An Exploration Trip to Phu Ninh Lake in Quang Nam Province

After exploring My Son Sanctuary and the ancient town of Hoi An, the two World Cultural Heritage sites in Quang Nam Province, tourists should stop by Phu Ninh Lake to enjoy a peaceful and tranquil atmosphere.

What is special about this lake? It has dense forests and magnificent waterfalls. The path to the lake runs along the mountainside of Quang Nam Province’s in Tam Ky Town and both sides of the path are lined with green trees, which provide much-needed shades for people to move around the lake.

A cruise around the lake is highly recommended as the site gives visitors a sense of being close to nature. The attractiveness of the lake greatly increases thanks to around 30 islets, including Su (rubber), Khi (monkey) and Rua (tortoise). Small bays, streams, rocks and trees add a fascinating ambiance to the experience.

At noon, visitors can go fishing and use it for your lunch.

Afternoon is an ideal time to ask forest rangers for an exploration on the Phu Ninh protective forest. The forest covers over 15,770 hectares and has a biodiversity with 34 animals, 26 reptiles and 70 species of plants.

The highly recommended when tourists visit to Phu Ninh Lake is joining a camp fire overnight on Su Islet would be an amazing experience. Without electric lighting, the moon and stars will make an unforgettable stay.

This time of year is a flooding season, so the lake is very beautiful with cool weather, green rice fields around, and flocks of birds hovering in the skies.

If you are excited to travel to Phu Ninh Lake in Quang Nam Province, please contact Vietnam Jeep Tours via www.vietnamjeeptours.com or adventure@vietnamjeeptours.com / hotline: +84 909 602 370 for more information and advices.

Experience Overnight in Mai Chau District of Hoa Binh Province

Mai Chau District is located in Hoa Binh Province in the Northwestern part of Vietnam, approximately 160 km from Hanoi. There is an estimated 48,570 inhabitants including 7 Ethnic Minority groups such as White Thai, H’Mong, Zao, Muong, Tay, Hoa, and Viet. Mai Chau consist mainly of the White Thai people.

Stepping out of the mini bus, surrounded by huge hills and lush green fields stretching as far as the eyes can see, the first thing I noticed was the significant improvement in the air quality. Although there are still many motorbikes darting about, I felt as if I could once again breathe!

As you approach Mai Chau you will have the chance to view the village from afar. From the top of Cun Mountain you will be blown away with the superb panorama of Mai Chau, nestled, snugly between two towering cliffs and surrounded by lush emerald green paddy fields, the sight is truly enchanting so make sure you have cameras at the ready.

If you are looking for a get away from the busy and crowded hustle of Hanoi, you may have just found it. Mai Chau would be ideal for travellers seeking an authentic Vietnamese experience with the option of home-stay, which is available in two of the White Thai villages nearby. Ban Pom Coong and Ban Lac are both run by the ethnic minority families. I did however find Ban Lac to be the more developed of the two as Ban Lac boasts more gift shops and a busier.

The house is traditional wooden buildings sat on top of stilts. For your home-stay, you can expect large communal rooms on the second floor where mats will be laid down on top of the squeaky, split bamboo flooring. The White Thai are very conscious of hygiene and cleanliness so remember to leave footwear outside at all times. Although it is very basic and simple accommodation, you will find western style toilets, hot water and in some houses satellite television installed. The cost will set you back around 150,000VND and for this price you will enjoy an evening meal prepared and cooked for you by the local hosts, a bed for the night and also breakfast the following morning. Sitting down for dinner with the White Thai is a truly warming experience, their hospitality really is second to none.

While living with the locals you will be sure to see some of their old traditions and customs. Green tea would be offered to guests, especially by the man of the house and it would be common for the female (usually an older lady).

It offers you the chance to blacken your teeth by chewing “Betel” – A betel chew is made up of several ingredients: betel leaf, slivers of areca palm nut and a bit of lime paste. The pieces of nut covered with lime paste are wrapped in a leaf of the betel pepper vine, making a tiny package that fits neatly into the pouch of the cheek. Although teeth look unsightly to us, tooth blackening prevents tooth decay. Those who have had their teeth blackened maintain a full set of teeth longer than those who have not undergone the process. Teeth blackening may prolong life by maintaining the capacity to enjoy a wholesome diet.

An elegant building with 16 beautifully designed and decorated rooms located in the heart of the village looking out onto a spectacular view from every possible angle, whether it is towards the mountains or the valley. When entry I was greeted warmly by the staff. Rest assured, while staying at the lodge that you can see they always serve you friendly with a cosy smile and that is what a traveller expect.

A mix of local specialties and world cuisines meet in the middle creating a memorable dining experience. You also have the choice of a fine selection of wines and spirits or if you are really set on experiencing all things traditional throughout your stay, go for a bottle of locally produced rice wine.

Although in the middle of this basic and undeveloped, picturesque paradise, you will enjoy comforts including; en-suite bathrooms, hair dryers, air conditioning, satellite television, telephones and free unlimited internet connection.

After a day of wandering around the local market and seeing the many weird and wonderful things for sale or traditional clothing being skilfully woven operated by the Thai women are using fascinating homemade machines, I really enjoyed a dip in the lodges’ swimming pool, a soak in the Jacuzzi and a steam bath before sprucing up for the evening.

When visiting Mai Chau, I would recommend an overnight in the home-stay with the locals to quench your thirst for Vietnamese culture in a peaceful and comfortable atmosphere at the lodge.

For the travellers who visit to Vietnam at the first time, I highly recommended you to book those adventure packages at Vietnam Jeep Tours. They offer many tours to Mai Chau for you to experience overnight in home-stay. For more information and advices about those tours, you can direct contact via adventure@vietnamjeeptours.com or hotline: +84 909 602 370.

Related program to Mai Chau:
Biking Mai Chau
Biking Hidden Paths of Mai Chau & Ninh Binh
5 Days Motorcycling West to East Northern
7 Days Motorcycling Northwestern Trails

Ca Tru in Thăng Long Vietnam

Ca Tru is a Vietnamese religious music genre which belongs to tradition in northern Vietnam; mother hand ca tru is also such as a sung genre of chamber music. Already in the 15th century ca tru was played for ceremonies and early 20th century ca tru was cracked down on the village communal houses where it was performed, quickening its demise. The musical knowledge had to remove to the big city and it was played for entertainment “hat chơi”, in singing houses and private homes.

By the 1950s the genre had become associated with disrepute (opium, girl serve wine and misunderstandings about ca tru singers). From the late 1950s to the late 1980s, ca tru performances were rare, and a lot of the musical knowledge was lost. Despite renewed public interest and a spate of recent revitalization initiatives, there are still few regular performance contexts. The few remaining competent ca tru musicians are mostly very elderly. In the countryside, the ceremonial part of the ca tru repertoire, “hat cua dinh”, was still cherished for festivals and ancestral work-ship ceremonies.

In September 2009, ca tru was inscribed in the UNESCO List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Urgent Need of Safeguarding.

Giao Phường Ca Tru Thang Long is a voluntary, non-profit group of ca tru musicians founded in 2006. The group is based in Hanoi. It has about 15 members, most of them aged between 10 and early 30s. Giao Phường Ca Tru Thang Long was set up by two elderly master musicians, Nguyen Thi Chuc and Nguyen Phu Đẹ, with Phạm Thị Huệ, who is a teacher of traditional Vietnamese music at the National Academy of Music in Hanoi.

The term “Giao Phường” refers to the old system of “guilds” that supported ca tru artists up until the early twentieth century. These days, groups like Giao Phường Ca Tru Thang Long are the most common way for young people to learn ca tru. For this reason, the work of Giao Phường Ca Tru Thăng Long is very important in keeping ca tru alive for future generations to explore and enjoy.

Giao Phường Ca Tru Thăng Long has grown to be one of the most active of ca tru clubs in North Vietnam, especially in teaching the genre to young people, performing publicly, increasing audience engagement, and generally raising the profile of the genre.

Vietnam Jeep Tours organizes private show for tourists to explore the traditional music “ca tru” of Vietnam when tourists visit to Hanoi. For more information about Vietnam Jeep Tours, please visit www.vietnamjeeptours.com or contact via adventure@vietnamjeeptours.com / hotline: +84 909 602 370.

Home-stay in Traditional Stilt Houses of Vietnamese People

Nowadays, home-stay in traditional stilt houses owned by ethnic minority people is more attractive to foreign tourists when travel to Vietnam.

As well as being somewhere to eat, entertain and sleep, stilt house is the place for them to remember ancestors and do their daily works such as weaving and embroidery. The most important room is the kitchen which is usually set in the centre of the house and serves as a meeting place where the family gathers at the end of the day.

Stilt houses are available in Central of Vietnam and North of Vietnam. It is made from wood, bamboo, cane, or rattan. A traditional stilt house typically has an area for drying rice, set one or two steps below the main level. The area under the house is either unused or used as a pen for livestock.

It is the truth that when you travel to other countries and if you just stay in the deluxe hotels with the international standards, the interesting difference and specialities of those countries cannot be seen clearly or even cannot be found. Hence, if you really want to have a real exploration Vietnam and understand more about the daily lives of the local people as well as their special culture & customs, then there really is no substitute for spending a few days as a home-stay guest.

Of course, this style of travel is not for everyone... Conditions can be fairly basic - home is often a simple wooden construction with mats on the floor to sleep on, cold-water showers and definitely no air-conditioning... but if you are up for a little bit of an adventure and come with an open-mind, you will soon find that the minor discomforts are far out-weighed by the benefits of this unique experience.

Then quickly you will also figure out that home-stays are actually a two-way cultural exchange as your hosts are very likely to be as interested in your culture as you are in theirs... Do not forget to bring some pictures of your home and prepare to arrive as a guest but to leave as a friend...

Travel with Vietnam Jeep Tours, tourists will have chance to get experience by your own as culture discovery, learn how is the daily live of ethnic minority people, join to cook dinner with the local hosts and enjoy overnight home-stay.

Vietnam Jeep Tours offers unique trips, including home-stay overnights for adventure enthusiasts to explore a real & wild Vietnam Northern. Please visit www.vietnamjeeptours.com or directly contact via adventure@vietnamjeeptours.com / hotline: +84 909 602 370 for more advices and information.

Travel Attraction: Quat Lam Beach in Nam Dinh Province

Quat Lam beach is located in Giao Thuy district - Nam Dinh Province. Centre to form two natural lakes, each lake is about 10ha. Future reservoir embankment road to be fenced and allowed to build hotels, restaurants, fishing, boating and water parks offer ...

Quat Lam Beach is a magnet for foreign tourists as it is just 100 kilometres from Hanoi. The road to the beach, located 40 kilometres from Quat Lam Town in Giao Thuy District, Nam Dinh City, is smooth so tourists can negotiate their way no problem and once they arrive they will realize that the simple things in life have to enjoyed, chilling out on the beach.

Local authorities developed the beach after 1997 and thus the beach area, coconut forests, peanut farms and watermelon farms have made way for hotels, restaurants and tourist services. They are close together under shades of sea pine lines, creating a bustling urban area along the beach.

Along the beach, the concrete road was built close to the water's edge. Quat Lam has attracted many economic sectors to invest in building. Overall planning of beaches is separated by the cell to build infrastructure. The first plastic road was built along the coast has attracted many investors to build high-rise hotel with hundreds of rooms. Many hotels have conference hall full of hundreds of delegates to the seminar. Quat Lam is busy building expansion to form the bustling urban foot waves.

Quat Lam beach to the sea, you will be satisfied with the sea specialties that natural gift for the waters here with much cheaper price compared to other beach resorts in the country such as shrimp - crab - squid ... is processed into various specialties bring bold style of Nam Dinh.

Quat Lam is also famous for its indigenous watermelon which is well-known for its red colour and sweet taste. Quat Lam salt field is also a destination that visitors to Nam Dinh should not miss.

If things get too hot tourists can go for a swim or sit in the shade and enjoy some seafood. Tourists also have the option of visiting Xuan Thuy National Park, which is home to numerous animals, birds, flowers and a huge primeval forest. Vietnam Jeep Tours have offered tour Explore The Nature Beauty of Xuan Thuy National Park for tourists when you visit Quat Lam Beach. For more information about Xuan Thuy National Park, click here.

If you are excited to travel to Quat Lam Beach in Nam Dinh Province, you can visit www.vietnamjeeptours.com for more information or contact via adventure@vietnamjeeptours.com / hotline: +84 909 602 370.

Travel Attraction: Tra Loc Lagoon in Quang Tri Province – A Primitive Beauty

The lagoon is in Tra Loc Hamlet, Hai Xuan Commune, Hai Lang District. From Quang Tri ancient citadel, tourists can find Tra Loc by two different ways. The first is heading on National Highway 1 then turning left into the immense cajuput forest, the second method is by crossing over a canal located at the end of Quang Tri Township.

Quang Tri may have a military history but now it is a place where tourists seek some beautiful spots in the peaceful province – with Tra Loc Lagoon the best destination.

Some years ago local authorities in Hai Lang District concreted the path to the tourist site so travellers have an easier passage.

Thousands of cajuput trees jostle to reach the sky and their leaves weave together like house roofs that even sun rays find it hard to breach. The forest is home to many kinds of birds and every year the forest management releases numerous birds, snakes and animals into the forest.

Amidst the 100 – hectare primeval forest, Tra Loc Lake lies gently among the vast sand area. The lake is about 10 hectares and has an abundance of fish. The lake is now a tranquil venue for tourists to sit and relax on grass plots, cottage houses or stilt houses along the lake as they take in the rustic scenery and fresh air. There is a bridge leading to a trap to catch fish, so guests can choose their desired fish then locals will make a meal on demand. There is also a bridge linking a canal to the lake, with immense rice fields and lotus ponds that will leave unforgettable memories for travellers.

Nature lovers will say Tra Loc is still keeping primitive beauty alive without too much intervention by humans. Meanwhile, there are those who want more investment in Tra Loc needs to offer more attractive tourist services to attract more visitors.

Nowadays, Tra Loc Lagoon is a gorgeous eco-tourist area and is a must-see destination for tourists.

If you are excited to travel to Tra Loc Lagoon in Quang Tri Province, please contact Vietnam Jeep Tours for more information, click here or contact via adventure@vietnamjeeptours.com / hotline: +84 909 602 370.

Related programs to Quang Tri Province:
6 Days Bike Central Vietnam
19 Days on Bike from Saigon to Hanoi

Travel Attraction: Phu Quoc National Park

Phu Quoc National Park is located on an island that has a mixture of continental and coastal climate, creating a rich ecosystem of primeval, secondary and indigo forests. Its indigo forests are distributed in the wetlands or the lowlands that is flooded in the rainy season and sloping hills.

The topography of the national park is hilly, although not particularly steep with the highest point is Mount Chua, at 603 m. Being drained by numerous, mainly seasonal, streams, the only sizeable river on the island is the Rach Cua Can river, which drains the southern part of the national park, and flows into the sea on the west coast of the island.

Covering more than 27,000 ha of forest, included 6,000 ha of buffer land and 20,000 ha of surrounding ocean area, Phu Quoc National Park has a rich ecosystem due to the co-existence of the Malaysian, Burmese and Himalayan species.

In term of the flora, Phu Quoc National Park is the ideal environment for more than 470 species of plants and several types of coral reefs offshore. At lower elevations in some areas, the national park supports distinctive formations of Melaleuca – one kind of trees that the leaves are evergreen, alternately arranged, dark green and grey-green in colour.

There are two ways to get to Phu Quoc:
• By air: There are 2 ways:
- We can take flight from Hanoi about 2 and haft hours (Air Mekong)
- From Ho Chi Minh City to Phu Quoc, the flights take 1 hour and there are 7-8 flights for this route daily. (Vietnam Airline)
• By sea: Morning hydrofoils take about 2 and haft hours to Phu Quoc, leaving from Rach Gia City and Ha Tien town (Kien Giang Province).

Travelling to Phu Quoc National Park tourists can do some activities as:
1. Bird watching: Phu Quoc Natioanl Park is home to many kind of animals with total of 208 animal species were recorded in the National Park, including 28 mammals, 119 birds, 47 reptiles and 14 amphibians, and 365 species of fish. Of these animal species, 6 mammal, 4 bird and 9 reptile species are globally endangered. The rare species include Lories, the long-tailed macaque, silver languor, otter, and hornbill.
2. Trekking: Excellence hiking opportunities abound in the park and you could spend days trekking through the forest.

Vietnam Jeep Tours has offered tour Full Day Trekking Phu Quoc National Park for individual and small group of travellers. And the tour is available around the year. For more information about Vietnam Jeep Tours please visit www.vietnamjeeptours.com or contact via adventure@vietnamjeeptours.com / hotline: +84 909 602 370.

For more information about accommodation in Phu Quoc, click here.

Related programs to Phu Quoc:
Fishing Trip at Thailand Gulf (Phu Quoc Island)
Full day - Snorkeling Boat Trip at An Thoi Archipelago
Exploring Phu Quoc Island
6 Days Discover Mekong Delta and Phu Quoc Island