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Yen Duc Village is about 60km to the west of Halong Bay on the way from & to Hanoi. Yen Duc Village is a typical Vietnamese agricultural village which is rich in culture and traditions, it is also granted with beautiful landscape. The village is surrounded by the historical mountains which are mirrored themselves in the Kinh Thay river. Also, similar to other typical traditional Vietnamese village in the North of Vietnam, Yen Duc Village has charming golden rice fields in the harvest time, a lot of lakes and ponds, colorful garden, especially the ranges of areca trees in the sunshine. Yen Duc Village has many historical monuments and a famous ancient pagoda named Canh Huong which contains cultural and historical values dated back to Ly and Tran dynasty. Over the years, the stories are still alive together with each famous mountain, river and pieces of land here. In the village, all the alley roads are very clean with unique stone walls, especially the local villagers are very friendly, honest and extremely hospitable. Joining a trip to Yen Duc village is a great chance to visit the charming fields, a holy pagoda, a historical site and other relic sites while wandering narrow alleyways in the odorous fresh air and talking with hospitable local people. With a convenience graphic location, Yen Duc Village is an ideal tourist site with unique experience for the customers after Halong Bay. Historical Monument Throughout the history of Vietnam, the war went through and left many historical sites. From the forests, rivers, cities… to the villages, the historical evidence of a heroic nation have been stored. Yen Duc village like many other villages in Vietnam, has contributed to the history of country. In the village, Canh Mountain and “73” cave stand as the spirit of heroic battle against the invaders. “73” cave dates back to the heroic struggle of 73 guerrillas, who sacrificed all for the freedom of people. Vietnamese people love peace but are so strong in protecting country, fighting against any invader. In the trip to Yen Duc village, visitors will pass through Canh Mountain, see the historical “73” cave and listen to the villagers’ stories about village and people. Located in the Canh Mountain, “73” cave is the symbol of the local people’s courage and heroic sacrifices over the years. By 1950s, Yen Duc village was invaded by the colonial enemy. However, they had difficulty in the countryside because of guerrilla fighters. The enemy underestimated the effectiveness of the Vietnamese guerrilla fighters because they used relatively simple weapons compared to the more advanced weapons of the enemy. Understanding that, they could not fight again the enemy with the simple weapons while the enemy tried to destroy most of the Vietminh strongholds in the village, therefore the guerrilla fighters and local people disappeared in to the cave to hide themselves. The superior enemy’s...
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Bai Tu Long and the Vung Vieng Fishing Village is off the beaten tourist track as it is not so near to the popular Cat Ba Island which has lodging, beaches and nearby caves where most of the large tour companies and boats operate. There are about 50 families; the population is between 200 and 300 residents. This includes nearly 100 children. These families have lived in this village for generations. The language is Vietnamese. The village is a “floating village.” There are no structures built on land. The village is very poor. Traditionally income for food and potable water (imported from the mainland) came solely from fishing. Now, there is some supplemental income from tourism also. There are 4 fishing villages in the World Heritage site: Ba Hang, Cua Van, Vong Vieng and Cap La. Vong Vieng is the less touristy. After disembark the mother boat, you will be transfer by rowing boats, tender boats, or doing kayaking to enter Vong Vieng fishing village. After enter the village gate (see the picture), you have a chance to experience the villagers’ daily life as well as the traditional culture and customs of the fishermen, who live in the World Heritage Area of Halong Bay. Their floating houses look spacious and clean. The well-off families even have tiled roof houses with radios, television sets, tables and chairs, etc. There is one community house here where villagers come to have meetings. Here is also the place tourists stopover to shop some traditional hand made items. With the support of the tourists and travel companies like Indochina Junk, First Choice, the village boasts a training establishment for their children. Over an area of 100m2 lies one classroom and one small room for teachers. It is interesting to see the rambunctious children going to “school”. Their bustling calling and their flopping rowing liven up the atmosphere of the quite bay. Looking at the small boats driven by tiny oars going to school, and the radiant faces of the children, one feels confident in a bright future for the fishing village. Tourist can drop some notebooks, pens to the village children. the trip much more...
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The area immediately northeast of Halong Bav is known as Bai Tu Long Bay. With long and smooth sand banks and clear water waves, Bai Tu Long Bay is associated with the graceful and sweet beauty of a teen-aged girl. The bay also attracts a growing number of domestic and foreign visitors to its historical and cultural sites, rare and precious specialties, and the archipelago’s unspoiled beauty. There is a legend about the archipelago that in the old days when the Vietnam was attacked by foreign invaders, the God sent a mother dragon and its babies to support the Vietnamese people. The dragons immediately blew out myriad pearls and gems that turned into grand rock mountains as a solid citadel to protect the Vietnam. After the foreign invaders were pushed away, the mother dragon and its babies did not return to the heaven but stayed in the lower world. The land where the mother dragon landed was then called Ha Long, and where the baby dragons landed called Bai Tu Long. The area where the dragon tails lashed was called Long Vi, nowadays Tra Co Peninsula, which consists of many long and smooth sand banks. There are hundreds of islets rising from the water and many quirkily shaped rock mountains on Bai Tu Long Bay’s site. Touring Bai Tu Long Bay, a day is not enough for visitors to discover these mysterious islets. Bai Tu Long National Park can also bring great surprises, and is one of the most desirable stopovers for visitors making a trip to Bai Tu Long Bay. The Bai Tu Long National Park was formerly the 20km long and 1.5km wide Ba Mun Island. That island is part of Van Don District, some 60km away from Bai Chay Beach. The long island serves as a solid breakwater, preserving peaceful life for the whole region. The island is in fact a thick primitive forest consisting of two vegetation layers. The primeval layer consists of rare and precious woods like ironwood, teakwood, and canary-wood, while the second layer includes valuable herbs like araliaceous bark and rhubarb plant. The Ba Mun primitive forest is the habitat of a variety of fauna. Spotted deer with their smooth fur are the most famous species. After showers when the weather turns fine, spotted deer often go to the forest edge to pick fresh buds that were washed by rainwater. The view from afar is excellent. Visitors can reach the Bai Tu Long National Park by road from Bai Chay Beach or more romantically by speedboat. After tours, visitors can relax at stilt-houses near the water offering a wide range of food and drink. Visitors can also call on a fishing village at Minh Chau Island or drop in on Cai Lang, the oldest village in the island with its clear-water Nang Tien (Fairy) Well. People once said that the girls’ hair...
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Introduction Cat Ba is the largest island in the Bay and approximately half of its area is covered by a National Park, which is home to the highly endangered Cat Ba langur. This golden-headed langur is rarely seen, as fewer than 100 specimens are thought to survive in the wild, although it is the subject of a well-organised conservation programme. The Park covers both land and marine areas and has a high biodiversity, although it is at risk from too rapid an increase in tourism. Other mammals in the Park include civet cats and oriental giant squirrels. How to get there The vast majority of people take a pre-booked tour from Hanoi on a tourist boat, though this is probably the slowest, least flexible and a relatively expensive way to visit Cat Ba and should be avoided at all costs unless you specifically want to be locked on a tourist boat for five hours while being given the hard sell and overcharged for the most minimal of refreshments. It’s cheaper and more flexible to come either on a non tourist boat at Halong City or via Haiphong. If coming from Hanoi, you can also take a direct, combined bus/boat trip from Luong Yen Bus Station at 5:20, 7:20, 11:20 and 13:20 which takes 4.5 hours (compare: 5 hours for a slow tourist boat just to get from Halong City to Cat Ba’s northern port!) and costs 190,000 – 240,000 VND (US$9-$12) depending on season. From Haiphong: there is a speed boat doing the trip several time a day (the last one around 16:00) from Phà Binh harbour. It costs 150,000 VND (May, 2012). Not more! The price is written on the ticket but some people sell false tickets with written 180,000 and they say the price was 150,000 last year or last month! If the boat arrive in Phù Long, they can also say that 180,000 include the bus from Phù Long to Cat Ba… but it’s also included in the 150,000 VND ticket: boat and bus can’t be divided… it’s the same company. How to get around Motorbike You can easily rent a motorbike from any hotel for $5 (standard) per day or less if you look around or visit in the low season. Don’t pay more than 50,000 dong for a 1.5L bottle of petrol, which can be bought in some of the small towns as well as near the port area near the end of the town. Anyone you hire a bike from should give you a photocopied map of the island which will help you with planning. Bus Local buses across the island leave from the western edge of Cat Ba town, on the water near the market intersection. Cycle There are half a dozen places to rent bikes including tandems. A ride to the other side of the island for a view into Ha...
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Sapa is a beautiful, mountainous town in northern Vietnam along the border with China. Located at 1650 m above sea level in Vietnam’s remote northwest mountains, Sapa is famous for both its fine, rugged scenery and also its rich cultural diversity. Sapa is an incredibly picturesque town that lies in the Hoang Lien Son mountain range near the Chinese border in northwestern Vietnam, known as “the Tonkinese Alps”. Sapa and its surrounding region is host to many hill tribes, as well as rice terraces, lush vegetation, and Fansipan, the highest peak in Vietnam. However, as a result of a recent surge in popularity Sapa has rapidly become a tourist hotspot where money is the new drug of choice. Don’t be put off by the rush, your explorations of the surrounding countryside will be worth the trouble. You can book sapa tours with Sapa Travel office in the town Ethnic Minorities Many ethnic minorities live in and around Sapa. Excluding the Kinh people or ethnic Vietnamese, eight different ethnic minority groups are found in Sapa; H’mong (pronounced Mong), Dao (pronounced Yao), Tay, Giay (pronounced Zai), Muong, Thai, Hoa (ethnic Chinese) and Xa Pho (a denomination of the Phu La minority group). However, the last four groups comprise less than 500 people in total. The population of the district is estimated at 31,652 (1993) of which 52% are H’mong, 25% are Dao, 15% are Kinh, 5% are Tay and 2% are Giay. Around 3,300 people live in Sapa town, the remainder are peasant farmers distributed unevenly throughout the district. Many older women in particular make items such as ethnic-style clothes and blankets, to sell to tourists. Striking up a conversation with them can be very rewarding and their spoken English is impressive. Sadly, however, doing this in Sapa town itself will sometimes lead to a scrum as a multitude of vendors taste a potential sale. Children from these ethnic minorities often begin to support their families financially through selling trinkets to tourists. Do not encourage this by buying from children – Buy from adults. They peddle small metal or silver trinkets, embroidered pillow cases and friendship bands in the main town, and often walk for several hours from their surrounding villages to reach the town. At the end of the day, some take a motorbike ride back to their village, some walk home and some sleep in the market. Girls and boys get married young (around 15-18) and often have two children by the time they are 20 years old. Poverty has led to a great number of girls leaving their villages each day to go selling in Sapa town, and depending on their luck, may only have one meal per day. Weather In winter (the 4 months November to February), the weather in Sapa is invariably cold, wet and foggy (temperatures can drop to freezing and there was snow in...
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Bai Tu Long is lying within the area of the gulf of Tonkin, on the northeast of Vietnam. This tourism site is located 60 km from Bai Chay tourist centre and situated in Halong commune, Van Don District, Quang Ninh Province. It comprises a part of Halong’s sea, Cam Pha town and Van Don Island District. It’s next to Halong Bay on the southwest, bordering with the sea on the east, with Cam Pha town on the west and with Co To island district on the northeast. The bay is a long string of islands which was created when the entire limestone plateau sank below sea level. There are a rich biodiversity with 2 main ecosystems: a tropical, moist, evergreen rainforest ecosystem; and a marine and coastal ecosystem. It is estimated that there are 391 species of marine creatures, most of which bring about high economic and scientific value. Bai Tu Long and Halong has the same legendary story. According to legend, an immense dragon descended to Ha Long Bay (meaning “Descending Dragon”) millions years ago, dropping numerous eggs. These eggs hatched forming thousands of rocks and islands. The tail of the dragon extended far to the sea, forming Bach Long Vi (meaning “The Tail of the White Dragon”). As she returned to heaven, she said good bye to her offspring at the Bai Tu Long Bay (means “The dragon parts the offspring”). Bai Tu Long Bay has great potential for developing tourism. Along with Halong Bay, Bai Tu Long Bay is one among the wonderful natural wonders, with beautiful islands and long-white-sandy beaches. Bai Tu Long is well-known not only for its natural beauty, but also for notable attractions as Quan Lan beach, Co To Island, Van Don Island and the fishing village of Vung Vieng. Van Don Island is one of the main highlights of Bai Tu Long Bay as it’s the first island you come to, the most developed, and is connected to the mainland by bridge. Quan Lan Island offers 3 white sandy beaches Quan Lan, Minh Chau and Son Hao. You can rent a tuk tuk to drive around 15km from North to South of this island. The bay is also home to the large must-seen Bai Tu Long National Park, one of seven Vietnamese amphibian national parks which has both terrestrial zone and aquatic zone. It represents Vietnam’s sea preservation site, which has attracted a larger number of both domestic and foreign tourists. Visitors can get there by speedboat or by road from Bai Chay Beach. A trip to Bai Tu Long can be done with minimum 2 nights stay required. The best way to take advantage of Bai Tu Long Bay is to get on a boat tour/ high speed hydrofoil from Hon Gai tourist wharf in Halong city, or go from Cai Rong pier on Van Don Island to the more...
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