The US-based travel website www.touropia.com has revealed the list of 29 best places to visit in Southeast Asia, including Hoi An, Hanoi, and Ha Long Bay of Vietnam.
The
capital city blends the charm of the old world with a pace of life that
is quickening as this old city modernizes. Touropia suggested that
travellers should not miss to visit Old Quarter, an open-air museum of
historic Asian and French colonial architecture that has largely remained intact.
Also
known as Fai-Fo, Hoi An ancient town boasts a well-preserved Southeast
Asian trading port, which it once was until the river silted up. The
narrow, winding lanes of the old port are lined with beautiful old
architecture, traditional wooden houses and hundreds of tailor shops
selling everything from clothing to souvenirs, Touropia noted.
Located
in northeastern Vietnam, Ha Long Bay resembles a scene from a fantasy
story with its thousands of limestone karst islands of different shapes
and sizes. Four fishing villages composed of floating houses where the
occupants fish for 200 different fish and 450 kinds of mollusks, can be
found on Ha Long Bay.
Angkor, campuchia
Bali ,Indonesia
Bangkok, Thailand
Bagan, Myanmar
Ifugao Rice Terraces, the Philippines
Singapore
Source: Dti news
Anonymous
From 28 to 30 August 2015, in Hoi An Ancient Town (Quang Nam Province), the 13th Hoi An – Japan Culture Exchange Program 2015 will be held by Hoi An City’s People’s Committee in coordination with Japanese Embassy and organizations in Viet Nam.
This is a unique culture – tourism event held annually since 2003 in World Cultural Heritage – Hoi An Ancient Town to strengthen exchange and cooperation between Viet Nam and Japan, whereby introducing and promoting the traditional values of the two countries.
The activities of this year’s Hoi An – Japan Culture Exchange Program will take place in some locations in Hoi An Ancient Town, including An Hoi Statue Garden, Hoai River Square, the house in No.106 Bach Dang Street, Duck Café (59 Nguyen Phuc Chu Street), stadium of Minh An Ward, Kazik Park, An Bang Beach, Chau Thuong Van Street and the arc of Pagoda-Bridge.
The highlight of the program is the opening ceremony at 19h45 in the stage of An Hoi Statue Garden. Besides, the program will also have other attractive activities, such as: the competition of handicraft carpentry skill; presenting and trying making Hoi An lanterns; displays of Hoi An – Japan handicraft products, Japanese anime and manga, Hoi An – Japan Bonsai; Hoi An – Japan art exchange; cuisine of Quang Nam and Japan; Vietnamese folk games for children (pot breaking, bai choi, stick pushing…) and Japanese folk games for children; sports activities (handball, football, bowling, boat racing…). Of which, many Japanese culture - art activities have become new trend attracting numerous Vietnamese young people, such as anime and manga cosplay, Yosakoi dance, Kendo, Kirigami papercraft, Nerikiri cake making, Yukata photo taking, Haiku poem display…
In addition, through the activities of “Tourism development associated with marine environment” meeting, “One hour for cleaner Hoi An” forum, “Hoi An – a smoke free city” parade, this year’s Hoi An – Japan Culture Exchange Program also want to send the massage of health and environment to local people as well as domestic and foreign tourists.
In particular, on 27 August (the 14th day of the seventh lunar month, Vu Lan Festival), in Hoai River and An Hoi Statue Garden, Hoi An Flower Lantern Festival 2015 will be held. The festival is expected to create impression with flower lantern installation art and the art program “Roses pinned on shirt” (Bong hong cai ao) to pay tribute the merit of parents.
Anonymous
Vietnam offers terrific experiences that should be on every traveler’s list. Here are Fodor’s top picks for a memorable trip
Halong Bay
Thousands of limestone karsts jut skyward from emerald waters in this UNESCO World Heritage-listed seascape. The best way to see it is to hop by boat between islands, including scenic Cat Ba, home to a national park.
The Imperial City, Hue
The jewel of Hue’s
Citadel, this sprawling complex of majestic palaces and evocative
temples brings the magnificence of Vietnam’s royal dynasties to life.
Markets
From
Hanoi’s bustling Old Quarter to floating outposts in the Mekong Delta,
markets reveal colorful slices of local life. Plunge right in and haggle
like you mean it.
Ho Chi Minh City
Rapidly
modernizing, HCMC is a jolt of urban energy unlike anywhere else in the
country. The frenetic pace (that traffic!) is tempered by peaceful
pagodas, parks, and cafés.
Street Food
Devour
a delicious bowl of pho on a bustling corner or follow the fragrant
smoke emanating from a sidewalk brazier, where marinated pork sizzles
Vietnam War Legacy
Museums
pay tribute, but for a different perspective on the war, look
underground—the vast Cu Chi tunnel network is a monument to Vietnamese
tenacity.
Phong Nha Ke Bang National Park
Untamed jungle, vast imagination-defying limestone caves, and underground rivers make this spectacular region irresistible to
adventurers.
Hoi An
French
colonial architecture, historic traders’ houses, and atmospheric
temples are among the charms of Hoi An that are easily discovered on a
riverside stroll.
Beaches and Islands
Two
thousand miles of tropical coastline ensure that the white sands of a
postcard are never far away. Islands like Phu Quoc combine idyllic
beaches and diving.
Sapa
Home
to ethnic minorities, this northern mountain town is also the
jumping-off point for some compelling sights, including Fansipan,
Vietnam’s tallest summit.
The Mekong Delta
This
patchwork of waterways and floating markets, mangrove swamps, and
brilliant green rice paddies is best explored by boat, but bike tours
provide a fun alternative.
Hill Stations
Built
by the French as health retreats, hill stations such as Dalat make a
cool contrast to the steamy lowlands—think misty peaks and rugged
scenery.
Source: Fodor's
Anonymous
Mulberry Garden Restaurant in Hoi An Silk Village offers the centuries old rich, traditional cuisine of the ancient town and Quang Nam Province.
Situated on the fringes of the old quarter in the ancient city of Hoi An, the restaurant boasts a museum of the silk trade and different kinds of mulberries. It is surrounded by trees, mulberry gardens, old wooden buildings and shops selling silk creations, as well as tailoring shops and a coffee bar.
The restaurant can be the last stop for visitors after they have spent hours touring the village, and there, they can savour delicacies from ancient Hoi An, including My Quang, a flat rice noodle dish with shrimp, pork, chicken or fish that is peculiar to Viet Nam's central region.
Thuan, the chef at the restaurant, says My Quang-Phu Chiem, a type of noodle produced in Phu Chiem village, represented the original culture and cuisine of Quang Nam.
"Rice from the village is the best for handmade noodles. We have to order noodles from the village, as most restaurants in the province do, for sale each day," Thuan says.
"The noodles are eaten for breakfast by local farmers or as a snack in the afternoon. But they are a very popular dish at home or in restaurants in the central region," he says, adding that tourists could see the signs of stalls selling My Quang along National Highway 1 in the central region.
The dish is served fast at the restaurant, but the preparation for cooking it takes a long time, he says.
Pork belly, freshly caught river shrimp, roasted peanuts and peanut oil are the main ingredients for the sauce, the chef says.
The dish must be eaten with vegetables grown in the gardens of Tra Que Village, a suburban area of Hoi An, he says.
Tran Thi Anh Dao, a writer, says she often has the dish for breakfast at a restaurant or, sometimes, at home.
"The dish is the most popular food in the central region. Noodles can be made by many craftsmen in the region, but the Phu Chiem Village-made noodles always make the best My Quang dish," Dao says.
"My Quang-Phu Chiem can be found in every corner of Quang Nam Province, and Hoi An is the best place for tasting the dish by the light of a lantern at night," she says.
"I really enjoyed the dish at the Mulberry Garden Restaurant while listening to a story about silk farming and weaving done around ancient mulberry trees, a practice that has been revived," she says.
"It's a bit fatty with pork, but vegetables, peanuts and chilli balance the taste. A rice cake tops the bowl of My Quang, and gastronomes crush it and dip it in sauce," she says.
"The chef adds boiled eggs, pork sausage and banana flower to make the dish more eye-catching, but every ingredient has a role in ensuring the health of the gastronomes. It is neither too hot nor too cold," she adds.
Dao says she finds My Quang noodles similar to Pho, a rice noodle soup with beef found in Ha Noi, but the latter is a bit tough and came with less sauce.
My Quang is like a mixture of noodles, salad, sauce and the flavours of hot green chilli, lime, sweet basil, pepper and garlic, the 36-year-old says.
Ocean's offerings: Seafood dishes are a favourite at the buffet, which costs VND159,000 per customer.
The dish is prepared properly in Quang Nam, with the original ingredients collected from gardens in the province, she says.
The restaurant, located in the two-hectare Silk Village, which has 40 varieties of mulberry trees that are used to produce silk of the best quality, is cool all the time due to the shade and the clay-tiled roofs of the buildings.
One must taste Cao Lau, a noodle dish of Hoi An, whenever one visits the town and the restaurant, the chef says.
The dish is made of round flour noodles, slices of barbecued pork, bean sprouts and lettuce, as well as herbs and stock.
But for making the noodles, water from the Ba Le well in an alley off Phan Chu Trinh Street in Hoi An is needed.
"It was formerly made by the Chinese community living in the town. However, the flour must be mixed with water from the ancient well, as craftsmen in the town believe that this formula produces the best quality," Le Vy, manager of the Silk Village, says.
"I was told by my ancestors in Hoi An that Cao Lau has been well-known for centuries. Making it is similar to cooking My Quang, but its sauce is made from well-cooked pork belly and soy sauce," Vy says, adding that he was born and raised in Hoi An.
The chef often puts pieces of fried dried flour into the dish, he says.
Chicken rice
It is a trendy dish from Hoi An, and visitors can find it on street corners in the old quarter or in luxury restaurants.
Some of the restaurants have been listed among those visited most by domestic and foreign tourists.
Thuan, Mulberry Garden Restaurant's chef, prepares the dish carefully.
He boils the chicken and uses the broth to cook rice that has previously been mixed with spices.
Thuan then dyes the steaming rice yellow with saffron before adding small pieces of chicken and fragrant knotweed.
Fragrant knotweed is necessary to make the dish perfect, and the dish is eaten with chicken broth, he says.
"It is tasty food. Spices are soaked with the rice before it is steamed in chicken broth. The rice is cooked with the chicken broth. The rice is very dry but very soft," Nguyen Thi Thanh Tam, a visitor from Quang Tri Province, says.
"I was told by my friends that it is a must for a tourist to eat chicken rice in Hoi An. That is the reason I had to try the dish at a romantic restaurant surrounded by a garden," she says.
Vy, the restaurant manager, says the restaurant offers 40 dishes in its evening buffet, from 5pm to 9pm, every day.
He says this is because Hoi An is sunny during the day, and evenings are the time for getting together after touring Hoi An and the Silk Village.
Vy says the restaurant also offers juices made from produce from tropical gardens, hand-made coffee and sweet maize pudding for dessert.
He says the restaurant offers buffet parties in its garden accompanied by folk performances for at least 400 visitors.
The Silk Village has been voted the third biggest attraction in the ancient town by the travel website TripAdvisor.
Visitors can order a custom-made silk dress on-site at the village while touring or eating at the restaurant.
Mulberry Garden Restaurant (Silk Village)
Address: 28, Nguyen Tat Thanh, Hoi An city, Quang Nam Province
Telephone: 0510-3921144/ 0933 481 881
Fax: 05103921991
Fanpages: Hoian silk village
Sale@hoiansilkvillage.com or
hoiansilkvillage.com
Hour: 8am to 10pm
Price: VND60,000-600,000 for a dish
Comment: Tasty food, good service, open air and favourite night folk performance
Source: VNnews
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Halfday in Tra Que village
tour HaNoi- Da Nang- Hoi An
Anonymous
Vietnam should be on the top of everyone's travel list. It's that simple. With its dramatic landscapes, fascinating history, epic food and pulsating energy, Vietnam will electrify all of your senses and seize you from all angles. Vietnam is at once crazy and serene, thrilling and relaxing.
There are endless reasons to hop on a flight to Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City and travel down or up this amazing country by train, plane, bus or -- the preferred method of transport -- motorbike. If you need persuading, here are 21 reasons to fall head over heels in love with Vietnam:
1.Street food
The best place to eat in Vietnam is on little, plastic stools on the sidewalk. Whether it's noodle soups, like the iconic pho or bun ca (the fish and pork-based soup garnished with dill pictured here), or bun cha -- char-grilled pork served over rice noodles with herbs and dipping sauces -- the street food in Vietnam is nothing short of amazing. At any hour of the day, you'll find Vietnamese people of all ages congregating under market awnings or outside store fronts, chowing down and enjoying each other's company. Eating on the street is by far the most exciting -- and accessible -- way to truly experience daily life in Vietnam, and it's also where you'll find the best food
2. Motorbikes
One of the first and more important things to learn when visiting Vietnam is how to cross the street. It may be intuitive at home, but the traffic in Vietnam's major cities seems so chaotic and incessant, that getting from one side of the road to the other feels almost impossible at first. You'll find cars and people in the street, but the preferred mode of transportation is motorbikes, and the stream of two-wheelers feels like unpredictable, roaring rapids when you're standing on one sidewalk trying to get to the next. According to The Diplomat, there are currently 39 million motorbikes in Vietnam, up from about 4 million in 1996. That's a lot of bikes -- and with at least two people on every bike -- that's also a lot of people. The trick to crossing the street is to walk steadily, at an even pace. If you're moving at a predictable rate, the motorcyclists will move around you. Eye-contact with oncoming bikers doesn't hurt either. The most important thing is to keep moving and not to stop or speed up. Once you've got the hang of crossing the street, you can really appreciate the beauty of the organized chaos.
3.Coffee
As the second biggest producer of coffee in the world, Vietnam knows a thing or two about coffee. Most importantly, coffee comes with sweetened condensed milk (a.k.a. the best stuff on Earth) pretty much without exception. It's also an integral part of the culture, served in cafes and... drumroll... on the street, of course.
4. Mekong Delta
The Mekong Delta is an area in Southwestern Vietnam where the Mekong River dumps into the sea. Visitors can go to Can Tho, the largest city in the area, and get a real taste of rural life in this region affectionately known as the "rice bowl." Traveling up the backwaters, visitors will be wowed by the floating markets and above all else, the friendly people who live in the region.
5.Caves
Mammoth caves that hold entire jungles and lakes are still being discovered in Vietnam. Son Doong Cave, the biggest cave in the world, was only first explored in 2009, and didn't open to tourists until 2012. Trips into Son Doong are still highly controlled, expensive and limited, but there's a vast network of caves that are much more accessible. Paradise Cave, pictured here, in Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng National Park, is 19 miles across and offers a variety of tours into its interior, including an easy walk on the boardwalk at the beginning of the cave and a trek past the boardwalk for the more adventurous. Headlamps and nerve are required. Visit before the sights become overrun with tourists.
6.Markets
Markets in Vietnam may not be cavernous underground worlds of stunning rock formations and skyscraper high stalagmites, but they can be cavernous worlds unto themselves. Markets like this one in Danang sell everything from fabric for clothing to dried baby shrimp. Needless to say, you can get lost exploring the rows for hours. They're most active in the early morning and late evening, when the temperature cools down a bit and shoppers come out. During the middle of the day, you might find shopkeepers taking a nap in front of their stalls. When we say you could spend all day in these markets, we seriously mean it.
7.Fresh Seafood
One of the most extraordinary things about the markets in Vietnam is that the food doesn't smell at all. You'll walk into the food section and see freshly caught fish, snails, crabs and prawns and brace yourself for a fishy smell. But because the fish you see in the market was caught just a few hours ago, you won't smell a thing. We swear.
8.Fresh meat
Same goes for the meat. When you see a pig's head laid out on a table next to a slew of other cuts, you'd assume something would smell. The meat was butchered no more than four or five hours ago so it doesn't give off any smell. You can tell it's super fresh by the bright red color. If you see browning meat, it may be a day old and will cost less. Most people buy their meat the same day it was butchered, however, making for some extraordinarily fresh dishes and surprisingly pleasant market experiences.
9.Fresh vegetable
You might not recognize all the vegetables you'll find in Vietnam, but you should try them all. From bitter melon to morning glory, the vegetables go into everything from shredded salads -- like green papaya salad -- to stir-fries. Like all the other food you'll find in Vietnamese markets, everything is super fresh.
10.Fresh fruit
Don't be alarmed if you see spiky fruits you can't identify. It could be a durian, dragon fruit or rambutan (pictured here) -- and they're all worth a try. (Be warned: durians smell like feet and are not for the faint of heart.) You'll also find mangos, papayas, mangosteens, jack fruit and a fleshy fruit with a bumpy green skin called custard apples, among more familiar fruits like pineapples, bananas and watermelons.
11. Vistas
Views of the horizon are magnificent, especially at sunset, all over the country. The mountainous vista pictured here -- filled with sharp undulations, like shoulders standing side by side
12. Ha Long Bay
Speaking of vistas, Halong Bay, the UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Gulf of Tonkin, is every bit as spectacular as people say. It IS worth the roughly four hour drive from Hanoi, and it IS worth fighting the swarms of tourists to see. The bay used to be littered with a lot more trash, but with recent clean-up efforts, it's much better these days. The 1,600 islands jut out of the sea, seemingly one on top of the other, creating a dramatic scape of mountains, sea and sky
13.History
Vietnam's history is tumultuous and complex, the country having been occupied and divided by various countries for decades. Colonial influences are visible everywhere, from the architecture to the food and the coffee. The aftermath of the Vietnam War is apparent too -- in the museums and monuments but also in the faces and stories of survivors and the overwhelmingly young population. Interwoven with our own history, Vietnam's past is not only fascinating, it's also important to learn about.
14. Banh Xeo-Rice Pancakes
Bánh xèo are rice pancakes, and while they may sound ordinary, they are anything but. Grossly underrepresented outside of Vietnam, this practically perfect dish isn't well-known to many non-Vietnamese. Made simply with rice flour and water, the pancakes are very basic, but somehow also sublime. They owe their yellow color to turmeric, not eggs, and they'll typically have some small prawns cooked inside. The real fun comes when you add all the fresh herbs you want, and dip them into a sweet and sour sauce.
15.Sapa
Sapa, a hill station in the Northwest of Vietnam, is one of the country's most stunning areas. Its dramatic rice terraces and surrounding peaks make this mountainous area well worth the short trip from Hanoi. You can take an overnight train from Hanoi to Sapa, which makes it a popular destination on the tourist circuit.
16.City parks
In the early morning hours and around dusk, you'll find groups of Vietnamese men and women doing every exercise under the sun. Large groups of people, young and old, gather around an instructor and follow aerobics routines with music blaring in the background. A few feet away, a group will be practicing ballroom dancing, flanked by some guys playing basketball. Meanwhile, walkers and runners will be circling the periphery of the park. It's a wonderful sight to behold and scene in which to partake if you're up for it.
17. Beaches
Vietnam's beaches may be one of the country's most unsung beauties. While travelers may think of Thailand and Cambodia as the countries to visit for white sand and clear water, Vietnam boasts beaches that rival these countries' beloved tourists spots. Sure, some beach towns in Vietnam, like Nha Trang and Mui Ne, get a lot of attention, but quieter, less-traveled beaches like Doc Let are the real treasures. Con Dao and Phu Quoc are some of the most gorgeous islands in South East Asia, and travelers would be wise to hurry there now, before these isolated, idyllic spots suffer the same fate as the over-traveled beaches in Thailand and Cambodia.
18. Fresh herbs
In Vietnam, it's all about the herbs. Plates piled high with fresh herbs like Thai basil, coriander, mint, and dill, and greens like Morning Glory accompany everything from soups to spring rolls. The crisp, refreshing addition of these herbs and greens cuts salt and fat and brings levity to some of the heavier dishes. Used as garnishes or wraps, herbs also serve as great palate cleansers and most of all, they make food really fun to eat.
19. Hoi An
A UNESCO World Heritage town, Hoi An is one of the most picturesque, lovely places to visit in all of Vietnam. Located in the center of the country, just outside of Danang, Hoi An used to be a flourishing port town from the 15th to the 19th centuries, before the Thu Bon river silted up and basically halted trade in the region. Fortunately in the 1990s, the town was declared a World Heritage site and tourism has since revived the so-called "Venice of Vietnam." Thanks to the international residents -- from the Chinese and Japanese to the French -- during the port years, Hoi An boasts a variety of local specialities that you can't find anywhere else in the country. Dishes like Cao Lau and White Rose Dumplings are reason enough to visit Hoi An, and when you factor in the gorgeous, canal-side setting and preserved colonial French architecture, it really does become a national treasure
20. Noodle Soups
Pho (pronounced fuh, fyi), may be Vietnam's most iconic dish, but it's just the beginning of the country's amazing noodle soups. Noodle soups are typically eaten for breakfast, oftentimes at a street stall or in a market. They run the gamut and include Bun Bo Hue, a beef bone broth-based noodle soup for which people (including Anthony Bourdain) travel to its namesake town Hue. Bun Ca, a pork and fish-based soup with dill and tomatoes, is a noodle soup specialty to Hanoi. You could spend months in Vietnam without eating the same noodle soup twice -- although once you get hooked on one, you'll definitely return for seconds.
21. People
Kind, thoughtful, industrious, optimistic, generous -- the people are the heart of country, and if you visit, you should take every opportunity to get to know them.
Source: Huffington post
Anonymous
Foreword
Before we begin our InstaGuide to Vietnam street food, let's start with a cruise down Hoi An's river.
Step 1: Forget the Guidebooks
Do not be fooled by English menus in pretty restaurants, the best food in Vietnam is found on the streets. Follow your instincts: your eyes, your nose, your palate. Look for the little red plastic stools in Hanoi's old quarter, they almost always lead to fantastic discoveries and perhaps the best street food in the world.
Step 2: Use Your Nose
Find someone grilling or steaming away and decide what smells best. This thit nuong at the gates of Hoi An's old town hits the spot. Do-it-yourself juicy grilled pork skewers wrapped in rice paper with a mountain of herbs.
Step 3: Eat
In Hoi An, leave the main streets of the old town and head to the Tan An market. We found a lady sizzling up one of our favorite finds, bánh cãn. Popular in the southern region, these particular rice flour fritters have quail eggs dropped into the batter and are topped with a young papaya salad, herbs, pork sausage, and the mandatory nuoc cham sauce. Add a touch of chili and devour.
Step 4: Eat More
One of Vietnam's most famous culinary exports is pho, but have you tried a mi quang? Much loved in the central southern region, these noodles are chewier with only a ladle of strong broth added. It can be rich with pork, chicken, and shrimp, but the best part is the crispy cracker that comes with all the toppings. The best one we found was on the outskirts of Hoi An, so grab a bicycle and explore.
Step 5: Sleep It Off
After all the food hunting and cycling, there is only one thing left to do before repeating the whole process for dinner. Follow this hardworking vendor (in Hanoi's Dong Xuan market) and take an afternoon siesta.
Step 6: Develop a Bánh Addiction
These little steamer rice cakes, bánh beo, are named after their water fern shape. They hail from Hue, but the best ones were made by Hao, a lovely lady in Hoàng Van Thu road in Hoi An's old town. Go for the delicate cakes topped with dried shrimps scallions and mung bean paste. She's there daily, from 2-5 p.m.
Step 7: Fathom It
Recognize the Fathom logo under these beautiful steamed dumplings? Bánh bao vac, also known as white rose, is a specialty of Hoi An. Supposedly named by the French for their flower petal resemblance, they are translucent, chewy, and stuffed with shrimp
Step 8: Soak It All In
Not only does it taste better on the street, the setting is often unbeatable. Roam the back alleys of Hanoi's old quarter till you spot some gorgeous lamps. Then sit down to grilled pork ribs, roasted quail, and bun (rice vermicelliStep 9: Sweet EndingThe list of food is neverending, but to top it all off make sure you get a sweet, luscious coconut coffee. Head to Cong Caphé on the corner of Nhá Chung in Hanoi's Hoan Kiem district and watch life go by as you sip slowly and sweetly.
Source: Fathomaway
Anonymous
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