Travel to Ba Vi national park

Ba Vi National Park is located in Ba Vi District of Ha Tay Province and 2 districts of Hoa Binh Province, namely Luong Son and Ky Son, about 50km west of Hanoi.

Situated on a mountain range running north-east and south-west with its peak at Dinh Vua Peak of 1,296m; Tan Vien Peak of 1,226m and Ngoc Hoa Peak of 1,120m, the Ba Vi National Park covers an area of 7,377ha, including more than 1,500ha of pristine forest.

The park is home to more than 800 rare and exotic plants, 280 of which have medicinal applications. It also boasts 44 species of mammal, 15 species of reptile, 9 species of amphibian and more than 100 bird species of Vietnam travel guide. Ba Vi is also home to hundreds of relics dating back a century or more to the French colonial era. There is a former military training range and a church between 600m and 800m above sea level.

On the way up the hill, visitors stop a few times to view the surrounding landscape. Off in the distance, shadows of mountains disappear into the clouds, streams wound their way through the valleys and paddy fields spread out toward the horizon.

It is a lyrical and inspiring vista. As reaching the 800m altitude, visitors will suddenly shroud in mist. As it is not clear to see far ahead they have to drive slowly. But within a few minutes the mist is clearing to reveal sunshine. They all feel romantic amid spectacular scenery.

After about 45 minutes of slow but steady ascent visitors stop at the 1,100m altitude. The road forked here, with each branch leading to a different peak. The peak on the left, named Dinh Vua, will lead them to a shrine dedicated to President Ho Chi Minh.

To the right was Tan Vien, a shrine to Saint Tan Vien, one of the immortals in the mythology of the Vietnamese people of yore. Finally, they will reach the peak at 1,227m, where the Tan Vien shrine was built in the 11th century in honour of a legendary hero who had helped Vietnamese in their hard struggle against the super natural.

Vietnam needs more high-end hotels

The current number of tourist accommodation facilities nationwide is only enough to serve 42.2 million local and foreign tourists this year, but Vietnam is still in need of more three- to five-star hotels to cater to the growing number of visitors, a tourism official said.

A view of Sea Links Resort in Phan Thiet City, Binh Thuan Province.

Vietnam currently has 13,500 tourist accommodation facilities with some 285,000 rooms, said Nguyen Van Tuan, head of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism.

The average occupancy rate at hotels nationwide reached 58% last year, and the current number of rooms is sufficient for this year. However, as hotels are scattered, many provinces do not have enough rooms for tourists in the peak travel season.

The number of high-quality hotels in Danang City and Khanh Hoa Province is growing strongly, but other major tourism areas are lacking accommodation facilities.

“Therefore, we need to develop more hotels. We want to call for investments in three- to five-star hotel projects in key tourism areas such as Phu Quoc Island and Central Vietnam,” Tuan told the Daily on Tuesday.

Danang City, Binh Thuan and Khanh Hoa provinces were highlights of Vietnam’s tourism last year, with many resorts and hotels constructed and put into operation. So far, Vietnam has had 57 five-star hotels with over 14,000 rooms, 147 four-star hotels with over 18,000 rooms and 335 three-star hotels with nearly 24,000 rooms.

According to Tuan, local investors are owners of most hotel projects while foreign ones are known for large-scale projects.

Vietnam expects to welcome 7.2 million international tourists and 35 million local tourists this year, up 5.15% and 7.69% from last year respectively. Besides, tourism revenues are expected to reach VND190 trillion, rising by 18.75%.

In related news, the profit of the hotel sector in HCMC last year declined due to increasing input costs such as high electricity, water and fuel prices. In addition, tourists’ length of stay also reduced slightly from 2011, affecting the revenue, according to the HCMC Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

The business efficiency of three- to five-star hotels in HCMC last year is not as high as that of previous years, with the average room rate rising by only 1.5% to around VND1.986 million (US$95.5) per night and the average occupancy rate dropping by 2.3 percentage points to 68.7% compared to 2011.

"Robbing wife" - the strange custom of H'mong people

The H'mong ethnic group with many unique customs and traditions. Robbing wife is a typical custom of them!

In spring, when the apricot flower forest blooms out with white, it signs a wedding season coming with brocade colors in many villages throughout the North West and North-East. The Mong has custom taking his beloved girl to home to become his wife (as robbing wife) As a young man who knew a girl and want her as his wife he would go and force her to his home.

Traditionally, when a boy wants to marry a girl, he will make his intentions clear, and will "rob" her during day light or night at any opportunity that is appropriate. This is traditionally only a symbolic kidnapping. 

Happiness when rob and be robbed

 Before kidnapping her, the boy must first give a gift to the girl whom he wants to marry. After a couple of days, the boy can then kidnap the girl. If the boy has never given a gift to the girl, she is allowed to refuse and go back home with any family member who comes to save her. 

The parents are not notified at the time of the kidnapping, but an envoy from the boy's clan is sent to inform them of the whereabouts of their daughter and her safety. This envoy tells the girl's family the boy's background and asks what the girl's background is. 

Before the new couple enters the groom's house, the father performs a blessing ritual, asking the ancestors to accept her into the household.
The head of the household moves the chicken in a circular motion around the couple's head. The girl is not allowed to visit anyone's house for three days after this. After three days or more, the parents of the groom prepare the first wedding feast for the newlywed couple.

The wedding is usually a two-day process. The couple returns to the house of the bride's family at the end of the first wedding feast and spends the night in preparation for the next day. On the second day, the family of the bride prepares a second wedding feast at their home, where the couple will be married.

Hmong marriage customs differ slightly based on cultural subdivisions within the different Hmong community, but all require the exchange of a bride price from the groom’s family to the bride’s family.

 The bride price is compensation for the new family taking the other family's daughter, as the girl's parents are now short one person to help with chores. he elders of both families negotiate the amount prior to the engagement and is usually paid in bars of silver or livestock. Today, it is also often settled in monetary terms.  

Before the bride and the grooms visit the bride's family, she must wear the grooms traditional clothes.

During the wedding, there are many rules a bride must follow. When leaving the bride's house, during that process, the bride must never look back for it will make her miss her family dearly. 

During the feast, no pepper dish can be served for it'll make the bride and groom's marriage life bitter.

At some point during the wedding, an elder would come ask the bride if she has any old gifts from past boyfriends. If she does, she must give them those gifts and they will return the gifts to her past boyfriends. 

There is a saying that if a bride does not give her past boyfriends' gifts back, if he still really loves her and dies early, he'll come haunt her babies, which will make her babies cry a lot.

The brides maid's job is to make sure the bride doesn't run off with a guy because way back in history, many girls were forced to marry and would elope with their boyfriends. 

Because the price of a bride is so high(depends on the parents), the groom's clan helps pitch in to help with the exchange of his wife. Afterwards, both the bride and groom must pay them back.  

The custom of wife robbery is considered as marriage strategic mode. This process is very popular in the West – North-East. And they still keep this custom nowadays but it just a custom for form’s sake. Young H'Mong men and women are free to choose their partners. Marriages are absolutely forbidden between men and women of the same lineage. Matrimonial life of the Mong is very harmonious and divorce is very rare. 

Love's H'mong people is still many exciting things. If you wonder, traveling in Vietnam travel to Northern mountains!

Tien Phi Cave in Hoa Binh

Tien Phi Cave in Hoa Binh province is locaed in the complex of Hoa Binh township. It is on the same tourism route with Hoa Binh hydroelectric plant and becomes the attractive destination for tourists.

Travelling to Hoa Binh Dam, tourists for Vietnam travel guide aso should never miss the opportunity to go to Tien Phi cave on their path to Hoa Binh. The cave lies on Thuc’s hill-top (maybe called in other name Thung Phi).

The entry mouth is incredibly narrow together with a gentle slope. Walking more 10 meters, you will see it due to the high and dry cave top, the atmosphere inside is pretty cool and comfortable. The father you get into the cave, the more excited you may get.

In spite of the rough ground, you can still enjoy the stalactites glittering illusorily. Stalactites jut out in many funny and lively shapes, exciting visitors’ imagination. Much more interestingly, thanks to nature light from the hole on the cave’s roof, those stalactites become extremely spectacular when bright light is shone on them. Right in the middle of the cave is a charity box and an altar for those who want to prayer. This scene is so tranquil that it is like a sacred and mysterious castle among the world of shaped stones.

Walking 10 more meters to your left you will see a dreamy fairy whose hair falls over her shoulders on an iridescent hammock. Besides, you can find many other rocks in the shape of Buddha, Jesus, leopard and lion etc.

With Vietnam guide, visitors are exposed to a wide range of fairy tales with Tien Phi Cave. Natural masterpieces will definitely make such a good impression on visitors that they will never forget the interesting time in this cave.

Enjoying Fried Veal in Moc Chau

Moc Chau Plateau in Son La Province is well known nationwide for green meadow, fresh air and the largest herd of dairy cows in Vietnam. Here, only female calves are fed for dairy purposes while the male calves are used to prepare a delicious and nutritious dish - fried veal.

It is quite simple to make this dish. The veal is sliced into small pieces that are then mixed with a dash of crushed ginger, sliced lemongrass and salt before frying in boiling oil. The well-done meat is very tender and tasty, with a less greasy taste.

Surely, when visiting Moc Chau Plateau and enjoying fried veal, visitors will never forget the tasty dish.

The eye-catching and delicious fried veal in Moc Chau.

The dish is served with soya sauce.

Ingredients: 

- Veal (calf), sliced ginger, chopped lemongrass and coriander, soya sauce, oil, salt and spices.

Preparation: 

- Clean and slice veal into pieces.

- Mix the veal with prepared ginger, lemongrass and salt for 5 minutes.

- Heat the cooking oil in a pan, fry ginger and lemongrass until brown and then take them out.

- Fry the veal quickly until brown. It should not be overcooked because the meat will be tough and less nutritious.

- Place the meat on a large plate and cover with fried ginger, lemongrass and corianders.

- To make the sauce, mix the soya sauce with a dash of chopped ginger. 

- Serve hot.

10 dishes to try in Vietnam

Although some restaurant menus boast over 200 different items, most of them are made up of pho, rice, vermicelli noodles, and beverages. The rest range from appetizers to side dishes, and specialty dishes to family courses. But the choices are still vast and can still be very overwhelming for novice fans.

Top 3 Dishes

The top 3 Vietnamese dishes that everyone has to have, and probably have had, are pho, rice combo, and vermicelli combo. These are not only the staples of most restaurants; they are also the representatives of Vietnamese cuisine outside of Vietnam. As discussed in previous articles (pho, rice, vermicelli), these 3 dishes can be customized based on your taste.

1.Mouth watering pho

2.Rice with pork chop

3.Spring roll and grilled meat vermicelli

The 7 Musts:

Here are the next 7, in no particular order.

4. Sizzling Crepes

Sizzling Crepes - "Bun say-oh" is a fun dish to try. Besides being prettily yellow, it is also fun to eat, as it is a crepe stuffed with different goodies.

5.My Tho seafood noodle

Hu Tieu My Tho. My Tho Seafood Noodles is a glass noodle soup dish with lots of vegetables and seafood. Egg noodle can also be added.

6.Spicy Hue Noodle

Spicy Hue Noodle - "Bun bo Hue is the most famous dish to come out of the centrally located, imperial city of Hue. Thicker, round rice noodles in a spicy beef broth flavoured principally with lemongrass and chili, bun bo Hue is extremely rich in flavour and aroma. Large pieces of pig knuckle and (fatty) slices of beef add body to the soup, while thinly sliced red onions, chopped scallion and a squirt of lime give bun bo Hue an element of freshness."

7.Banh Cuon.

Banh Cuon. Rice-flour Crepes with Minced Pork - "Banh cuon is a popular dish hailing from Northern Vietnam and is typically eaten in the day time. It is a thin rice flour crepe stuffed primarily with ground pork and minced wood-ear mushroom. Banh cuon is laid out flat on a dish, topped with fresh sprigs of coriander, accompanied by slices of pickled carrot and daikon, and doused with sweet nuoc mam. Cooked bean sprouts and Vietnamese pork sausage (cha lua) are optional, although commonly added to the dish as well."

8.Canh Chua Ca Kho To

Canh Chua Ca Kho To. As traditional as it gets, this dish of Sweet and Sour Fish Soup with Braised Fish in Clay Pot is something the whole family can share and enjoy.

9.Shaking beef

The famous dancing beef dish of Vietnam. This is Vietnamese stir-fry at its finest. Made from marinated beef cut into cubes and fried with shallots, served over watercress, and, or lettuce, it's a simple but delicious dish for beef lovers. Just as its appearance suggests, its flavours are bold and mouth watering."

10.Bun Rieu.

Bun Rieu. "Crab meat noodle soup is an extremely rich noodle soup originating from northern Vietnam. Made with a tomato-based broth flavoured with fresh crab paste and shrimp paste, bun rieu is a fine meld of sweet, savoury and sour. Vermicelli noodles, crab cake, fried tofu, and vegetarian sausage are added to the soup base, then garnished with fresh cilantro, bean sprouts and fresh water spinach."

Temple of Literature in Vietnam

Temple of literature is the first national university of Vietnam. It is on top of the historical and beautiful sightseeing of the capital of Vietnam.

The very first stop-over of any foreign tourist in Hanoi is always Van Mieu-Quoc Tu Giam (translated as Temple of Literature), which reveals the Hanoians’ spirit of study in the past! Situated at the south of Thang Long citadel, is on top of the historical and beautiful sightseeings of the capital of Vietnam. Please follow us in a brief tour of exploring his beauty and deep values. Constellation of Literature pavilion Historical temple of literature Tourists, particularly the foreign ones, now flock to the site for taking a look into its profound traditional meanings of both a Confucion temple and the first university of Vietnam. Văn Miếu or Temple of Literature, known as "pagode des Corbeaux" during the period of French colonisation, was founded as a Confucian temple in 1070. Only parts of the Văn Miếu complex date back to the earliest period, although much of the architecture dates to the Ly (1010 – 1225) and Tran (1225 – 1400) Dynasties. In 1076, Vietnam's first university, the Quốc Tử Giám (or National University), was established within this temple to educate Vietnam's mandarin class. The university functioned for more than 700 years, from 1076 to 1779, during which, 2,313 doctors graduated. Hence, the complex has been attached to the name of Van Mieu-Quoc Tu Giam up to now. A beauty-spot of architectural values This ancient Confucian sanctuary is now considered one of Hanoi's finest historical and cultural sites. “The ever special architetural style of Van Mieu dates back to the 11th century, evoking an inspiration of classical creativeness of many of us”, one of my tourists remarked. Just take a look into the art of architecture, you will share the feeling! The temple is based on Confucius' birthplace at Qufu in the Chinese province of Shandong. It consists of five courtyards lined out in order, entrance to the first, via the impressive twin-tiered Van Mieu gate leads to three pathways that run through the length of the complex. The centre path was reserved for the King only, the one to its left for administrative Mandarins and the one to its right for military Mandarins. Well Of Heavenly Clarity The first two courtyards are peaceful havens of ancient trees and well-trimmed lawns where the scholars could relax away from the bustle of the city outside the thick stone walls. Entrance to the third courtyard is through the dominating Khue Van Cac (constellation of literature), a large pavilion built in 1802. Central to the this courtyard is the Thien Quang Tinh ("Well Of Heavenly Clarity"), either side of which stand two great halls which house the true treasures of the temple. These are 82 stone steles. Another 34 are believed to have been lost over the years. They sit upon stone tortoises and are inscribed with the names and birth places of 1306 men who were awarded doctorates from the triennial examinations held here at the Quoc Tu Giam ("National University") between 1484 and 1780, when the capital was moved to Hue. Doctor stelae - Temple of literature The fourth courtyard is bordered on either side by great pavilions which once contained altersl of 72 of Confucius greatest students but which now contain offices, a gift shop and a small museum which contains ink wells, pens, books and personal artifacts belonging to some of the students that have studied here through the years. At the far end of the courtyard is the altar with statues of Confucius and his four closest disciples. The fifth courtyard contained the Quoc Tu Giam, Vietnam's first university founded in 1076 King Ly Can Duc, but this was destroyed by French bombing in 1947. Though having gone through lots of restoration work, the temple still retains its very first original shape, to be one of the visit-worthy sightseeings of Hanoi, captivating to a huge number of tourists elsewhere. In the run-up to the Vietnamese New Year celebration, calligraphist tend to assemble outside the temple and write wishes in Hán tự, which are popular amongst Vietnamese as gifts or to be used as decoration at home for auspicious occasions. A space of peace, green trees and solemnity covers the whole temple of historical and traditional love for study, making tourists feel like they were lost in a land of Confucion and traditional values. If you are in Hanoi, you should really come and explore it yourself!

Nghe An's unique rock formations

Quynh Phuong Commune in Nghe An Province is not only famous for fishermen’s festivals, but also a very beautiful stone bank.

Abbutting the sea, Quynh Phuong has great potential for Vietnam tourism development with its wide sand beaches in addition to its water-sculpted stone.

The bank is a 1km-long natural landscape of stone. The rocks provide a wonderful view, including small pools of water and a big “footprint” on the highest rock.

Legend has it that, with the ambition to connect Quynh Lap and Quynh Phuong communes, a deity decided to carry soil from the highest rock of Quynh Lap to Than Lan Mountain in Quynh Phuong. It is said that the deity used his hair to transport the soil.

He then laid rocks to form a road so he could carry the soil. He slipped along the way, though, leaving his large footprint, which can still be seen in the rock. After his fall, he gave up trying to connect the two towns and disappeared to a place unknown.

After all this time and weather, the “footprint” is wearing away. It’s not an easy climb to the highest rock with its footprint. But once standing on the peak, you will see an open and immense space of blue sky and sea.

Despite being worn by waves, the footprint has still kept its original shape. Five toes can still be distinctly seen. The shore is also home to a large amount of oysters, so visitors can enjoy a delicious meal.