Content includes:
1/ My Khe beach - Danang
2/ Salangane kingdom - Nha Trang
3/ Nam Du Archipelago
4/ Hanoi named among top Asian cities for street food
1/ My Khe beach
Coming to Danang, which has a large number of attractions including Son Tra Peninsula, Ba Na Mountain, Cham Museum and nearby Hoi An ancient town, you should not miss My Khe Beach, located about six kilometres east of Danang and 24 kilometres north of Hoi An.
The beach is a nine-kilometer stretch of smooth sand and is famous for its fresh atmosphere and blue water.
The beach has been voted one of the six most attractive beaches on the planet by American business magazine Forbes. The Australian magazine, Sunday Herald Sun, also ranked the 900m-long My Khe Beach in the top 10 Asian beaches, saying that Australia is endowed with so many beaches but they can’t forget the first impression of My Khe with its crystal-clear blue water and long sandy beach.
Behind the beach is a dark green poplar forest. The beach is next to the city center and is easily accessible by road and various means of transport. It also has resorts, restaurants, bungalows and various abundant services right on the beach, creating favorable conditions for tourists to relax on the seashores with all home comforts.
The sea water in My Khe is cool with small waves so tourists can bathe all-year round, especially in summer from May to August. Han River suspension bridge has been completed and links the east area to the west area, making transportation easy. As a result, My Khe Beach is an attractive resort for tourists.
(VietNamNet. Pic: Hoangsa.org)
2/ The Salangane Kingdom
The “Kingdom of salanganes” is a must-see for tourists when they pay a trip to Nha Trang City that is endowed with one of the world’s most beautiful bays.
It takes tourists many hours traveling on a speedboat to reach the lands of sanlanganes. So, at 7:30 a.m. the boat weighs anchor at Cau Da Wharf. A light breakfast on the boat weaving the waves in the morning sun makes tourists feel excited about the landscapes from the southeast of Nha Trang Bay to Cam Ranh waters.
The salangane islets are always an interesting destination, as they are up to 40 nautical miles offshore, crowded with salangane flocks and bird’s nest output which is the highest in the country. From March to September is an ideal time for vacationers to discover the life of salanganes thanks to the calm sea and this is also the nest building season of the birds.
Nha Trang-based Sanest Tourist is responsible for organizing tours. The tour operator receives only 60 guests for each trip so as to avoid bad effects on the salanganes’ home where they have lived for hundreds of years.
The first stop is Du Ha Cave behind Noi Islet, which ranks second for its annual bird’s nest output among the 24 salangane islets off Nha Trang. The boat draws up alongside of a pontoon bridge for tourists to contemplate salanganes flying above the sky and landing on the rocks. These are “housekeeping” salanganes; other birds often fly tens of kilometers away from their nests to feed in the early morning.
The boat then sails to Sam Islet. Tourists will follow the tour guide crossing a bamboo bridge to visit a tent on a rocky mountain on the islet. It’s worth remembering hardy seagulls flying in the sunshine. Thanks for the protection of salangane islets and the ban on hunting sea birds, the schools of seagulls there grow rapidly.
A small cement road leads tourists to the cave of salanganes. Stopping by a security corridor and turning on the flashlight, travelers will see birds’ nests stuck to the cliffs. After visiting the cave, they board the boat to contemplate corals in various shapes and sizes. Through the glass bottom of the boat, guests will enjoy the world of colorful corals as if they were diving to survey corals by themselves.
Finally, the boat visits Noi Islet where broken corals were crushed by sea waves. The 10-year-old altar with a yard in the shade of tropical almonds is a rest stop for guests. When paying a trip to the salangane islets, tourists should not miss a chance to enjoy beautiful beaches there, and then climb some 100 steps to reach the top of Du Ha Mountain to listen to sea breezes and feel so small among the enormous ocean.
(SGT)
3/ March is best time to discover jpys of Nam Du Archipelago
VietNamNet Bridge – The common local saying "on the waves of March, old women go out to sea", means the sea is often calm in March, making it perfect to venture out to fish, or simply for pleasure. Now, as March swiftly approaches, the waters of the Nam Du Archipelago, 52 nautical miles off the coast of Rach Gia, the capital of the Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang, you'll find the natural surrounds very inviting.
The archipelago's 21 islands, which can be reached only by boat, take up a total area of only 40sq.km, have white sandy beaches, smooth waves, and clear blue water.
According to 34-year-old backpacker Nguyen Hai Son, Lon Island, the largest island of the archipelago, will be the first stop when you arrive.
With the even asphalted road, you can travel by motorbike taxi to the lighthouse to see the entire cluster of islands that make Nam Du stretched out like an artistic masterpiece and at night, the lighthouse illuminates the surrounding sea.
You can rent rooms on the island for an overnight stay, but there are no real hotels on the islands, just a few local homes residents opened up as guest houses, with rooms costing about VND50,000 (US$2.5) per night.
"People here can also act as guides for you and you can experience the life of local fishermen by jumping aboard one of their vessels or houses, which don't have refrigerators, bathrooms or other modern conveniences found in most houses," said Son.
You can also hire a boat to go around the Nam Du islands, for about VND50,000. Nom Ngoai, Nom Giua and Nom Trong islands are in the south of the archipelago, while Dam, Hang, Moc, Tre and Nhan are in the north, and be sure to see some of the beautiful waterfalls on Nam Du's islands.
According to the Viet Nam Institute of Geology and Minerals Research, the Nam Du Archipelago was created by two volcanic formations and at some of the islands' peaks, it's easy to image lava erupting, forming these islands. The local rocks are rough, similar to the texture of the flowing lava which created them and each rock bears its own distinct features and shapes.
After exploring the small islands, you should then move on to Ngang Island. There are two boat trips each day to Ngang, one at 7am and one at 3pm, to ferry tourists and locals alike.
Ngang Island is at the centre of Nam Du Commune and its wharf is full of vessels and fishing nets. Nearby, there is a range of stilt houses built of bamboo and concrete, which stretch 2km down the shore.
From Ngang, you can stop at Mau Island, a 20-minute boat ride away. The 200-ha island has a fishing village with 100 households, two sandy beaches and three beaches with a pebbled shoreline.
Residents on this small island will instantly know you're here when you arrive, and they're friendly and hospitable.
Mau is blessed with beautiful landscapes of pure nature and the two white sand beaches, Chuong and Nam, are possibly the best in the archipelago, while their rocky counterparts Bac, Den and Trang, are also stunning.
Nam Beach is very clean and has calm seas all the year round, and a steady stream of boats come to do business here and the residents often crowd around them.
The cool waters of Chuong Beach is another highlight. The beach is surrounded by coconut trees and sand banks with transparent turquoise water.
It is close to two rocky beaches, one filled with shiny black pebbles, named simply Den (Black) Beach. The rocks are a diverse range of shapes and shades and when the sun shines on them, rocks under the sea sparkle like diamonds. Some rocks have strange patterns and inspecting the distinct and unique array of these natural forms can swallow an entire afternoon.
From Den Beach, you can reach Trang (White) Beach after a 15-minute walk. The entire beach is filled only with white rocks, ranging in size from those as small as fingers to some as big as hands. This beach has almost no sand and tourists coming to these rocky beaches often take home with them rocks to remember their journey.
Spending a night in Mau, you can really taste the sea air, and after 11pm, the power generator stops working and life on the island fades into the stillness of night.
You also have the chance to sit with islanders and drink tea or rice wine, and enjoy fresh fish and snails caught from the sea, while listening to stories of life from the Nam Du Archipelago.
According to Huynh Van Loi, chairman of Nam Du Commune's People's Committee, only 12 out the 21 islands of Nam Du are inhabited, and were settled around 30-40 years ago.
"You will be moved to tears when you hear about their experience of harsh storms and raging waves, their feelings when relatives suddenly fell ill or simply the harsh realities of living away from their native lands," said Son.
If you have time, you can also discover the rest of the archipelago's islands. In particular, spending time visiting Dau Island, which is larger than other islands, is a good way to experience the archipelago. The island is home to a primeval forest, which spreads across 95 per cent of the island, with Bai Nha fishing village occupying the rest. This is the most peaceful fishing village in the archipelago, with 20 households living amongst the picturesque coconut trees.
At present, there are not many visitors coming to Nam Du, quite possibly because travelling here is still quite difficult.
"At the end of last year, Nam Du attracted hundreds of tourists and we hope with projects to help develop tourism in the area, especially in Mau Island, more and more visitors will come to the archipelago," said Loi.
(VietNamNet/Viet Nam News)
4/ Hanoi named among top Asian cities for street food
CNN Go, CNN’s travel website, has recently published its top ten list that saw Hanoi as one of Asia's most impressive cities catering to street food lovers.
The top ten voted food paradises include Penang of Malaysia, Seoul of South Korea, Bangkok of Thailand, Fukuoka of Japan, Taipei of Taiwan, Singapore, Manila of Philippines, Phnom Penh of Cambodia and Xian of China.
Cha gio, or spring roll, one of Vietnam's most famous food abroad
According to CNN Go, Hanoi is also a street-eater's paradise, with a plethora of options for those who want to eat like a local. “In fact, many swear that the best food in Hanoi is found on the sidewalk, with dishes that often feature fish sauce, lemongrass, chilies, and cilantro and other fresh herbs,” it writes.
The travelling website calls Hanoi “the birthplace of many quintessential Vietnamese dishes, such as pho and bun cha, and the city is often cited as one of the world's great food capitals.”
“The city, which celebrated its 1,000th birthday last year, has put those centuries to good use perfecting its curbside nibbles. Although vendors often cook in small shop fronts, they serve their wares on the sidewalk, on small plastic tables and chairs that can seem woefully inadequate for overgrown foreigners,” CNN Go comments.
(Tuoi Tre newspaper)
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