Xin chao!

Tuoi Tre News Several roads and alleys in Ho Chi Minh City have been raised by one to two meters as part of a city planning project, resulting in many private houses in suburban areas being literally turned into underground homes.

VietNamNet Bridge – Sheep, needless to say, are endemic to temperate zones, especially so in Western countries. But one passing through Phan Rang City in Ninh Thuan Province may not believe in their eyes seeing herds of sheep gazing on a gigantic hill about 15 kilometers south of the city. It is a bit strange to see sheep being raised under scorching heat and strong winds in Ninh Thuan.

TuoiTreNews The ancient quarter of Hanoi, with its narrow, busy streets, has become more animated this month thanks to the presence of bands performing both contemporary and folk music every weekend.

Ha Giang for independent travelers: http://vietnamguidebook.blogspot.com/2012/08/ha-giang.html

The www.vietnamguidebook s .blogspot.com has published my articles and photos, videos without asking for permission.  It aslo gives no credit to my articles.

(Quang Binh Website) - According to information from the Phong Nha - Ke Bang Tourism Center, system of zip line at Chay River - Dark Cave tourism route with a total investment of nearly VND7 billion has recently put into operation in the Phong Nha - Ke Bang National Park.   This is a new type of tourism service, contributing to diversifying tourism products, meeting the demand of foreign and domestic visitors coming to the heritage sites in particular and Quang Binh in general.

1/ Pork / fish noodle soup and wonton (Hủ tiếu mì hoành thánh)                                                           Photo credit: vietnamguidebook

Photo credit: Boutique Hoi An Resort This recipe for banana blossom salad (gỏi hoa chuối) comes from Executive Chef Ta Viet Anh, and is one of Hoi An’s specialties. ‘It is also tourists’ favourite choice when staying at the Boutique Hoi An Resort,’ the chef said. 

Inside Dark cave Entrance of Dark Cave Riding a zip line crossing Chay River Dark Cave is about 20 kilometres from Phong Nha Cave, Quang Binh Province, by road. Examined by British Royal explorers in 1990 and 1992, its entry way is 20 metres wide and 40 metres high. The cave is 5,258 metres long, and the ceiling inside is up to 80 metres high. Like many other caves in Phong Nha - Ke Bang area, it has a dry part and a submerged part. The darkness inside the cave is thick, much thicker than in other caves. So thick that one feels one can scoop it. That’s why people call it the Dark Cave.

By Cong Nguyen , Thanh Nien News  A fisherman in Ho Chi Minh city unexpectedly caught a 128-kilo endangered catfish in the Dong Nai southern river on Thursday. It seems unlikely that he will be punished for catching and selling the creature, despite its status. Tran Minh Dung, 35, was trolling a section of river near district 9 in the early morning on Thursday when he found the giant fish get caught in his net. The fish is considered an endangered species due to habitat loss and overfishing. The animal was later sold to a trader in the neighboring district of Thu Duc for VND 192 million (US$9,054). Dung told Thanh Nien News  that it was the biggest fish he'd caught in his six years of trolling the Dong Nai river. The giant bard, also known as Siamese giant carp, is the largest species of cyprinid in the world. These migratory fish are found only in the Mae Klong, Mekong and Chao Phraya river basins in Indochina. TuoiTreNews v...

  A view of the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park in Quang Binh Province where a Da Nang company plans to install a cable car system in Son Doong, the world’s largest cave. Photo: Ryan Deboodt/http://www.ryandeboodt.com A local resort developer has received the green light to build a US$212-million cable car system inside the world’s largest cave -- Son Doong in north central Vietnam. Truong An Ninh, a spokesman for Quang Binh Province, said Wednesday that real estate and resort developer Sun Group based in nearby Da Nang City has asked to survey the Phong Nha – Ke Bang national park and install the system, Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper reported. The four-section route of 10.6 kilometers would serve a resort complex that Sun Group plans in the area, the newspaper said, citing an unidentified source. The route will start in Tien Son Cave and go through various openings of Son Doong, which has at least 150 individual caves, a dense subterranean jung...

  A VietJetAir aircraft at Tan Son Nhat airport in Ho Chi Minh. Photo: Kham/REUTERS VietJetAir has suspended two pilots who landed a passenger flight on the wrong end of the runway at a central Vietnamese airport last week despite air traffic controllers' correct instruction.  The no-frills airline also asked the two pilots to cooperate with the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) in the investigation into the incident, a VietJetAir representative said. According to the authority, VietJetAir's flight VJ8856 from Ho Chi Minh City's Tan Son Nhat Airport on October 16 landed on Runway 20, instead of Runway 02 end as was instructed by air traffic controllers.

  A foreign teacher teaches English at an elementary school in Ho Chi Minh City. Up to 52 percent of expats in Vietnam said they earn more than they would have at home. Photo: Dao Ngoc Thach Vietnam is the third best place in Asia for expats looking to improve their quality of life, with 62 percent saying they strongly associate the country with a high quality of life, according to a survey released by HSBC on Tuesday.

Moc Chau  (Northwest Vietnam) and Dalat (Central highland) are/will be in wild sunflower season now/November. Getting to Dalat: http://vietnamguidebook.blogspot.com/2012/08/dalat-city-of-spring.html                 Moc Chau : http://vietnamguidebook.blogspot.com/2012/11/moc-chau-paradise-of-flower.html  "Dã quỳ" in Moc Chau . Photo credit: Tam An (http://dulich.vnexpress.net/photo/anh-video/den-hen-lai-len-mua-da-quy-moc-chau-3094930.html)

Floating season in Tra Su cajuput forest , An Giang province, Mekong delta Floating season in An Giang province, Mekong delta Chau Doc floating village - Raising catfish Video credit: Vietnamguidebook

Tourists are often the most vulnerable to scams; they are probably unfamiliar with the surrounding area, are often in need of help and information and tend to be trusting of locals, are likely not to question what they see or are told, often cannot speak the language where they are, and are probably carrying large amounts of cash and credit.  Most scammers are smart, they know how to cheat money out of tourists in ways that make identification difficult, if not impossible. Some scams are quite obvious once they have occurred, with the victim realising they have been cheated but only after it is too late. Others are more subtle, where the victim may never realise that anything went wrong, and they rationalise that they have either lost of miscounted their money. Tourist scammers and pickpockets take advantage of weak laws and law enforcement, thereby allowing them to effectively operate indefinitely while nothing is stopping them. Just The Flight are here...

Photo credit: Ngo Quang Thinh  Getting there:  http://vietnamguidebook.blogspot.com/2012/03/chau-doc.html

Ho d ynasty c itadel recognized as UNESCO World Heritage Site The Ho Dynasty Citadel has been granted world heritage status by UNESCO, putting it on a par with such wonders as the Grand Canyon and the Pyramids of Giza. The monument, located in the northern province of Thanh Hoa's Vinh Loc District, was selected together with three other relics from among 35 candidates this year. Vuong Van Kiet, head of Vietnam's delegation at UNESCO's 35th meeting in Paris on June 27, says the best way to enliven and promote the building is by protecting and preserving the site. According to Kiet, the Ho Dynasty Citadel will become a more attractive destination for tourists if locals respect it as their own property.  The citadel is surrounded by three mountains and two rivers. More than 600 years ago, Vietnamese people mastered the skill of cutting and assembling stones, and built the citadel to an average height of five to six meters by overla...

VietNamNet Bridge – The first time I rode a bus in Ha Noi was one afternoon in early March this year, two weeks after I arrived in the country.   Travel adventure: The bus map is not 100 per cent precise. It tells which streets the bus traverses, but not the exact stops, which leads to more adventures. Sometimes, new bus travellers may get free tour of Ha Noi. At the end of my first HIWC book club meeting, I bravely asked the ladies, "Does anyone know how to ride the bus?" My husband and I recently moved into an apartment on Truc Bach Lake, somewhere in the middle of Ha Noi. Until then, all my trips downtown were in the comfortable confines of a taxicab. The buses cruising down Yen Phu intrigued me, and offered a possibly more efficient way of getting around. How does one start on this bus network?  Or, practically speaking, where? A nice lady at the book club meeting named Janice led me to the terrace and pointed across the street. "G...

Life is Sharing. Not just time or money or food, but everything. I agree in principle, but I like to decide what it is I want to share ~ and how much, how often, and when. I have much to learn from the Vietnamese. Here are a few examples of sharing. Vietnamese style:  • Three women need store-front space to sell stuff to support their families. They are poor. The first woman sells pho early in the morning. A few hours later she leaves when the next woman comes to sell water and cigarettes. After a few hours, the last woman comes and sets up a mini-cafe when the cigarette-seller leaves. They all get to use the space, at a time when the products they are selling are most likely to be bought. • A shoe-seller is serving a customer but doesn’t have the right size/style shoe for her. She knows the shoe store next door has it. She “borrows” the correct shoe from next door and sells it to the customer. She then lets her next-door vendor have a pair of shoes (of eq...

French national Tiberghien Frédo, 48, has decided to live the rest of his life in Vietnam after marrying a Dao ethnic girl, 24 years younger than him, in the northern province of Yen Bai.  Born in Paris, Frédo is of mixed French and Vietnamese descent. He worked as a horse caretaker and a carpenter to earn a living. Hearing stories about Vietnam, he aspired to arrive in the Southeast Asian nation one day, and his dream came true in 1994. He attended a Vietnamese language course and then travelled the length and breadth of Vietnam by motorbike to discover the country. He then worked as a tourist guide to make ends meet. Frédo later received a licence to open a travel company, arranging inbound and outbound tours for holiday-makers. Living far from Paris for 20 years, the boss of the travel company says Vietnam is his second hometown and he will live the rest of his life here after marrying a Dao ethnic girl.   Dressed in a Dao costume,...

Thanh Nien News The shots taken by photographer Hai Dong during a recent scenic flight on board a Hai Au Aviation seaplane.