Discovery of longest lava cave in Southeast Asia

A system of lava caves including one considered as the longest lava cave of Southeast Asia has been discovered in the southern province of Dong Nai, according to researcher Truong Ba Vuong of the Vietnam's Institute of Tropical Biology.

Researchers from the institute and Germany's Berlin Speleoclub have surveyed and discovered the system of 11 caves for two months and found the caves formed after an eruption.

A vacation to Phan Thiet

Traveling is always seemed the best way to relax and discover the life around us. As a result, we often plan to go to visit the most attractive and beautiful places that we want to take a trip to. One of the places attacks a lot of visitors in the country and all over the world that is Phan Thiet.

Phan Thiet is famous for the destination of natural landscapes and attractions to visit. It is referred to be the ideal place to visit and discover the wild and stunning beauty of Vietnam. Mui Ne is known as the most famous and popular centre of travelling in Phan Thiet. Visiting Mui Ne, tourists will go to visit the Sand Dunes which is very well-known and featuring in Phan Thiet. The sand dunes are immense and wild, it makes visitors feel like they are in Sahara desert. It is so wonderful and exciting to experience Sahara desert in Vietnam. Furthermore, there are two main colours of sand dunes being white and red sand dunes. This brings us the feelings of immersing into the destiny and leaving all of the concerns and sadness behind. We only need to enjoy the immense landscape and take part in interesting activities here such as kite surfing and dune surfing with wonderful experience.

Tua Chua Karst Plateau

Tua Chua Karst Plateau in Tua Chua District of northwestern Dien Bien Province is located at a height of 1,500m above sea level. There are various rugged rocky plates placed on one another and shaped into citadels and mounts with different names such as To Cu Nhe, Chung Khoa, Chung Si Seng, Vang Long, and others. Such a natural magnificent landscape has attracted many visitors, both domestic and foreign, to the northwestern region of Vietnam.

 

Tua Chua Karst Plateau, located about 130km from downtown Dien Bien in the northwestern region of Vietnam, has three-fourths of its area rugged rocky land. It is rated as the country’s second “Dong Van Karst Plateau” (which was recognised by UNESCO as a Global Geo-park in 2010).

From downtown Tua Chua, we travelled along provincial Road 129, driving about 30km of curving roads, over high mountains and deep passes before arriving at the Tua Chua Karst Plateau. Our reward after the difficult trip was enjoying the natural magnificent views of the northwestern forests and mountains.

Tua Chua Karst Plateau belongs to the two communes of Sin Chai and Ta Phin. The rugged karst rocks here are not as high as those in Dong Van Karst Plateau in Ha Giang Province, but they are formed into hills, running up and down, and are scattered along  provincial Road 129. The local weather is not harsh and it favours local people in a developing economy. They can grow corn, rice and fruit trees such as plum and peach.

We met Ha Mac and his wife from Seo Phin Hamlet when they were plowing the narrow land between the rugged rocky land. The husband rode the buffalo to plow the soil into rows in front while his wife walked behind to sow the corn seeds. Sometimes, the animal stopped for a while, then continued working.

Mac said that the buffaloes on this highland plateau are sensitive. They would stop walking if the plow hit some stones, and thanks to that the local people’s tool would rarely be damaged.

Watching the ethnic couple working hard in the rocky land to sow the seeds (being their hope for life), we truly acknowledged how hard the life of the local people is, but what a good co-existence between man and nature it is.

 

Part of the Tua Chua Karst Plateau seen from high above.

Traveling to snake museum in Tien Giang

Exciting journeys on coconut-lined creeks, enjoying My Tho noodles or swimming in the sea of Go Cong ... are among interesting things that tourists can do in the southern province of Tien Giang
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A unique destination that not many tourists know when they come to Tien Giang, is the Dong Tam snake farm, which is recognized as the first snake museum of Vietnam.

Visiting the snake farm, you will be given the opportunity to explore the lifestyle and activities of these familiar but dangerous reptiles. In addition, you also have the opportunity to admire the collection of specimens of snakes, see how people take snake venom or learn about the method of creating vaccines or medicines for snakebite.

Visiting Nguom Ngao Cave to admire masterpiece in stone

Nguom Ngao Cave in Gun village, Dam Thuy Commune, Trung Khanh District, Cao Bang Province is blessed with the pristine and magic beauty that enchants every visitors coming here.

Nguom Ngao is a really stunning cave, huge and attractive with various shaped stalactites. Some stalactites can also create echo. In comparing this cave with Thien Cung Cave in Ha Long Bay, it is certain that you truly think Nguom Ngao is more beautiful and majestic.

In the language of the local Tay ethnic minority  “Nguom Ngao” means “tiger’s cave”. It is said that a long time ago, many fierce tigers sheltered in the cave and would enter the nearby village to hunt for livestock and even humans.

Tan Trao Historical Relic in Tuyen Quang

Being used as the revolutionary base of Vietnam before the August 1945 Revolution, Tan Trao is not only a historical area but is an attractive destination of Tuyen Quang for tourists in Vietnam travel as well.

Tan Trao is situated in Son Duong district, Tuyen Quang province, 41km far from center of Tuyen Quang Town forwarding to the north-west, about 200km from Hanoi.

Tan Trao Historical Relic in Tuyen Quang

A four-hour tour of the Chay river and Toi cave

Since the eco-tourism area of the Chay river and Toi cave in central Quang Binh province was put into operation in 2011 with a new tourist activity of kayaking on the Chay River and discovering the mysterious beauty of Toi cave, it promises to be a haven for tourists.

The trip starts from the wharf at Tro Mong Forest Management Station in Phuc Trach commune, Bo Trach district, Quang Binh province. Rowing on the 10km-long Chay river which originates from the immense mountains in the ancient karst mountain area of Phong Nha-Ke Bang, tourists seem to be on a lissome silk ribbon with two sides of verdant fields of corn and old trees.

An angle view of the Chay river

Gifted beauty of Quang Binh

Quang Binh is just like an imposing picture with beautiful forest, sea and many other landscapes that are very famous as Ngang pass, Ly Hoa pass, Nhat Le seaport, Hac Hai, Cong Troi lagoon and Phong Nha – Ke Bang National Park.

Quang Binh is a Coastal Province in North Central part. It places in the narrowest land of Vietnam. To the North, Quang Binh borders Ha Tinh Province by Hoanh Son mountain chain and borders Quang Tri Province to the South.

Towards the East, Quang Binh borders the East Sea and towards the West, it borders Kham Muon Province of Lao by Truong Son mountain chain.

There are not many places in Viet Nam that has such advantages for developing tourism like Quang Binh Province. With an area of 8,065 square kilometers, Quang Binh has three kinds of geographical terrains, including forests, hills and mountains, and coastal areas.

In Northern Vietnam, a Region of Beauty and Ethnic Traditions

MY first glimpse of the place that some call Shangri-La came on a brisk spring afternoon as we were careening along a narrow road hemmed in by sheer limestone walls. Our driver made a hairpin turn and all at once the landscape erupted into a sweep of dazzling slopes, serrated ridges and hanging valleys. In the pocket of a mountain pass called Heaven’s Gate, Hoang Tuan Anh, who also served as our guide, stopped his pickup truck so we could gaze at the vista of radiant sky that had opened up before us. This was only the beginning, Mr. Anh said, as we resumed our upward drive. “We will go as high as the clouds!”

Higher learning

A trip to Vietnam's mountainous and beautiful north allows visitors to experience authentic tribal life, writes Rob McFarland.
 

Teetering down steep stone stairs in inappropriate shoes and tight white designer jeans is a young, affluent Vietnamese woman. She's holding a multicoloured umbrella to protect her from the sun and is being led carefully by the hand by a private guide.

Coming up the other way is a young girl from the local Black Hmong hill tribe, dressed in an embroidered jacket and wearing the tribe's trademark black hat. Her face is creased with effort as she struggles with a large basket of sticks strapped to her back. She stops to let the descending woman pass and they exchange a glance that speaks volumes about the extremes of modern-day Vietnam.

Lac Hamlet – interesting destination for Home-stay tour

Lac Hamlet located in Hoa Binh Province, approximately 135km from Hanoi and 60km from Hoa Binh City. The town is situated between tall cliffs and is surrounded by bright-green paddies, making it a sight to behold; the beauty of the place is enough reason for many tourists to stay longer than expected.
 

At sunset, it was slightly cold and tourists took a stroll on the path in the hamlet to enjoy the sweet scent from the paddy fields and buy some goods from the Thai people. In front of each stilt house, people put some small tables for displaying their brocaded products, such as purses, handbags and Pieu scarves (a traditional scarf of the Thai people).

They also hung an abundance of long cloth rolls and Ao com (a short traditional shirt of the Thai People) with distinctive patterns. In addition, unique products like wooden bells for buffalos, bamboo flutes, bows and cross-bows and knives were also displayed for sale. All the products were hand made by the Thai people.

Drumbeats can be heard during the night as the hamlet’s band and many families organise a bamboo pole-dance performance. A dancing team often includesbeautiful girls who have learned dancing, singing and even a foreign language to receive tourists. Each performance often ends with a bamboo dance. The girls often invite guests to drink ruou can (wine drunk from a jar through pipes).

Most unforgettable vacation with travel agencies in Vietnam

Are your looking forward to a holiday on some of the best Vietnam travel destinations? You are probably scouting for travel agencies in Vietnam to help you get the best discounts, travel advisories, and hotel accommodations.

Vietnam is a great place for a getaway. However, you have to choose the right Vietnam travel agency if you want the experience to be stress free and memorable. More importantly, you need to get the right amount of security given that you are traveling to a different country.

To choose the right Vietnam travel company, there are a couple of things that you need to consider. For one, you have to know if the agency is legal or not. There are plenty of travel agencies in Vietnam online. However, not all of these companies operate legally. You have to be careful with fraudulent agencies since the last thing you need is to spend your hard earned money on fake tour operators in Vietnam.

Shopping in Lang Son border town

Shopping is top of the list in the itinerary for tourists and businesspeople alike as the city lies next to the border with China.

Tourists shop at Ky Lua Night Market in Lang Son City - Photo: Khue Viet Truong

Three markets which feature prominently in Lang Son’s tourism guide books are Dong Kinh market, Ky Lua night market and Tan Thanh border market.

Markets are a magnet for men or women, as they can buy anything in Lang Son and bargain freely to get the best price and it also helps the local economy.

Cuc Phuong offers change of peace

Cuc Phuong National Park is one of my favourite weekend destinations. The first national park in the country, it's a relaxing place to enjoy a few days exploring tropical rainforest.
 
Established in 1962, the 22,000ha forest stretches across three provinces: Ninh Binh, Hoa Binh and Thanh Hoa. Cuc Phuong hosts more than 2,000 kinds of plants, 2,000 kinds of insects, 122 kinds of reptiles and amphibians, 65 kinds of fish and 133 kinds of animals.
Before reaching the forest, deep inside the Tam Diep mountains, the local motorway leads tourists through Ninh Binh's karst mountain ranges, where tourists can enjoy scenic lakes, caves and rice fields and glimpse the lifestyle of northern countryside farmers.
I sometimes stop at big fields to feast my eyes on immense green young rice paddy and scattered lakes where herds of ducks and buffaloes swim. The peaceful villages are bordered with ranges of karst mountains.

Angsana Lang Co launches Summer offer for local Vietnamese market

Angsana Lang Co, located within Laguna Lang Co – Vietnam’s first world-class integrated resort, has launched an attractive offer for local residents to experience an activity-filled getaway amidst peaceful seclusion in the heart of central Vietnam.

From now until end of August 2013, Vietnamese citizens and resident expatriates can now enjoy a rate of VND 2.52 million nett per night for a Deluxe room in the most stylish resort to open in Vietnam this year. Offer includes breakfast for two persons and is subject to 5 per cent service charge and 10 per cent government tax.

Foreign visitor arrivals up

Foreign tourists in Nha Trang City. The country welcomed over 6 million visitors in the first nine months of the year. — VNS Photo Truong Vi

HA NOI  (VNS) — Vietnam welcomed more than 6 million international arrivals during the first nine months of 2014, up by 10.42 per cent compared to the same period last year. 

The number of domestic tourists hit 32.4 million during the same period, an increase of 7.6 per cent, according to the Viet Nam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT).
Tourism has generated VND179 trillion (US$8.44 billion) so far this year, a year-on-year rise of 19.24 per cent.

Preparation for Fansipan Tour

At the height of 3,143 meters, Fansipan is the highest mountain in Hoang Lien Son range and known as the roof of Indochina.
 

The fascinating beauty of azalea flowers forest, bamboo forest, pine-trees forest and the gigantic landscape here make the tourists feel like they are lost in legendary world.
To well prepare for the itinerary conquering Fansipan, some advices following may be helpful to those who take part in this tour:

Around Vietnam by a foreigner's diary

The extracts in Jenny Coad’s diary posted in Dailymail show his feelings, thoughts and shares about his journey around the beautiful S-shaped country. Let’s enjoy photos and read the author’s sharing, feeling when travelling in Vietnam.

 “Coming to Southeast Asia, my friends asked me “where will you go?”, and I said that, “I go to Vietnam”. To me, Vietnam is exotic but is very simple and rustic – that is a special beauty attracting people.

“The S-shaped country with long coastline, smooth sands, and tropical islands makes me moved with the charming scenery here. It is so hard to forget painful memories about the war of two countries; they will leave the indelible mark. However, it is weird that whenever I ask people here how they feel about American tourists, I got the same answers: they always welcome us.”

Hanoi was the first place in my journey. I stayed here when Vietnamese celebrated Lunar New Year. The weather was quite cold but people seemed to forget the frozen because of being excited to prepare for Tet. My heart was happy and less stuffy when seeing crimson peach blossom and kumquat trees in the street.

A Tour to Ngoc Vung Island

Ngoc Vung Island is about 50km away from the tourist wharf of Ha Long. Ngoc Vung (halo of a gem) Island in Van Don District, Quang Ninh Province has a natural beautiful landscape, attracting a great number of visitors.

Its name comes from the fact that in the old days this area had many categories of rare and precious oysters whose pearls brightened the whole area. Today, people in the surrounding area still dive for oysters to retrieve the pearls, although the oyster-rearing farms for pearls are developing.

Rowing kayaks to explore Cong Do fishing village.

Xuan Dai Bay - A Gift Endowed to Phu Yen by The Nature

Arriving at Phu Yen, a province situated in South-Central Coast of Vietnam, a large number of tourists in Vietnam travel has been fascinated with the scenery of the sea, the mountains, the sky and the clouds of Xuan Dai bay together with the famous special foods here. The Bay is known as the the gift endowed to Phu Yen by the nature.

Traveling about 45 kilometers to the north of Tuy Hoa city, tourists in Vietnam travel will stop at Xuan Dai Bay. The National Highway 1A runs along the western bank of Xuan Dai bay, to the North and to the South, on arriving at the top of Doc Gang slope, visitors can easily enjoy a partial view of Xuan Dai bay. Boats and ships can enter from the estuary of the bay or exit from the ports of Dan Phuoc, Tien Chau, etc make a sightseeing tour around the entire bay.

The surface area of the bay is about 13.000 acres. The estuary of the bay is about 4.4 kilometers wide, with the depth from 7 meters to 18 meters; the bank of the bay is about 50 kilometers long, running through various areas of different terrain with rather interesting names such as Ganh Den (light reef), Mui Da Ong (Laterite Cape), Ganh Den (Black reef), Ganh Do (Red reef), Vung Lam bay, Vung Mam bay, Vung Dong bay, Vung Su bay, Vung Chao bay, Vung Me bay, Vung La bay, Bai Om beach, Tu Nham beach, Dong Tranh cape, Ganh Tuong cape, Hon Mom islet, Tai Ma cape, Ganh Ba reef, Ong Xa islet, Nhat Tu Son island, Con Ca islet.

On the south-east side of the bay are Da Dia reef, Hon Lao Mai Nha islet; In the north are Tu Nham beach, Cu Mong lagoon, Vung Vuong bay, Bai Tram beach, Bai Nom beach, in the sea there are various coral reefs and sea-weeds.

The scenery of the sea, the mountains, the sky and the clouds of Xuan Dai bay together with the famous special foods here such as jumping oysters, perfume snails, shrimps, etc has been fascinating so many poets and tourists in Vietnam travel:

Xuan Dai bay surrounded by mountains and sea
The natural landscape recalled
The vestiges of the ancient God temple
And Tien Chau boat festival
The two rivers join into one with the tide up and down
With reefs of scattered rocks on three sides
Green sea-pines on white sand ground
The forest in the natural site

Xuan Dai bay has witnessed a lot of historic events: in the years of 1775 “ 1801, there was a sea-battle between the Tay Son army and the Nguyen Dynasty; during the World War II, the navy ship of the Japanese Royal Ship was sunk in the middle of Xuan Dai bay by the allied war-planes; Vung Lam bay used to be the most bustling trading port of Phu Yen in the past, the door connecting Phu Yen to the outer trading worlds.

Near Xuan Dai bay, there are famous landscapes such as Da Dia reef, O Loan lagoon, Cu Mong lagoon, etc, which are ideal places for organizing various types of tourism activities such as mountain climbing, sea-diving, boat-racing, wind-surfing and exploring the sea.

If you have never visited Phu Yen and come to Xuan Dai Bay before, now please come to Xuan Dai bay to explore and experience the gift endowed to Phu Yen by the nature.

Source: vietnamtourism.org.vn