Travelog - A travel guide to Vietnam

From the night market, flowers are transported
to many places in the city.

Saigon by night is bustling with not only discotheques, bars, culinary streets and night clubs but also the city’s colorful and aromatic flower market with rural features which remains a fantastic place to city-dwellers when darkness falls.

Originally known as Ho Thi Ky flower market, this market has existed since 1987 and was then the biggest wholesale bazaar in the city. Every night, flowers, vegetables and fruits were brought here from Da Lat, the Southwestern and Central regions to be distributed to many other markets in the city the following morning. Since 1996, however, only flowers have been sold here.

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The traditional ox race festival in Bay Nui, An Giang Province has recently become an interesting event, attracting both home and foreign visitors.

The ox race is usually held once a year in the Dolta festival of the Kh’mer ethnic minority (in the late eighth or early ninth lunar month) that is by no means minor or less attractive to any other sport events when peasants flock to the course with a sport spirit and a desire for victory. The thunderous shouts in both Khmer and Vietnamese languages are an evidence of this fact.

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Location: Lao Cai, Vietnam
Every year when spring comes, the whole district Bac Ha, Lao Cai province, is coated with a white shirt of plum flowers. In the white background stands out a mansion complex of Hoang Yen Chao - Hoang A Tuong (father and son) in the greenery of boundless forests and mountains. For over 80 past years, moss-grown Hoang A Tuong mansion has become a destination for visitors far and wide.

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Son means mountain and La means stream. Son La Province originates from a stream on a mountain. Through 110 years of development since its founding, the stream is still running around 12 fraternal ethnicities who have created great strength, making the province a shining pearl in the North-western region of the country.

Visiting the work of the century

Son La hydroelectric-power work lies upstream on the Da River in It Ong Commune of Muong La District, about 250 km away from the Hoa Binh hydroelectric-power station. With an average electricity output of 10.2 billion KWh per year, it is the biggest hydroelectric-power plant in Southeast Asia. After only six months of construction, the cadres and workers of Song Da Construction Company (LICOGI) have built 120 km of new roads, three bridges over the Da River at the construction site area and the Muong La Port Complex, using more than 80,000 cubic metres of concrete. These facilities have been put to use, serving the transport of materials and equipment.

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Da Lat Flower Festival 2005 –the biggest-ever in Vietnam – was spectacularly held in the Capital of the Central Highlands Province of Lam Dong to honour flower-growing and flower growers and affirm the Da Lat flower brand both in domestic and overseas markets.

The 113 year-old City typically featured for its western architecture in Lang Biang Plateau has many nicknames: Mist City; Dreamy City; City of Love; City of Howling Pines, etc. However, the “City of Flowers” was the most common name used during the nine-day festival.

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With renowned landscapes, such as Tam Dao, Tay Thien, Dai Lai, Dam Vac and Thac Bac, Vinh Phuc Province has become a wonderland with innumerable marvels that have left unforgettable impressions on every visitor.

The attractiveness of Vinh Phuc Province, 50km Northwest of Hanoi Capital, comes not only from more than 500 relics, cultural works and many special traditional fetes and festivals, but also from its diverse cultures built up for thousands of years, which are hidden in its place-names and residents, creating the province’s own characteristics.

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Ca Mau – a region reclaimed in the late 17th and early 18th centuries – is the habitat of the three ethnic groups: the Viet, the Hoa and the Khmer. This resulted in the mixed cultural features reflected through the unique and rich customs and practices by the locals.

Ca Mau is a vast submerged region in the Mekong River Delta of Southern Vietnam with criss-crossing rivers and canals of thousands of kilometres long. Hence, water transportation plays an important role in the local commercial activities.

The area is endowed by nature with a great potential in eco-tourism. Visitors to this southernmost locality will have an opportunity to wander through the submerged mangrove forests, to visit the islands, bird sanctuary, human dwellings and wild nature conservation areas.

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In past and now, when mention to Hoi A trade village, it is always said to Thanh Ha pottery, Kim Bong carpenter village and hardly to the lantern work. Years recently, Hoi An lantern work has developed greatly and attracted many labors, because out of the rules of committee town all families light lantern in the night of ancient city (monthly 14th lunar calendar), all tourists buy a lantern as a souvenir. So it is surprising that over 30,000 units exported to Australia in 2 times besides selling to Ha Noi and Ho Chi Minh Cities.

Hoi An lantern is various size and shape, from normal lantern to dragon lantern or fish lantern with full of color. Hoi An people highly pride on their lantern. It is very simple and easy to do only with hard-work .

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Location: Dalat, Vietnam
If you travel by road from Nha Trang and Phan Rang to Da Lat, after crossing over the Ngoan Muc Pass, or if you start from Ho Chi Minh City, after you pass the Finom junction, you will be amazed at the abundant pine forests.

The trees grow on hills, along passes, in valleys and by waterfalls. Although pine trees grow mainly in cold countries, Viet Nam is fortunate enough to have them in several regions. Of the 100 species of pine trees in the world, Viet Nam has five:

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Location: Lao Cai, Vietnam
Fansipan, a rough pronunciation of the local name Hua Xi Pan means the tottery giant rock. The French came to Vietnam and in 1905 planted a landmark telling Fansipan’s height of 3,143m and branded it the Roof of Indochina. Very few people climbed to the top of Fansipan at the time. Then came the long years of war and Fansipan was left deserted for hunting and savaging. The trail blazed by the French was quickly overgrown by the underbrush.

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