Hương River

A visitor to Hue once remarked after his vacation here: “A visit to Hue would not be complete without a boat excursion on the gentle Perfume River, or else you cannot feel the romance of Hue”.The Perfume River (Vietnamese: Sông Hương or Hương Giang) is a river that crosses the capital city of Hue, in the central Vietnamese province of Thua Thien Hue. Perfume or Huong River is around 80 kilometers long, and owes its name to the fact that it flows through many forests of aromatic plants before reaching Hue, bringing with it a pure and fresh aroma.

Source and flow

The Perfume River has two sources, both of which begin in the Truong Son Mountain range and meet at Bang Lang Fork. The Ta Trach (Left Tributary) originates in the Truong Dong mountains and flows northwest towards Bang Lang Fork. The shorter Huu Trach (Right Tributary) flows through the Tuan ferry, landing towards Bang Lang Fork.

Then it flows in south-north direction passing the temples of Hon Chen and Ngoc Tran, and  turns north-west, meandering through the Nguyet Bieu and Luong Quan plains. From this, the River then continuously flows int the north-east direction to Hue city, only an echo of Truong Son mountain, and passes the rest place of the Nguyen Emperors. The river of green water continues its itinerary, passing Hen Islet and various villages, crossing the Sinh junction, which is known as the capital of ancient Chau Hoa, before emptying into the Tam Giang Lagoon.

From Bang Lang to Thuan An estuary, the Perfume River is 30 km long and runs very slowly (as the river level is not much above sea level). The Perfume River darkens as it winds along the foot of Ngoc Tran Mountain - home of the Jade Cup Temple - where there is a very deep abyss.

Artist inspiration

The poetic romantic Perfume River is the deep inspirations to numerous artists, poets, and composers;

                                                 "Who turns to Hue

                                                  Who comes back to Ngu Mount

                                                  Who comes back to Huong River

                                                  The river water never sinks

                                                  Ngu Mount birds fly back to friends

                                                  Whoever are children of Hue remember to return…”

are the beautiful lyrics of a famous song, “Who comes to Hue”, written by Duy Khanh. In the autumn, flowers from orchards upriver from Hue fall into the water, giving the river a perfume-like aroma, and a beautiful poetic view. I have asked several artists about the reason for their inspiring love for Perfume River, and received nearly the same answer: “Well, my inspiration derives from the pure water, the fascinating landscape, and the gentle bridge over the river”.

Today, travellers coming to Hue could not miss a while of boating along the river. Most of them admit that this is one of the most beautiful and extremely splendid riverside landscape (especially at night when lights are on) that they have ever visited!

A river tour
Sông Hương tại đêm


As mentioned, the river flows through a series of beauty-spots, taking visitors to every corner of the ancient citadel when you travel by boat. Along the river, you can visit Da Vien, Phu Xuan, and Truong Tien Bridges, come to the Tomb of Minh Mang, Hon Chen Shrine, Thien Mu Pagoda, and finally to bathe in the sea. Upstream, at the Tomb of Thien Tho, you can hear the rustling of the pine tree, which may help you become a… poet!

When the night comes, the surface of the river glistens under the moonlight, and the songs of the boat rowers can be heard breaking the silence. Just come here and you will feel the pure atmosphere of romance and beauty!

Some experience when tourist in Viet Nam

Having much experience in Vietnam Tourist, we have some advices for tourists who are coming to Vietnam as following:

Before you go:

1.    You must contact to make vietnam visa first to find out if your nationality is limited or not as some nationalities are hard to apply Vietnam visa. However, for difficult nationalities, we advice you that you should apply it before. In case you have planned to go at the end of year, you should ask at the beginning of year because when the politics is strict, it is impossible to get visa.

Note: If you depart from airports in China, please make sure that these airports accept Vietnam visa approval letter. Some of them do not accept this letter; in this case you should apply for your visa at Vietnam Embassy in China. In case, Vietnam visa approval letter is accepted, you can apply for vietnam visa on arrival to get your visa at Vietnam Airport by filling in the visa application form which is sent to your email.

2. After getting visa, you can check information in it and contact to book tours, flight tickets and hotel to have best preparation for a trip.

3. You should check your luggage and all documents 1 month before you go to make sure that you will have enough time if there is any problem happen

While you are in Vietnam:

1. You should leave your contact information such as email, hotel contact and mobile phone number, etc in case your luggage is missed or lost; the receiver can give you back. If anyone was in this case, they would understand how miserable it is, you would hope there is anyone who will give you back (You can give us those information so that we can translate into Vietnamese then you just need to print and stick on your luggage)

2. When arriving at the airport, you should choose a reputable taxi to travel, it is better to ask hotel or ask us, we will recommend a good one for you and you will not have to pay any fee for this (Do not believe staff at the airport, they may cheat you and get money out of your pocket as there are some taxi agents who work illegally)

3. When walking in the streets, you should go with somebody who known Vietnamese or having knowledge about Viet Nam. It is useful with you. If you don’t have, you should use photo documents, if there is any problem, you should bring original documents to avoid the lost, besides you should bring cash to spend for daily travel.

4. In case you lose your luggage or rob, you must contact with the nearest police station for help

I wish you have a safe and interesting trip in Viet Nam. 

Visit Bat Trang Ceramic Village of Viet Nam

This article introduces about Bat Trang ceramic Village. If you don't go there, try to discover it in next day, I'm sure you don't  disappointed.

Bat Trang is an old, well established village in the Gia Lâm district of Hanoi. It is about 13 km from central Hanoi.

It is famous for producing a unique style of ceramics called Bat Trang Porcelain. Bát Tràng is well known throughout Vietnam for its beautiful ceramics.

Bat Trang porcelain and pottery is a type of ceramics made in the village of Bat Trang, in the suburban outskirts of the northern Vietnamese city of Hanoi. The village is located in an area rich in clay suitable for making fine ceramic. Bát Tràng ceramics are considered some of the best known porcelain products in Vietnam besides those of Chu Đau, Đang Nai, Phu Lang, and Ninh Thuan. During the past centuries, Bat Trang china products have travelled in European trading ships to all parts of the world.

Bat Trang, in the several past centuries, mainly made worshipping objects, then produced house-utensils, including bowls, plates, vases, cups and pots. The village has recently diversified its products, producing many items of fine art ceramics and high quality porcelain.

Bat Trang ceramics have also been shipped to many countries, such as Japan, the Republic of Korea, the US and EU member countries. Many ancient ceramics of Bat Trang are being kept in major museums in the world, such as the Royaux museum in Belgium and the Guimet museum in France.

Since 2002, Bat Trang artisans have promoted their co-operation in the Bat Trang Ceramics Association to boost production and marketing. The association helps Bat Trang people and ceramics businesses get information about the market, learn about new technology, trading ways and opportunities for their trade in order to raise their competitiveness.

The association has established a centre to promote its exports and is building the trademark of “Bat Trang Vietnam – a 1,000-year tradition”.

The Bat Trang village festival is held annually at the middle of the second month according to the lunar calendar, which usually lasts for seven days.

Hanoi's Old Quarter: The 36 Streets

Hanoi’s Old Quarter, or 36 Pho Phuong (36 Streets), with over a thousand years of history, remains one of Vietnam’s most lively and unusual places, where you can buy anything from a gravestone to silk pyjamas.

Hanoi’s commercial quarter evolved alongside the Red River and the smaller To Lich River, which once flowed through the city centre to create an intricate network of canals and waterways teeming with boats. As the waters could rise as high as 8m during the monsoon, dikes, which can still be seen today along Tran Quang Khai, were constructed to protect the city.

Exploring the maze of back streets is fascinating; some streets open up while others narrow down into a warren of smaller alleys. The area is known for its tunnel, or tube, houses – so called because their small frontages hide very long rooms. These tunnel houses were developed to avoid taxes based on the width of their frontage onto the street. By feudal law, houses were also limited to two storeys and, out of respect for the king, could not be taller than the Royal Palace. These days there are taller buildings (six to eight storeys high) but there are no real high rise buildings.

In the 13th century, Hanoi’s 36 guilds established themselves here with each taking a different street (hence the name 36 Streets). Hang in Vietnamese means ‘merchandise’ and is usually followed by the name of the product that was traditionally sold in that street. Thus, Pho Hang Gai translates as ‘Silk Street’ (see the boxed text ‘Meaning of the 36 Streets’ for others, however these days the street name may not necessarily correspond to what Is sold there.

Opportunities to lighten your load of dong are almost endless and as you wander around you’ll find wool clothes, cosmetics, fake Ray Ban sunglasses, luxury foods, printed T-shirts, musical instruments, plumbing supplies, herbal medicines, gold and silver jewellery, religious, offerings, spices, woven mats and much, much more (see also the Shopping section in this chapter).

Some of the more specialized streets include Pho Hang Quat which has red candlesticks, funeral boxes, flags and other temple items; and Pho Hang Gai which is somewhat more glamorous with silk, embroidery, lacquer ware, paintings and water puppets – the silk sleeping bag liners and elegant Vietnamese ao dai are very popular with travellers. Finally, no trip to the Quarter would be complete without a trip to Dong Xuan market, on Pho Hong Khoi and Pho Dong Xuan, which was rebuilt after a 1994 fire.

A stroll through the historic Old Quarter can last anywhere from a few minutes to the better part of a day, depending on your pace and how well you navigate the increasing motor traffic plaguing the streets. However long, or whatever detours you might take, the following course will provide you with a good dose of Vietnamese culture, and some insight into the country’s long history.

A logical starting point is the Ngoc Son Temple in the northern end of Hoan Kiem Lake. After crossing back over the bright red Huc Bridge, stop for a quick look at the Martyrs’ Monument, erected to those who died in fighting for Vietnam’s independence. Head north on Pho Hang Dau past the Water Puppet Theatre (see the ‘Punch & Judy in a Pool’ boxed text in this chapter) and you’ll soon be surrounded by shoe shops selling every shape, size and style, demonstrating how serious Hanoians are about their footwear. Crossing over Pho Cau Go, pop into the colourful flower market which occupies the narrow eastern terminus of Pho Gia Nhu.

Back on Pho Hang Be; continue north to the ‘T’ intersection with Pho Hang Bac. Near here are several shops that carve intricate gravestones (most bearing an image of the deceased) by hand. A short detour north on Pho Ma May will lead you to the Memorial House at number 87 (see the main text entry earlier in this chapter), an exquisite Chinese merchant’s home that was recently restored and opened as a museum.

Return to Pho Hang Bac and head west past a strip of snazzy jewellery shops, then right onto Pho Hang Ngang past a row of clothing shops, and right again onto Pho Hang Buom; this will take you past the small Bach Ma Temple (White Horse Temple). As you pass the pagoda, with its red funeral palanquin, look for its white-bearded temple guards, who spend their days sipping tea. Legend has it that Ly King used the pagoda to pray for assistance in building the city walls because they persistently collapsed, no matter how many times he rebuilt them. His prayers were finally answered when a white horse appeared out of the temple and guided him to the site where he could safely build his walls. Evidence of his success is still visible at Cua O Quan Chuong, the quarter’s well-preserved Old East Gate at the eastern end of Pho Hang Chieu, near the intersection with Pho Tran Nhat Duat.

Head west, back along Pho Hang Chieu past a handful of shops selling straw mats and rope to reach one of the most interesting streets, Pho Hang Ma (literally ‘counterfeit street’), where imitation ‘ghost money’ is sold for burning in Buddhist ceremonies – it even has US$5000 bills! Loop around and follow your ears to the sounds of skilful blacksmiths pounding away on metal on the corner of Pho Lo Ren and Pho Thuoc Bac. Moving south on Pho Hang Duong, head right past the towel shops onto Pho Lan Ong, a fantastic row of herb sellers filling the street with succulent aromas.

Finally, head south past the tin box makers (opposite the mirror shops) on Pho Hang Thiec, then left toward the interesting shops selling Buddhist altars and statues along Pho Hang Quai. Time permitting, loop around and zigzag west over to check out the leather shops along Pho Ha Trung, working east again to end the tour at the superb, neo-Gothic St Joseph Cathedral (see the main text entry earlier in this chapter). If you’re feeling a bit knackered from the walk, a few steps from the church along Pho Nha Tho there is an alluring cluster of stylish restaurants and cafes.

Go fishing in Can Gio of Viet Nam and discover interesting place.

Viet Nam is beautiful country, which have many beautiful place, friendly people and good food. When you come here you will have a wonderful holiday.

This article is one of place in Viet Nam that I want introduce with you. Well come you read and comment

Being a fisherman at Vim Sat for one day” is the name of an eco-tour that gives travelers interesting experiences on their visit to Can Gio District, Ho Chi Minh City. The tour is served by Vam Sat Ecological Resort.

Located by the East Sea coast and 50 kilometers southeast of the downtown of Ho Chi Minh City, Can Gio District has many things for tourists to discover, from rivers to mangrove forests and the life of locals, especially fishermen.

To visit Can Gio from the city center, tourists can choose to take either a car or a speedboat at Bach Dang Quay in District 1. If they go by car, they will stop to take a speedboat at the quay at Dan Xay Bridge. The speedboat will bring them to sightsee the rivers cape, the typical flora of salinity-intruded forests and to study fishing methods of Can Gio fishermen. During the tour, visitors will have opportunities to discover diverse things and participate in different activities of locals.

First, travelers together with local fishermen will row a boat to place traps under the water for catching sea-crabs. While waiting to collect the traps, they will row a smaller boat around in the mangrove forest to visit Doi Nghe Conservation Park and return to the former place to collect the traps after 30 minutes. Local fishermen will show tourists how to choose crabs with good flesh and tell them about the world of crabs. Tourists can grill the crabs to eat on the spot or enjoy dishes from these crabs at lunch.

To continue the journey, tourists must get on board a wooden boat to go for studying how fishermen of Vam Sat, an area in Can Gio, dive to catch oysters. Diving to catch oysters is among the characteristic fishing methods of local fishermen. Tourists will also see how oysters are raised, catch and grill oysters to eat on the spot. They can of course join the farmers to catch the oysters.

Emptying a pond to catch fish by draining its water is also an interesting activity for tourists to experience. To join the work, they are provided a set of bà ba (a traditional southern-style costume) and a nm (a fishing instrument made of bamboo). They step down into the pond and use a tin can to empty the water before catching the fish.

Another way of catching fish is to cover an area with nets. About four people walk into a pond, use a net to surround an area with fish, and pull the net ashore to catch the fish.

Tourists can also join local people in producing salt from seawater. They can roll up their trousers and step into the salt field to rake the salt and shoulder the salt to cottages on the shore. In addition, tourists can join in planting mangroves to expand the coverage for forests. Employees of Vam Sat Ecological Resort will instruct tourists how to plant the trees.

To experience strong sensations, vacationers can feed crocodiles in challenge. They fix a bait to the fishing line and stand on the boat in midstream to hold the rod and “fish” crocodiles. If they stay overnight at the resort, they can join local people to hunt for ba khia (a species of crab with three stripes on their back), grill fish to eat and sing songs by a camp fire.

scenic of Viet Nam

Tourism in the economy

Tourism is increasingly important in Vietnam. For backpackers, culture and nature lovers, beach-lovers and veterans touring the country for a long time, Vietnam has emerged itself as a new tourist destination in South-East Asia and on is now on lists in magazines worldwide. Hotel investors especially the potential of the 3000-kilometer-long coast line and the big cities. The tourism offer has been increasingly diversified. Local and international tour operators offer tours to ethnic minority groups, walking and bicycle tours, kayak trips and multi-country trips in particular in connection with neighboring Cambodia, Laos and Thailand. In addition, thanks to the lift of several movement regulations, foreign tourists have been able to travel freely in the country since 1997.

The economy of Vietnam has transformed from an agrarian to a service economy. More than a third of gross domestic product is generated by services, which include the hotel and catering industry and transportation. The manufacturing and construction (28 percent), agriculture and fisheries (20 percent) and mining (10 percent) have much smaller shares.

Meanwhile, tourism contributes 4.5 percent to gross domestic product (as of 2007). More and more foreign direct investment has been focused on tourism. After the heavy industry and urban development, most foreign investment has been concentrated in tourism, especially in hotel projects .

Tourism statistics

Hotel Metropôle Hanoi

Last 5–7 years hotels were built actively and now a tourist can choose any hotel. There are hotels of different categories of highest world standards, built in modern or colonial style.

National parks of Vietnam

Vietnam has 31 national parks: Ba Bể, Ba Vì, Bạch Mã, Bái Tử Long, Bến En, Bidoup Núi Bà, Bù Gia Mập, Cát Bà, Cát Tiên, Chư Mom Ray, Chư Yang Sin, Côn Đảo, Cúc Phương, Hoàng Liên, Kon Ka Kinh, Lò Gò-Xa Mát, Mũi Cà Mau, Núi Chúa, Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng, Phú Quốc, Phước Bình, Pù Mát, Tam Đảo, Tràm Chim, U Minh Hạ, U Minh Thượng, Vụ Quang, Xuân Sơn, Xuân Thuỷ, Yok Đôn.

World Heritage Sites

Thien Duong Cave in Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park, Quang Binh Province.

Huế, Hội An, Mỹ Sơn (Quang Nam Province), Ha Long Bay (Quang Ninh Province), Phong Nha - Ke Bang National Park (Quang Binh Province), Imperial Citadel of Thang Long (Hanoi) and Citadel of Ho Dynasty (Thanh Hoa Province).

Man and the Biosphere Programme

Vietnam has eight zones world biosphere reserve: Red River Delta (Ninh Binh, Nam Dinh, Thai Binh), Cat Ba National Park (Hai Phong), western Nghe An, Cu Lao Cham Marine Park, Mui Ca Mau National Park (Ca Mau), Cat Tien National Park (Dong Nai, Lam Dong) and Can Gio (Ho Chi Minh City).

National tourist area

Vietnam now has 21 national tourist area up to 2008, is the major tourist sites that are state recognized:

Sa Pa (Lao Cai), Ba Be (Bac Kan), Ha Long Bay - Cat Ba Island (Quang Ninh, Hai Phong), Ba Vi National Park (Hanoi), Perfume Pagoda (Hanoi), Co Loa (Hanoi), Tam Coc-Bich Dong (Ninh Binh), Kim Lien (Nghe An), Phong Nha-Ke Bang (Quang Binh), Ho Chi Minh Trail (Quảng Trị), Lang Co - Hai Van Pass - Non Nuoc (Thua Thien Huế and Da Nang), Hoi An (Quang Nam), Van Phong Bay (Khanh Hoa), Phan Thiết - Mui Ne (Binh Thuan), Dankia - Yellow Springs, Lake Tuyen Lam (Lam Dong), For Hours (Ho Chi Minh City), Con Dao (Ba Ria-Vung Tau), Long Hai beach (Ba Ria-Vung Tau), Phu Quoc (Kien Giang), Biosphere Reserve Cape Ca Mau (Ca Mau).

Cities

Top ten cities for tour: Hanoi - the capital, Ho Chi Minh City - the largest city in Vietnam, Hai Phong - third largest city, Da Nang - the largest city in central Vietnam, Cần Thơ, Huế - Capital of Vietnam during the Nguyễn Dynasty, Nha Trang - One of largest cities in the South Central Coast, Phan Thiết - with Mui Ne, "Resort capital of Vietnam", Da Lat, Vũng Tàu.

I will in troduce with you about detail place of viet nam in next articles.Well come to Viet Nam.

Soc Trang soups

Vermicelli noodle soups are the prevalent types in many areas of South Vietnam, especially popular in Tra Vinh and Ca Mau, Soc Trang, Bac Lieu.


As a culinary specialty of Khmer origin, settled in the community of ethnic Khmer, Vietnamese, and U.S. interference in cuisine, noodle soups become common dishes of the peoples of South Vietnam raw materials, processing and enjoy, taste is basically the same.
Raw materials processing
Includes: mam (fish sauce or fish iron components, or drop out of school ... sauce), noodles, water, coconut juice, snakehead fish, pork turned, ground cloves (or prawn), fish sauce, sugar, salt, flour sweet peppers, vinegar, lemon grass, lemon, tarragon noodles, basil, vegetables and basil back, price, chives, banana, spinach ship (or the spinach).
Old sage noodles
Process of implementation
● Battery
Rice vermicelli made from plastic, it's best season rice, soaked overnight and then grind in the mortar powder. Plastic powder and stuffed it into local hold, then the noodles and turn into molds to create fiber over mold powder. The noodle strands falling pot of boiling water and cooked here. The cooked rice vermicelli noodles in a pot salvaged water to it in a pot of water, mixed with lukewarm, then catch the noodles into bamboo baskets lined to up fresh banana leaves.
● Soups
Soups are prepared from a common type of sauce as colorful fish sauce, pickled fish parts, separate He often cooked in sauce Domain tuition (pro-hok) keo fish, mullet or eels. Mam dropout Khmer origin has spread to the culinary culture of the Vietnamese community in South Vietnam. The small freshwater fish like mullet, perch, colorful fish, fish sauce contract and can act as a sauce processes is basically the same: the fish to die and slightly bending, tempering the percentage of salt specified, dried under way on the fabric and ballast water drops. It flows with high concentrations of salt and protein, can make the sauce, also identified exposure to fish for about three months into the jar into a sauce is edible.
These fish sauce in the country, in more tubers pounded lemongrass, chopped peppers to get the flavor, Ngai bun (a kind of turmeric tubers, color slightly darker than the technology) used to remove the smell of the sauce and seasoning , MSG to taste.Siamese can use coconut milk, even a little coconut milk, add to pot in soups instead of sugar.
Some localities still used tubes of bone, pork ribs, shrimp simmered in water, skimming the water used to get in, fresh. Then by that adds a sauce for fish sauce in a sieve, turn the water to degrade water mam fish sauce and the carcasses discarded.


● Vegetables
Vegetable noodle soups for: banana, spinach, vegetables Hue, laksa leaves, vegetables and basil back, shallot leaf, depending on interest rates ...
● Other foods
Other foods eaten with noodle soups are quite diverse: snakehead fish, pork back, Tep land ... options and preferences each locality.
● Spices served
Noodle soups are usually more seasoning with vinegar peppers (finely minced chilli + salt + vinegar), lemon juice, fish sauce to taste.
● Presentation and enjoy
Get more bowl of noodle around for the courts (tennis type blanch noodles, blanch with hygiene and easier than tennis), embedded in a pot of boiling soups for about 10 seconds (for the noodles hot enough) then fish out the bowl and then soups ladled into bowl next to vegetables fish, meat, cloves ... on the last extra bit of vinegar peppers, lime juice and fish sauce (if not taste). Noodle soups to enjoy the hot time.
● Specialities local
Noodle soups are available at many places in South Vietnam, but the best and most famous noodle soups to mention Soc Trang (using colorful sauce), noodle soups Tra Vinh (with sauce left school), that's moist the second call that the capital of the noodle soups. Also may include noodle soups Ca Mau, Rach Gia, Kien Giang ... is a typical rustic dining mix of ethnic Khmer, Vietnamese, U.S., currently noodle soups are also very popular in other localities.