Vietnam Visa fee waiver offered to some foreign visitors

Despite efforts to lure tourists by holding down tour prices, the number of foreign tourists to Vietnam still felt in the past four months. The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) has announced that it will waive visa fees for travelers who come to Vietnam under the “Impressive Vietnam” program.

Travelers in Halong Bay, Vietnam

VNAT launched the “Impressive Vietnam” (An Tuong Viet Nam) program in early 2009, featuring 99 tours with prices slashed between 30 to 40 percent. At present, 85 travel firms and 118 hotels are participating, offering over 300 cut-rate tours. Since the program was launched four months ago, the number of domestic travelers rose by 35 to 50 percent year on year but the number of foreign visitors to Vietnam has fallen by by 18%.

 VNAT senior official Vu The Binh told the media on May 12 that some countries have imposed restrictions on their own citizens’ overseas trips during the time of economic crisis. Such controls by South Korea have particularly impacted the Vietnam tourism market.

 “It is forecast that the world tourism industry will not grow or may even decline this year. The situation is difficult but we don’t plan to lower our 2009 target,” Binh said.

Binh said that Prime Minister Dung has agreed to exempt visa fees for visitors who buy the promotional tours. VNAT has combined with the Public Security Ministry to work out the mechanism for implementing this policy as soon as possible. The current visa fees for foreign visitors to Vietnam are between dozens to over one hundreds US dollar.

VNAT will boost advertisement to lure travelers from the key markets, e.g., the ASEAN countries, China, France, South Korea, Japan, the US, and caravan tourists to Vietnam.

Promoting local tourism will be VNAT’s focus from now to September 2009. Binh said the prices of local tours have dropped by 30% so they are competitive to tours to other Southeast Asian nations. Under the “Impressive Vietnam” program, VNAT has called on tourism service providers to slash their service prices. Some hotels and resorts in the central region have cut prices by 25 to 30 percent. The cost of train tickets from Hanoi to Lao Cai, used by most visitors to the northern mountain areas, has decreased by 10%.

Vietnam Airlines has slashed fares up to 60% for some local air routes, enabling 30 travel firms to offer discounted local tours to over 4,000 tourists. These prominently include trans-Vietnam tour and tours to world heritage sites in the central region. Vietnam Air has also agreed to cut down fares for other local routes and increase the percentage of discounted seats from 10% to 20%.

Other related news:
- Active Travel Asia offers free Vietnam Visa Arrangement for travelers

Source: www.activetravelmagazines.com

Kayaking and Cycling in a World Heritage Bay

Halong Bay is one of the most spectacular, and therefore heavily ‘touristed’ attractions in Vietnam. Stretching along the Northeast Vietnamese border with China it comprises thousands of limestone karst outcroppings and more than 750 islands of all sizes that dot the emerald waters of the Gulf of Tonkin.

Legend has it that the bay, ‘Descending Dragon’ in Vietnamese, was named after a family of dragons sent by the gods to help the Viet people repel Chinese invaders. Spitting emeralds and jade (the islands) into the waters of the bay they created a natural defensive area that helped protect what became Vietnam. After their success the dragons liked the area so much that they decided to stay. They weren’t alone in their high opinions of the landscape – the area was formally inscribed as an UNESCO World Heritage site in 1999, which of course led to an even greater influx of local and foreign visitors.

Getting to Halong Bay from Hanoi couldn’t be simpler – the hard part is making a choice between the hundreds of hotel tours and local operators. We were very happy with the tour we arranged through our hotel, and after chatting to other travelers who had been to Halong it seems that we had one of the better trips. The vast majority of options center around either two days and one night or three days and two nights in Halong. We chose the longer option and were glad we did.

Our trip began with a mini-bus ride (of about 3 hours) from our Hanoi hotel (where we had left the bulk of our clothes and large backpacks) to Halong Bay town. Our local guide, Son, took great delight in explaining with a huge grin that we shouldn’t worry about the 3000+ Vietnamese who die each year in the crazy traffic here because “Viet women and men make many many babies!”. At the port we boarded our luxury junk (traditional Viet sailing vessel) with about ten other tourists. It was to be both our transport around the Bay and our lodging for the first night. One note here for future travelers – be advised that although the tour to Halong Bay tends to be very reasonably priced (including all meals), they try to make up for this by charging exorbitant prices for drinks on-board ($25+ for wine, $3+ for beers etc) – and for all drinks that you bring aboard or buy on outings and bring back you will be charged ‘corkage’ – ranging from $5 per bottle of wine or 5000 Dong per bottle of beer (this applies to all drinks except water – so bring plenty of that with you to avoid the outrageous prices).

Our first day, which was the least enjoyable, was spent exploring “The Amazing Cave” – which although admittedly rather large was perhaps a little too developed (and therefore less amazing than it probably was ten years ago) – the best part of which was at the exit from which vantage we captured some of our best photos in Vietnam so far. Aboard the junk again we headed for a local swimming beach (on yet another island) – which was also a little less than we had expected in that the waters and beach were quite dirty – mainly oil from all the junks that moor there (Denise’s white bikini came out a dark shade of grey and we could write in the oil on our arms and legs). After the swim (and much-needed shower) the junk sailed to another picturesque spot and dropped anchor for the night (surrounded by about 7 other similar junks – we suspect that they are required to overnight in set spots). Dinner was very nice (mainly seafood) and it was super getting to know all our fellow travelers. We spent the rest of the evening playing cards with Phil and Kirsty (an Aussie couple from Cairns) and their brother Andy – welcome to the Blog guys!.

The second day was so much better – and the hazy weather had cleared into bright sunshine. After packing and a quick breakfast we all transferred from the junk to a smaller taxi boat (picking up some new travelers along the way – notably Lachy and Lisa, also from Aussie – welcome to the Blog guys!). Our next stop was the far side of Cat Ba island (the largest in the bay) where we each chose a bike and cycled about 7km inland passing some amazing scenery of local villages, rice paddies, mountains and forests. A short 3km walk into the jungle brought us to an abandoned ‘ancient village’ – which we had a few minutes to explore, before trekking back and riding back to the boat. We then took a short ride to the best beach we had seen in Halong – pristine white powdery sand, clean water, and sheer mountain cliffs rising out of the bay. It was here that we had some swimming/sunbathing time and that our guides set up our beach BBQ lunch! Great prawns, squid, fish, rice, veggies…ahh what a rough life!

After lunch we headed to yet another spot where we moored alongside some floating huts to pick up our sea kayaks. Denise and I discovered that despite our pretty much perfect match in almost everything we are not good paddling partners! Still it was great fun to explore the bay and the myriad islands by kayak – and we all ended up in a truly magical place – where a ring of islands form a solid circle with only one opening (a low cave) that leads into a totally enclosed body of water – something right out of a movie. Throwing caution to the winds we jumped out of the kayak and swam for a while – it was perfect. We wished we could have spent more time kayaking but all too soon it was back to the boat and off to ‘Monkey Island’ – which was less enchanting – four or five monkeys scampering around a beach where we killed time by collecting shells and skipping stones. Our final port of call for the day was Cat Ba (’Women Island’) town where we caught a short bus ride to our hotel for the night – the Holiday View hotel.

The hotel was quite upmarket by Halong Bay standards – very modern if lacking some warmth – and it was comfortable. We spent the night at a local pool bar with the others from our group and had a fun evening – made even more so by the fact that the Springboks won the World Cup!! Yay South Africa!! The next day was a traveling one – bus to the boat, slow boat ride back to Halong Bay town, bus over land-bridge to the nearest island for a final lunch and then a 3 hour bus ride back to Hanoi.

Halong Bay definitely has its plus points and is definitely worth the visit – but you do need to be prepared to deal with its less exciting and more banal side – bearing in mind that you are one of several million visitors every year.

Author: Wandering Spaulls


Here is a chance to experience Halong Bay: http://www.indochinasails.com/en/Itinerary.html

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Vietnam traditional festival

Formation and meaning of traditional festivals

Traditional festivals constitute a form of cultural activities, a spiritual product which the people have created and developed during the course of history. From generation to generation, the Vietnamese people preserve the fine tradition of Re-remembering the source while drinking water. Festivals are events which represent this tradition of the community as well as honour the holy figures named as Gods the real persons in national history or legendary persons. The images of gods converge the noble characteristics of mankind. They are national heroes who fought against foreign invaders, reclaimed new lands, treated people, fought against natural calamities, or those legendary characters who affect the earthly life. Festivals are events when people pay tribute to divinities that rendered merits to the community and the nation.

Hung King Festival

Festivals are occasions when people come back to either their natural or national roots, which form a sacred part in their mind.

Festivals represent the strength of the commune or village, the local region or even the whole nation. Worshiping the same god, the people unite in solidarity to overcome difficulties, striving for a happy and wealthy life.

Activities in Perfume Pagoda Festival

Festivals display the demand for creativity and enjoyment of spiritual and material cultural values of all social strata. Festivals become a form of education under which fine traditional moral values can be handed from one generation to the next in a unique way of combining spiritual characters with competition and entertainment games.

Festivals are also the time people can express their sadness and worries in a wish that gods might bestow favour on them to help them strive for a better life.

Process of festivals

Generally speaking, every festival will include the following three steps:

Preparation: The preparation work is divided into two phases: prior to the coming festive season and in the immediate time before the festive day. The preparation work for the coming festive season starts right after the previous festival comes to an end. When it is coming to the festive day, people need to check the worshiping objects, attires, decoration, and cleaning of the worshiping place and statues.

The festive day: Many activities take place, including rituals of procession, incense offering, and rejoicing games, among others. They form the most important and significant part of any festival. These activities also play a decisive role in attracting tourists and deciding the timing of the festival itself.

The ending of the festival: The organization board expresses their thanks to all festival goers and closes the worshiping place.

Time for festivals

In Vietnam festivals often take place during the three months in spring and in autumn when people have a lot of leisure time. In addition, the climate in spring and autumn is especially suitable for holding festivals and for festivals goers to enjoy.

Some typical festival

Lunar New Year (Tet Nguyen Dan)
Tet falls on a time when the old year is over and the New Year comes by lunar calendar. This is also the time when the cycle of the universe finishes: winter ends and spring, the season of birth of all living things, comes.

Parallel sentences in Tet

Tet is an occasion for pilgrims and family reunions. It is a time when one pays respect to his/her ancestors and grandparents who have brought up him/her. It is an occasion when everyone sends each other best wishes for a new year, stops thinking about unhappy things and says good things about each other.

Lim Festival
Quan Ho” is a special folk song of Kinh Bac Province, now called Bac Ninh Province. The festival takes place on Lim Hill where the Lim Pagoda is located. The Lim Festival takes place every year on 13th day of the first lunar month. Visitors come to enjoy the festival and see the performances of “lien anh” and “lien chi”. These are male and female farmers who sing different types of songs in the pagodas, on the hills, and in the boats.

Quan Ho – Lim Festival

Chu Dong Tu Festival
Chu Dong Tu is one of four immortal gods in the Vietnamese pantheon. The festival annually takes place from the 10th to the 12th day of the second lunar month at two temples, Da Hoa and Da Trach, in Khoai Chau District, Hung Yen Province.

Starting from Ha Noi, visitors can travel downstream on the Red River by boat or canoe, or go by motorbike along the dyke of the Red River for 20 km. During the festival, pilgrims in colourful dress converge on the two temples, Da Hoa and Da Trach.

Huong Pagoda Festival
Approximately 70 kilometers southwest of Ha Noi, Huong Son boasts quite a few pagodas built in the Posterior Le Dynasty. Until the beginning of the 20th century, there have over 100 pagodas. Visitors can go to Huong Son via the Ha Dong – Van Dinh route.

Vietnamese or foreigners alike wish to come to Huong Son in springtime. Heading there tourists come to a magnificent land, a famous beauty spot in Vietnam.

Going boating in Yen Stream, visitors get a stunning view of the landscape in springtime. Here lies Ngu Nhac Mountain, there stand Hoi Bridge, Dun and Voi Phuc (Prostrating Elephant) mountains. Then come Thuyen Rong (Dragon Boat) and Con Phuong (Phoenix) mountains, not to mention various other mountains named after their shape like Ong Su (Buddhist Monk), Ba Vai (Buddhist nun), Mam Xoi (Tray of Sticky Rice), Trong (Drum), or Chieng (Gong).

Perfume Padoda

There are many interesting pagodas, caves and grottoes in Huong Son. Among them include Long Van, Tuyet Son, Hinh Bong, and so forth. The Ong Bay (Sung Sam) Cave, 2km from Long Van Pagoda, still retains traces of ancient people some tens of thousands of years ago.

Unlike any other places, Huong Pagoda harmonizes the characters of a Buddhist architectural complex with the impressive natural beauty. Coming here, tourists have chances to live in a boisterous atmosphere of a spring festival amidst beautiful landscape. They seem to be free from all tiredness and sorrow and come to pay respect to the compassionate Buddha.

Mid-Autumn Festival
Tet Trung Thu is formerly autumn festival, and then becomes “Tet Trong Trang” (moon looking festival) of children. On this day, the moon is the brightest and roundest in the year, cool weather. The festival involves the custom of “Trong Trang”, procession of lights (parading with lanterns shaped as moon and stars), lion dance and eating pasties and fruits.

Mid Autumn Festival

Chol Chnam Thmay Festival
Khmer people’s New Year festival lasts three days and four days in leap years. Each of these days has its own name. Apart from worshiping the Buddha, Khmer people believe that every year the heaven sends a god called Tevoda to the earth to look after human beings and their life. At the end of the year, the god returns to heaven and another one will replace him. Therefore, in the New Year’s Eve, every family prepares a party, burns incense and lights up lamps in a ceremony to see off the old Tedova and greet the new one. They also pray to this god for good luck.

Khmer people always prepare for the new year ceremony very carefully. They clean and redecorate their house and buy necessary food for the holidays. They stop all farm work, relax and set free their cattle. The three official festival days are held in a joyful and exciting way.

Each festival shows specialties about Vietnamese people, culture and custom, wishes of a better life with cozy and prosperity.

Come and join in exiting atmosphere of Vietnam typical festival, you will have impressive feeling on this beautiful country.

Further information, you can visit:
Activetravel Vietnam
Activetravel Shop

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Ha Long Bay, Vietnam Romance

Ever since I saw the movie “Indochine,” I’ve wanted to visit Ha Long Bay. I loved the haunting scenes where Camille and Jean Baptiste, her beloved French soldier (originally her adoptive mother’s lover – it’s a French film after all) float through the islands in a small junk. Camille’s just killed a French soldier, they’re fleeing the French army, and they’re without food or water and are barely conscious, but it’s all terribly romantic, like they are the last two people on earth, together at last.

My Ha Long Bay journey was not exactly cut from the same cloth. I was about 60 years too late for the sexy French soldiers. I took a package tour on a junk like everyone else, since it’s the easiest and cheapest way to see Ha Long Bay from Hanoi. After researching a few companies
and reading lots of stories on-line about nightmare trips, I booked a 3 day/2 night trip with Active Travel Vietnam.

Cruise on Halong Bay

The first leg of the journey was a 3 hour bus ride through the North Vietnamese countryside where highly industrial meets pre-industrial. After we left the urban sprawl of Hanoi, the road was lined with giant factory complexes. Our guide proudly pointed them out as examples of recent foreign investment. In between the factories, in between the houses, and seemingly in every available scrap of land are the green, green rice fields. Huge power lines tower over them, factories abut them, towns surround them, but the rice fields do not yield. Vietnam is the second biggest exporter of rice (next to Thailand), and that’s after the immense amounts of rice consumed by a domestic market of 85 million people. It’s a lot of rice.

And on this freezing cold, drizzling day the fields were filled with farmers bent over, tending to the plants, thigh-high in cold water and mud, both men and women, wearing conical hats and flimsy plastic ponchos as protection against the rain. All throughout my travels in Vietnam, rice fields were everywhere, filled with farmers doing the back-breaking work of tending to the crops manually. On the way back, we saw a bus that had catapulted off the road into a rice field (at this point, our guide explained that buses in Vietnam are called “flying coffins”).

We reached Ha Long City, a pretty unattractive place filled with many hotels. Our guide explained the difference between European and Asian tourists: the European tourists like to sleep on the boats in the bay, while the Asian tourists like to take day trips and come back to town to do karaoke, gamble, shop and party. The port is jam-packed with tourist junks – there are literally hundreds of them jostling for space at the landing, stacked 5 or 6 deep, and even more anchored off shore. Tour guides herded groups of tourists bundled up in scarves and raincoats from mini-buses to boats.

Wow!Halong Bay,Vietnam

We boarded our boat, and as we were pulling out of the harbor, I received my first surprise of the trip. I went to ask the guide about the train ticket the travel agency was supposed to book for me, and instead he told me, “Um, you signed up for the 3 day trip, but actually, you can only do a 2 day trip…”

Supposedly some people had cancelled, and since I was only one person, it was impossible to do the 3 day trip, but they would refund my money and here was the itinerary for the 2 day trip. I expressed disappointment, regret, outrage, but ultimately, considering that they had waited to tell me until I was on the boat that was chugging out of the harbor, there was nothing I could do but accept the refund and resign myself to the change in schedule. In the end, considering the weather was so miserable, it wasn’t such a tragedy.

We were seven in the group. There was a French Swiss couple who spoke little English and kept explaining how they’d spent 10 days in the far North where it had been very cold and there was no heat anywhere. They were clearly tired of being cold. Then there were the Aussies: a mother and daughter pair from Alice Springs, and two thirty-something women from Sydney, who were a lot of fun.

After crossing the bay, we glided into the limestone karst forest that is Ha Long Bay – a green sea crowned by thousands of oddly shaped limestone islands, like the tops of mountains sticking out of the sea. They’re uninhabitable, all sloping sides and stone, so people live on boats and in floating houses. They were cloaked in mist on this cold, grey day and there were islands as far as the eye could see. In some of the narrower passages it was as though we were in a canyon of green and stone. It was quite beautiful. I went up on the “sundeck” (I wasn’t to see sun for another 2 weeks) to take photos, but the rain soon chased me inside.

It was gorgeous, but the weather was lousy. We tried to make the best of it, and six of us bravely set off in the cold drizzle to go kayaking. Our bottoms were soon soaked and frozen, and the legs and arms were next. Still, it was quite something to be so close to the water, the karst islands towering above us. Our guide led us through a small archway into a lagoon that lies in the center of an island. For a moment, it was as though we were the only people in Ha Long Bay, drifting through the mist.

Kayaking with Active Travel Vietnam

But this feeling was not to last. We headed toward TiTop Island (named in honor of a Soviet astronaut who visited with Ho Chi Minh), where you can climb up to the top and get a panoramic view of the bay. According to the postcards on sale, it’s quite a view on a clear day. We pulled our kayaks up on the beach. Looking around, we realized that we were the only people who looked like drowned rats. All the other visitors had arrived on very solid looking wooden launches, looked quite neat, tidy and dry. Some of the tour groups even wore matching hats and jackets.

Between the six of us, we sported bare feet, plastic ponchos, the white plastic shower sandals that are standard issue in every Vietnamese hotel, dripping wet shorts, and men’s thermal underwear bottoms (that was me). We were also very wet. And lest I forget, we wore lovely bright orange life jackets (for extra warmth). Not bothering to take off the lifejackets, we made our way up the stairs as the impeccably groomed groups moved to the side and pointed and stared at us. We were clearly the comic relief for the afternoon, and as we ascended, one of us overheard someone say “Aussies for sure.” As the only non-Aussie in the group, I took it as a compliment.

After we returned to the boat and had very short, semi-hot showers, we discovered the main event of the evening: Vietnamese soap operas. Our guide had told us that dinner would be at 6.30. We all arrived early and sat expectantly at our tables. 6.30 came and went, and nothing happened. Instead, the entire crew – all male, mostly quite young – sat transfixed in front of the TV that sat over the bar. No one was going anywhere, and nothing was happening in the kitchen. I sat there, hungry and cold, trying to write in my journal, with my back to the TV, until I finally gave up, turned around and started asking questions.

It turned out that it was the equivalent of the season finale, a sacred event not to be interrupted by banal activities like feeding the tourists. The heroine was running away from her arranged wedding to the grave of her dead lover, while flashbacks to happier days played. Just as the man she was supposed to marry showed up to reclaim her, the ghost of her lover flew up from the grave and swooped her into the underworld, leaving only flowers and smoke. It was far more dramatic than I describe here, but the best part was watching these young Vietnamese men completely absorbed in this romantic doomed love drama, which oddly mirrored (in a same, same but different kind of way) the romance story that brought me to Ha Long Bay in the first place. I just hadn’t expected to find it on TV.

To more information about luxury cruise on Halong Bay, click here: http://www.indochinasails.com

Many kinds of tours on Halong Bay: Active Travel Vietnam ; #31, Alley 4, Dang Van Ngu street, Hanoi, Vietnam. Phone:(84-4) 3573 8569

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“Ao dai” Vietnam – The charming beauty

A lasting impression for any visitor to Vietnam is the beauty of the women dressed in their Ao dais. Girls dressed in white pick their way through muddy streets going home from school or sail by in a graceful chatter on their bikes. Secretaries in delicate pastels greet you at an office door and older ladies in deep shades of purple, green or blue cut a striking pose eating dinner at a restaurant.

Ao dai for student

The Ao dai appears to flatter every figure. Its body-hugging top flows over wide trousers that brush the floor. Splits in the gown extend well above waist height and make it comfortable and easy to move in. Although virtually the whole body is swathed in soft flowing fabric, these splits give the odd glimpse of a bare midriff, making the outfit very sensual. Rapidly becoming the national costume for ladies, its development is actually very short compared to the country’s history.

Ao dai in the past

Pronounced ‘Ao yai’ in the south, but ‘Ao zai’ in the north, the color is indicative of the wearer’s age and status. Young girls wear pure white, fully lined outfits symbolizing their purity. As they grow older but are still unmarried they move into soft pastel shades. Only married women wear gowns in strong, rich colors, usually over white or black pants. The Ao dai has always been more prevalent in the south than the north, but austerity drives after 1975 meant it was rarely anywhere seen for a number of years as it was considered an excess not appropriate for hard work. The nineties have seen a resurgence in the Ao dai’s popularity.

Ao dai in 20th century

“It has become standard attire for many office workers and hotel staff as well as now being the preferred dress for more formal occasions,” says Huong, a secretary for a foreign company. “I feel proud of my heritage when I wear it.” For visitors, the pink and blue of the Vietnam Airlines uniform creates a lasting memory as they travel.

Ao dai with lotus flower

Early versions of the Ao dai date back to 1744 when Lord Vu Vuong of the Nguyen Dynasty decreed both men and women should wear an ensemble of trousers and a gown that buttoned down the front. It was not until 1930 that the Ao dai as we know it really appeared. Vietnamese fashion designer and writer Cat Tuong, or as the French knew him, Monsieur Le Mur, lengthened the top so it reached the floor, fitted the bodice to the curves of the body and moved the buttons from the front to an opening along the shoulder and side seam. Men wore it less, generally only on ceremonial occasions such as at weddings or funerals. But it took another twenty years before the next major design change was incorporated and the modern Ao dai emerged.

Traditional Ao dai, Vietnam

During the 1950s two tailors in Saigon, Tran Kim of Thiet Lap Tailors and Dung of Dung Tailors, started producing the gowns with raglan sleeves. This creates a diagonal seam running from the collar to the underarm and today, this style is still preferred.

Its popularity is also spreading well beyond Vietnam’s borders. For years Vietnamese immigrants preferred to adopt Western dress and blend with their new community but now the Ao dai is seeing a revival amongst overseas Vietnamese. At least here in the United States this may be partly due to the arrival of Tram Kim, known as Mr. Ao Dai. He shifted to California in 1982 and opened a new branch of Thiet Lap Tailors in Garden Grove, Orange County, leaving his Saigon store to his son. There are even annual Miss Ao Dai pageants held and the prestigious Long Beach show attracts entrants from across the country.

Model Ao dai

The clothing has also inspired French designers including top names such as Christian Lacroix and Claude Montana, and variations of the tight sleeves, fitted bodice, high collar and flowing trousers have been seen on the catwalks of Europe.

Every Ao dai is custom made, accounting for the fit that creates such a flattering look. Stores specialize in their production and a team of cutters, sewers and fitters ensure that the final product will highlight the figure of the wearer. Thuy, a fitter in Ho Chi Minh City, says, “To create the perfect fit, customers take their undergarments and shoes with them for the fittings.” The pants should reach the soles of the feet and flow along the floor.

Miss Vietnam with Ao dai

Comfort has not been forgotten at the expense of fashion and beauty. The cut allows the wearer freedom of movement and despite covering the whole body, it is cool to wear. Synthetic fabrics are preferred as they do not crush and are quick drying, making the Ao dai a practical uniform for daily wear.

APEC leaders in Ao dai

Its popularity may be its undoing as the garment is now being mass produced to make it more available and cheaper. The gown length appears to be gradually shortening and today is usually just below the knee. Variations in the neck, between boat and mandarin style, are common and even adventurous alterations such as a low scooped neckline, puffed sleeves or off the shoulder designs are appearing as ladies experiment with fashion. Colors are no longer as rigidly controlled and access to new fabrics has created some dazzling results. But most visitors to Vietnam agree that the tailors already have the perfect cut. It is hard to think of a more elegant, demure and yet sexy outfit, that suits Vietnamese women of all ages, than the Ao dai.

Once you travel Vietnam, you will see how wonderful my country is with charming beauty!

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Halong Bay, Vietnam in my mind

These days, gas prices are soaring. Roads are dusty, and the weather is unbearably hot and humid. So I decided to plan my summer escape to Halong Bay by computer. What a wise and efficient decision!

One of our greatest discoveries began while conducting research on the Internet. We came across four words that perfectly described what we were seeking: Cruise Halong Bay. Active Travel Vietnam offers various upscale cruises & tours to Halong Bay. What we looked for was a combination of luxury, adventure, and unique experiences.

Friendly World Heritage

From Active Travel company’s website, I was able to book a luxury cruise trip to Halong Bay, the UNESCO World Heritage site that lies 175km east of Hanoi. With a simple mouse click, it was done. I couldn’t wait to get out of the city for the weekend even though I had visited Halong Bay before.

Stepping out of the private car in Ha Long City, I was greeted at the private jetty Indochina Sails Junk staff. We then rode a small speed boat to board the junk. I remember that during my last trip to Halong Bay I had to wait at the dock behind a herd of tourists and a traffic jam of boats. Our junk was outfitted with 15 rooms made of aromatic wooden. The cruise itinerary was different from other tours. But I was most impressed by the personal service. We were welcomed with a cocktail, informed of the tour’s program and enjoyed great food and service that combined romantic tradition and modern luxury.

Indochina Sails

My deluxe room on the upper floor provided everything you’d expect in a five-star hotel. I enjoyed the marble bathroom, and took a blissful shower before going up on deck for a drink at sunset. I lay down and let my mind escape, enjoying the sky in the beautiful and clear afternoon, the sound of the waves lapping on the boat’s hull as we cruised leisurely through a maze of small, rocky islands jutting from the calm and emerald waters.

The junk tour offered kayaking, boating, fishing activities. My travel colleagues and I enjoyed ourselves over a glass of wine while other guests enjoyed swimming on Soysim Beach.

For dinner, we enjoyed a BBQ meal while we exchanged stories with other fellow travelers. Sitting next to me was a British couple who were also the guests of Active Travel Vietnam Company. After a few glasses of wine, they shared their 10-day experience in Vietnam and how they enjoyed the last night of their honeymoon holiday in Vietnam before returning home. “The service we received from Active Travel Vietnam was world class,” said Bernadette Tompar, who can’t wait to share her tales with family and friends in London.

If you also want to experience tours on Halong Bay in style or treat someone else, the place to check is: http://www.activetravelvietnam.com.

Please contact Indochinasails: Email: info@indochinasails.com or visit website: http://www.indochinasails.com

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Celebrating long life

Throwing a party for your elderly relatives is a way of also reminding younger generations of Vietnam’s traditionally Confucian origins, says Thanh Dat

Vietnamese families often throw a party for elderly relatives but not necessarily on their birthday. For starters, few old people actually know their exact date of birth as they have no birth certificates! But it is also a tradition to celebrate longevity in spring after the Lunar New Year has begun rather than on the actual birthday.

This is the most auspicious time of year and all family members are likely to be home to join in the celebrations. The ‘longevity celebration’ is not simply a glorified birthday party. Vietnam is a traditional and Confucian society. The celebration might be better understood as a way of giving thanks or honouring your elders.

It is a way to remind younger generations of the sacrifices their parents or grandparents, or indeed great grandparents, have made in the past. The more important position or rank someone holds in society, the grander the celebrations will be. But of course, the main point is to toast and congratulate someone for reaching a ripe old age of 70, 80 or 90. Respecting the elderly means treasuring their life experience.

A family that has an old person living with them is believed to be a lucky one as their children will learn from their life experience and worldly wisdom. Sometimes a community or village will organise a group party to celebrate all the local elders, who have reached a certain age. The party will be held in the village’s dinh (communal house). Colourful flags and ribbons will ripple in the wind.

A red carpet will be rolled out from the gate of the dinh to the threshold. The fragrance of burning joss sticks will hang in the air as the village’s eldest man kneels before the altar inside and prays for prosperity and happiness for all villagers. He will then report the names of the elders celebrating their longevity to the village’s genies and pray for their good health. There will be music and a parade of traditional dances. Gifts and certificates of longevity will also be presented to the honoured guests.

In some areas celebrations are not held in the village’s dinh, but at people’s own homes. Today, as living standards have been on the up, celebrations have become more extravagant for some families. But Pham Minh Thu, an 80 year old from Hanoi, says celebrations don’t need to be excessive. “What’s important is how children behave towards their parents every day,” says Thu.

“A big celebration will not show their gratitude to their parents.” Children have also been accused of using the celebration for their own ends, as depicted in a famous Vietnamese film, in which the director of a company is planning to celebrate his mother’s 80th birthday in his house. But his brother is also keen to host the party in the family’s hometown.

The director knows if he hosts the party his wealthy peers and VIP colleagues will offer cash and lavish gifts. The other brother arrives hoping he can take his mother back to the countryside. The director cottons onto his brother’s scheme and sneaks his mother away to a friend’s house and secretly organises a party in a luxury restaurant. It all ends a nasty quarrel between the brothers in the restaurant and the mother collapses due to the stress and shame of it all.

It’s a simple moral tale for these modern times when strong family ties and traditional Confucian ideals are fast being forgotten thanks to the dizzying pace of life in Vietnam. The longevity celebration is a fine cultural trait that should not be taken advantage of. We must remember to respect the elderly and the traditions that have forged this nation over the thousands of years.

Source: Active Travel Magazine

Vietnam Cruises

Ha Long Bay: the heavenly castles on earth

Halong Bay is the jewel in the crown of Vietnam cruise travel destinations. Located 165km (102 miles) East of Vietnam’s capital Hanoi, the 150,000 ha (370,658 acre) Halong Bay lies on Vietnam’s Northeastern coast in the Gulf of Tonkin. Not only are Halong Bay’s approximately 1,600 limestone islands and statuesque pillar islets and outcrops breathtakingly beautiful, the bay is deeply entrenched in Vietnam’s history and mythology, and the folklore of the surrounding regions.
The Sino-Vietnamese “Ha Long” literally translates as “Descending Dragon”. The true origins of the name are shrouded in mystery. Some say the name comes from a traditional Vietnamese legend; others say that the bay was given the name by the French during their colonial rule of Vietnam. Whatever the truth, there is no disputing Ha Long Bay’s unique beauty. The World Heritage Foundation even says “Apart from Halong Bay, there are no equivalent sites on the World Heritage List …”.
The Halong Bay World Heritage site is universally recognized worldwide for the value of its exceptional geology and distinctive biodiversity. The captivating seascape vistas, tranquil azure waters, diverse marine life and the rich culture of the local people only add to the charm and enchantment of cruising Halong Bay.

Halong Bay cruises have been a Vietnamese favorite for centuries. The restful waters, expansive skies, abundant aquatic life and the serenely majestic outcrops, islands and islets captivate all who experience them. One of famous luxury brand name, Indochina Sails are now cruising on Halong Bay.

Vote for Halong Bay to be one of the New 7Wonders of Nature. Vote

Supported by Indochina Sails, Active Travel Vietnam & Active Travel Shop