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Ho Tram Beach, Ba Ria - Vung Tau

12:38 AM |

Ho Tram Beach, Ba Ria - Vung Tau - Photo by An Bui

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The temple of King Le honors great warrior

12:25 AM |

Travel Vietnam Blog

The thousand-year-old temple of King Le (King Le Dai Hanh) is situated in the ancient capital of Hoa Lu, Ninh Binh Province, around 200 kilometers away from Hanoi.

Every year the temple and the nearby Dinh King temple attract hundreds of thousands of people who come to pay their respects to King Le who fought courageously, protecting the country from the threat of invasion from the Chinese in the North.

Before occupying the throne and becoming the first King of the Le Dynasty, Le Hoan was an excellent general under King Dinh Tien Hoang. After the death of King Dinh, Le Hoan received support from the king’s wife and other military men, taking the throne and leading the fight against the army of the Song dynasty of China and began the southward expansion process against the kingdom of Champa.

The temple of Le King was first constructed in 1010 after the capital was moved to Thang Long, now Hanoi, on the area of the ancient capital.

The temple was re-constructed from 1600-1606 and has been well maintained. The temple still holds the precious pieces of ancient sculpture on rock and wood, reflecting a period of prosperity in Vietnamese history.

The temple, laid on a rectangle shaped ground; running in the direction from West to East has been classified as a National Historic site, together with King Dinh ’s temple, which is just a few hundred meters away.

Sophisticated wood and stone sculptures colored in golden and crimson and dated from the 16th and 17th century help bring a sacred atmosphere into the interior area. Tourists have to pass the temples of the subordinates in order to see the final parts of the construction, the temple where there are statues of the King and his family.

Meanwhile, the temple only serves worship practices towards the king, his wife and his elder son, who succeeded him in power. The real tomb of King Le is isolated one kilometer from the frequently-visited temple. The tomb, with the backdrop of the Ma Yen Mountain and facing the picturesque rice field, was built in the early 20th century.

Source SGT

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A glance back to the past in Bich Dong

12:08 AM |

Bich Dong, Ninh Binh - Photo by An Bui

With the country’s second most beautiful cave, Bich Dong Temple in Hoa Lu Commune, Ninh Binh Province is a must for tourists to the area located 200 kilometers to the southeast of Hanoi.

The temple was built on a limestone mountain that was formed millions of years ago and it was named in the 18th century after the beautiful white limestone which exists only in this area. The whole construction included three small temples with the first at the foot of the mountain, the second at the entrance of Bich Dong cave and the third, also the smallest, on top of the mountain, viewing the whole stunning green valley below. All three temples are made from rare wood, with tiles formed like the tail of a phoenix or the blade of the ancient weapon, seeing the construction come to life. From a distance, the temple looks like a wooden boat floating on the river.

A stone lion guards the second Bich Dong temple
The temple was built in the 18th century by two monks, who admired the peaceful and seductive landscape and decided to stay and build the temple for Buddhists to worship and pray for the prosperity of the country.

The third Bich Dong temple, also the smallest, on the top of the mountain - Photos: Pham Thai
From the foot of the mountain, tourists have to climb dozens of stone stairs to get to the cave’s entrance, as well as the second temple. But in order to get to the third temple, tourists have to cross the cave. Inside the cave is a bronze bell made three centuries ago by the founders as well as the worship place of Buddha and the three gods in ancient belief.

Although going through a lot of reconstruction, the beautiful temples and cave make it a destination that everyone must visit once in a lifetime.

By Pham Thai

Source The Saigon Time.vn

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Phong Nha-Ke Bang comes to life off screen

12:06 AM |

Travel by boat to visit Phong Nha Cave - Photo by An Bui

In cinema terms, Vietnam is the superstar of Southeast Asia. Endless war movies and the odd love film have beamed images of its beautiful scenery and jungle vistas to television screens and cinemas across the globe.

Before we’d even set foot in the country, my boyfriend and I had very clear expectations about what we would see. Naive as we were, our preconceptions could not have been more wrong …..until we went to Phong Nha-Ke Bang, the national park which borders Laos.

It was there that much of the hand to hand jungle combat made famous in films such as Platoon actually took place. For the first time, the scenery we passed corresponded with all the movies we knew - rivers and jungles and dense vegetation, as well as rice paddies, villages and traditional rural life.

There is much in the area for those that are interested in finding out about the American War and local tour operators run trips to many sites in which key battles took place. Significant sections of the famous Ho Chi Minh trail are located in the park, and it is possible to visit the nearby Vinh Moc tunnels, the Ben Hai River Museum, and the Hien Luong Riverbank where the former demilitarized zone was officially set.

But Phong Nha is more than the sum of its war connections. Due to its biodiversity, unique beauty and geodiversity, the national park became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2003. Hidden in the depths of the mountains is the spectacular Son Doong (the world’s largest cave, discovered in 2005). If that doesn’t satisfy your caveman instincts, pop into Phong Nha cave which contains hundreds of beautiful stalactites and stalagmites as well as the world’s longest underground river.

The trickiest thing about the area is getting there. Be warned: it is remote, but worth the journey, and the cheapest option is a six hour haul by local bus from Danang. Our bus ride entailed an ongoing game of musical chairs while passengers and their luggage (including a motorbike) were shuffled around the available space. We slept at the Phong Nha farmstay, a little utopia with a swimming pool at the end of a rice paddy, and spent happy evenings there meeting other travelers and trying local dishes.

My favorite day was actually the least activity packed – I simply went for a walk with some new friends along the local roads. I’ll forever chuckle over the excitement we caused when we walked past a school – all the children burst through the gate and surrounded us, laughing and demanding to have their photos taken. Their enthusiasm and warm welcome, in the midst of the beautiful national park, is one of my happiest memories from our travels in Vietnam.

By Lorraine Simpson
Source The Saigon Times.vn

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Go into the wild at Hon Thi Island

12:02 AM |

Landscape of Nha Trang - Photo by An Bui

Hon Thi Island is on the way to Nha Phu Lagoon for tourists who are visiting Nha Trang but if you bypass this little gem you are missing out.

The island covers 500 hectares and its pristine beauty is a huge attraction for tourists who are intrigued by the area and are keen to explore the riddles of nature where human hands just touch a part of it.

About three kilometers from the land, Hon Thi is located in Ninh Ich Commune, Ninh Hoa District, Khanh Hoa Province. So to get to the island, you can take a boat from Da Chong Beach or from Ninh Ich Commune.

When you arrive there are flocks of deer and ostrich which you can feed, play with and watch them run around the area. Along the island are also many stunning beaches with many rock beaches. Along the beach are many sea vegetables, wild flowers and many trees you’ve probably never seen before.

Inside the island, tourists will see a number of orchards with many kinds of fruit trees such as guava, orange, dragon fruit, sugar apple and coconut.

The island is also home to fishing boats and many vestiges as it used to be a temporary home for people when storms come. There is a small temple which was built in 1998 and is dedicated to worship the sea god.

It is littered with rock gardens, piling up into caves so tourists can go on an adventure with a flash light. However, the journey is not for the faint-hearted just the brave and the bold. As the island is still primitive, you have to bring your own food and drink.

By Khue Viet Truong
Source The Saigon Times.vn

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Sapa adventure had us begging for more

12:00 AM |

Travel to Sapa - Photo by An Bui

Having lived in Vietnam all my life I feel embarrassed that I have not visited so many of the beautiful sites our country has to offer.

My husband had been nagging me to go to Dalat but I decided to shock him by taking him on a surprise trip to Sapa.

We took a five day tour from Hanoi and it is one I highly recommend. We firstly got the overnight train from the capital to Lao Cai Station where we caught some shut-eye in our cabin.

We arrived a little weary due to the bumpy ride but it was the first day of our trip and we were excited. A bus awaited us at the station and took us to our destination. We dumped our belongings at the hotel and quickly showered and had breakfast before we took a car ride along the gorgeous Muonh Ha Valley to visit the Rattan Bridge, the stunning silver waterfall and then visited in Giang Ta Chai village which is home to the Red Dzao tribe.

It was time to build up a sweat as we trekked through the forests of the Fanxipan range which was daunting but rewarding before we reached the Seo Chong Ho Village. Not many tourists reach this part of the area and we enjoyed a wonderful waterfall which is apparently the nicest in Sapa.

We rested up had food and were put up by a lovely Dzao family, who were so nice and even made us breakfast the next day before it was time to trek up another mountain to Ta Trung Ho village which is located 1450meters above sea level. Which was great news for those who suffer from vertigo like my husband, he barely survived. We had lunch and then headed downhill, thankfully for my hubby’s sake, to Ban Ho village to meet the Tay people and their stilt houses.

We had a little party and stayed the night in a stilt house before seeing yet another waterfall Lavie which was discovered by the French and then Supan village and finally back to the car and Sapa.

At last we got some time to ourselves to explore the town, buy some souvenirs for family, have a nice romantic meal and go for a stroll around. We were hoping to stay the night in Sapa but forgot we had to get a late bus to Lao Cai Station where out night train to Hanoi awaited us.

I wish we could have stayed that extra night as I felt our trip was just beginning. Oh well, maybe next time.

By Nga Phan
Source The Saigon Times .vn

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Aquatic adventure in Tam Coc is wondrous

11:58 PM |

Tam Coc Tourism Site - Photo by An Bui

Halong Bay, one of the seven wonders of the natural world, is a hard act to follow that is for sure.

Twenty-four hours after our stay there we visited Tam Coc and the three caves along the Ngo Dong River.

We arrived tired and grumpy and we expected to find it the ugly sister of the North East but the reality could not have been further from the truth. During our time there my boyfriend and I experienced a whole new definition of natural beauty.The first thing which warmed us to Tam Coc was the fact that getting to the caves involved an aquatic adventure.

The only way to reach the caves is via a three hour round-trip by boat, where skippers maneuver the oars with their feet instead of hands (which takes some getting used to).The caves are sold as the main attraction but they were outshone by the vibrant scenes we paddled past – rural life, vast limestone columns and rice fields with vivid green shoots.

We stopped in silence to watch kingfishers, woodpeckers and starlings at play, and marveled at the hundreds of butterflies and dragonflies which zigzagged by. Aside from the caves there is plenty to do. After a delicious lunch along the banks of the river we opted to explore Ninh Binh by scooter. In a few hours we saw the surrounding areas including the ancient capital of Vietnam (Hoa Lu) and the country’s largest National Park, Cuc Phuong. It was only when our camera memory cards became full that we realized it was time to go home. Our brief experience, packed as it was with beauty and wildlife, is a small illustration of the amount there is to see and do in this small corner of Vietnam.

Source The Saigon Times.vn

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