Thứ Hai, 27 tháng 1, 2014

Exploring Bat Trang ceramic village

Bát Tràng ceramic village

In my trip in Hanoi, I decided to spend the last Sunday to explore Bat Trang ceramic village – an ancient handicraft village in outskirt Hanoi. Because I was not familiar with the road, languages, so I booked tour “ bat Trang ceramic village “ of Vietwind Travel to have an authentic Bat Trang tour and avoid the unexpected problems

Our tour began at 8:00 a.m, the car and Vietwind  Travel tour guide picked us up at the hotel to transfer to Bat Trang. We have 5 people including a Japanese student, a couple from French, a Singaporean man, I and the tour guide.
The tour guide was very friendly and enthusiastic, he introduced himself and introduced about tour itinerary. After greeting other people, I spent much time on taking photographs because the tranquil countryside attracted me so much which was far different from the noisy city.

Bát Tràng ceramic village

On the car, the tour guide introduced about history and the special elements of and the ceramic products of Batrang, I liked the way he told the stories. Very concise and informative.After 30 minutes, we arrived Bat Trang. At the first glance, I was attracted by the food sold on the Bat Trang market including the different types of cake and other specialties which I didn’t remember its names.
On arrival, we visit a pottery and took part in making and painting the ceramic products. The skillful craftsman will guide us each step to create our own product. It was not easy as we thought. 

Bát Tràng ceramic village

In the time waiting our product baked, we started our journey to discover the ancient village to understand more about the history of Bat Trang ceramic village. We passed through narrow alleys with the old brick -wall telling you the stories dating from hundreds of years. The next place we visited was Bat Trang communal house – the heart of village where takes place the most important cultural events in the villages.



DISCOVERING 4 SAINT TEMPLES PROTECTING THANG LONG – HANOI


Duration: 1 day
Departure: Every day
Kim Lien temple

8h00: Car and Vietwind Travel’s tour guide pick you up at hotel and start the tour “ exploring 4 saint temples protecting thang Long – Hanoi”- the pride of Hanoian.
First you will visit Quan Thanh temples ( Tran Vu temple) located on the Thanh Nien street, ba dinh Dist, Hanoi. is dedicated to Huyen Thien Tran Vu a deity mentioned in both Vietnamese and Chinese legends. He is credited with having helped Vietnamese people to drive away ghosts, evil spirits, and foreign invaders.
Next, you will visit Voi Phuc temple ( another names: Thu Le or Linh Lang temple). The temple worship Saint Ling Lang located on West of Thang Long ancient capital ( nearby Thu Le lake, Cau Giay Dist Now) 
The temple that guards Hanoi to the South is Kim Lien temple. This temple was built as an altar to Saint Cao Son.
Have lunch at the restaurant and take a rest
Afternoon:
You will visit Hanoi Old Quarter, visiting Hoan Kiem lake, Ngoc Son temple and Bach Ma temple (White Horse) Temple - the oldest of the four sacred sites is Bach Ma, located at 76 Hang Buom Street, Hanoi. Bach Ma Temple was built in the ninth century to worship Long Do (Dragon's Belly) - a patron saint of Hanoi.
After that, you can stroll around Hanoi Old Quarter, exploring Hanoi street food, and Hanoi coffee.
18h00: End up the tour and see you again in the next journey of Vietwind Travel.

 
Quán Thánh temple
BẢNG GIÁ:
Số lượng
2pax
4-6 pax
8-15 pax
Giá
46$/pax
35$/pax
30$/pax

INCLUDED
-          Meals indicated in Itinerary
-          Transportation
-          Tour guide
-          Water bottle on the car.
-          Entrance fee

EXCLUDED:
-          Personal expense, Drink
-          VAT

NOTE
-       Children from 9 years old: pay as adult rate
-  Children from 5 – 8 years old charge 75 5 rate
- Chrildren under 5 year old : free
- 2 adults with one child. If have 2nd child from 2  5 year old, pay as adult rate


EXPLORING HANOI BY NIGHT


After 3 hous exploring Hanoi by night with the enthusiastic non-professional tour guide of   Vietwind travel, we had a great time with unforgettable memories.


Hanoi by night 

Get started with water puppet show- a unique art of Vietnam whose special element is the use of the water surface as a stage for performance. The stage for performance which is a space in front of the puppet house is called puppet house or water house, and built in the pond or lake with balanced architecture symbolizing the communal house roof in Vietnamese rural areas. All the performing activities, stages and flags, fans, elephants, parasols, decoration gates, etc are truly small communal houses with their bending roofs which are vividly reflected on the water surface. By performing the old traditional water puppet show, daily activities and customs of Viet Nam peasants are vividly expressed

.
 
Hanoi by night 

After watching water puppet show, the tour guide took us around the Old Quarter streets: hang Ngang, Hang Dao, Dinh Liet,,, with a lot of goods. Today, walking through the streets in this ancient heart of the old city, the young tour guide told us that  these still bear the name of the trades and commodities plied in them many generations ago and in some the tradition carries on to this day: cotton, sail, rice, sugar, vermicelli ( hang bun), Jute ( Hang Gai) .
We continued visiting Hoan Kiem lake, Ngoc Son temple Which are considered as the heart of Hanoi attached with the ancient legend about the great turtle. The most interesting point of our journey was enjoying Hanoi street food which was really awesome and cheap. Some famous dishes can be listed including Bun Cha (vermicelli with grilled meat), Bun thang (vermicelli in chicken soup), Pho…
With a short time in Hanoi old Quarter, we had some insight about this beautiful  city. Hanoi  is really a great destination worth visiting


DISCOVERING HANOI OLD QUARTER ITINERARY


Hanoi Old Quarter 

Duration: 4 hours – private tour
Departure : every day
Price: $30

8: 00 a.m 2:00 p.m: Vietwind Travel’s tour guide picks you up at the hotel and start the tour “ Discovering Hanoi Old Quarter tour”
You will stroll around Hanoi Old Quarter streets and the tour guide tells you about the history as well as the cultural traits of  the one-thousand capital city. You will visit Hanoi ancient house  at Ma May  with the unique architectures of Vietnamese ancient  house.
Next you will visit Ngoc Son temple, Hoan Kiem lake which is considered as the heart of Hanoi.
Enjoy Hanoi Old Quarter coffee and Hanoi pho – the unique and traditional food of Hanoian. Taking part in 30 minute massage program of Vietwind travel.

 
Hanoi Old Quarter
INCLUDED:
-         English speaking tour guide
-         Entrance tickets
-         Meals
-         30 massage

EXCLUDED:
-         Personal expenses
-         Drink
-         VAT
NOTE
-       Children from 9 years old: pay as adult rate
-  Children from 5 – 8 years old charge 75 5 rate
- Chrildren under 5 year old : free
- 2 adults with one child. If have 2nd child from 2  5 year old, pay as adult rate



Chủ Nhật, 26 tháng 1, 2014

Our Wonderful North Vietnam Vacation

Halong Bay



After visiting some friends in Ho Chi Minh city, my husband and I decided to spend 6 days 5 nights to explore the Northern Vietnam. This was our itinerary:

 Day 1: Arriving Hanoi
 Day 2: Hanoi- Halong Bay and overnight on the cruise
Day 3: Halong – Hanoi and get to Sapa by train
Day 4: Exploring Sapa.
Day 5: Sapa – Hanoi
Day 6: Fight to our country

It is not wise to design a itinerary in places which are not familiar to you. We thought a travel agency could do this better than us. The important things  is that you should choose a trusted travel agency. We decided to choose Vietwind Travel to become our counterpart in this vacation and they did a good job. We were highly pleased with the services we were provided  and the professional and enthusiastic manner of the Vietwind staffs.

Halong Bay

Hanoi, Halog and sapa are the most attractive places of The Northern Vietnam where you  certainly have the interesting experiences. To my husband, he was interested in overnight on the cruise and joining in squid fishing with the cruise staffs. Besides, he might be fond  of the ancient legends about caves and grottos in Halong bay. To me, I like Sapa more with the spectacular mountainous landscape and terraced field which were gorgeous and tranquil at dawn . Coming to Sapa, you will have the amazing pictures which can make people surprised.
Hanoi was a great place to see especially its street food. The tour guide took us some places to enjoy the extremely delicious food with the cheap price. Of course, in there, food hygiene were guaranteed.

Sapa

Which made us pleased most during our trip were the tour guide and the hotel. The hotel were clean and its staff were so nice. About the tour guide, he was very enthusiastic and outgoing. During the trip, I got sick, and the guide helped us to find the most suitable medicine. Although his work time was over, he didn’t mind to stay late to help us to find medicine.
Vietwind Travel’s staff also called to us after our trip finished to ask about my health and to make sure everything ok. We  found them very considerate and we believe that Vietwind Travel will be our choice if we visit Vietnam again


Thứ Tư, 22 tháng 1, 2014

HALONG BAY – A LAND OF LEGEND


1.       The legend of Halong bay

A LAND OF LEGEND

The legend of Hạ Long has it that, “Once upon a time, soon after the Việt people established their country, invaders came. The Jade Emperor sent Mother Dragon and her Child Dragons down to earth to help the Việt people fight against their enemy. Right at the time invaders’ boats were rushing to the shore, the dragons landed down on earth. The dragons immediately sent out from their mouths a lot of pearls, which then turned into thousands of stone islands emerging in the sea like great walls challenging the invaders’ boats. The fast boats couldn’t manage to stop and crashed into the islands and into each other and broke into pieces.
After the victory, Mother Dragon and Child Dragons didn’t return Heaven but stayed on earth at the place where the battle had occurred. The location Mother Dragon landed is nowadays Hạ Long Bay and where Child Dragons descended is now Bái Tử Long. The dragons’ tails waving the water created Long Vĩ (present Trà Cổ peninsula) and formed a fine sand beach over ten kilometers long”.

2.      Halong Bay - The magical land of Vietnam

A LAND OF LEGEND


Hạ Long Bay is located in the northeastern part of Vietnam and constitutes part of the western bank of Bắc Bộ Gulf, including the sea area of Hạ Long City and Cẩm Phả Town and part of Vân Ðồn island district. It abuts Cát Bà Island in the southwest. Toward the west is the shore with a 120 km-long coastline. It is located within 106o58’-107o22’ east longitude and within 20o45’- 20o50’ north latitude. The site is 1553 sq. km with 1969 islands of various sizes, of which 989 have been named.

A LAND OF LEGEND

The islands in Hạ Long Bay are mainly limestone and schist islands most lying in the two main areas: the southeastern part of Bái Tử Long Bay and southwestern part of Hạ Long Bay. These islands represent the most ancient images of a geographical site having a tectonic age of from 250 million to 280 million years. They are the result of many times of rising and lowering processes of the continent to form a karst. The process of nearly full erosion and weathering of the karst created the unique Hạ Long Bay in the world. In a not very large area, thousands of islands with different forms look like glittering emeralds attached to the blue scarf of a virgin. The area where many stone islands concentrate has spectacular scenes and world-famous caves and is the center of Hạ Long Bay Natural Heritage, including Ha Long Bay and a part of Bái Tu Long Bay.
A LAND OF LEGEND

The area is recognized as the World Natural Heritage that is the area of 434 sq. km with 775 islands. It looks like a giant triangle with Ðầu Gỗ Island (in the west), Ba Hầm Lake (in the south) and Cống Tây Island (in the east) as its three angle points. The nearby area is the buffer area and areas classified as national beauty spots in 1962 by the Ministry of Culture and Information
Viewed from above, Hạ Long Bay looks like an extremely vivid huge drawing. This is a wonderful and skilful masterpiece of the Creation and of nature that turns thousands of dumb soulless stone islands into fantastic sculptural and artistic works of various graceful shapes, both familiar and strange to human beings. Thousands of islands emerging uneven in the fanciful waves look strong and magnificent but also mild and vivid. Amidst these islands we feel as if we were astray in a petrified legendary world. There are many names given to islands according to their shapes and forms.
This one looks like somebody heading toward the shore: Hòn Ðầu Người (Human Head Island); that one looks like a dragon hovering above the sea surface: Hòn Rông (Dragon Island); another looks like an old man sitting fishing: Hòn Lã Vọng; some look like big sails struggling amidst the wind to set off for the sea: Hòn Cánh Buồm (Sail Island); then two islands look like a pair of chicken lovingly playing with each other above the sea: Hòn Trống Mái (Male and Female Chicken Island); and amid the vast sea stands an island like a big incense burner like a ritual offering to Heaven: Hòn Lư Hương (Incense Burner Island). All are so real that people are taken aback by them. Those stone islands have experienced unpredictable changes over time and they take different shapes from different angles of view. Here, we come to realize that they are not dumb inanimate things but are vivid and soulful.

A LAND OF LEGEND 

Inside the stone islands are various breath-taking caves, such as Thiên Cung, Ðầu Gỗ, Sửng Sốt, Trinh Nữ, Tam Cung and others. These are really magnificent palaces of the Creation on earth. Long ago, Hạ Long Bay has been called by the great national poet Nguyễn Trãi:“a wonder of the earth erected towards the high sky”. Many men of letters from all over the world have been taken aback at the grandiose scenery of Hạ Long. They seem to get puzzled and incompetent as their treasure of vocabulary is not rich enough to depict the splendor of this place.
Hạ Long Bay is also attached to glorious pages of Vietnamese history, with famous sites such as Vân Ðồn, a bustling trade port in the 12th century, charming Bài Thơ Mountain, and not very far away from here is the Bạch Đằng River which witnessed two famous naval battles of the Viêt’s ancestors against invaders. Also, Hạ Long is one of the cradles of human kind with the glorious Hạ Long culture in the late Neolithic age, discovered at such archeological sites as Ðộng Mang, Xích Thổ, Soi Nhụ and Thoi Giếng.
Hạ Long is also home to great biodiversity with typical eco-systems like mangrove forest, coral and tropical forest. It is also home to thousands of plants and animals of numerous species, for example shrimp, fish and squid. Some species are particularly rare and can be found no where else.
With such special values, at the 18th Session of UNESCO’s Council of World Heritage held on 17 December 1994 in Thailand, Hạ Long Bay was officially placed on the list of the World Natural Heritage. In 2000, UNESCO recognized it as the World Heritage for the second time for its geographical and geomorphologic values. This confirms the global premier value of Hạ Long Bay.
Wherever you come from, whosoever you are and however old you are, you will certainly experience the same emotion and feeling when admiring this wonder of stone and water. And great experiences will always remain even when you leave the place. The legend of Mother Dragon and Child Dragons sending out pearls to form thousands of stone islands to stop invaders still serve as the soul of this invaluable heritage of the world.
Have you ever come to Hạ Long, the unique wonder of the world of its kind, to admire and explore secretes implicit in the place?


Three “can-not-be-missed” experiences in Halong Bay Tour



Not only reputed for thousands of islands which have been arranged and set up by hands of the Mother Nature, Halong Bay is also an ideal tourist destination of exclusive discovery tours.

1. Kayaking for sightseeing in Halong Bay

Kayaking for sightseeing in Halong Bay


Nobody can deny that kayaking is the first-rate can-not-be-ignored experience during Halong Bay tour. While sitting in the small kayaks, striking the paddle on the clean blue water, every tourist can immerse in the spectacular beauty landscapes and enjoy fresh air from the sea. Tourists will feel like to be lost among thousands of limestone caves and islands together with the immense sky and water.
In 2000, National Geographic Adventures listed Halong Bay as in top 25 of the world tourist spots for kayaking.

2. Exploring the fishing villages

Exploring the fishing villages

Escape from the hustle and bustle of the downtown, the peaceful fishing villages in Halong Bay are the ideal stop-over for every visitor. Some of well-known tourist-fishing-villages for your experience are Vung Vieng, Cua Van, Ba Hang.
Visiting the fishing villages offers visitors opportunities to experience the locals’ daily life by taking part in their activities like fishing and cooking the fresh seafood. You will ease your mind to explore a different Halong Bay. 

3. Night-sleeping on boat (Cruise)

Night-sleeping on boat (Cruise)

Vietnamese tourists often pick one favorite hotel or resort in Halong to book a night room. On the other hand, the foreign ones prefer over-night sleeping on board (joining Halong Cruises for over-night on board)..

Cruise boats can be regarded as a mini-hotel with well-equipped cabins/rooms. Air-condition, private bathroom are available on each cabin. It’s your surprising when relaxing in your own cabin and enjoying the spectacular beauty of limestone mountains, caves and islands through the cabin’s window. Moreover, you can watch the fish together with jelly-fish swimming under the sea water. When the sun sets, climbing up to the deck and enjoying a wonderful starry night may allure all of visitors.







Cua Van Fishing Village in Halong Bay among world’s most beautiful villages


Cua Van Fishing Village


Cua Van village in HaLong Bay has been recognized as one of the most beautiful villages around the world by Journeyetc.com, a travel blog that provide useful guidance on and latest information about the travel market.

In a recent article featuring the world’s 16 exceptionally charming villages, Journeyetc.com said tourists will be amazed at the historical sites and the cobble stone streets of the village.
It is definitely one of the most scenic around the world, it said, advising visitors to admire the majestic lime stone hills of Ha Long Bay, take photos of the floating fishing village and colorful raft houses, and immerse themselves in the rustic lifestyle of Cua Van.

Cua Van Fishing Village

Read more about Halong Bay Climate

Also in the blog’s list are beautiful villages in Switzerland, New Mexico, Italy, Tunisia, Japan, France, Czech Republic, Turkey, England, Hawaii, Georgia, Canada, Indonesia, Bermuda, and Chile.



Halong Bay Climate



Halong Bay

The climate in Halong is wet tropical and affected by monsoon’s operation. It’s divided into four seasons: warm spring, hot and moist summer, cool autumn and dry and cold winter. The summer is from May to August, features high temperature and large rainfall. The humid southeastern monsoon blows and carries rain. The temperature ranges between 27°C to 29°C. The weather is hottest in Juneand July. From November to February is the winterfeaturing low temperature and little rainfall. The weather is dominated by the dry and cold notheast monsoon. The average temperature is from 16°C to 18°C. Between the two main seasons are transitional months with the featuresof spring and autumn. The annual rainfall is between 2000mm and 2200mm.

Read more about  HALONG BAY TOURS - THE PLEASANT EXPERIENCE

On Halong bay, the tide is the typical diurnal tide. At the time of tide, the sea level usually rises up by 3.5 to 4 meters. The salinity is about 31-34.5 MT. This figure depends on the seasons: the salinity in the dry season is lower than that in the rainy season.

From May to October is the active time of sea storms on the Gulf of Tonkin. However, because Halong Bay is situated deep inside the Gulf of Tonkin and features various islands, it’s less affected by the sea storms.





Expat in Hanoi