It’s A Beautiful Life in Halong Bay

Halong Bay is easily one of the most beautiful places in the world. We spent much of our day standing on one side of the boat with our camera’s out taking about 500 photos each, with every picture looking amazing. Our awesome wooden boat took us through the islands of Halong Bay, which we decided resembled Pirates of the Caribbean, Vietnamese style. We totally expected to see Jack Sparrow pop up and commandeer our ship, not that we would have minded of course!

Indochina Sails

We headed to the caves at first, it was pretty impressive, despite the fact that it was decked out in neon coloured lights, not the most natural lighting design! The best part were the random penguin rubbish bins placed at every corner. The boat continued taking us into the islands, and we eventually stopped and jumped in for a much needed swim! After arriving at Cat Ba Island we had a late dinner before heading to a local nightclub, a teeny little room that had a DJ and a dance floor, with about 6 locals dancing around. So we joined them! After about 3 minutes we had scared them off and were the only ones dancing as most of the locals had gathered around the dance floor to stare at us and film us on their phones. So awkward, so we left! Hannah and I were really feeling the effects of far too much alcohol so we headed back to our room, laid out on the balcony with a few naughty (and disgusting) Cambodian branded cigarettes and blasted Michael Jackson’s Number Ones album for all of Cat Ba to hear!

Slightly hungover the next morning we dragged ourselves out onto the street and looked for something to eat. We were turned away by multiple restaurants, being told that there’s no food or we are not a restaurant (when it clearly was) or just being ignored completely. According to our guide some restaurants on Cat Ba won’t serve Westerners. He didn’t tell us why, and he sure as hell could have told us earlier! After finally finding somewhere that would serve us (and there are places, we just kept picking the ones that wouldn’t, purely out of bad luck) we headed to the local markets which sold such delicacies as sea horse kebabs and geckos on a stick. We took photos and headed right out the door!

Our hydrofoil ride back to the mainland was an epic failure. It didn’t show up. So we took a local bus to the other side of the island, grabbed a teeny tiny speed boat to the mainland about 1 hour from the bus station, took a local bus (complete with wobbly head ponies on the dashboard) to that station before jumping on our minivan to get back to Hanoi. Wow, effort!

To have a chance to experience Ha Long bay, please visit website: www.indochinasails.com

Source: Travel Blog

Halong Bay tags: Kayak Halong Bay, Halong Bay Kayking tours, Halong Bay tours, Halong Bay cruises, Halong Bay junks, Halong Bay travel, Vietnam holiday, Hanoi Hotels , Halong Hotels & Cruises, Halong Bay , Halong Bay Vietnam

Fascinating Cruise Trip in Halong Bay

Even if we hadn’t already spent a week in the bustle and hustle of Hanoi, the mist-shrouded limestone peaks of Ha Long Bay, echoing birdcalls and water lapping our ship would have been enchanting.

But by the time we arrived at this UNESCO World Heritage site in northern Vietnam’s Gulf of Tonkin, we badly needed a break from the mad motor-scooter traffic of the nation’s second-largest city, the swarming pineapple vendors and the ceaseless capitalist hustle. Three days of swimming, kayaking and just chilling on the deck of the Dragon’s Pearl, with drink in hand, were the ideal respite and one of the high points of our two-week trip to Vietnam in October.

Halong Bay, Vietnam

 

We chose the cruise of Ha Long Bay because of its proximity to Hanoi and its World Heritage designation. Still, the 105-mile van trip takes almost half a day — Vietnam’s highway system is still a work in progress and buses and trucks share the road with darting motor scooters, bicycles and plodding water buffalo.

Ha Long City’s harbor, a gateway shipping port supplying this fast-developing region, is on the dreary side. In fact, I was having second thoughts about this trip as we dragged our suitcases along a rutted path past rusting, crumbling buildings to the ship, a deluxe junk. But once we were headed into the bay, the breeze and the view from the motorized Dragon Pearl’s top deck, along with our “welcome” glasses of iced tea, lifted my spirits. So did our cabin. Our room — like the 17 others on the junk — was small but contained plenty of amenities, including a king-sized bed, a minute bathroom complete with terry bathrobes and rubber flip-flops, and air conditioning, necessary to cut through the withering heat and humidity.

The first afternoon, our ship and several others dropped anchor at a deserted beach on the tiny island of Soi Sim, where we swam and lounged away the rest of the day. The water was calm and warm, but apart from the setting, this was the least memorable outing of our cruise. Escalating tourism in the region, perhaps because of its World Heritage designation, has generated litter and pollution. So, here, miles from anywhere, plastic drink bottles and candy wrappers floated in the water and washed up on the sand.A couple of hours later, we were back on board. With a school of silvery jumping fish as our escort, our ship headed northeast toward the Hang Luon grotto, where the Dragon Pearl dropped anchor for the night in the company of several other junks.

Before dinner, we hung out on the chaise lounges arrayed on the ship’s deck, watching as the peaks surrounding us turned a dusky blue and lights on the neighboring junks twinkled on. The scene reminded me of a cross between Hawaii’s Na Pali Cliffs and Washington’s Puget Sound.Our two evenings out on the top deck, trading stories and watching night fall, were among the few times I relished being outdoors in Vietnam’s blistering heat.

But the highlight of the trip was a kayaking tour on the second day. I had been dubious about this — I had never squeezed into a kayak before, and we were far out in the bay, close to the open waters of the gulf. I feared capsizing, not being able to keep up with the group and getting drenched if the threatening skies opened up.It was nothing like that. The five kayaks were led in and around cliffs and through grottoes, pointing out birds, plants and the cliffs where monkeys nest (although we didn’t see any). The skies held, and when we beached the boats at noon on an uninhabited island, the sun came out in time for a swim.

As for lunch, think “Fantasy Island,” that kitschy late-’70s TV series. Our table already was set on the sand when we pulled up — with white tablecloths and napkins — and although the white-suited Mr. Roarke was nowhere in sight, the ship’s kitchen crew was busy barbecuing fish and peeling dragon fruit, a dramatic red cactus fruit with mildly sweet white flesh, for another magnificent meal.

In fact, all our meals were extraordinary. Lunch and dinner aboard the ship were multiple-course, white-tablecloth affairs that usually included soup, locally caught prawns and fish, chicken, stir-fried vegetables and terrific tofu dishes. Breakfast was a buffet of fresh fruit and baked goods served outdoors on the ship’s middle deck. That afternoon, we paddled some more, at one point passing a lone fisherman casting his net. His wooden rowboat rocked gently. A teapot perched on the stern.

The next morning, our ship steamed to Sung Sot Cave, one of the area’s largest and most impressive limestone caverns, spanning 12,000 square yards inside. The entrance required a short hike up several flights of stone steps to a spot high above the bay. More steps led into receding chambers, past humongous stalactites and stalagmites that resembled giant sandcastles. Here, you can see water at work, dripping from the ceiling and pooling on the floor in ponds so still and mirror-like that it left me disoriented.

That afternoon, we headed to Ha Long Harbor for the return trip to Hanoi. Back in our French Quarter hotel, as the horns of a thousand motor scooters honked outside our window, I realized the cruise had given me a different impression of Vietnam. If Hanoi is like 4 million people on Red Bull, Ha Long Bay is where time stops, where the old ways of doing things endure and where it’s quiet enough to breathe deeply and hear fish leap from the water.

Recommended for cruise on Halong Bay:

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

Halong Bay tags: Kayak Halong Bay, Halong Bay Kayking tours, Halong Bay tours, Halong Bay cruises, Halong Bay junks, Halong Bay travel, Vietnam holiday, Hanoi Hotels , Halong Hotels & Cruises, Halong Bay , Halong Bay Vietnam

Kayaking and Cycling in a World Heritage Bay

Halong Bay is one of the most spectacular, and therefore heavily ‘touristed’ attractions in Vietnam. Stretching along the Northeast Vietnamese border with China it comprises thousands of limestone karst outcroppings and more than 750 islands of all sizes that dot the emerald waters of the Gulf of Tonkin.

 

Legend has it that the bay, ‘Descending Dragon’ in Vietnamese, was named after a family of dragons sent by the gods to help the Viet people repel Chinese invaders. Spitting emeralds and jade (the islands) into the waters of the bay they created a natural defensive area that helped protect what became Vietnam. After their success the dragons liked the area so much that they decided to stay. They weren’t alone in their high opinions of the landscape – the area was formally inscribed as an UNESCO World Heritage site in 1999, which of course led to an even greater influx of local and foreign visitors.

Sundeck on Indochinasails

Getting to Halong Bay from Hanoi couldn’t be simpler – the hard part is making a choice between the hundreds of hotel tours and local operators. We were very happy with the tour we arranged through our hotel, and after chatting to other travelers who had been to Halong it seems that we had one of the better trips. The vast majority of options center around either two days and one night or three days and two nights in Halong. We chose the longer option and were glad we did.

Our trip began with a mini-bus ride (of about 3 hours) from our Hanoi hotel (where we had left the bulk of our clothes and large backpacks) to Halong Bay town. Our local guide, Son, took great delight in explaining with a huge grin that we shouldn’t worry about the 3000+ Vietnamese who die each year in the crazy traffic here because “Viet women and men make many many babies!”. At the port we boarded our luxury junk (traditional Viet sailing vessel) with about ten other tourists. It was to be both our transport around the Bay and our lodging for the first night. One note here for future travelers – be advised that although the tour to Halong Bay tends to be very reasonably priced (including all meals), they try to make up for this by charging exorbitant prices for drinks on-board ($25+ for wine, $3+ for beers etc) – and for all drinks that you bring aboard or buy on outings and bring back you will be charged ‘corkage’ – ranging from $5 per bottle of wine or 5000 Dong per bottle of beer (this applies to all drinks except water – so bring plenty of that with you to avoid the outrageous prices).

Indochinasails Staffs

Our first day, which was the least enjoyable, was spent exploring “The Amazing Cave” – which although admittedly rather large was perhaps a little too developed (and therefore less amazing than it probably was ten years ago) – the best part of which was at the exit from which vantage we captured some of our best photos in Vietnam so far. Aboard the junk again we headed for a local swimming beach (on yet another island) – which was also a little less than we had expected in that the waters and beach were quite dirty – mainly oil from all the junks that moor there (Denise’s white bikini came out a dark shade of grey and we could write in the oil on our arms and legs). After the swim (and much-needed shower) the junk sailed to another picturesque spot and dropped anchor for the night (surrounded by about 7 other similar junks – we suspect that they are required to overnight in set spots). Dinner was very nice (mainly seafood) and it was super getting to know all our fellow travelers. We spent the rest of the evening playing cards with Phil and Kirsty (an Aussie couple from Cairns) and their brother Andy – welcome to the Blog guys!.

 The second day was so much better – and the hazy weather had cleared into bright sunshine. After packing and a quick breakfast we all transferred from the junk to a smaller taxi boat (picking up some new travelers along the way – notably Lachy and Lisa, also from Aussie – welcome to the Blog guys!). Our next stop was the far side of Cat Ba island (the largest in the bay) where we each chose a bike and cycled about 7km inland passing some amazing scenery of local villages, rice paddies, mountains and forests. A short 3km walk into the jungle brought us to an abandoned ‘ancient village’ – which we had a few minutes to explore, before trekking back and riding back to the boat. We then took a short ride to the best beach we had seen in Halong – pristine white powdery sand, clean water, and sheer mountain cliffs rising out of the bay. It was here that we had some swimming/sunbathing time and that our guides set up our beach BBQ lunch! Great prawns, squid, fish, rice, veggies…ahh what a rough life!

Fantastic Kayaking

After lunch we headed to yet another spot where we moored alongside some floating huts to pick up our sea kayaks. Denise and I discovered that despite our pretty much perfect match in almost everything we are not good paddling partners! Still it was great fun to explore the bay and the myriad islands by kayak – and we all ended up in a truly magical place – where a ring of islands form a solid circle with only one opening (a low cave) that leads into a totally enclosed body of water – something right out of a movie. Throwing caution to the winds we jumped out of the kayak and swam for a while – it was perfect. We wished we could have spent more time kayaking but all too soon it was back to the boat and off to ‘Monkey Island’ – which was less enchanting – four or five monkeys scampering around a beach where we killed time by collecting shells and skipping stones. Our final port of call for the day was Cat Ba (’Women Island’) town where we caught a short bus ride to our hotel for the night – the Holiday View hotel.

Cycling in Halong Bay

The hotel was quite upmarket by Halong Bay standards – very modern if lacking some warmth – and it was comfortable. We spent the night at a local pool bar with the others from our group and had a fun evening – made even more so by the fact that the Springboks won the World Cup!! Yay South Africa!! The next day was a traveling one – bus to the boat, slow boat ride back to Halong Bay town, bus over land-bridge to the nearest island for a final lunch and then a 3 hour bus ride back to Hanoi.

Halong Bay definitely has its plus points and is definitely worth the visit – but you do need to be prepared to deal with its less exciting and more banal side – bearing in mind that you are one of several million visitors every year.

Author: Wandering Spaulls

Here is a chance to experience Halong Bay: http://www.indochinasails.com/en/Itinerary.html

For more information about tours in Vietnam, click here 

Halong Bay tags: Kayak Halong Bay, Halong Bay Kayking tours, Halong Bay tours, Halong Bay cruises, Halong Bay junks, Halong Bay travel, Vietnam holiday, Hanoi Hotels , Halong Hotels & Cruises, Halong Bay , Halong Bay Vietnam

Impression of Indochina Sails on Halong bay, Vietnam

Indochina Sails III

A BAT let out a startled screech as we paddled our kayak into a moonlit limestone cave in Halong Bay. I’m not sure who was more surprised – me or him – but it served to remind me that humans are the minority here.

Bats are just one of countless wildlife species that inhabit the islands and caves of this ancient, World Heritage-listed site, which resembles the set of the TV series The Lost World.

As my kayaking partner and I paddled back out into the open, more squeals and calls from neighbouring islands were heard as the nocturnal wildlife took over the nightshift.

Eventually, we saw the distant lights of the Indochina Sails, and paddled towards the 38m junk, our home during a two-day cruise.

Oddly, the boat also has a library – although why anyone would want to sit and read when there’s the option of sunning yourself on deck, swimming in the bay or drinking cocktails after a day kayaking, is anyone’s guess.

Soon after boarding the junk at Halong City, its home base, we’d headed to the deck to do our best impressions of cashed-up celebrities with too much time on their hands.

As we sat back and watched the glorious colours of the bay, the chef created the first of the five-course meals and banquets we were to be offered.

The boarding lunch alone featured crab soup with lemongrass, sauteed crab, grilled prawns, steamed fish, beef and broccoli and loads of fruit.

Dinners, we found, were just as appealing. They included Vietnamese specialties like banana flowers served with lime juice and peanuts and cuttlefish.

That first night I’d left the shutter of my windows open in the hope of being awoken by a sunrise. Instead, I was awoken around midnight by a loud clap of thunder.

The weather around Halong Bay can be variable.

Showers are common during the summer months, but tend to last no longer than an hour or two. Given the humidity during our August visit, a short burst of rain was almost welcome.

Kayaking with Indochina Sails

As the brilliant light show continued, I became aware the Indochina Sails was barely rocking. The captain had anchored in a protected cove, but I’m guessing the bay rarely has a swell – good news if you’re prone to seasickness.

Halong Bay has nearly 2000 islands, half of which remain unnamed. Most are covered by thick jungle inhabited only by monkeys and birds.

Others are stone pillars topped with vegetation that clings tenaciously to every crevice. Those that are virtually hollow inside are riddled with giant caves and tunnels.

Among the most spectacular is the aptly named Sung Sot Cave, or Surprise Grotto. The entrance to the cave, on Bo Hon Island, can barely be seen through the dense foliage.

An over-water walking platform has been built around the island to help visitors access the entrance, and stepping inside makes you feel you are walking into the inside of a mountain – it’s huge.

Thousands of stalactites and stalagmites line its chambers with dark reflective ponds, adding to the mysteriousness of the cave.

After a day exploring caves, we cruised to another island, passing rows of fishing cottages built on stilts and surrounded by water.

Fishing is the lifeblood of most Vietnamese, and features prominently in all their dishes.

Even in towns away from the coast, you’ll see locals chopping squid on the streets before they start cooking it up on a portable stove.

Although it’s possible to fish from the Indochina Sails, we decide to leave that kind of thing to the locals. The almost deserted island and beach ahead was far too inviting to pass up.

For more information, please visit website: http://www.indochinasails.com/en/itinerary.html

Halong Bay tags: Kayak Halong Bay, Halong Bay Kayking tours, Halong Bay tours, Halong Bay cruises, Halong Bay junks, Halong Bay travel, Vietnam holiday, Hanoi Hotels , Halong Hotels & Cruises, Halong Bay , Halong Bay Vietnam

Kayaking in Ha Long Bay – Fantastic and unforgettable experience

Kayaking in Ha Long Bay is more than an indulgence, it offers vistas not reachable by other means.

The setting cannot be more dramatic. Thousands of limestone peaks rise magically from crystalline emerald waters, dotted by islets and deep, mysterious caves.

However to access all of them, conventional boat tours are not the best way, say both experienced and greenhorn kayakers after doing their thing in the famous Ha Long Bay, located in the Gulf of Tonkin, and in the running for adjudication as a natural world wonder. Over the last decade or so, kayaking has become a popular activity in Ha Long Bay, which covers an area of 1,500 square kilometers, offering many options for both the less and the more adventurous.

Ha Long Bay, Vietnam

With modern kayaking equipment, visitors can maximize on speed and maneuverability as they explore the open sea and many hidden lagoons and stalagmite caves that are difficult to access by other means. After a day of paddling amongst islets, visiting hidden caves, lagoons, unspoiled beaches and floating fishing villages, they unwind on the boat and enjoy a sumptuous dinner.

Kayaking tours in the northern town of Ha Long offer tourists several different routes, overnight stays on boats, and different kinds of seafood. With dozens of tourist agencies offering Ha Long kayaking tours, each one strains to make its service unique in some way.

Kien Tran, production manager of Active Travel Vietnam Company, says “We use private support boats when paddling to explore hidden and untouristy corners of Ha Long Bay. That makes our itinerary different from those organized by other tour operators who just use kayaking packages offered by the overnight boats.”

“If you thought the hideout in the James Bond film “The Man with the Golden Gun” was spectacular, imagine a place where there are 3,000 such limestone islands clustered together in the East Sea of Ha Long Bay”, enthuses Kien.

Indochinasails – Luxury boat

As usual, a trip to Ha Long sets off from Hanoi in the morning.

On the three-hour bus ride, short breaks are taken for refreshment that are also shopping opportunities. A popular stop is a handicraft center where workers make jewelry, embroidery, lacquerware, stone carvings, and other artifacts on the spot.

Upon arrival in Ha Long, they board a wooden boat for a seafood lunch and a short cruise to Thien Cung Cave.

Mary says, “I don’t know that paying US$70 for our overnight cruise got us any better a boat than the $48 we were going to pay – but our crew and our guide were fantastic and I can’t even begin to describe the food we were served – it just kept coming and coming and coming!”

After a short exploration of the caves, the group begins its exploration of the bay paddling through an area of limestone islets. They pass a floating village to reach the Luon Cave – which is a tunnel thrusting through a mountain, and then paddle through the tunnel to explore a beautiful secluded lagoon. They finally meet the mother vessel, a Chinese style junk, anchored in front of the cave for dinner.

The second day at Ha Long, they start paddling to Van Chai Floating village and then continue to Dark Cave.

Tide permitting, they explore this amazing cave on the kayak. The cave is a 200-meter long, dark tunnel thrusting through a limestone mountain. The tunnel is the only entry to a secluded and beautiful lagoon. “Our first stop was some amazing caves that were only discovered in the late nineties,” says an Australian tourist, Caroline.

Kayaking in a nice day

Caroline’s brother David says, “I had never done it before. Caroline had once, so she was deemed the expert and took the lead in the front seat”.

“I saw lots of massive jelly fish everywhere which rather put us off this idea of swimming.”

After lunchtime, the group paddles to the Ba Trai Dao Lagoon, along a stunning and fairly rough sea channel, to explore its beautiful beaches.

Ben, 30-year-old British musician, who has returned to the hotel in Ha Long Town, says: “I went kayaking just to fulfill one of my Vietnam dreams. Paddled through limestone pillar islands, explored deep dark tunnels emerging in isolated lagoons or to be faced with fresh, new karst island formations. It was brilliant”.

He recalls: “The second night at Ha Long, my friend Danny and I were the only folk on deck and it was only 9:30 – a night swim was the only answer. It was a good idea.”

“The water was deliriously refreshing in the tropical heat and gave my fading brain a much-needed wake up call. The idea of swimming to party at one of the other boats docked nearby was raised, but there was nothing going on there either. So jumping off those sweeping Junk boat eaves was really the only answer.

Wonderful kayaking

“Off the first deck was easy, the second a little daunting and the third, climbing up on the roof, well… there’s really no better way to feel like you’re truly living again. If ever there was a thing to do with your favorite party people, 16 of you in a 6 cabin Junk boat on Ha Long Bay – cruising, kayaking, visiting beaches and exploring caves and tunnel networks by day and partying on deck by night – is really worthy of consideration,” says Ben.

Getting there

The best way to get to Ha Long Bay is to rent a car from Hanoi from a professional tour organizer. It costs approximately $100-$120 return.

There is also a tourist open bus service offered by travel agencies around the Hoan Kiem Lake in Hanoi. Cost is around $8 net/person/way.

Public buses leave from Long Bien Station to the Bai Chay Station (other side of Red River, five km from Hoan Kiem Lake) every 30 minutes from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. and cost VND50,000 ($3) per person each way. This is not recommended for foreign travelers, as these buses are often crowded, slow and unsafe.

When to kayak
You can do kayaking on the bay all year around but the best time is between October and June.

The kayaking day
A typical kayaking day starts at about 8 a.m. after breakfast. Lunch will be served on the support boat. At the end of a kayaking day travelers return to the junk by 5 p.m. or 5:30 p.m.

Tourist should bring
Sun block, hats, anti-insect repellents, sunglasses, raincoats original passport.

Further information, you can visit:
Kayak Ha Long Bay
Vietnam adventure tour

Halong Bay tags: Kayak Halong Bay, Halong Bay Kayking tours, Halong Bay tours, Halong Bay cruises, Halong Bay junks, Halong Bay travel, Vietnam holiday, Hanoi Hotels , Halong Hotels & Cruises, Halong Bay , Halong Bay Vietnam

Vietnam traditional festival

Formation and meaning of traditional festivals

Traditional festivals constitute a form of cultural activities, a spiritual product which the people have created and developed during the course of history. From generation to generation, the Vietnamese people preserve the fine tradition of Re-remembering the source while drinking water. Festivals are events which represent this tradition of the community as well as honour the holy figures named as Gods the real persons in national history or legendary persons. The images of gods converge the noble characteristics of mankind. They are national heroes who fought against foreign invaders, reclaimed new lands, treated people, fought against natural calamities, or those legendary characters who affect the earthly life. Festivals are events when people pay tribute to divinities that rendered merits to the community and the nation.

Hung King Festival

Festivals are occasions when people come back to either their natural or national roots, which form a sacred part in their mind.

Festivals represent the strength of the commune or village, the local region or even the whole nation. Worshiping the same god, the people unite in solidarity to overcome difficulties, striving for a happy and wealthy life.

Activities in Perfume Pagoda Festival

Festivals display the demand for creativity and enjoyment of spiritual and material cultural values of all social strata. Festivals become a form of education under which fine traditional moral values can be handed from one generation to the next in a unique way of combining spiritual characters with competition and entertainment games.

Festivals are also the time people can express their sadness and worries in a wish that gods might bestow favour on them to help them strive for a better life.

Process of festivals

Generally speaking, every festival will include the following three steps:

Preparation: The preparation work is divided into two phases: prior to the coming festive season and in the immediate time before the festive day. The preparation work for the coming festive season starts right after the previous festival comes to an end. When it is coming to the festive day, people need to check the worshiping objects, attires, decoration, and cleaning of the worshiping place and statues.

The festive day: Many activities take place, including rituals of procession, incense offering, and rejoicing games, among others. They form the most important and significant part of any festival. These activities also play a decisive role in attracting tourists and deciding the timing of the festival itself.

The ending of the festival: The organization board expresses their thanks to all festival goers and closes the worshiping place.

Time for festivals

In Vietnam festivals often take place during the three months in spring and in autumn when people have a lot of leisure time. In addition, the climate in spring and autumn is especially suitable for holding festivals and for festivals goers to enjoy.

Some typical festival

Lunar New Year (Tet Nguyen Dan)
Tet falls on a time when the old year is over and the New Year comes by lunar calendar. This is also the time when the cycle of the universe finishes: winter ends and spring, the season of birth of all living things, comes.

Parallel sentences in Tet

Tet is an occasion for pilgrims and family reunions. It is a time when one pays respect to his/her ancestors and grandparents who have brought up him/her. It is an occasion when everyone sends each other best wishes for a new year, stops thinking about unhappy things and says good things about each other.

Lim Festival
Quan Ho” is a special folk song of Kinh Bac Province, now called Bac Ninh Province. The festival takes place on Lim Hill where the Lim Pagoda is located. The Lim Festival takes place every year on 13th day of the first lunar month. Visitors come to enjoy the festival and see the performances of “lien anh” and “lien chi”. These are male and female farmers who sing different types of songs in the pagodas, on the hills, and in the boats.

Quan Ho – Lim Festival

Chu Dong Tu Festival
Chu Dong Tu is one of four immortal gods in the Vietnamese pantheon. The festival annually takes place from the 10th to the 12th day of the second lunar month at two temples, Da Hoa and Da Trach, in Khoai Chau District, Hung Yen Province.

Starting from Ha Noi, visitors can travel downstream on the Red River by boat or canoe, or go by motorbike along the dyke of the Red River for 20 km. During the festival, pilgrims in colourful dress converge on the two temples, Da Hoa and Da Trach.

Huong Pagoda Festival
Approximately 70 kilometers southwest of Ha Noi, Huong Son boasts quite a few pagodas built in the Posterior Le Dynasty. Until the beginning of the 20th century, there have over 100 pagodas. Visitors can go to Huong Son via the Ha Dong – Van Dinh route.

Vietnamese or foreigners alike wish to come to Huong Son in springtime. Heading there tourists come to a magnificent land, a famous beauty spot in Vietnam.

Going boating in Yen Stream, visitors get a stunning view of the landscape in springtime. Here lies Ngu Nhac Mountain, there stand Hoi Bridge, Dun and Voi Phuc (Prostrating Elephant) mountains. Then come Thuyen Rong (Dragon Boat) and Con Phuong (Phoenix) mountains, not to mention various other mountains named after their shape like Ong Su (Buddhist Monk), Ba Vai (Buddhist nun), Mam Xoi (Tray of Sticky Rice), Trong (Drum), or Chieng (Gong).

Perfume Padoda

There are many interesting pagodas, caves and grottoes in Huong Son. Among them include Long Van, Tuyet Son, Hinh Bong, and so forth. The Ong Bay (Sung Sam) Cave, 2km from Long Van Pagoda, still retains traces of ancient people some tens of thousands of years ago.

Unlike any other places, Huong Pagoda harmonizes the characters of a Buddhist architectural complex with the impressive natural beauty. Coming here, tourists have chances to live in a boisterous atmosphere of a spring festival amidst beautiful landscape. They seem to be free from all tiredness and sorrow and come to pay respect to the compassionate Buddha.

Mid-Autumn Festival
Tet Trung Thu is formerly autumn festival, and then becomes “Tet Trong Trang” (moon looking festival) of children. On this day, the moon is the brightest and roundest in the year, cool weather. The festival involves the custom of “Trong Trang”, procession of lights (parading with lanterns shaped as moon and stars), lion dance and eating pasties and fruits.

Mid Autumn Festival

Chol Chnam Thmay Festival
Khmer people’s New Year festival lasts three days and four days in leap years. Each of these days has its own name. Apart from worshiping the Buddha, Khmer people believe that every year the heaven sends a god called Tevoda to the earth to look after human beings and their life. At the end of the year, the god returns to heaven and another one will replace him. Therefore, in the New Year’s Eve, every family prepares a party, burns incense and lights up lamps in a ceremony to see off the old Tedova and greet the new one. They also pray to this god for good luck.

Khmer people always prepare for the new year ceremony very carefully. They clean and redecorate their house and buy necessary food for the holidays. They stop all farm work, relax and set free their cattle. The three official festival days are held in a joyful and exciting way.

Each festival shows specialties about Vietnamese people, culture and custom, wishes of a better life with cozy and prosperity.

Come and join in exiting atmosphere of Vietnam typical festival, you will have impressive feeling on this beautiful country.

Further information, you can visit:
Activetravel Vietnam
Activetravel Shop

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Ha Long Bay, Vietnam Romance

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

My Ha Long Bay journey was not exactly cut from the same cloth. I was about 60 years too late for the sexy French soldiers. I took a package tour on a junk like everyone else, since it’s the easiest and cheapest way to see Ha Long Bay from Hanoi. After researching a few companies
and reading lots of stories on-line about nightmare trips, I booked a 3 day/2 night trip with Active Travel Vietnam.

Cruise on Halong Bay

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

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

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

Wow!Halong Bay,Vietnam

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

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

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

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

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

Kayaking with Active Travel Vietnam

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

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

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

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

To more information about luxury cruise on Halong Bay, click here: http://www.indochinasails.com

Many kinds of tours on Halong Bay: Active Travel Vietnam ; #31, Alley 4, Dang Van Ngu street, Hanoi, Vietnam. Phone:(84-4) 3573 8569

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A Hanoi Christmas

(Michael Brosowski shared his unforgettable Christmas in Hanoi)

The big question on everyone’s lips at the moment is: “Do you miss being home for Christmas?”

Of course, the answer isn’t as simple as a ‘Yes’ or a ‘No’. After all, my home is in Hanoi. I don’t have a home in Australia.

Santa Claus

And as nice as it is to see my family when I go back, there is a very real sense in which I have a family here in Vietnam – albeit a very large, diverse family…

With Christmas on a Sunday this year, we took the opportunity to turn our regular events into special events. Soccer, which kicks off at 8am every Sunday, was played as normal, but at the end all the kids received an armload of presents donated by the United Nations International School. Big thanks to Julian Carey for initiating this, and to her husband David and son William, who drove out with her to the field on Christmas morning to make the Big Delivery!

Vincom Tower

Getting our kids organized is always a challenge, but when it came time for gift giving they all sat down in rows and our volunteers distributed 3 or 4 presents to every one of the 74 street kids. That’s a LOT of presents!

Our good friends Jennifer Davoli from the US, and Catherine DeVrye from Australia were there along with all of us from Blue Dragon to help with giving out the gifts… and to share in the tremendous excitement of the event. The kids were HUGELY thrilled with it all, and the parcels they received were really something. There were toys, books, soccer balls, shampoo, clothes, watches, hats… even a canned wombat (which, I believe, was not a real wombat…)

Hanoi Cathedral

Once the wrapping paper was discarded and the field was deserted, we were all off to more parties for the kids. A couple of dozen came by the Blue Dragon HQ to watch Tom and Jerry DVDs, and then at 11am our volunteer Tarah hosted a lunch for all of the kids who attend our weekly drumming circle. Lots of singing, eating, and making funny faces out of sweets!

I then headed to the home of Robert Gordon, the British Ambassador to Vietnam. His family has been exceptionally kind and supportive over the last year or so, and invited me to join their Christmas lunch. 24 hours on and I still feel full…

Lovely kids on Christmas day

And finally, a quiet evening with just a handful of kids – I wanted to spend some time with the young guys I have known through 4 Christmases, and who are now in full time employment. It was quite special, to share our memories of the last few years and look back on all that’s changed…

After all the excitement, Blue Dragon HQ was closed today (Boxing Day), although there were still a few kids about needing a hand with this or that. One of the Social Workers and I spent the afternoon at a hospital visiting Hung, one of the kids, who has been seriously ill with a lung disease but is starting to recover. He was even able to walk downstairs to sit outside with us, which is a huge leap from where he was just a month ago.

Christmas night

More on Hung in the next blog! For now, a big THANK YOU to everyone who has been emailing me about Ngoc, the young boy who was trafficked – your concern is appreciated.

And a happy Christmas to all!

For more tips on traveling to Vietnam and joining special Christmas season here, you can visit:
travel vietnam, travel hanoi, halong bay, halong cruise, sapa

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Luang Prabang

Luang Prabang

Hiya Everyone!

Dury and I are currently in Luang Prabang, in Laos!

Since writing last time, we caught the bus from Chiang Mai to Chiang Rai and stayed a couple of nights there. Chiang Rai didn’t really seem to be anything special. Just a smaller and less nice Chiang Mai really. We were staying at the Mae Hong Son Guesthouse which was nice itself, but backed onto what looked like the Chiang Rai council estate! Bit shady! But we were ok.

I was glad to leave though and make the journey to Laos. We got a 4 and a half hour bus to Chang Kong, but literally just jumped in a tuk-tuk and told him to take us to the immigration office immediately. The ‘friendly and helpful’ guy at immigration stamped our visa and sent us down the road where there were loads of tiny long-tail boats waiting. We thought we must have missed something because surely we wouldn’t cross the river in one of those?! But then we saw a little hut with a desk, the woman sold us a ticket each and pointed to a boat! So we hopped in a crossed the river! That was pretty cool. At the other side, at Haoxyai, we got our visa and found a guesthouse for the night.

Even that night in Houxyai was really different from Thailand! Everyone is really laid back and everything seems to move much slower.

From Houxyai the next morning, we went down to the boat dock and got our tickets for the slow-boat to Luang Prabang. The trip takes two days, with a stopover in Pakbeng. There is a speed boat but apparently people have died on that so we chose to take the slow boat. Still can’t decide whether that was even a good choice! The seats were tiny wooden benches with straight backs and a tiny little cushion. You would have thought the boat was full but then about 50 more people came down the hill and all got on. There weren’t enough seats so people just had to sit where there was a space! In the end, most of us moved our benches to the side and sat down on the floor too cos it was much more comfy that way. The first day was actually pretty cool. The scenery was amazing, a group got a guitar out, people were chilling on the sides of the boat and everyone was in a pretty good mood. By the end of the second day though, I was pretty glad to get off. It was an EVEN SMALLER boat on the second day and the benches were attached so we couldn’t move them aside.

Finally arriving at Luang Prabang was a relief and I really like it here. It’s like no other city in the world. It’s just like a big village, or loads of villages all together. There’s one main street, they nickname ‘Ferang Road’ (foreigner road or something) with lots of restaurants and shops on. The end of the street turns into a night market in the evening which was really cool! We went last night and it was really different from Chiang Mai. All the people are really friendly and smiling and not pushing you to buy their stuff which is such a relief after Thailand which is all about hassling you to buy stuff! On the first day we went out with a couple of girls staying at our guesthouse to the waterfalls nearby which was pretty cool. We did some swimming and some jumping in! That night, we also enjoyed a burger at the Lao Lao Garden which is a cool restaurant on another road. Getting sick of veg and rice, tofu and rice or veg and tofu, a veggie burger and fries was definitely a good shout! Today we went up Phu Si Mountain and looked over the Mekong River which was pretty awesome. Couldn’t take any photots though cos both our cameras have broken within a week of each other! Boo.

Tomorrow we are leaving for Vientiene to organise our visas for Vietnam and then will maybe go back up to Vang Vieng or go down to the Four Thousand Islands. So far, we’re undecided.

Anyway, hope everyone is having a good summer back at home.
Missing you
Love Naomi
XXXXX

Source : Travelblog

For more information , please visit these websites:

Email: laosadventureguide@gmail.com, Active Travel Laos

Adventure tours in Laos: Bike in Luang Prabang / Kayak in Vang Vieng / Trek in Luang Nam Tha

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Tags: Style | laos | Laos travel | Laos tours | Laos adventure tours | laos tourism

Kayaking in Ha Long Bay is more than an indulgence, it offers vistas not reachable by other means

The setting cannot be more dramatic. Thousands of limestone peaks rise magically from crystalline emerald waters, dotted by islets and deep, mysterious caves.

However to access all of them, conventional boat tours are not the best way, say both experienced and greenhorn kayakers after doing their thing in the famous Ha Long Bay, located in the Gulf of Tonkin, and in the running for adjudication as a natural world wonder.

Over the last decade or so, kayaking has become a popular activity in Ha Long Bay, which covers an area of 1,500 square kilometers, offering many options for both the less and the more adventurous.

Fantastic treasures come to light inside one of the many splendid caves in Ha Long Bay.

With modern kayaking equipment, visitors can maximize on speed and maneuverability as they explore the open sea and many hidden lagoons and stalagmite caves that are difficult to access by other means.

After a day of paddling amongst islets, visiting hidden caves, lagoons, unspoiled beaches and floating fishing villages, they unwind on the boat and enjoy a sumptuous dinner.

Kayaking tours in the northern town of Ha Long offer tourists several different routes, overnight stays on boats, and different kinds of seafood.

With dozens of tourist agencies offering Ha Long kayaking tours, each one strains to make its service unique in some way.

Kien Tran, production manager of Active Travel Vietnam Company, says “we use private support boats when paddling to explore hidden and untouristy corners of Ha Long Bay. That makes our itinerary different from those organized by other tour operators who just use kayaking packages offered by the overnight boats.”

‘ii ou thought the hideout in the James Bond film “The Man with the Golden Gun” was spectacular, imagine a place where there are 3,000 such limestone islands clustered together in the East Sea of Ha Long Bay”, enthuses Kien.

As usual, a trip to Ha Long sets off from Hanoi in the morning.

On the three-hour bus ride, short breaks are taken for refreshment that are also shopping opportunities. A popular stop is a handicraft center where workers make jewelry, embroidery, lacquerware, stone carvings, and other artifacts on the spot.

Upon arrival in Ha Long, they board a wooden boat for a seafood lunch and a short cruise to Thien Cung Cave.

Mary says, “I don’t know that paying US$70 for our overnight cruise got us any better a boat than the $48 we were going to pay – but our crew and our guide were fantastic and I can’t even begin to describe the food we were served – it just kept coming and coming and coming!”

After a short exploration of the caves, the group begins its exploration of the bay paddling through an area of limestone islets.

They pass a floating village to reach the Luon Cave – which is a tunnel thrusting through a mountain, and then paddle through the tunnel to explore a beautiful secluded lagoon.

They finally meet the mother vessel, a Chinese style junk, anchored in front of the cave for dinner.

The second day at Ha Long, they start paddling to Van Chai Floating village and then continue to Dark Cave.

Tide permitting, they explore this amazing cave on the kayak.

The cave is a 200-meter long, dark tunnel thrusting through a limestone mountain.

The tunnel is the only entry to a secluded and beautiful lagoon.

“Our first stop were some amazing caves that were only discovered in the late nineties,” says an Australian tourist, Caroline.

Caroline’s brother David says, “I had never done it before. Caroline had once, so she was deemed the expert and took the lead in the front seat.”

“I saw lots of massive jelly fish everywhere which rather put us off this idea of swimming.”

After lunchtime, the group paddles to the Ba Trai Dao Lagoon, along a stunning and fairly rough sea channel, to explore its beautiful beaches.

Ben, 30-year-old British musician, who has returned to the hotel in Ha Long Town, says: “I went kayaking just to fulfill one of my Vietnam dreams. Paddled through limestone pillar islands, explored deep dark tunnels emerging in isolated lagoons or to be faced with fresh, new karst island formations. It was brilliant.”

He recalls: “The second night at Ha Long, my friend Danny and I were the only folk on deck and it was only 9:30 – a night swim was the only answer. It was a good idea.”

“The water was deliriously refreshing in the tropical heat and gave my fading brain a much-needed wake up call. The idea of swimming to party at one of the other boats docked nearby was raised, but there was nothing going on there either. So jumping off those sweeping Junk boat eaves was really the only answer.

“Off the first deck was easy, the second a little daunting and the third, climbing up on the roof, well… there’s really no better way to feel like you’re truly living again. If ever there was a thing to do with your favorite party people, 16 of you in a 6 cabin Junk boat on Ha Long Bay – cruising, kayaking, visiting beaches and exploring caves and tunnel networks by day and partying on deck by night – is really worthy of consideration,” says Ben.

Getting there

The best way to get to Ha Long Bay is to rent a car from Hanoi from a professional tour organizer. It costs approximately $100-$120 return.

There is also a tourist open bus service offered by travel agencies around the Hoan Kiem Lake in Hanoi. Cost is around $8 net/person/way.

Public buses leave from Long Bien Station to the Bai Chay Station (other side of Red River, five km from Hoan Kiem Lake) every 30 minutes from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. and cost VND50,000 ($3) per person each way. This is not recommended for foreign travelers, as these buses are often crowded, slow and unsafe.

When to kayak You can do kayaking on the bay all year around but the best time is between October and June.The kayaking day A typical kayaking day starts at about 8 a.m. after breakfast. Lunch will be served on the support boat. At the end of a kayaking day travelers return to the junk by 5 p.m. or 5:30 p.m. Tourist should bring Sun block, hats, anti-insect repellents, sunglasses, raincoats original passport.

Recommend more halong bay travel guide:
- www.kayakhalongbay.com for kayaking travel guide
- www.indochinasails.com for cruise trip on halong bay
- www.halongdiscovery.com for junks boat on halong bay
- www.halongbayguide.co.cc for halong bay guide

Reported by Ngoc Bich Thanhnien
Halong Bay tags: Kayak Halong Bay, Halong Bay Kayking tours, Halong Bay tours, Halong Bay cruises, Halong Bay junks, Halong Bay travel, Vietnam holiday, Hanoi Hotels , Halong Hotels & Cruises, Halong Bay , Halong Bay Vietnam