Showing posts with label market. Show all posts
1.Spend a day visiting some of Luang Prabang’s 32 shimmering temples, most notably Vat Vixoun, Vat Xieng Thong (pictured below), and Vat Sene.
Vat Xien Thong temple2.Climb Mount Phousi for sweeping panoramic views of this World Heritage City. Mount Phousi is located in the center of town. Climb the 300 steps to the summit, where golden-spired Wat Chomsi sits, in the late afternoon to watch the sunset over Luang Prabang and the Mekong.
Phousi mount
3.Visit the stunning Kuang Sii Waterfalls and Bear Rescue Cente
Koungsi water fall
4.Eat by candlelight with friends, exploring some of LP’s many cafes and bars with lovely outdoor spaces. Some of our favorites include: JoMa Bakery Cafe, Lao Lao Garden, Tangor, and Hive Bar.
hiv bar
5.Channel the Hmong and other mountain tribes at the Traditional Arts and Ethnology Center. As you exit through the gift shop, be sure to pick up some really cool hand-made gifts. The proceeds go to the hill-tribe people who crafted them.

6.Spend the day (or half a day) washing, riding and learning to train elephants at the Elephant Village.

7.Shop till you drop at the local markets while cruising the streets of LP. Markets include the Phousy Market and the Hmong Night Market. 


8.For the actively inclined: Cycle, Kayak or Trek. Some local outfitters include: Green Discovery Laos, White Elephant Adventures, or Action Max Laos.

9.Get your grub on at the night street food market. This food is no-joke. Fill your plate up, all-you-can eat for $1.00 USD!!!


10.Wake up before dawn to pay homage to the monks, young and old alike


11.Tour the Royal Palace Museum to see an impressive collection of Buddhist art and royal Lao artifacts.
12.Visit the famous Pak Ou Caves.
s stated in the title, the entire city of Luang Prabang is protected as a World Heritage Site (#479).


As I write this post, I am itching to go back to this jewel-like town in Laos to do all the things I didn’t have time to do. I yearn to spend weeks there, just relaxing and taking in the laid-back, magical atmosphere, like so many people we met decided to do when they came for a week and stayed for six… or more!

writen by Lindsay, traverlusters
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During June, all of the roads in Chu Town (Luc Ngan District, Bac Giang Province) were bright red. The farmers in Cam Son, Tan Son, Phong Van, Sa Ly and Hong Giang Communes bustlingly transported crates of lychees, weighing several hundreds of kilos, on their motorbikes to the agencies along Highway 31.
In the lychee season this year, to help the farmers promote their products, every week the People’s Committee of Luc Ngan District provides, free of charge, two tonnes of lychees for the passengers on domestic and international commercial flights. So far, Luc Ngan District has provided 14 tonnes of lychees on the routes of Vietnam Airlines. This simple work turns out to be very effective because Vietnamese lychees have been introduced to many countries.
a variety lychee

A variety of high quality lychees meeting GlobalGAP standards in
Luc Ngan District, Bac Giang Province. Photo: Trinh Bo/VNP

lychee are packed
Lychees are packaged for export after being classified and having their stems cut off. Photo: Trinh Bo/VNP

transporting lychee
Transporting lychees to agencies. Photo: Thong Thien/VNP



Locals transport lychees to agencies on the 5km-long stretch of road  from Kim T-junction to
the centre of Chu Town. Photo: Thong Thien/VNP

representatives
Representatives from the US Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency under the US Department of
Agriculture visit the lychee growing area under GlobalGAP standards in Hong Giang Commune. Photo: Manh Minh



Bac Giang Provincial People’s Committee has zoned 100ha which are assigned to 109 households
in Hong Giang Commune to grow lychees  under GlobalGAP standards for export. Photo: Thong Thien/VNP

Visas for Vietnamese lychees
To have good news from the export of lychees to major selective markets, Vietnam made careful preparations many years ago.
For example, on September 12, 2003, Vietnam officially asked Australia to allow the country to export fresh lychees to the Australian market. However, the Australian market requires high standards of food safety and has the most stringent plant quarantine in the world, so Vietnamese lychees could not be sold in this market.

On April 17, 2015, the Australian Ministry of Agriculture sent a formal letter to the Plant Protection Department of Vietnam to inform them that Vietnamese businesses could apply for a license for lychee exports to Australia. Only two months later, Red Dragon Co., Ltd successfully exported 17tonnes of lychees to the Australian market.

Talking about this event, Australian Ambassador to Vietnam, Hugh Borrowman said: “It is terrific that Australian consumers will have the opportunity to try these delicious fruit during the 2015 season, I am sure that they will enjoy this high quality and flavoursome product-just like Vietnamese consumers enjoy eating Australian fruits such as table grapes, citrus and cherries”.
controlling lychee
Alex Aexopoulos, representative from the Panasia Fresh Company, Australia which imports Vietnamese lychees,
 is pleased with the process of controlling the lychee quality of Vietnam. Photo: Le Quan

Crates of lychees are put into the system of irradiation machines to kill parasites on the fruit. Photo: Le Qua


Reprensatives from Luc Ngan District's People's Comittee and AIC Joint-stock Company sign
the agreement on supplying lychees for export. Photo: File




The Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development coordinate
with Ho Chi Minh City’s People’s Committee and the People’s Committees of Bac Giang and Hai Duong
Provinces to organise a conference on promoting the consumption of  lychees in 2015. Photo: Thanh Vu

For the US market, in October, 2014, the US Department of Agriculture decided to allow the import of lychees and longans from Vietnam. To enter the US market, Vietnamese lychees must meet very strict standards on food safety. The crop must grow in registered areas and is monitored by the Plant Protection Department (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) to make sure the fruit has no pathogens or no prohibited plant protection drugs. It must undergo irradiation to eliminate parasites before export; and each consignment must have a certificate for food safety granted by Vietnamese authorities and a certificate of origin. 

To meet the stringent standards of the US market, the appropriate authorities of Vietnam have prepared for the export of lychees to the United States for almost a year. In March, 2015 representatives of the US Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (Department of Agriculture) visited a lychee farming area under GlobalGAP standards in Hong Giang Commune.

After checking, the US Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service was very satisfied and granted six codes for the lychee farming areas, which are eligible to export the fruit to the US market, in Kep 1, Ngot and Phuong Son Villages. In late May, Anh Duong Sao Co., Ltd purchased the first two tonnes of lychees in Luc Ngan District and transported them to Ho Chi Minh City for irradiation treatment at Son Son’s Irradiation Plant (in Binh Tan District) to export to the US market.


At Son Son’s Irradiation Plant, the plastic crates of lychees are put into the irradiation machine with an irradiation volume of 400-1,000 Gy. This process kills the parasites on the fruit, especially the eggs and makes the larvae infertile without affecting the fruit, ensuring the health and safety of the consumers.

If the lychees are exported to the US market, after the irradiation treatment, an American staff will check randomly some crates of lychees before they are exported. If the lychees are  exported to Australia they will be checked by an expert.

Apart from lychees, Vietnam has exported other fruit to over 100 countries and territories, including 28 countries in the EU. This shows Vietnam’s great efforts in exporting its strong agricultural products to the markets of potential countries and regions. In its strategy, Vietnam plans to promote fruit which is highly competitive and has a high quality. This will bring enormous efficiency for the agricultural sector of Vietnam when we complete the negotiations on the bilateral and multilateral Free Trade Agreements (FTA) with our partners. The story about the lychees is a typical example.
Australian ambassador Hugh Borrowman (middle) with staffs of the Australian  Embassy in Vietnam taste early
lychees of the season of 2015. Photo: The Australian Embassy in Vietnam’s file.


Karolin (middle) and her friends like Vietnamese lychees very much. Photo: Thong Hai/VNP




Lychees in Luc Ngan has bright red skin and thick, sweet flesh. Photo: Trinh Bo/VNP

lychee at supermarkets in France
Nearly 1.2 tonnes of lychees in Luc Ngan, Bac Giang Province are exported to France and are much sought after at four supermarkets in Paris and one in Toulouse in South France. Photo: Bich Ha/VNA

transporting to China
A convoy of lorries transporting Vietnamese lychees  to be exported to China at the Lao Cai Border Gate. Photo: Thong Chi

Source: VNP
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Dalat is a young city compared to other cities in the south of Vietnam such as Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) and Nha Trang as it was founded only in the late 1890s. Once serving as the capital of the Federation of Indochina, Dalat’s permanent image nevertheless is as a holiday resort in Vietnam’s Central Highlands, the reason for which it was originally established.

 Dalat features many interesting landmarks. Its lakes and waterfalls have long stood out as some of its top attractions while Emperor Bao Dai’s Summer Palace and the Buddhist pagodas are equally popular. Visitors can spot a good number of well-preserved French villas and chalets in the French Quarter located not far from the city centre.

 It’s relatively simple to get to Xuan Huong Lake and from there you can continue to visit many other sites in town by foot as they are quite close by. The minority villages located nearby Dalat are a must for those wanting to see the ‘real’ Vietnam as the villagers are pretty much keeping their traditional ways of life extant.
1.Bao Dai’s Summer Palace: 
Opening Hours: Daily from 07:00 – 17:00 
Location: On Le Hong Phong Road, about a quarter of a mile southwest of Dalat's city centre 
Tel: +84 (0) 63 549168 
2.Crazy House (Hang Nga Guest House and Art Gallery)
Opening Hours: Daily from 07:00 – 18:00 
Location: 3 Huynh Thuc Khang Street, Dalat 
Tel: +84 (0) 63-822070 


3.Dalat Flower Gardens
Opening Hours: Daily from 07:30 – 16:00 
Location: Top of the Top-peg Hill, north of Xuan Huong Lake 
4.Dalat Market (Cho Dalat)
Opening Hours: Daily 
Location: Opposite Hotel Anh Dao, on Nguyen Chi Thanh, Central Dalat 

5.Dalat Train Station
Opening Hours: Daily from 08:00 – 17:00 
Location: Northeast of Xuan Huong Lake, off Nguyen Trai Street
6.Datanla Waterfalls
Opening Hours: All year round 
Location: A few kilometres south of town and three kilometres from Prenn Falls 
7.Elephant Falls (Lieng Rewoa Waterfall)
Opening Hours: Daily from 07:30 – 16:30 
Location: Near Linh An Tu Pagoda in Nam Ha village (about 30km south of Dalat) 
8.Lake of Sighs (Hồ Than Thở)
Opening Hours: Daily from 07:00 – 17:00 
Location: Northeast of town, along Ho Xuan Huong Road 
9.Lam Ty Ni Pagoda (aka the Mad Monk Temple)
Opening Hours: All year round 
Location: 2 Thien My (not far from Hang Nha House) 
Tel: +84 (0) 63- 821775 
10.Lat Village (aka Chicken Village)
Opening Hours: All year round 
Location: About 16km south of Dalat 
11.Linh Phuoc Pagoda
Opening Hours: All year round 
Location: At the end of Trai Mat Street 
12.Linh Son Pagoda
Opening Hours: All year round 
Location: Not far from Dalat city centre 
13.Pongour Falls
Opening Hours: All year round 
Location: In Tan Hoi Commune, Duc Trong District (about 45km from Dalat)
14.Prenn Falls
Opening Hours: Daily from 07:00 – 17:00 
Location: About 10km south of Dalat 
15.Truc Lam Pagoda
Opening Hours: All year round 
Location: A few kilometres south of town 
16.The French Quarter
Opening Hours: All year round 
Location: Along Tran Hung Dao Road a few kilometres southeast of town 
17.Thien Vuong Pagoda
Opening Hours: Daily from 09:00 - 17:00 
Location: A few kilometres southeast of town 
18. Valley of Love (Vallée d’Amour) Park
Opening Hours: Daily from 06:00 – 17:00 
Location: On Phu Dong Thien Vuong Street, less than 5km north of the town centre 
19.Xuan Huong Lake
Opening Hours: All year round 
Location: Central Dalat 
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