Phong Nha – Ke Bang National Park

Phong Nha – Ke Bang can be compared to a huge geological museum thanks to its complicated geological structure with different categories of stone including sandstone, quartz, schist, siliceous limestone, granite, granodiorite, diorite, applet, pegmatite, etc.

Phong Nha-Ke Bang is the oldest and largest tropical karst formed 400 million years during the main geological periods of the Earth, bearing the original topographic and geologic characteristics. Experiencing major tectonic phases, high mountain ranges and the depressed sedimentary basins were formed. These fluctuations have also contributed to the diversity of geology, topography, geomorphology.

Phong Nha – Ke Bang karst mountains can provide a lot of valuable information about the Earth’s prolonged geological process through various periods, from the Paleozoic (about 400 million year ago) to the Carboniferous and Permian (340-240 million years ago). It is also noteworthy to mention a geological characteristic – the system of underground rivers and grottos in limestone mountains.

In the non-karst geomorphologic area, there are many low mountains covered by a floristic carpet. The erosion has created a number of abrasion-accumulation terraces along the valleys of the Son and Chay rivers and at the margins of the central limestone massifs. The transition terrain consists of a diversity of rock intercalated by limestone mountains.

Besides the historical value of geology, topography, geomorphology, Phong Nha – Ke Bang is also favoured with the mysterious and majestic landscapes by nature. The Phong Nha–Ke Bang Natural Park still hides various myths of nature. It also has spectacular karst caves formed for hundreds of millions of years.

Locating in the area with a high average rainfall, however, few rivers and streams can be seen because water is absorbed to run inside limestone mountains. Therefore over tens of million years, water has eroded rocks, creating numerous caves in the area. The Phong Nha grotto system has evaluated as the most value in the world by the British Cave Research Association (BCRA) which held several world cave records, as it has the longest underground river, highest and widest entrance, the most beautiful sand and rock banks, the most magnificent and fanciful stalactites and stalagmites.

Phong Nha-Ke Bang area is noted for its cave and grotto systems as it is composed of 300 caves and grottos, divided into three main systems: Phong Nha Grottos, Vom Caves, and Ruc Mon Caves.

The Phong Nha grotto system is 40km long in total, rising from south of Ke Bang Limestone Mountain. The main entrances are Khe Ry and En Grottoes situated at a height of 300m above sea level. The grottoes of this tree-branch system run in the direction of northeast-southwest.

The system of Vom caves is over 30km long, rising from Ruc Ca Roong Cave located at a height of 360m above sea level and ending with Vom Cave. The system runs south and north. Ruc Ca Roong River sometimes hides in mountains, sometimes appears in narrow and deep valleys, and flows into the Chay River at the entrance of Vom Cave.

The system of Ruc Mon caves that lies in the district of Minh Hoa is also a large cave. However, the information about this system is not abundant because few surveys have been conducted in this area so far.

Next to the Phong Nha Grotto is Tien Son Cave – also known as Dry Grotto or Upper Phong Nha, a famous beautiful cave in Phong Nha – Ke Bang area – where features spectacular stalactites and stalagmites shaped like several fairy-tales. In addition, the Thien Duong Cave remains untouched, with a very splendid beauty, longer and larger than Phong Nha or Tien Son Grottos. Especially, Son Dong Cave is one of the most newly-found caves in the national park that found by a British expedition in April 2009. It is regarded as the largest cave in the world. The biggest chamber of Son Dong is over five kilometers in length, 200 meters high and 150 meters wide.

With its characteristics of topography, climate, soil and hydrography, Phong Nha – Ke Bang boasts a rich, diversified and unique flora. Investigations show that Phong Nha – Ke Bang has a large tropical forest floor. It covers 96.2 percent of the natural area, of which nearly 90 percent is covered by primeval forests. The diversity of rare and precious species of animals and plants in Phong Nha – Ke Bang is corollary of its natural conditions, and is a feature of the forest ecosystem.

Statistics show that the flora of Phong Nha – Ke Bang belongs to 152 families, 511 branches, and 876 species, including 38 listed in Vietnam’s Red Book, 25 in IUCN’s Red Book (International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) and 13 endemic species.

A very important discovery in this national park is three rare and precious species – Sao la, Mang lon and Mang Truong Son – were founded in this area. Especially, Sao la and Mang lon are new species discovered in the world. Of the 81 recorded reptile and amphibian species, 18 are listed in Vietnam’s Red Book and 6 in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals. In addition, there are 259 butterfly species, 72 fish species including 4 endemic ones in Quang Binh only and one first found in Vietnam; 302 bird species including 15 species listed in Vietnam’s Red Book and 19 in IUCN Red Book. Particularly, black-comb blue pheasants (ga loi lam mau den), white-tail blue pheasants (ga loi lam duoi trang) and peacocks are the global-level endangered species. Phong Nha – Ke Bang is considered a huge biological museum in Vietnam.

With its vivid evidences of the Earth’s formation, geological, topographic and geomorphologic history, mysterious landscapes and the bio-diversity of the national park as well as its unique historical and cultural values, Phong Nha – Ke Bang has been declared a world natural heritage by UNESCO at the 27th meeting in Paris in July 2003.

La Salsa

Address: 25 Nha Tho, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi
Tel: (+84) 4 3828 9052

La Salsa offers southern French and Spanish specialties.

Capacity: 40 people
Hours: 8.00 am – 11.00 pm
Other features: free Wifi, home delivery

Mediterraneo

Address: 23 Nha Tho, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi
Tel: (+84) 4 3826 6288

Take the idea of the Mediterranean ocean; the whole restaurant is decorated in blue. Mediterraneo is famous for many Italian dishes, particularly the home-made dishes such as home-made fresh pasta, home-made ice-cream and the vast selection of Italian wines and grappa.

Capacity: 50 people
Hours: 8.00 am – 11.00 pm
Other features: free Wifi, home delivery.

Description:

How to get there?

With a view to reaching Van Phuc village, tourists should travel south west out of Ha Noi on Nguyen Trai Street until they reach the border of Ha Dong District. Then turn right and dive for about 3km. The village is on the left, some 8 km from central Hanoi. Motorbike, bus, or taxis are all of good use.
Ideal place for silk products & souvenirs

Like other visitors to the village, you will be surprised at this “silk shop town”, where almost all houses along the paths have been turned into shops selling silk products. Specifically, the village is now home to 1,280 households, 90% of whom are involved in silk production and business. The village makes more than 2 million meters of silk per year. Yet, more than that, you are offered a good chance to explore the Vietnamese traditional industry of silk-making.

Where to enjoy “banh xeo”?

In Hanoi, there are a lot of addresses for you to enjoy “banh xeo”, such as 22 Hang Bo Street, “Quan Ngon” restaurant at 12 Phan Boi Chau Street or “Chin Tham” restaurant on Thai Ha Street.

In HCMC, southern-style “banh xeo” can be found at Banh Xeo 46A on Dinh Cong Trang Street, District 1 or An la ghien Restaurant at 54A Nguyen Van Troi Street, Ward 15, Phu Nhuan District. Those seeking a meatless version of “banh xeo” can find them at vegetarian restaurants on An Lac Restaurant, 175/15 Pham Ngu Lao Street, District 1, and Thien Nguyen Restaurant, 174 Calmete street, District 1.

Vietnam LanguageVietnamese (tiếng Việt, or less commonly Việt ngữ), formerly known under French colonization as Annamese (see Annam), is the national and official language of Vietnam. It is the mother tongue of the Vietnamese people (người Việt or người Kinh), who constitute 86%-90% of Vietnam’s population, and of about three million overseas Vietnamese, most of whom live in the United States. It is also spoken as a second language by many ethnic minorities of Vietnam. It is part of the Austroasiatic language family, of which it has the most speakers by a significant margin (several times larger than the other Austroasiatic languages put together). Much vocabulary has been borrowed from Chinese, especially words that denote abstract ideas in the same way European languages borrow from Latin and Greek, and it was formerly written using the Chinese writing system, albeit in a modified format and was given vernacular pronunciation. The Vietnamese writing system in use today is an adapted version of the Latin alphabet, with additional diacritics for tones and certain letters.

- Vietnamese is the official language.

- Almost tourist guides speak languages: English, Chinese, French, Russian, Spanish and Japanese.

Vietnamese Currency

vietnamese currency
Vietnamese dong (VND) is the official currency in Vietnam.

- Paper notes include: VND 500,000; 200,000; 100,000; 50,000; 20,000; 10,000; 5,000; 2,000; 1,000; 500; 200 and 100. Coins include VND 5,000; 2,000; 1,000; 500 and 200.

Cheques with value as Vietnamese dong include: VND 1,000,000 and 500,000.

- Foreign currencies and tourist cheques can be exchanged into Vietnamese Dong at banks or foreign exchange agencies.

- Credit cards are popularly used, especially in cities and big tourist centers.

Before leaving Vietnam, Vietnamese dong can be exchanged into foreign currencies at the airport

Vivutravel.com

As modern development continues to devour the natural world, more and more people look for antiques or a pristine destination to experience life in a way more similar to the way our ancestors lived.

When mentioning famous beaches around the country, right away people think of Mui Ne, Nha Trang, Phu Quoc or Vung Tau. But these days, Phu Yen Province is more frequently mentioned by visitors and is listed in tours by local travel agents due to the province’s unspoiled destinations. In which, Om Beach is a stop that any tourist coming to Phu Yen Province should not miss in order to wallow in the temptation of nature.

Belonging to Xuan Dai Bay, Om Beach is rather an obscure name to tourists in Vietnam, which is why it has resisted industrial development, human settlement or any services. The beach feasts visitors a totally brand-new feeling different from other beaches with a natural world separated with outside world by peace, silence and primitiveness.

Om Beach is divided in two by an isthmus with the front beach boasts with an endless sandy beach under shade of coconut trees and the back beach hugged by two hills.

Just a meter or so under the salt water is sharp and jagged coral so swimmers must be careful to avoid injury. However, there is swimming and bathing in crystal-blue water and a chance to admire the colorful reef and schools of fish.

More importantly, there are many giant rocks in diverse shapes near the beach that are great background for girls in bikinis to pose for many photos.

Om Beach can be reached from the center of Tuy Hoa City by taking National Highway 1A to Song Cau Town. From here, ask a local the way to Vung La, a fishing village in Xuan Phuong Commune just 600m south of the beach. Boats can be hired from local fishermen at Song Cau Town or Nhat Tu Son Town about 6km south of the beach. The boat trip takes about 90 minutes.
Source SGT

Duy Xuyen People’s Committee vice chairman Le Trung Hoa made the announcement on Dec. 2, as the district celebrated the tenth year since My Son was recognized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) as a World Culture Heritage site.

Hoa said that over the next five years, the district will concentrate on protecting and restoring My Son relics and developing infrastructure as well as human resources to promote tourist potential, in a bid to generate more jobs, reduce hunger and erase poverty.

Representatives at the ceremony urged the district authorities to improve facilities such as internet and mobile phone coverage, which are now poor in the district, to attract more investors.

Duy Xuyen had sustained economic growth at the average annual rate of 14 percent per year for the past several years, with the service sector alone expanding on average 15 percent per year, according to Hoa. Per capita income reached around 9.5 million VND (513 USD) last year.

The Sa Huynh-Champa Culture Museum was also opened in the district on Dec. 2, displaying over 200 antiques.

The museum’s expected to help visitors become aware of the main features of Sa Huynh Culture, an outstanding civilisation of 2,000-2,500 years ago./.

How does it taste? Well, having a bowl of Hue beef noodle, you will easily recognize that it is completely different from Pho since the former’s beef broth is much more spicy.

How to make it? Learning how to make a clear broth from bone and meat is quite a difficult task. After being selected from the market, the fresh beef will be shredded, boiled and taken out of the water to obtain a delicious clear broth. A typical version of Hue beef noodle must include pork, roast beef, pig’s blood, Vietnamese salami, Hue’s style salami, shrimp sauce and chopped lettuce.

The interesting thing is that, the amount of salt put in the beef noodle recipe varies between seasons. For example, during summer, Hue beef noodle soup is served with soy bean, mint and different kinds of lettuce while in the winter, the recipe is saltier added with lemongrass and fish.

The best Hue beef noodle comes from the street vendors who work from dawn to early morning. In Hue, when night lights are on, you can enjoy a good bowl of this noodle soup at restaurants in front of No. 84 Mai Thuc Loan Street. This hot dish represents just a few of the treasures of Hue’s traditional cuisine. Clam-rice and the flour pies like beo (streamed flour cupcakes), nam (wrapped shrimp pies) and loc (tapioca and shrimp pies), for examples, are part of the ancient capital’s culinary heritage.

Where to have Hue’s beef noodle in Ha Noi?

You are in Hanoi, and wondering if such a Hue’s specialty appears in Hanoi or not. Don’t worry, Hue beef noodle come up quite often in many streets of Hanoi from morning till night. It’s better to ask your hotel to recommend a place nearby or you can refer to the following reliable addresses:

* No. 4 Ly Thuong Kiet Street, Hanoi
* No.467 Đoi Can Street, Hanoi
* No.7 Thai Phien Street, Hanoi
* No.22 Phan Boi Chau Street, Hanoi
* No.175 Lang Ha Street, Hanoi
* No.G23 Huynh Thuc Khang Street, Hanoi

New coins were minted by every new dynasty in the East. But kings were not the only ones to issue their own money…

For the four short days of the year 1521 in which his contemporaries called him “King,” Tran Cao did one major thing to commit his name to posterity: he minted his own coins.

Issuing coins with the name and year of the new dynasty was a priority for newcomers to the throne. It immediately invalidated the old regime, at the same time as popularizing and authorizingthe new ruler. Even if there weren’t enough raw materials to widely issue the coins, they were still struck, vital symbols of the new era.

Dynastic coins were given names which in translation are strongly reminiscent of the electioneering slogans a modern day politician might “coin.” The oldest money in Vietnam is the “Thai Binh Hung Bao,” or “Peace and Prosperity Guaranteed” coin, made in 968 AD for the Dinh dynasty. In the 16th century; Mac Danh Dzung minted the “Dai Chinh Thong Bao”- “A Strong and Stable System” -coins out of iron.

Most coins were made of copper, tin or zinc. They were about three centimetres round, with a square hole in the centre. This basic design, symbolic of Sun and Earth according to Oriental concepts -not to mention being handy for tying with string -still appears in Japan’s five yen coin.

After the Dinh dynasty introduced them, the Le, Ly, and Tran dynasties all issued similar coins throughout their kingdoms, with their own designs. The Phi Long coins bear flying dragons, a symbol of royalty. Tam Da coins refer to the three old men, Phuc, Loc and Tho, who represent Luck, Health and Wealth, while the Ngu Phuc coins show five lucky symbols: Phuc, Loc, Tho, Hang (peacefulness) and Ninh (fertility). These lucky qualities are incorporated into a design of five bats on the reverse.

In the 14th century, the Ho dynasty printed Vietnam’s first paper money. Or leaf money, is probably more accurate. Researchers believe cut leaves were printed with designs such as seaweed, waves, clouds, and turtles, using a simple lithographic process. The material was passed through two carved stone rollers, which were inked with vegetable dyes.

A press from these times has survived, but none of the notes, and after the Ho dynasty, money went back to being made from metal. Medals, for bravery and loyal service, were also struck by these regimes. Like coins of currency, they featured the year name on the front, and animals -up to eight of them -on the back. One shows a galloping horse and the phrase “Long March of a Thousand Miles;” this was like Vietnam’s first steeplechasing prize, being awarded to the owners of horses which distinguished themselves in battle.

Also common were amulet coins, used by fortune tellers and medicine men. Many of these had four characters on the face: “Thai Thuong Lao Quan”, the name of the founder of Taoism. On the reverse were depictions of certain gods or spirits; many have mysterious inscriptions whose meanings are unknown even now.

The most famous of old Vietnamese coins features a couple making love, reflecting an Asian philosophy that the proserity of the nation and its continuity are the cornerstones of man’s existence. The same concept is conveyed in other Vietnamese antiques such as bronze drums of Ngoc Lu, Dong Son and other areas.

The feudal system was replaced by the rule of the French when they invaded Vietnam in 1858. With Cambodia and Laos also under their control, in 1875 they set up the Bank of Indochina, and ten years later issued the first Indochinese notes and coins. The banknotes were valid in all three countries (although they did not reach northern Vietnam until 1899), in denominations of five and 20 dong, with a one dong note introduced in 1892.

The value of the Indochinese currency unit was fixed at 0.655g of gold when first issued; the US dollar at the time was worth 0.8867g. Old people still reminisce about the days when one trinh -one thousandth of a dong -bought breakfast; and two xu -one hundredth of a dong -was enough for a bowl of noodles. The dong was tied to the value of the franc, at one-tenth, so as the franc devalued, the dong did too. A 500 dong note was issued in 1944.

Initially, the Bank of Indochina printed its paper money in France. From 1940, however, 100, 50, 20 and one dong notes were printed at the Vien Dong IDEO and Taupin printing houses in Hanoi (now Yen Phu Gate and the Cua Narn general store, respectively).

This early attempt at monetary union ended in 1954, with the battle of Dien Bien Phu. Before that, on the 31st of January 1946, President Ho Chi Minh signed into existence Vietnam’s “revolutionary currency.” Called “Finance money,” because the State Bank hadn’t been established yet and the notes were issued by the Ministry of Finance, the notes were popularly known as “Uncle Ho’s money”. All the notes had the new president’s picture on them.

The 100 dong note had a buffalo on one side, recalls the designer of Uncle Ho’s money, Nguyen Huyen, which represented agriculture; while on the other side were a farmer with a hoe, symbolizing production, and a bricklayer, who stood for construction. “The note was in three colours,” said Huyen, “blue, yellow and brown, with the buffalo in blue, for the sake of harmony. But also because it was the easiest ink to find.”

This note was printed until 1951, by which time the printing house had moved twice as war with the French escalated, and the National Bank of Vietnam had finally been established. New notes in higher values were issued in 1958; these were in use until the end of 1978.

In the South, from 1948 to 1978, money was replaced several times. Early on, each region had its own currency; notes for example would have “For circulation in Long Chau Sa province only” stamped on them. In 1955, all of these varieties of money were void upon the summons of troops to the north. From then until the liberation of the South in 1975, all southern provinces used money issued by the Saigon government.

“Liberation” notes were used until 1978, when the national monetary system was finally unified. Since then, a new series has been issued once, in 1985. Today’s 20,000 and 50,000 dong notes were added in 1994 and 1995.

The best set of notes in terms of printing quality and design is the 1958 series. One of designers, artist Bui Trang Chuoc, says in his biography that he finished the designs for the money in one week in 1956, then went abroad for a year before returning to prepare for printing. The identity of the artist was only revealed in February 1959, as a security measure.

Money machine

With all these changes, it is easy to see why people are reluctant to convert gold into cash. But paper money still has an important symbolic function in Vietnam, besides its more practical uses. Fake notes are placed on altars and burnt at funerals, and every Tet, children are given a fresh new bank note, or more, by their parents. This expresses the hope that their offspring will grow up rich, clever, and faithful.

Vietnam arts and crafts hold a prominent place in the international art arena. Vietnam is now regarded as the land to have introduced the art of woodcuts which were used for book illustrations and pictures. Another famous work of art from Vietnam is that of woodcarving. It is practiced on ironwood, ebony, reddish mahogany and rosewood. These woods have a beauty of their own which is imprinted on the work. They are colored to look more beautiful.