Puppeteer makes a splash with home-made homage to his art

 There are no ticket booths at the door or any ticket collectors hanging around, and visitors are simply led upstairs inside what appears to be a normal, three-storey Vietnamese home on a small lane deep off the capital city's bustling Kham Thien Street.

 

On the upper floor, a homemade tank ringed with bamboo trees and with water ferns floating in it sits in front of a model of a traditional communal house, and this is where noted water puppeteer Phan Thanh Liem has erected a small stage and museum to his art.

The house recently began welcoming foreign tourists to take a look into the old artform, which originated in the rural countryside of northern Viet Nam.

The tour includes a brief history of water puppetry and of Liem's family tradition. His grandfather Phan Van Huyen and father Phan Van Ngai laid a foundation for Viet Nam's present day water puppetry theatre. The tour continues with a puppet show by Liem himself and a demonstration of puppet-making before ending with a meal of traditional dishes.

Liem said he had the idea of turning his home into a tourist destination after many years as a solo puppeteer travelling around the country as well as abroad.

"When travelling giving performances, I could not show off my family's tradition," he said. "And I hoped to entertain tourists with the unique experience of visiting a family engaged in a traditional art form right at the heart of the city."

With the floating water ferns, which he bought from the countryside, and records of countryside sounds including roosters crowing, dogs barking, cows mooing, and the chirping of insects and croaking of frogs, he creates a rural ambience for his shows.

"This is the second time I have seen a water puppet show in Viet Nam," Canadian visitor Emma Brian told Viet Nam News, wiping water droplets from her face. "I like this show more than the other one since I can not only see the performance but also learn how the puppets are made and even work them on the water myself."

Indochina Travelland's Le Thuy Thu Thuong said that a group of students and teachers she guided from an international school in Malaysia enjoyed the visit greatly.

"The museum is new and the special brain-child of an artisan," Thuong said. "He doesn't need to be too professional in receiving the guests, just remain natural, friendly and cosy in the way he and his family have done, and his house will become a top destination. My company will now choose Liem's house to entertain tourists travelling in small groups rather than handicraft villages further out of the city in Hai Duong."

"I think this model is suited to small groups of tourists of fewer than 15, especially tourists travelling with their families and children," said Dao Trong Duc from Vido Tour Co. "It is a good choice for tourist companies in peak season, when the big, professional puppet theatres like the Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre are too crowded."

The zig-zagging lane leading to Liem's house was also enjoyable to Western guests who wanted to experience more of the everyday life of Vietnamese people, Duc added.

In this experimental stage, Liem said he did not care much for profit. He just hoped to invite more tourist agencies to come to see his museum so that he can perfect his special tourist destination.

"Though turning my home into a tourist attraction has affected my family's privacy, my priority is introducing my family's pride to more people from around the world," he said.

"Tourists coming here can see everything dealing with water puppetry in a very intimate space, something they can't find in the big water puppetry theatres," said Mai Thanh Huyen from Exotissimo Travel Co.

Source: VNS

 

Experience rustic homestay in Can Tho

Homestay is a form of tourism that allows visitors to rent a room from a local family to learn more about the local lifestyle as well as improve language ability and enjoy a cultural exchange.

Coming to the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho, tourists should try to experience a homestay service to learn about daily life such as garden farming, fruit tree growing, fishing and producing cacao in My Khanh Commune, Phong Dien District.

 

Tourists pass a bamboo bridge in My Khanh Commune, Can Tho City

We were picked up at Ninh Kieu Wharf by a tac rang – a wooden boat which can surf on the river and squeeze into small canals.

The tac rang ride took us along the Can Tho River over Cai Rang Floating Market and Ong De Canal to reach Mr. Muoi Cuong’s home – the first homestay venue in our journey. We toured on the flooding season so the canal was abundant with water which made the countryside scenery more peaceful with ever green coconut lines and orchards.

The homestay area of Muoi Cuong was very spacious and airy with many houses together with a striking front large yard with colorful flowers and ornamental trees.

After a warm welcome from his three-generational family, Cuong took us to our rooms equipped with air conditioning thankfully.

After taking a short rest, we followed the family to the farm to take care of cacao trees and harvest ripe fruits which are very sweet and sour and can be served with ice.

We were taught the process of producing cacao without breaking the fruit to take the seeds, keeping seeds on banana leaves, drying under the sunlight for a couple of days, frying them on a grill, peeling off their husk, grinding them into flour. The chocolate is handmade but really good.

With the sunset about to come over the farm, we came back home and joined in the production of Southern spring rolls made of rice paper cake with stuffing of shrimp, pork and potatoes. That was not enough for dinner so we had to go fishing and picked some vegetables in the garden. The interesting thing was that we didn’t cook on the electric stove but on firewood and we had to keep an eye on it at all times.

We had dinner with the family, with much laughter and a cozy atmosphere as if it was our real family. While eating, we together talked about farming and local customs.

Early  the next morning, we walked deeper into the village on winding trails and enjoyed the fresh and peaceful surroundings.

We hired bicycles and rode along Ong De Canal through orchards and bridges. On the way we saw bananas, pomelos, mangos, papayas and pineapples on sale so we stopped by to try some for a vitamin rush as well as to taste the local specialties.

Our journey continued in Hai Robert’s garden where he makes wine from spondias. We started to explore his wine cellar where he has dozens of wine barrels with hundreds of liters. He makes wine in the traditional craft method and is also an experienced carpenter.

The next destination was Miss Mai’s who makes soy juice, tofu and cake. We again had a chance to witness her demonstrating how to bake cakes and enjoy them.

The next homestay area was Ba Xinh house by a bamboo bridge. The living room is not too big but contains the custom of Southern people with ancestor’s alters, memorial pictures and decorations. The guest rooms were equipped with air conditioning, wardrobe, a small table set and many images of delta landscapes.

After a long day, we feasted on a very rustic but fabulous dinner with delta specialties chum ngay vegetable (moringa oleiferay), grilled dieu hong fish and fried bitter melon with eggs. In the dark, we heard whispers and buzzes of many kinds of insects and frogs. We were suggested to go to the field to catch frogs with a flashlight to have some food and of course frogs taste surprise. It was an amazing memory that I will never forget.

The next morning, we continued our education on growing rice, making bamboo baskets and the Oc Eo culture.

The homestay trip ended in extreme happiness and relaxation, with stresses and worries of city life left behind but we were on our way back buoyed. We said goodbye and swore to come back again and when the flooding season returns.

Prices are US$30 for a couple for one night in an air-conditioned room and US$20 for a room with an electric fan. Bicycles can be hired for US$5 a day.

Some suggested addresses for homestay tourism in Can Tho are Ba Xinh Homestay at 303, Rach Sau Street, My Khanh Commune, Phong Dien District, tel: 0710 3845511, and Homestay The Cuong at 275 My Ai Hamlet, My Khanh Commune, tel: 0710 3942 573.

 

 

Tourists cook at a homestay in My Khanh Commune

 

Tourists swim in a river during their homestay trip - Photos: Lam Van Son

Snorkelling in Nha Trang

Snorkelling in Nha Trang will offer visitors a chance to explore natural beauty of one of the most stunning sea regions in Vietnam.

It takes about a 30-minute boat ride to get to Hon Mun Sea Preservation Site for snorkelling. Visitors receive instructions on how to use the equipment on the boat ride.

Each participant will be instructed and accompanied by a skilled diver to ensure safety. At a depth of between 5-10m, colourful coral reefs can be seen, along with the marine life that lives there.

Although snorkelling is relatively new to Vietnam, it gives those interested a chance to explore some of the country's natural beauty.

Nha Trang is also famous for tourist sites such as Thap Ba Ponagar, Long Son Pagoda and Institute of Oceanography.

 

 

Accompanied by professional instructor

 

 

Colourful coral

Autumn in Hanoi

Visitors to Hanoi at this time of year have the chance to enjoy the feel of its romantic and poetic scenes.

Sunset over West Lake

A woman selling flowers on Yen Phu street

Ancient houses

Hoa sua (Milk flowers)

Hanoi flag tower

Museum of History

Sun flowers

A sesame tree (Loc Vung) by Hoan Kiem Lake

A woman selling flowers on Phan Dinh Phung street

 

Coconut palms - symbol of Ben Tre

Visitors to the Mekong Delta province of Ben Tre now have the chance to enjoy its famous fruit, traditional craft products and folk culture.

 

They can travel in a small along the rivers or canals in the shade of coconut trees and stop on the way to relax in fruit orchards and coconut gardens.

Ben Tre is located in the lowest part of the Mekong River basin, some 85km south of Ho Chi Minh City. It has three main islands wedged between the Tien Giang River to the north and the Co Chien River to the south, with the Ham Luong River running straight down the middle. All of these rivers are offshoots of the Mekong as it splits out into many fingers before flowing into the South Asian Sea.

The province is famous for its rice and fruit cultivation, but its traditional life has changed little over time, with tourists wandering through the markets, sipping coffee, taking boat trips and visiting local museums.

Coconut palms have become the symbol of Ben Tre since land was first reclaimed in the southern part of the country. During the war, coconuts were used to make coconut oil, which served as a viable substitute for kerosene. The province now has nearly 36,000 hectares of coconut plantations that have survived through protracted wars and remain dear to the hearts of local people.

There was a time when many people in Ben Tre felled coconut trees for some economic reasons, but now they have replanted them, producing around 242 million coconuts each year.

Many handicrafts are made from coconut materials including sandals, dolls, small baskets, bed lamps and vases. Tourists can visit local coconut candy factories to watch the candy being made and also buy some to take home as special gifts for their family and friends.

In addition to coconuts, Ben Tre is also known as the "king" of specialty fruit, with 41,000 hectares of orchards yielding 375,000 tonnes of fruit a year. Some of the province's unique specialties include milky yellow-fleshed and stoneless durians, green-skinned pomelos, Cai Mon mangosteens, high-yield "Four Season" mangos, and special Mo Cay oranges.

Cruise, cuisine and culture on Saigon River

Authentic cuisine, dancing, music and many more typical Vietnamese traits are available for visitors to experience on board the three-deck wooden boat Vietcruiser that travels along the Saigon River every Saturday, with chartered voyages six days a week.

 

The dancing show on Vietcruiser

The journey to experience Vietnamese specialties begins when guests step aboard Vietcruiser, as local girls in traditional attire, including ao dai, treat you with cakes and fruit of different regions and seasons.

On the bamboo trays are banh tet (cylindrical glutinous rice cake filled with green bean paste and pork), banh pia (flour cake with salty yolk, durian, green bean paste and taro), and many other sweet and salty cakes made from rice powder and other ingredients. Litchi, chom chom (rambutan), Vietnamese tea and other seasonal fruit on offer will add some flavor before the trip starts

A buffet dinner begins once the 39-meter-long, 8.5-meter-wide Vietcruiser departs Nha Rong Wharf in downtown HCMC at around 7:15 p.m. During the cruise on the Saigon River at night to Thanh Da in Binh Thanh District and back to base, guests can walk around the serving counters on the ground floors to select goi (mixed salad), goi cuon (spring roll), grilled squid and shrimp, and other dishes featuring flavors of different localities in Vietnam.

Music and dances depicting cultural and historical glimpses of Vietnam are on show throughout the voyage that ends around 9:30 p.m. The melodious sounds of dan tranh and dan bau and other Vietnamese musical instruments will relax guests on board. Craftsmen are also a fixture on the Vietcruiser to make to he (toy figurine), which is made into toys for children to play at traditional festivals in the country from a mixture of glutinous and ordinary rice powder. With this material, the craftsman can shape animals, flowers or characters from folk stories and also do requests for guests. When dinner is over, a good idea for passengers is to sit and relax at their seats or go to the upper deck to view HCMC at night

Tickets are priced from VND390,000 and allow guests to enjoy a wide selection of Vietnamese food specialties as well as music and dancing shows during the weekend voyage on the 256-seat boat. For the ticket price you also get some free drinks.

Note this is a special promotion price until the end of October.

 

The craftsman shapes to he on the boat
 

Solar electric car tours in Hanoi

Visitors to Hanoi will soon have two more options for city routes run by solar electric cars, set to be put into operation in December.

 

Electric car tours operate in Hanoi

The tours, launched by Dong Xuan Joint Stock Company, will take tourists to visit a number of famous sites in the city, including Hoa Lo Prison, the Opera House and Quan Su Pagoda.

According to the company, while their old fleet of electric cars are now running in the old quarter, these two new routes will expand to larger streets including Ly Thuong Kiet, Hai Ba Trung, Nguyen Du, which they say will give visitors a chance to see more sites and the city's colonial architecture.

The two new routes will operate every day from 7am till 11pm, beginning December for VND20,000 per person.

Since July 2010, 20 electric cars that could fit seven passengers have been in operation. One route goes up the trade streets and to Dong Xuan Market and the other one tours famous sites for food and shopping, as well as sites like Ngoc Son Temple, Kim Ngan communal house and the Temple of the Le Kings.

September last year, some 20 more electric cars were added to the city's guided tour options by the State-owned Tay Ho company, giving tours around West Lake and a number of other pagodas, parks and temples.

It's boom time in Sa Pa's hills

As many as 10,000 visitors are expected to travel to the highlands of Sa Pa on the coming National Day holidays this weekend, said Lao Cai Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism director Tran Huu Son.
Situated in a picturesque part of the northern province of Lao Cai, Sa Pa was the site of a French resort during colonial times, and has since become one of the most popular travel destinations in the country, said Son.
He added that visitors to Sa Pa Township were increasing thanks to expanding homestay services; about 40 per cent of visitors had registered tours to Sa Pa's villages, a 20 per cent increase compared to the same period in 2010.
About 100,000 visitors came to the area during the first six months of the year, which is as high as the total number of visitors throughout 2008.
Son said nearly 100 households in Sa Pa were running homestay services which can serve a total of 1,000 guests.
Communes with homestay services include Ban Ho, Cat Cat, Ta Van and Ta Phin.
Nong Van San, who has been running a homestay service for three years, said visitors staying at his home had helped to increase his family's income. The service had actually brought the family more than incomes from other traditional jobs.
Communes in Bat Xat and Bac Ha districts located 20km and 70km from Sa Pa have recently developed homestay services and can serve up to 100 guests at a time.
According to Luc Xuan Thuong, a senior official of Bac Ha's Ta Van Chu Commune, running a homestay service is not difficult, and about 70 households in the commune are running the business.
"Traditional wooden houses which are equipped with mattresses, blankets, pillows and a clean toilette can be used for a homestay," said Thuong.
Lo Thi Mao, a tourguide from the Viettravelmate company, said many foreign tourists were also opting to stay at ethnic people's houses in villages to get an insight into rural life.
 
Source: VietNamNet/VNS

More than 4.3 million foreign tourists visit Vietnam

Vietnam greeted nearly 525,300 foreign visitors in August 2012, bringing the figure for the first eight months of the year to more than 4.38 million, a year-on-year increase of 9.4 percent, reported the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism.
Over the past eight months, the number of tourists coming Vietnam by sea reached more than 46,600, recording the largest growth with a year-on-year rise of 74.7 percent. The number of foreign tourists arriving by air and road were more than 3.64 million (up 9.2 percent) and 653,500 (up 7.6 percent), respectively.
Numerous Asian markets witnessed rises in the number of tourists to Vietnam, such as the RoK, up 35 percent, Malaysia (23 percent), Japan (19 percent) and Thailand (19 percent).
With these results, the tourism sector target of welcoming 6.5 million foreign tourists in 2012 is 67.5 percent fulfilled. The number of tourists to Vietnam is expected to grow in the rest of the year, thanks to the major holidays of the National Independence Day on September 2, Christmas Day and Western New Year./.
 
Source: CPV

Foreign arrivals up 9.4 percent in eight months

Vietnam has welcomed almost 4.4 million visitors in the first eight months of 2012, a year-on-year increase of 9.4 percent, according to the General Statistics Office.

Most of the tourists came from the Republic of Korea, followed by Malaysia, Thailand, Japan, Taiwan and France.

During the period, Vietnam also saw a sharp drop in the number of American, Chinese, Australian and Cambodian visitors to the country.

The number of international visitors in August is estimated to be 525,292, up 6.5 percent against July but down 4.3 percent against the same period last year.

The 8-month figure has helped the country’s tourism sector meet 67.5 percent of its target to attract 6.5 million visitors in 2012.

Vietnam expects to welcome many more foreign visitors as important events are scheduled during the rest of the year.

Vietnam Airlines recently offered discounts up to 50 percent on international air routes to entice more foreigners to the country.

Royal bananas light up rural village

Chuoi ngu season has now come upon Dai Hoang Village, in the northern province of Ha Nam, giving visitors of the area a chance to enjoy the rare taste of the fruits.

 

Chuoi ngu is a variety of banana that has grown in the area for hundreds of years. It is small and has bright yellow skin and a sweet smell when ripe. Its beauty and taste has made the area famous since the 13th century.

It is said that this kind of banana used to be a favourite fruit of the Tran Kings, so local people call it Chuoi ngu, meaning royal banana.

 

 

Although the fruit can be seen all year round, it is mainly in season between June and August, when the bananas taste the best.

Any visitors to Dai Hoang Village at this time have the opportunity to enjoy this delicious specialty, along with the beautiful sights of local markets filled with the bight yellow ripening fruits.

 

 

According to local people, their fruit has just been granted a certificate of origin by the Ministry of Science and Technology. This will encourage them to preserve and develop this species of banana and help widen its market.