Posted by admin on March 3, 2011 under Attractions, Vietnam Travel Guide, Vietnam Travel in the North | 
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Black H’mong women sell tho cam (ethnic fabrics) in Sapa. One of the most wonderful highlands in Asia, Sapa is a magical combination of landscapes, ethnic cultures and fresh mountain air.
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It was too early. I struggled to peel my eyes open, wondering what the commotion outside was all about. The clock pointed to somewhere between 4 and 5 a.m.
It was Sunday, and I was at a hotel in Sapa. Cursing the thin walls of the hotel, I walked to the window to peer into the dawning light outside.
I had expected to see a few people milling about their morning business. Instead, I saw the streets flooded with hundreds of H’mong and Red Dao people in colourful ethnic attire heading to the Sapa market.
It was an exotic orchestra of people speaking foreign tongues, children running, babies whimpering, chickens clucking and pigs snorting.
It was impossible to sleep with all the noise, so I decided to get out and experience the traditional Sunday market myself.
Black H’mong women sell tho cam (ethnic fabrics) in Sapa. One of the most wonderful highlands in Asia, Sapa is a magical combination of landscapes, ethnic cultures and fresh mountain air.
Love in the marketplace
The sights, sounds and smells of Sapa’s market are as distinctive as the ethnic tribes jostling about. Locals go to the market not just to buy and sell but also to unwind after a long, hard week.
I had been watching H’mong girls wearing garlands of dried mushrooms on strings around their necks, when suddenly, a H’mong man caught the arm of one of the girls and tried to pull her away.
I was alarmed, but a shopkeeper explained, “It is cướp vợ custom. When a H’mong man finds the girl of his dreams, he and his friends try to pull her away. If they succeed, they take her to the man’s house for a few days before visiting the girl’s family to ask for her hand in marriage.”
Rustic grub
Just inside the market gates were stalls full of mountain fruits such as peaches, plums, chestnuts, and Indian taro.
But the locals were eating hearty breakfasts of mèn mén (corn wheat cake), and thắng cố (horse meat soup). The better off leaned over steaming bowls of ph^, an expensive treat in these mountainous regions.
To the right are stalls full of trinkets and local products. Here you can find everything from ethnic silver jewelry to mushrooms, tam thất (notoginseng), honey, and linh chi fungus.
I bought a kilo of dried buds of the tam thất to gift friends back home. The tam thất bud tea is believed to aid good sleep.
Fabrics in Sapa
Next, I headed to the second floor of the Sapa market, which is known as the heart of the market. This is the arena of women selling brocades from their little workshops.
Many of these local artisans have been working in dimly-lit, cramped shops for decades, weaving yards of intricately designed brocades. Owing to the fabric’s popularity among tourists, a lot of the women here can converse quite well in English.
Heavily embroidered colorful blankets, pillow shams, table covers beckoned from all around. I found myself attracted to the more esoteric designs of the H’mong people.
A Sapa native told me that H’mong girls are taught to weave, sew and dye fabrics from a very young age. When they grow up, they are entrusted with the responsibility of making clothes for her family. The better her needle work, the better a girl’s prospects for marriage.
The market continues bustling until late afternoon, when locals begin to pack up their goods and head back to their homes in the terraced hills of Sapa.
Though tourism is growing rapidly in this region, mercifully, the H’mongs and Red Daos have preserved their colorful culture. In the Sapa market, the ethnic people and their cultures come alive every weekend, fusing together the simple times of the past in a traditional, but evolving market.
Source: thanhniennews
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Posted by admin on under Vietnam Travel in the South, Vietnam travel News |
The Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Day 2011 will be held on the 23/9 (September 23rd) Park from April 7 to 10.
According to the Department of Culture, Sport and Tourism the annual event is an opportunity for travel companies to publicize their brands and offer their products to consumers.
Various activities including a singing contest, a photo exhibition of beautiful landscapes and hot tourist spots in the country and a food fair will take place during the festival.
A special parade honoring Vietnamese brand names will be broadcast live on HTV9 channel in the closing ceremony of the festival.
Last years event saw hundreds of thousands of visitors arriving for travel information and to book tours from travel agents.
Book hcmc hotels today to enjoy this great festival in ho chi minh city!
See best Saigon hotel: Caravelle Saigon, New World Hotel Saigon, Windsor saigon plaza, Equatorial saigon hotel, Renaissance Riverside saigon.
Source: SGGP
Posted by admin on under Attractions, Vietnam Travel Guide, Vietnam travel News |
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| Tourists take a boat trip along Ham Ho River in Binh Dinh Province |
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| Ham Ho is home to many giant rocks in diverse shapes – Photos: Thuy Trieu |
Everyone who visits Binh Dinh Province should visit Ham Ho ecotourism area.
Ham Ho is a 3-kilometer-long river section through an old forest in Tay Phu, Tay Son Districts, about 55 km from Quy Nhon.
Over millenniums the water has carved the rocks in the river into bizarre shapes.
Many precious trees grow in the forests around Ham Ho. An interesting time to visit is when the Loc Vung ornamental trees (lecythidales) flower. There are sturdy stilt houses on the banks of the spring for tourists to enjoy some refreshments and take in the natural beauty around them such as the bridges and rock pools. Adventurers can kayak on the spring, take a ride in a small canoe or trek to the mountain. You can set up a camp among the giant rocks near the lake and swim.
Staying overnight is a good way to get closer to nature and listen to insects, the murmuring streams and waterfalls.
Collected by Vietnam hotel
Posted by admin on under Vietnam Travel in the North, Vietnam festival, Vietnam travel News |
Located at Đông Triều district, Quang Ninh province, Quỳnh Lâm pagoda used to be the largest Buddhist centre for the entire country during the 17th and 18th century.
The pagoda was built at the Pre-Lý Dynasty (about the end of the 5th century, begin of the 6th century) and has been restored many times under the Đinh, Early Lê, Lý, Trần, Lê Dynasties.
Before the pagoda is a great lake, while the three remaining sides are surrounded by hills and mountains. It was embellished and completed in Lý, Trần Dynasties. During the 11th and 14th centuries, the end of Lê Dynasty, and in the 17th and 18th centuries, it developed into the main centre of Buddhism for the entire country.
In the 14th century, the Quỳnh Lâm Pagoda became an even more important Buddhist centre with the activities of the monk Pháp Loa Đồng Kiên Cương, a member of the second generation of the Trúc Lâm Buddhist sect. It was the centre for sacred books and for preaching Buddhism, as well as a training-site for future pagoda wardens. Many associations, famous in Vietnamese literature and history, were organized here.
In 1319, Pháp Loa calls for blood donation from Buddhist followers to print over 5,000 copies of Đại Tạng sutras, which are kept at Quỳnh Lâm Buddhist Institute. In 1328, he had a statue of Maitreya cast. A year later, he brought a part of the bone ash of Trần Nhân Tông (the 1st patriarch of the Trúc Lâm Zen sect) to put into the stone stupa in Quỳnh Lâm Pagoda.
In early 15th century, the pagoda was reduced to ruins and had to undergo many restorations. In 1727, the 7-storey Tịch Quang Stupa (grave of monk Chân Nguyên, who made great contribution to the pagoda) was set up, which measures up to 10 meters. The stupa’s top takes the shape of a banyan bud. To the stupa is attached a plate which notes down the biography of monk Chân Nguyên.
In mid-18th century, the pagoda underwent a major restoration. It now also has bronze bells and stone gongs.
This year’s ritual festivities of the Quỳnh Lâm Pagoda are held on March 5-8 (from the first to the fourth day of the second lunar month). However, the festive atmosphere often lasts through spring.
Source: quangninh.gov
Collected by Vietnam hotel
Posted by admin on under Vietnam Travel in the North, Vietnam travel News, vietnam hotel |
Northern provinces are accelerating efforts to woo investors into tourism development.
Deputy chairwoman of Yen Bai People’s Committee Pham Thi Thanh Tra said in the past six years the ‘Back to the Origin’ tourism programme in three northern provinces of Yen Bai, Phu Tho and Lao Cai has captured visitors’ special attention while stimulating investment into local tourism infrastructure development.
The statement was made during the launching of ‘Back to the Origin’ tourism programme 2011 which was jointly held by the three northern locations. Tra was also the head of these locations’ tourism cooperation board.
There are nearly 1,000 tourism residences, 500 hotels, 260 big restaurants and over 20 ecological and entertainment sites in these three locations currently. However, tourism infrastructure in these areas is backward.
Despite an abundance of state classified historical relics, biodiversity and picturesque landscapes, the tourism sector’s revenue in these areas is low due to the lack of quality tourism accommodations. As with Yen Bai, the province licenced 277 investment projects in the past five years, however the tourism sector only lured in several dozens of projects. The province’s leadership hopes the ‘Back to the Origin’ tourism programme 2011 would help bring more visitors to the province.
“Yen Bai is accelerating the construction of major tourism venues and strives to turn Thac Ba into a national standard resort,” Tra said.
Similar to Yen Bai, Phu Tho also remains unknown to many local and foreign visitors due to poor infrastructure. The province is concentrating efforts into bringing about a face-lifting to provincial hotel and restaurant system and popularising the homestay model to catch up visitors’ needs.
Deputy chairwoman of Phu Tho People’s Committee Nguyen Thi Kim Hai said the province would prioritise investment into tourism growth in the coming period.
Hai said tourism investment figures were upbeat. Particularly, the Viet Han Real Estate Company has joined hands with South Korea-based Samsung Group to engage in a big $5 billion resort which covers 2,500 hectares in Tam Nong district’s six communes. Site clearance will start from the second quarter of 2011 and the project will be put into use from 2018.
Besides, Xuan Truong Company Limited has worked on a building a road running from Hung Kings Temple to Xuan Son National Park and upgrading five stilt-houses of local people into tourism residences.
Phu Tho is calling investment for some major tourism projects such as those associated with Ao Chau resort or Thanh Thuy hot spring resort.
Of the three above locations, Lao Cai scores best in luring visitors. The province authorities recently licenced 11 projects by domestic investors worth more than $17 million.
Accommodating Sa Pa, a famous tourism site for its splendid beauty and special cultural diversity, Lao Cai is attracting many investors, including foreign ones.
Some effective foreign direct investment projects in the province currently are the Victoria Sapa hotel, a sapa hotel and foreigner-oriented electronic gaming project by Lao Cai International Hotel Joint Venture Company, or the Topas Ecolodge Sa Pa resort.
Source: VIR
