MAKING BIRD CAGES – VAC VILLAGE, VIETNAM

Vietnam travelers who enjoy handicrafts and craft skills will enjoy a trip to Vac village in the Thanh Oai District near Hanoi. It’s about 35 kilometers from Hanoi City center. Like many Vietnamese villages, Vac village is one of those communities that specializes in one product or craft. Most able members of village families are involved in the building of bird cages – some children as young as 8 years old contribute to the work force. Some successful families in Vac are considered rich by Vietnamese standards.

The selling price of a bird cage can vary depending on size and decoration. Prices go from USD$20 – to $200. One family turns out 10 small cages a day. Most are sold immediately. $200 a day is a lot of money in Vietnam, considering the per capita income for Vietnam is less than USD$1000 a year.

Check more photos here.

Vac Village should be added to any crafts village itinerary  when visiting Hanoi.

Sapa – A Vietnam Traveler’s Mountain Destination

Sapa - Grazing Water Buffalo

Sapa is an ideal destination for almost any Vietnam traveler.  If you’re looking to escape from the summer heat, you could do worse than hop on an overnight train from Hanoi to Sapa via Lao Cai train station. Today, it’s a popular destination for numerous Vietnam travelers – after all, it was created as a hill station by the French in the 19th century.

You will not be disappointed.  Sapa lies about 1,600 meters above sea level and is pleasantly refreshing in summer compared to the coastal lowlands.  You can see the terraced rice paddies from the edge of town or from the window of your hotel room.  You’ll also have a fantastic view of the forest covered Hoang Lien Son Mountains.

Arrange for a guide in advance or search out a local ethnic guide if you feel the need.   Rent a motorbike and visit the Giay people’s village in Ta Van Commune, which nestles in the hills some 10km from Sapa town center along a tree-lined winding road.

Hiring a local guide will allow you to to learn some of the customs of the local minority tribes.  Several of the minority villages you could visit are  Cat Cat, Sin Chai, Ta Van Giay and Lao Chai.  You’ll find these minority villages nested into the sides of mountains by the side of a stream.Home Stays -  experience the daily life of mountain minority tribes.

The “home stay” experience provides travelers a look into the daily life of the minority peoples.  Home stay hosts provide traditional meals consisting of locally grown fruits, vegetables, and free-range cattle and poultry.

In response to the emerging popularity of “home stays” among foreign travelers, a number of houses have added second floors to provide a “private” area to stay when not interacting with their hosts.

Some of the older homes have “resident” wild swallows that have built nests for generations.  Home owners take pride in their feathered guests, often pointing the bird families out to guests.

Another attraction welcomed by some Vietnam travelers:  Some villages offer a break from the busy “marketing” in the streets of larger towns and cities of Vietnam.  Just a quiet day or two in an out of the way mountain village.

You can return to Hanoi by returning to the Lao Cai train station and then getting aboard a night train.  If you have time on your itinerary you can take the loop west to Dien Bien Phu and then south and east back to Hanoi via tour bus … Or if you’re really adventurous – a motorbike.

USE AN ORGANIZED TOUR OF NORTHWEST VIETNAM TO PLAN YOUR OWN SELF GUIDED TOUR.

Hanoi Cyclo Tour

You can plan your own tour of Northwest Vietnam.  Just find a good Vietnam travel guide,  compare your interests with those on an organized tour and save money, time and the hassle of going places you’re not interested in.

Lonely Planet Vietnam (Country Travel Guide)<label id="showTextCategoryLinkPreview_l1"> (See all Travel Guides)

You can visit the Old Quarter in Hanoi, the cultural attractions of Hanoi like the One Pillar Pagoda, take leisurely walk around Hoan Kiem Lake, experience the craft villages around Hanoi, travel to Dien Bien Phu by tour bus or motorbike if you’re adventurous.   Travel to Sapa and mingle with the Red Dao, Black Hmong, Tay, Xa Pho ethnic minority people.   Take the night train from Lao Cai back to Hanoi.  Take a 1 or 2 night cruise of Halong Bay.

GO TO THE NORTHWEST VIETNAM TOUR

THANKS

GOOD LUCK

Son La Province – August 27 to September 2, 2011

Festival Promises Ethnic Delights.

Grazing Water Buffalo

HA NOI — Different tour packages will be presented during a festival at the Moc Chau Plateau in the north-eastern province of Son La from August 27 to September 2.

Qua Mien Tay Bac – Son La 2011 (Visiting the North-eastern Region-Son La 2011), the festival aims at promoting tourism in the province, especially Moc Chau Plateau.

Provincial People’s Committee chairman Cam Ngoc Minh said tourism would become the key economy in Son La which had invested in supporting infrastructure over past years.

“The promotion will be a step in further co-operation with neighbouring provinces – Hoa Binh, Dien Bien and Lai Chau – to create diversified tourism services for the region,” said Minh, who is also the head of the event’s organisation board.

Six hundreds artists will perform on August 28 to kick off the one-week event. The perform-ance will be broadcast on VTV1.

A cultural and tourism camp at the Moc Chau Stadium will offer visitors the chance to learn about the culture of 12 ethnic groups in the province and the bio-agricultural products of local farmers.

A documentary film on the theme of the north-eastern region tourism may be seen at the Moc Chau Cultural Centre from August 29 to September 2.

A competition on traditional sports and traditional games is also on the programme for the central stadium every morning from August 30 to September 2.

Tours in the region, including Dai Yem Waterfall, Doi Cave and Mooc Ly military post, built by the French, are being planned by the provincial Tourism Promotion Centre.

Other activities include a trade and tourism fair, a conference on the north-eastern region’s tourism venues and a photo exhibition.

Located in the valley of the Da and Ma rivers, about 300km north-west of Ha Noi, the north-eastern province has a picturesque landscape created by mountain ranges, primeval forests and a valley.

The Moc Chau Plateau in Son La is famous for its cool climate as well as its vast tea and flower farms. There are also 50,000 cattle in the area.

Eco-tourism and farm tourism seem to be ideal models for the plateau as the number of visitors increases every year.

Rich culture created by different ethnic groups, including Thai, Muong, Mong, Dao, Kho Mu, Tay, La Ha, also contributes to cultural and community tourism in Son La.

Chairman Minh also revealed plans to support tourism, including a master plan for tourist spots in the province, further investment in tourist infrastructure and encouragement for local people to get involved in community tourism. — VNS

via Festival Promises Ethnic Delights – 8/8/2011

by 阿簡

Hanoi City Tour- Vietnam Travel – Vietnam Tours

Hanoi is the capital and second-largest city of Vietnam. From 1010 until 1802, with a few brief interruptions, it was the political center of an independent Vietnam. It was eclipsed by Hu? during the Nguyen Dynasty as the capital of Vietnam, but Hanoi served as the capital of French Indochina from 1902 to 1954. From 1954 to 1976, it was the capital of North Vietnam.

Suggested 1 day Tour of Hanoi

Get started about 0800:  First – Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum – the final resting place of Vietnamese great father or uncle Ho. He lived in Hanoi from 1958 to 1969. Then visit Ho Chi Minh Museum – be sure to check hours of operation. Next, the One pillar pagoda- a group of structures consisting of a pagoda and a tower built in the middle of a square lake. Then consider a tour around West Lake (the former Golden Buffalo lake) by car or motorbike.

Visit Temple of Literature- the first college of Viet Nam, dedicated to the Confucian religion.

Lunch at a Vietnamese restaurant.

Head for the Museum of Ethnology (Museum of History) – Where you can look at the cultural mosaic of 54 Vietnamese ethnic groups. Back to center of Ha Noi, visit the  Old Quarter by cyclo (01 hour). The last place of city tour is Hoan Kiem Lake (Restored Sword Lake) and the Ngoc Son Temple in the middle of the lake..

Early evening for Water Puppet Show at Thang Long Theater

Dinner at a local restaurant.

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Ha Long Bay (literally: Descending Dragon bay; Vietnamese: Vịnh Hạ Long) is a UNESCO World Heritage site located in Quảng Ninh province, Vietnam. Administratively, the bay belongs to Ha Long City, Cam Pha Town and part of Van Don District. The bay features thousands of limestone karsts and isles in various sizes and shapes. Ha Long Bay is a center of a larger zone which includes Bái Tử Long bay to the northeast, and Cát Bà islands to the southwest. These larger zones share similar geological, geographical, geomorphological, climate and cultural characters. Ha Long Bay has an area of around 1553 km², incuding 1960 islets, most of which are limestone. The core of the bay has an area of 334 km² with a high density of 775 islets.[1] The limestone in this bay has gone through 500 million years of formation in different conditions and environments. The evolution of the karst in this bay has taken 20 million years under the impact of the tropical wet climate.[2] The diversity of the enivironment, climate, geology, geography, and geomorphology in the area have created biodiversity, including tropical evergreen biosystem, oceanic and sea shore biosystem.[3] Ha Long Bay is home to 14 endemic floral species[4] and 60 endemic faunal species.[5] Historical research surveys have shown the presence of prehistorical human beings in this area ten of thousands years ago.

Hanoi Cyclo Tour

Hanoi Cyclos – One of the most visible signs of traditional life in Vietnam may soon disappear from the streets of Hanoi.  The black hand of modernization has struck in Hanoi much as it has in Saigon / Ho Chi Minh City as city leaders move to ban the cyclo from the streets of Hanoi.  Many tourists relish the idea of viewing the sites of Hanoi from the seat of Hanoi cyclos.  Saigon cyclos and Hue cyclos are popular with Vietnam travelers.

Hanoi Considers Banning Cyclos

Many foreign tourists enjoy sight-seeing cyclo tours  in Hanoi.

Hanoi is considering a ban on the slow-moving, open-air pedicabs known as cyclos .

“Cultural leaders say that cyclos add a great deal to the city’s tourism industry but others claim that the vehicles obstruct traffic,” Nguyen Duc Nhanh, director of the Hanoi Police Department, said at a meeting on Thursday.

According to an account reported by VnExpress, Nhanh said that current regulations allow cyclo drivers to travel at a maximum of five abreast.

In the event that more than five cyclos are travelling in a group, they must be spaced 200 meters apart.

During the recent meeting, Nhan charged that cyclo drivers regularly disobey these regulations.

The Hanoi Department of Culture, Sports, and Tourism agreed, saying that some groups of Hanoi cyclos usually travel in packs of 40-50, clogging narrow streets and impeding traffic.

Nhanh said that although Hanoi has licensed 324 Hanoi cyclos, there are more than 1,000 pedicabs operating in the capital.

“In the coming time, we need to conduct a comprehensive inspection of the city’s cyclo,” he said. “We need to seize the pedicabs of illegal operators and gradually reduce the number of cyclos until they’re gone.”

via Vietnam latest news – Thanh Nien Daily | Hanoi considers banning cyclos.

TAKE A 2 1/2 MINUTE RIDE IN HANOI CYCLOS

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Hanoi to develop wharf for boats, floating restaurants.

Vietnam travelers continue to boost the demand for attractions that provide them with venues where they can relax, enjoy a good meal and take in the local scenery.

Vietnam West Lake in Hanoi.

Hanoi plans to develop a big wharf on its well-known Ho Tay  (West Lake) cut down on the developing chaos and environmental pollution brought on by the large number of floating restaurants and boats catering to tourists on the well known lake.

Experts said that though the Ho Tay is a specially protected area, many floating houses and ships are operating illegally in the lake.

Vice chairman of the District People’s Committee, Thai Van Ha, stated development on the wharf project, that includes five hectares of water,  is slated for July and to be completed by December, 2011.

Projected expenditures should come to 12 billion VND  (US$ 583,000), based on Ha’s assessment.

“Once the wharf is put into operation, proprietors of floating restaurants and tourist boats will need to join the waste treatment system instad of dumping waste onto the lake like they’re doing now,” he said.

Based on the lake management board, four Vietnamese businesses are operating ten floating restaurants and tourist boats on the 500-hectare lake.

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Traveling from China to Vietnam by Land

Travelfish.org Vietnam forum inquiry:

OVERNIGHT TRAIN TO HANOI FROM CHINA

Hello,

I am looking to get from Yangshuo, China in the Guilin Province to Hanoi, Vietnam.

I am running into some problems figuring out the best method of transportation. Has anyone recently made this trip and know anything about the overnight bus or the overnight train from Nanning to Hanoi?

Please help!

Thanks in advance.

Reply:

Recently i travelled from Shanghai to Ha Noi via Yangshuo & Nanning 4 times continuosly (then returned to Shanghai after travelling Viet Nam and Laos and Yunnang province), so i know about this route well but those travels from Yangshuo to Ha Noi were all not by train but by bus because it’s faster than train.

From Yangshuo to Nanning, it takes about 6.5 hours by highway bus, and from Nanning to Ha Noi , it takes about 8.5 hours by highway bus from Nanning to CN border and express bus from VN border to Ha Noi/booking with one ticket from Nanning to Ha Noi but change bus at the the border.

If you take a night train from Nanning to Ha Noi, it takes at least about 9.5 hours and more.

*Bus from Yangshuo departs at 08:00am/11:30am/16:00pm every day from Yangshuo bus station and arrives “Lang Dong bus station along the Nan-Huu highway at Nanning/120-140 yuan(via Guilin)

*Bus from Nanning to Ha Noi departs “Nanning International Tourism Distribution Center”(=NITDC—a big bus station in Nanning near the railway station, 10 mins by walk)/148 yuan/Departure time: 07:30am/08:00am/08:20am/08:40am/09:40am/13:40pm(*this time table is changeable)/about 8.5 hours/no VOA for entering into Viet Nam except “Asean peole” and a few limited nationalities at the VN border.

*Public bus No.6 are running between Lang Dong bus station and the railway station near the NITDC bus station (1 yuan by bus and 26 yuan by taxi about 30-50 mins).

*Bus from VN border to Ha Noi arrives Kim Lien travel company’s office at Cau Giay area in Ha Noi, slightly far from Old Quarter area/about 40000-50000VND by motorbike taxi from there.

*Scenery from Yangshuo to Nanning is very good with karst mountains like the ones in Guilin and Yangshuo and local firmings, to the contrary, not so remarkable at VN side.

Complete China to Vietnam by Land Article here:  OVERNIGHT TRAIN TO HANOI FROM CHINA : Travelfish Vietnam travel forum.

Nanning, China to Hanoi, Vietnam

THE EMERAUDE - HA LONG BAY

If you are ever planning a trip to Vietnam, a stop to Halong Bay is a must. It is a beautiful area filled with limestone islands that rise up from the clear emerald waters. Exotissimo has an excellent tour of Halong Bay aboard the Emeraude.

The Emeraude is a replica of an early 20th century steam ship used for cruises along Halong Bay. It went into service in 2003 and retains all the features, charm and atmosphere of the steamer during the early 1900′s. The ship was part of a fleet the Roque brothers built when they left their native Bordeaux in 1858. The brothers went to Vietnam looking for adventure and fortune and found both, despite their share of ups and downs. They had a successful trading and timber business, almost went bankrupt and was even taken hostage by pirates. Eventually, the brothers built the Emeraude along with four other steamers to cruise passengers along Halong Bay.

The ship houses over 30 luxury cabins and suites. Polished wooden floors and brass fittings make up the elegant and comfortable rooms. The ship also includes a cafe, a restaurant, a foot massage service and tai chi sessions on the sundeck in the morning, all while taking in the marvelous scenes of Halong Bay on a steady 10 nautical knot cruise.

Vietnam Tour – Emeraude Cruise Experience Halong Bay
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Explore Halong Bay in style with Exotissimo on board the Emeraude with our one night Emeraude Experience on Halong Bay tour or a one day Emeraude Cruise – Halong Bay package. A visit to Halong Bay is a great way to start or finish up a Vietnam tour, so you can always peruse Exotissimo’s Vietnam tour page for a memorable experience in the country.