a vision! This beautiful new temple was only built in 2008 using monies donated; it is well worth a visit to enjoy the spectacular architecture, paintings and tranquility it offers.

Bich Nguyên, Tran Hung Dao, Duong Dong (Near Chez Carole, 20 m down on the road to Kim Hoa Resort),. Small family owned restaurant serving fresh Vietnamese food. Buddy Ice Cream & Info Cafe, 26 Nguyen Trai St, Duong Dong town. Great New Zealand ice cream at 30,000 dong a scoop. Also does toasted sand-wiches and shakes. Free Internet, Wi-Fi, and had lots of information about the island. Gives out free Phu Quoc maps too! The Dog Bar, 88 Tran Hung Dao, Duong Dong (Next to Chez Carole). Till late. The Dog Bar serves good burgers and pizzas, as well as a range of Western, Vietnamese, and seafood dishes. Watch live sports, play pool, or darts, or just listen to the mu-sic and relax with your friends. Live music . You can book dive and snorkelling trips there with Rainbow divers and Anh Tu. They have ice cold beer, mixed drinks and cocktails and friendly English speaking staff. This is a good place to spend your evenings in paradise. Very reasonable prices.io Bien Restaurant, Ganh Dau (On the beach in the north of the island). Offers a great selection of fresh seafood dishes and Vietnamese dishes. The beach is beautiful and just metres away from your table. Try the caramelized fish hotpot for lunch or dinner, it’s a treat.Night Market, Võ Thị Sáu, Dương Đông. From 18:00 there are lots of small restaurants open on the street of the night market. It’s the place to go for seafood. 20,000+ dong.Ocean Bar and Grill, 60 Trân Hung Dao, Duong Dong. The Ocean bar provides excellent service and food. The seafood is fresh and cooked to order

and the staffs are highly trained and attentive. Mi-chelle, the owner, speaks to every customer about their meal and keeps a photo and book of com-ments from all patrons. Rory’s Beach Bar, 118/10 Tran Hung Dao. As you walk past on the beach the Aussie owner, Rory, will tempt you with promises of ice cold beer using his loud hailer. He delivers, with two draught beers on tap. There’s plenty of room to sit and relax on the deck, around the bar or on the beach-front. Prices are mid-range with draught beer around 35,000 dong, cocktails hovering around 100,000 dong and meals averaging 120,000 dong. Their burgers would seriously rate in Australia which makes them some of the best in Vietnam.

Zax from US review Sao Bien Beach“The beach is absolutely spectacular with white sand and celeste waters with hills sur-rounding each side. It would not be amiss to describe it as paradise, and certainly the most stunning beach in Vietnam. One can walk quite far in with your beer and just take in the beauty of the surroundings…”Thy M from US review Long Beach“I love this beach, wish to come back and stay here next time. We loved beach at Bai Truong with very nice beach. We got a won-derful trip with friends there. Hope to have a chance to be back there and of course to stay at Long Beach as our previous trip”

Travel Tips1. Black Pepper and Pearls are great sou-venirs to buy from Phu Quoc Island. Both of these products are national famous and they are ideal present for your family.

2. Many hotels are located on beach then remember to ask to hotel for beach dining availabil-ity. Beach dine under sunset is some things you should experi-ence in Phu Quoc

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TOURS IN VIETNAM


Day 1–3: Hanoi–HalongBay Experience Hanoi’s hustle life in the Old Quarter and discover its seductive charms of French colonial architectures, lakes & parks. Join in Halong Cruise for stun-ning view of paradise, fun kaya-king and visiting fishing village. Day 4 – 6: Danang – HoianSpend your time discover the an-cient town Hoi an, visit farming villages to learn about local life. You will take boat trip cruise on Thu Bon river where you have a chance to learn about tradi-tional fishing technique used by locals.

Tour Includes: Accommodation: 14 nights in Hotel, 1 night on cruise. Transfer by private air-conditions car and guide. 16 Break-fasts. 8 Lunches. 4 Dinners. Domestic flights. Kayaking in Halong bay. All sightseeing fee entrain.

Day 7 – 9: Nha Trang Spend whole cruising to Nha Trang bay and islands for swim-ming and snorkeling. Enjoy the sea breeze and beautiful water, coral reefs and have a seafood lunch served on boat. Unwind your mind on island beach for relaxing, sunbathing and water sport. Day 10 – 12: Hochiminh – Me-kongEnjoy the lush and evergreen scenery of the most fertile land in the country with a taste local fruits and culture.

Day 13 – 15: Phu QuocSpend your time in the perfect-ly laidback surroundings of Phu Quoc. Touring options include diving and snorkeling trips to the outer lying reefs or a trek-king excursion in the pristine rainforest of the islandDay 16: HochiminhTake a cyclo ride to visit the city centrewith its interesting sites:The War Remnant Museum, Re-unification palace, Notre Dame Cathedral, Saigon Centre Post Office

HIGHLIGHT OF VIETNAM (16 DAYS)


Day 1–3: Hanoi – Ba Be National Park: embark on a little boat andexploringBaBeLake–thebiggestfreshwaterlakeinViet-nam. Enjoy the sublime serenity and beauty surrounding moun-tains, covered with lush vegetation, home to diverse flora and fauna. Visiting home of ethnic minorities groups. Day 4-6: Cao Bang – Lang Son: Come and admire Ban Gioc Water fall- the largest waterfall in Vietnam. Situated nears the Sino-Vietnamese border, this is an attractive spot create a poet-ic, fresh, beauty of water, forest mixed with the colorful moun-tainous

Day 7-9: Halong Bay: Cruising through the legendary limestone karsk mountains of Halong bay and you will find yourself within the truly para-dise. Don’t miss exploring time on the bay with fun kayaking, swimming, visiting floating fishing village, intriguing cave tour and cooking demonstration on cruise.We have chosen 3 days in Halong bay for you for a reason - Halong bay is too beautiful and you have to spend more time with it. Spend your third day with freely kayaking, snookering within genuine paradise and relaxing on the private quite beach.

Day 10 – 11: Ninh Binh: Come and visit Ninh Binh for a great harmony of beautiful nature and history. Sit down on a sampan and the local will row the boat, take you on the little river or hours to admire the Mother Nature. Have fun with biking and visit temple. Day 12–13: Hanoi city tour: Spend your two day exploring the capital of Vietnam. Learn more about Vietnam’s history and people with the tour to Ho-chiminh Mausoleum, Temple of Literature and tradition villages in city’s suburb.

Tour Includes: Accommodation: 9nights in ho-tel, 2nights in Homestay, 2nights on cruise, Daily breakfast. Cruise tour to Halong Bay, Private air-conditions car and guide. All sightseeing fee entrain

HIGHLIGHT OF VIETNAM (16 DAYS)

HIGHLIGHT OFTHE NORTH


Day 1- 3: Hanoi - Halong Bay Begins the tour with trip to Halong Bay, a collection of almost 2000 islands and jungle-clad limestone pillars in the Tonkin Gulf. Called “Bay of Descending Dragons” in Vietnamese, the archipelago is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a world-famous travel destination. Stop at caves and se-cluded lagoons, and explore the bay’s nooks and crannies via kay-ak. Or just sunbathe on the boat deck! In the evening feast on a seafood dinner as stars emerge from behind those jungle-clad limestone pillars.

Day 6-8: Nha Trang Nha Trang, aside from a lovely beach and islands where you can relax, sunbath, snorkel and scuba dive in search of tropical fish and coral. Day 9 -11: Ho Chi Minh City Join in a private city tour of famous landmarks or traveling out of town to see the famous Cu Chi Tunnels. Take a unique journey through the Mekong Delta for an intriguing look of local lifestyle and tradition

Day 4-5: Hoi AnVisit Hoi An, a restored 15th cen-tury fishing village. Spend your evening strolling past the roman-tically lit waterfront and dining in a riverside restaurant. The options include a fun and informal cook-ing class or an excursion to the ruins of My Son, a former center of the ancient Champa civiliza-tion. You might also choose to lounge at a nearby beach and have some clothing made at one of Hoi An’s many tailoring shops.

Tour Includes: Accommodation: 9nights in hotel, 2nights on cruise, Dai-ly breakfast. Cruise tour to Halong Bay, Private air-con-ditions car and guide. Do-mestic Flights. All sightseeing fee entrain

BEACHBREAK


Day 1- 4: Hochiminh – Mekong DeltaExplore Hochiminh city – the biggest city in Vietnam with our Cyclo tour visit-ing War Remnant Museum, Notre Dame Cathedral, Center Post office, Ben Thanh Market. Drive to Mekong delta along the lush and evergreen scenery of the most fertile land in the country. Take a boat cruise on Mekong River, visit orchard garden to taste local fruits freshly picked from trees then visit some local cottage industry. Explore the mangroves of the Mekong Delta by paddling a sampan around the tributaries before boarding a boat to a local house for Homestay. Join with locals in fishing game and farm work then dinner with local specialties.

Day 5- 8: Dalat - NhatrangTake our city tour around Da Lat city for its interesting sites such as: King’s Palace, Da Lat Central Market, Old Train Station, Dantala waterfall and take a sky-cab ride to have the great view of Da Lat from the height then visit to Truc Lam Zen pagoda. On the other day in Nha Trang, take time to visit Linh Phuoc Pagoda – a special Buddhist architecture built with huge tower and a dragon made from thousands of glass bottle. Don’t miss boat trip to visit Nha Trang Bay and its islands within marine protected areas for a snorkeling tour and swimming. Enjoy the sea breeze, warm emerald water and discovery of colorful coral reefs and enjoy a seafood lunch served on board.

Day 9 - 11: Hoi AnIn Hoi An, we take you to visit a local charity school for interaction with local kids. Continue with a visit to a farming village in the suburb of Hoi An, joining with locals to learn how rice and vegetable are grown. Spend time walking free-ly in town to explore the intriguing history and culture of the town. Don’t miss shopping here with hundred of local shops. Spend more time for relaxing or swimming on the Hoi An beach.

Tour Includes: Accommodation: 9nights in hotel, 1night Homestay, Dai-ly breakfast. Cruise tour to Halong Bay, Private air-con-ditions car and guide. Do-mestic Flights. All sightseeing fee entrain.

EXPLORE SOUTHERN VIETNAM


Tour Includes: Accommodation: 9nights in hotel, 1night on cruise. Dai-ly breakfast. Cruise tour to Halong Bay, Cooking class fee. Street food tour. Private air-conditions car and guide. Domestic flights and trains. All sightseeing fee entrain

Day 1-3: Ho Chi Minh City – Mekong Delta Soak up sights, sounds and smells of Viet-nam’s thriving metropolis. Ramble into Sai-gon’s busy streets, savor the authentic taste of Vietnam and enjoy “hand on” cooking lesson. Experience the taste of the most fertile land in the country and paddle little sampan to explore the mangroves along meandering creeks. Day 4-5: Hoi An Get a huge reputation for exquisite dishes so we will take you on a fun Cooking class in Hoian. Follow the chef to the local market, try and taste every ingredient and cook your dish. Come to-gether and cook with the chef you will have un-forgettable experiences here. Stroll with ease for sightseeing, photos and shopping. Visit local homes of farmers and learn how they grow best herbs and vegetables on the dry sand and secret of Vietnamese dishes.

Day 6-7: Hue Discover the former imperial capital of Vietnam, also known as home to ‘Royal Cuisine’. Put on dragon robe and take a sit in a Royal banquet and find the most elegance dishes you ever try here. Day 8-10: Hanoi – Halong BayKnown as the best city for street food, come and join in our street foot tour to every Conner of this 1000 year old city and sample all of City’s famous dishes. Sit down on little chair like a local and enjoy fresh Bia Hoi, the cheerful feeling of local area will make you feel dynamic like never before. Cruise on Halong Bay and enjoy scrumptious seafood whilst cruising among thousands of dramatic limestone islands, visit limestone cave, go swimming and overnight on board under stars live sky.

VIETNAM CULINARY TOURS


Tour Includes: Accommodation with daily breakfast. Cruise tour to Halong Bay, Private air-conditions car and En-glish speaking guide. Vietnam domestic Flights. All sightseeing fee entrain.

Sumary: Explore Indochina on an exciting tour through Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos. This 15 day ad-venture includes the legendary Angkor temples, the bright lights of Saigon; tranquil beaches; legend-ary Halong Bay and encounter the magic of Laos. The tour perfectly balances cultural immersion with site seeing and relaxation.

Day 1 - 3: Hochiminh – MekongVisit Hochiminh in famous China Town, the FITO Museum and Ben Thanh Market. Learn more about Vietnam’s history in the War Rem-nants Museum and former Presi-dential Palace. In Mekong Delta, we will take you to Cai Be’s color-ful floating market, cruising among the local barges stuffed-full of fruits and vegetables.

Day 4 - 6: Hoian - HueA half-day walking tour in Hoian through the narrow winding streets of the ancient quarter, visiting Chua Ong Pagoda, the Chinese Assembly Hall, End the day with a relaxing sunset boat trip. Drive over the 500m-high Hai Van pass to Hue – a UNESCO World Her-itage Site and Vietnam’s former capital. Spend in the Royal Cita-del, the Imperial Museum, as well as the Mausoleum of King tu Duc.

Day 10 - 12: Vientiane – Luang Prabang Our visit will take you to:Wat Si-saket the city ‘s oldest surviving temple with thousands of silver and porcelain images, Haw Phra Kaeo. Visit Pha That Luang, this gi-ant golden stupa is a sight to see as the bright gold holds a sharp contrast to the pure blue sky.

Day 13 – 15: Siem Reap Enjoy an entire day dedicated to discovering the mysterious Angkor temples. Wake before dawn and take a “tuk-tuk” ride to visit the jun-gle-entwined temple, Ta Prohm, at sunrise. Starting with the mag-nificent Angkor Wat and admire the beauty architecture here. Pass by Angkor Thom’s imposing South Gate, topped with the four serene-ly smiling faces of Avalokiteshvara.

Day 7-9: Hanoi – Halong BayVisit 1000 year old city with tour to Ho Chi Minh Complex, Temple of Literature; West Lake, Tran Quoc Pagoda & Quan Thanh Temple; and Ethnology Museum. Later in the afternoon, enjoy a traditional Water Puppet Performance. Don’t miss the legendary Halong Bay – UNESCO heritage site and one of seven natural wonder of the world. You will be stunned by the nature beauty here.

VIETNAM CULINARY TOURS


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