Lướt Ván Diều trên Biển Vũng Tàu (Kiteboarding or kitesurfing)

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Domestic travel up despite downturn

Travel industry executives attribute a fall in the number of foreign tourists in large part to the global economic crisis rather than the swine flu scare. They also add that domestic travel has picked up some of the slack, riding on a nationwide tourism promotion campaign that has offered significant service discounts.

While the number of foreigners visiting the ancient town of Hoi An has dropped by 20 per cent so far this year, that of visitors from other provinces rose by 30 per cent over the same period last year, said Vo Phung, director of Hoi An’s Culture and Sports Centre.

The 20 per cent drop applies roughly to all tourist destinations in the central region, leading to shrinking revenues, according to tour companies.

"The drop is largely caused by the economic recession, while the swine flu outbreak has had very limited impact," Phung said.

According to some Ha Noi-based travel agencies like RedTours and VinaTour, the number of foreign guests to Viet Nam has stabilised over the last few months, even amidst the high alert on the H1N1 virus.

Nguyen Cong Hoan, deputy director of Red Tours, said that his company had welcomed 200 foreign visitors during the peak time of the flu alert.

However, the industry is keeping a close watch on the outbreak and is still concerned about its possible repercussions.

"Although the number of inbound tours is yet to drop further given that they were booked several months ago, future bookings are likely to fall," said Nguyen Thi Tuyet Mai, Fiditour’s marketing director.

Hoang Thuy Linh, a marketing executive at Saigontourist, is worried that the tourist influx into the country will suffer a setback if the world fails to contain the swine flu.

However, "robust domestic travel can partly offset the drop of foreign tourists", said Cao Tri Dung, Vitour director.

During the four-day holiday at the beginning of this month, visitors from the other provinces flocked to the beach town of Nha Trang, resulting in a 17 per cent surge in the number of guests compared to same period last year, local officials said.

All flights to Nha Trang were fully booked during that time and a large number of guests failed to get a ticket.

Lu Hung, director of the Huong Giang Hotel in Hue, attributed this surge in domestic travel to a round of promotions and discounts offered by tour operators.

In the meantime, many outbound visitors, especially to countries that have been affected by H1N1 virus like Mexico, the US, the UK, Spain and Portugal, have decided to cancel or delay their departure, said Hoan, Redtour’s deputy director.

"They are opting for countries in Southeast Asia instead," he added.


Source: VietNamNet/Viet Nam News

Around of Bắc Ninh

Bắc Ninh is a province of Vietnam, located in the Red River Delta of the northern part of the country. It is situated to the east of the Vietnamese capital, Hà Nội, and borders Bắc Giang, Hưng Yên, Hải Dương, Vĩnh Phúc, and Hà Nội. Bắc Ninh Province was formed around the municipality of Bắc Ninh, while the modern Bắc Giang Province encompasses Bắc Giang Municipality and most of the old Hà Bcắ Province's rural districts. Visit Bắc Ninh, you can go to Phật Tích Pagoda, Hand-printed paintings…

Phật Tích Pagoda

The pagoda, also called Vạn Phúc Pagoda, was built between the 7th and 10th centuries, and underwent several transformations throughout the years. It was first renovated during the Lý Dynasty. In 1057, King Lý Thánh Tông had a tower erected and a golden statue made. Later in the 17th century, the pagoda was enlarged. Unfortunately, the pagoda was ravaged by the war in 1947 and was rebuilt again in a simpler style in 1958. However, since 1991, the pagoda has been reconstructed following ancient architectural designs. Among the remains of the pagoda is a statue of Buddha. The columns are decorated with intricately carved lotus flowers and various types of traditional musical instruments

Hand-printed paintings – Bắc Ninh province

The printing of paintings by means of engraved wooden blocks was a unique form of handicraft in which the peasant-artist could display all his talents. These were known as Tết paintings, as families would buy them at the time of the Lunar New Year festival to decorate their homes. Whole villages were engaged in the production of these items alternately with farm work, the most famous being Đông Hồ village, 40 kilometres northeast of Hà Nội. This folk art genre spread rapidly to other villages. In Hà Nội, Hàng Trống (Drum) Street also specialised in the production and sale of such paintings. Each link in production (drawing, carving, printing and colour application) was undertaken by a master-craftsman. The designer chose the theme and drafted an outline for those experienced in the craft to see before mass production could begin.

The painting was done on paper, which was then glued to a wooden board for carving. This carved board became a family heirloom to be inherited by the artist's children. and grandchildren. Each family member undertook a different task in preparing the materials and colours and in the printing process itself. The printing paper was colour-dyed and coated with a layer of powdered mother-of-pearl shell. Colouring agents were extracted from plants or minerals while gold and silver outlines increased the magnificence of religious paintings. Subjects initially illustrated scenes from rural life - chickens around a mother hen, piglets with a sow, a plump child holding in its arms a fat carp or duck - all these images representing a life of abundance constantly dreamed of by peasants. Scenes of farm labour, village festivals, coconut collecting, wrestling, cock-fighting...

Đình Bảng Communal House – Bắc Ninh Province

Đình Bảng was the native place of Lý Công Uẩn (or King Lý Thái Tổ) - founder of the Lý dynasty (1010-1225) and Thăng Long capital (1010). The village comprises a group of historical and cultural relics, espcially those of the Lý dynasty, which are diverse, unique and of national historical significance, including temples, pagodas, tombs, and monuments. They are typical of the Vietnamese village culture. Đình Bảng communal house was built in the early 18th century and construction was completed in 1736. The house faces south, with a lake at its front where duet singing of boats used to be organised, attracting innumerable visitors during the village festivals. The central gate was built with bricks in the shape of a lantern. At its two sides there are vaulted gates with fake roofs. Each carving at Đình Bảng communal house is like a masterpiece and is reputed for its uniqueness, which impresses any visitor. The carving are eight horses happily playing on a meadow; awaiting lion couple, each in its own posture: dragons in festivals; five dragons fighting for a gem; etc. The topic for these carving comes from traditional legends, and the images are of the four sacred animals (dragon, lion, tortoise and phoenix), or four valuable plants (pine, apricot, chrysanthemum, and little bamboo). Every year, Đình Bảng spring festival is organised, luring a great number of visitors, who come to enjoy traditional entertainments and relaxation after hard working days.

Bút Tháp Pagoda – Bắc Ninh province

Bút Tháp Pagoda is situated on the dike of the Đuống River, Thuận Thành district, Bắc Ninh province. The pagoda was built in the 17th century, during the late Le dynasty. Its founder was Chinese Buddhist Priest Zhus Zhus, who died in 1644. Queen Mother Trịnh Thị Ngọc Trúc requested that Lord Trịnh Tráng enlarge the pagoda in 1646. The pagoda was built includes 10 buildings spread over 100 meters, from the three - entrance gate to the bell - tower and back house. Two 13m towers, Tôn Đức and Bảo Nghiêm, are made of white rock, making the pagoda seem higher, more majestic and peaceful. Some remains of the 17th century are kept here such as statues, valuable donations, Nine - Story Lotus Tower, Tuyết Sơn statue, Bảo Nghiêm tower. The last renovations of the structure were carried out in 1992.

Dâu Pagoda – Bắc Ninh province

Dâu Pagoda, also known as Diên Ung, is situated in Dâu, Thuận Thành district, Bắc Ninh province. Built in the 3rd century, Dâu Pagoda is the oldest pagoda in Việt Nam. In the beginning, the pagoda was a Buddhist center well known throughout the country and abroad. At the end of the 4th century, Ch’an Master Vinitaruci gave lectures, and the first Vietnamese Buddhist doctrine was produced there. In the pagoda’s yard, there is a three-storey tower called Hòa Phong. In the tower, there is a large bell produced during the Cảnh Thịnh dynasty (1793), a big bronze gong produced during the 18th year of the reign of Minh Mạng (1817), and statues of Pháp Vân, Kim Đồng, and Ngọc Nữ, followers of the Goddess of Mercy according to Buddhist legends.

Pac Bo Cave-A Historical monument

Riding 272km by car from Hanoi along National Highway No3, visitors will arrive at Cao Bang Town. Sleeping through the night in open air and a cool and quiet atmosphere of this mountainous area, their tiredness will disappear. The next morning visitors will ride through Hoa An to reach Ha Quang area. Through the windows of car, visitors can see golden rice fields lying amid green mountains, small hamlets with dozens of houseson-stilts under the shade of towering clusters of peach trees, and the winding streams with thatch-roofed bridges. Visitors will certainly be very interested in enjoying the picturesque scenery, endowed by the nature.

Passing a hill where there is the newly-built Ho Chi Minh Museum, visitors will see the historical area of Pac Bo. The main historical relics in this area consist of Pac Bo, Coc Bo, Bo Bam Cave, Lenin Stream, Karl Marx Mountain, Co Rac Ground and Khuoi Nam. The famous Coc Bo Cave is where President Ho Chi Minh established his residence and worked on Vietnam’s revolutionary course after returning from 30 years abroad.

Walking on the rocks along the side of the stream, where Uncle Ho used to work and fish, visitors reach a wooden bridge over Coc Bo rivulet where Lenin Stream starts. The water is clear, cool and so tranquil that one can see the fish and pebbles on its bed and the green watercress in the water. Beyond the bridge is the place where Uncle Ho often cooked soup with vegetable and bamboo shoots. By the side of a rugged rocky mountain is Pac Po Cave. Looking down into the cave from its mouth, you can see the words "February 8th, 1941" written by Uncle Ho on the wall. That was the day he came to live in this small cave, a wet and cold place lying deep in a mountain gorge that nobody paid much attention to.

Inside the cave there is a wooden board as a bed for Uncle Ho. In this place, Uncle Ho, in the simple dress of the Nung ethnic group, often sat by the fire at night to talk with his assistant Pham Van Dong, Vo Nguyen Giap and Phung Chi Kien... about the situations at home and abroad. Here, Uncle Ho predicted: "In four or five years, the Vietnamese revolution will be successful." His words became true. On September 2nd, 1945 the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, the first State of workers and peasants in Asia, came into being. One night when staying in this cave, General Vo Nguyen Giap was advised by Uncle Ho: "Undertaking revolutionary activities requires “di cong vi thuong” which means, common benefits must be put above all". His teachings were short, clear and precise as a truth, but to implement them were not easy.
About 1km from the mouth of Pac Bo Cave, there is a small shack by the side of Khuoi Nam Mountain. In this shack Uncle Ho held the eighth Party Central Committee Meeting, which promulgated a resolution on preparations for the armed insurrection and the establishment of the Viet Minh and the revolutionary war zone. Adjacent to the shack is milestone 108 marking the Vietnam-China border, where 59 years ago, Uncle Ho bowed to kiss the beloved land of his country, after many years living abroad. At that time he was 50 years old with grey hair.

Visiting this historical area, visitors will learn more about the great life of President Ho Chi Minh which is part- reflected through his optimistic revolutionary verses.
Source: sapaluxurytour.com

Vietnam Puppetry

Puppetry is a traditional performing art long existed among the ethnic groups living in Vietnam. It originated from the wet rice civilization since the Hung Kings founded the country. The Sung Thien Dien Linh stele erected at Long Doi Pagoda, Doi Son commune, Duy Tien district, in Ha Nam province in 1121 under the Ly Dynasty bears the inscription that the puppet show was first staged in honour of the King’s longevity.

Under the natural conditions and their agricultural activities, the Vietnamese people have been close to the water. For this reason, Vietnamese peasants have created water puppetry into a unique performing art of the country. In the past, water puppet shows usually took place when the farm work had been generally completed, in springtime or in village festivals. The French called water puppetry with gentle puppet figures “The soul of the Vietnamese rice fields”, and commented, “With creativeness and sense of discovery, water puppetry can rank among the most important performing art forms of the puppetry theater”.

The way of using water to activate the puppets and to hide the manipulating apparatus and the maneuvering of the puppet figures constitute the most splendid creativity. Water gives breath to puppet figures and makes them look more lively and cheerful. Water is also involved in the show together with the puppets as it was once commented, “Water also becomes a character of the puppet show”. The peaceful water surface gently undulating with a flock of swimming ducks becomes romantic in the illusory veil of smoke when a group of fairies land for singing and dancing. But it also becomes seething and furious during naval battles or when powerful yellow dragons are emerging.

A French newspaper article wrote: “The puppet figures are manipulated with an unimaginable cleverness. It’s like they are commanded by magic power”. This is the uniqueness, attractiveness and creativeness of water puppetry.

In the past, water puppet shows used to be staged in the broad daylight and in the open air. Few theatrical performances show such a perfect harmony with the natural scenes as does the water puppet show. Amidst romantic scenery, spectators have a chance to contemplate an artistic genre in which land, water, green trees, cloud, wind, fire and smoke are present, so are curved red tile-roofed communal houses. In fact this is a perfect harmony between art, nature and human beings.

Vietnam’s puppetry has been known with its two main genres: Stage puppetry and water puppetry. Stage puppetry has several forms such as hand and rod puppets from Dong Minh in Hai Phong Port City and Te Tieu in Ha Tay province, string puppets from Moc Thieu Hy in Cao Bang and Bac Thai provinces. Water puppetry, a unique traditional art genre only exists in Vietnam.


Source: vietnampuppetry

The Water World of Dong Thap Muoi

Encompassing 700,000 hectares of land and water, Dong Thap Muoi is a distinctive low-lying area covering parts of Long An, Tien Giang, and Dong Thap provinces, renowned for its interlacing network of channels and canals. During the June to December flood season, the channels and canals in Dong Thap Muoi fill with silt-bearing water that replenished the fertility of the region. The three provinces have established an 'eco-tourism during the flood reason' program that takes place from September to December every year. The program consists of providing visitors water passage through indigo forests where one can see the beauty of nature, get a glimpse of the lives of the inhabitants and sample very special southern foods.

Dong Thap Muoi is a huge hollow that, when flooded, looks like one big lake. The region, and that along the Tonlesap River in Cambodia, absorb waters thereby keeping the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta flood waters manageable.

The section of the road that goes from Long An province to Tan Thanh (within Dong Thap Muoi) is now asphalt covered. The road ends in Thanh Hoa in Long An and from there one needs a boat to get into Dong Thap Muoi. An interesting place to visit is the Dong Thap Muoi Medicinal Herbs Research, Conservation and Development Center where one can see numerous kinds of medicinal herbs being grown plus 600ha of tram gio (a kind of cajuput tree) forest and tram tra (an Australian kind of cajuput) forest. The center is the only place where tram gio is found in Vietnam.

Go Thap in Thap Muoi district, Dong Thap province, is in the highest part of Dong Thap Muoi and is considered to be the heart of the area. This area is above the floodwaters. In Go Thap archaeologists found the base of four towers of the Phu Nam kingdom that existed 1,500-1,800 years ago, the tomb and temple of princess Nguyen Phuc Hang Nga (a younger sister of king Gia Long) and there are now temples built to honor Nguyen Duy Duong and Nguyen Tan Kieu who led an insurgency against the French, plus old war administrative council facilities and other points of interest.

The Xeo Quyt and Gao Giong historic sites which are located along the Xeo Quyt canals in Hiep My and Long My communes in Cao Lanh district are two more places that visitors to Dong Thap Muoi should go to see. It takes one about 40 minutes to go from the Hiep My market to Xeo Quyt by boat.

Gao Giong is a green oasis that is most beautiful during the flood season because during this time Gao Giong is surrounded by vast areas that are under water but full of yellow dien dien flowers, violet water lilies and pink lotus flowers. There are many kinds of fish and shrimp in Dong Thap Muoi during the flood season so anyone coming at this time has the opportunity to enjoy great food prepared with fresh vegetables, things like grilled loc fish wrapped in a lotus leaf, stork soup, snake soup with mung beans, grilled field mouse, boiled rice wrapped in lotus leaves, dien dien flower soup, steamed snails with pepper, and more. Enjoying southern foods with a cup of sticky rice wine and bee honey followed by a lay on a hammock, cooled by a soft breeze… The good life. Hop aboard a sampan, float through the indigo forest and there it is - your sanctuary.

Considered to be the upper part of the Mekong Delta, Dong Thap Muoi awaits with its wonderful tourist offerings.
Source: ven.org.vn