Travelog - A travel guide to Vietnam

The White Sand Dunes and Bao TrangThe White Sand Dunes, or Bao Trang (White Lake) is the top attraction at Mui Ne, after the beach itself. The massive, saharan dunes lay 65 km NE of Phan Thiet. The dunes range from gold to pure white (red dunes may be found further south at Mui Ne village). A small stand of pine trees sit on the southern end of the dune lakes, offering a perfect spot for a picnic and afternoon nap.

The Bao Trang area has 3 lakes: Bau Ong (Gentleman Lake), Bau Ba (Lady Lake) which is the largest, and Bau Xoai (Mango Lake) which is the smallest, and several ponds. Bau Ba is 14.5 m at the deepest point and Bau Ong is 22 m deep. The two lake have a combined water volume of 12,131,900 m3. The shallower ends of the lakes are covered in beautiful flowering lotuses, and thus the area is sometimes referred to as “Lotus Lake” by tour companies; further adding to the great confusion of so many names for the same area. While visitors often swim in Bau Ba , this should be done with great care. Locals tell stories of many children tangling their feet in the reeds and drowning.
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With its gradually slopping, white sand beach, the average depth of less than 1m and the average temperature in the bathing season of 25?C, Lang Co is an ideal beach for tourists. Lang Co Beach lies on the most beautiful curve of the “S”, where you can be the first to see the sun rise in Vietnam. Lang Co attracts visitors for its wild beauty with mountains, forests and sea.

Located on the northern part of Hai Van Pass on National Highway No.1A, about 80km south of the imperial city of Hue, Lang Co Peninsula looks even more mythical and beautiful amid the blue sea and white sand. Visitors can see many local wonders and landscapes such as Chan May, Mo and Hoi Cam streams. Tourists can enjoy sea diving, mountain climbing, and fishing with local fishermen. From Lang Co, visitors can easily reach other beautiful beaches on Son Tra Peninsula or take a boat to Ngoc Island, where they can participate in several aquatic activities.

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Location: Hoa Binh, Vietnam
Mai Chau is located in Hoa Binh province, approximately 135 km from Hanoi and 60 km from Hoa Binh.

From the top of Cun Mountain, one can admire the superb panorama of Mai Chau surrounded by a green valley and stilt houses. Many minorities, including the Thai ethnic group, live in Mai Chau.

Stilt houses border both sides of the roads. The houses are quite large with palm leaf roofs and polished bamboo-slat floors. The kitchen is located in the center of the house; the cooking as well as the making of the colorful tho cam, the material used by Thai minority to make their clothes, takes place in the kitchen. The windows are large and decorated with patterns. Each house also has a pond to breed fish.

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Location: Bac Kan, Vietnam
Ba Be Lake lies in the middle of a vast limestone mountain range of Ba Be District, Bac Kan Province, 180 km north-west of Ha Noi, belong to the commune of Nam Mau, Khang Ninh, Cao Thuong, Quang Khe, Cao Tri.

Ba Be Lake have a water area around 500ha, spreading over 8km, as biggest natural water lake in Vietnam, situated in Cho Ra-Ba Be-Cho Don carste terrain pertaining to lowlying lands of Vietnam North raising mass. This raising mass was formed from the destruction of South East Asia continental mass at the end of Cambri era, around 200 million years ago. Due to its special geological constitution, the Lake has very original and special features compared with other world-wide carster lakes :world carster lakes are spent or only with one-season water, while Ba Be Lake has its permanent full-water.

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Location: Quang Nam, Vietnam
Cu Lao Cham is a large island consists of several small islands distance 25 nautical miles off the coast from Hoi An.

At the summer, if guests reaches for the island by normal boat, it takes 2 and half hour, but only 30 minutes by speed boat. Cham island has total 7 islands including Hon Lao, Hon La, Hon Kho me, Hon Kho ? at the area of 16 sq. meter, whereby the largest island is Lao.

According to archaeologists, Cu Lao Cham first settled there 3,000 years ago and established business contacts with external countries some 1,000 years ago. Up to now, Cu Lao Cham has preserved many architectural constructions which date back to the 18th ? 20th century. They include the shrine dedicated to Than Yen Sao, built in 1843 at Bai Huong and Hai Tang Pagoda, built in 1753 on the western hillside of Hon Lao. Still, Cu Lao Cham has more to offer. After a 3-hour canoe trip, one may hop over to the famed Well of the Cham people.

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Hue has long been Vietnam’s centre of wooden architecture and many of the buildings here, royal palaces included, are Ruong style.

A typical Ruong house is noble vet cosy, hinting of the imperial finesse that once dominated this city. Each one is made up of compartments (which are separated by rows of columns) and side-wings (which are separated from the compartments using wooden dividers). When Hue was home to Vietnam’s emperors, all aspects of life here were dictated by royal decree and while those decrees might sometimes have been taken lightly elsewhere, the royal city never strayed. Thus house building, one of the most important endeavours in life, was undertaken with strict rules in mind.

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Rang Beach (Mui Ne Beach). Mui Ne Beach is 16 km long, and a beautiful beach surrounded by groves of palm trees and miles of red and golden sand dunes.

The temperature is perfect at an average of 30 degrees Celcius. Mui Ne also has the lowest rainfall in all of Vietnam, making it a great beach (or perhaps the only beach) to visit even during rainy season. Mui Ne has the best conditions in all of Asia for water sports. Mui Ne has Asia’s strongest and most consistant cross-onshore winds.

Vietnam has two wind seasons, the North East Monsoon Season and the South West Summer Season.

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Location: Binh Thuan, Vietnam
Hon Ba is an island rising high up in the middle of the sea, nearly 2 kilometers East of LaGi seashore, Ham Tan district; and about 70 Km South East of Phan Thiet City.

History
Hon Ba is also a young mountain on which there are a lot of big ancient trees at the first half of the seventeenth century, Cham people erected a temple to worship Goddess Thien Y Ana - the ancient Champa Kingdom’s sacred goddess. Since then, this island has got the name “Goddess’s island - Hon Ba “.

The temple has the same architectural structure and art decoration as the Vietnamese temple at the same time. In this temple, the rock statue of Goddess Thien Y Ana was sculptured from an integral rock mass in its place by Cham artisan - artists.

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Tram Chim National Park,Tam Nong District, Dong Thap Province, Vietnam
Location: Dong Thap, Vietnam
The Park covers Communes of Phu Duc, Phu Hiep, Phu Tho, Tan Cong Sinh in Tam Nong District, Dong Thap Province, about 800m from Tram Chim Small Town.

The Park is in the lowest area of the Mekong River water logged plain submerged and in the centre of Dong Thap Muoi. With a system of swamps, grass-plots and criss-crossing canals, the 7,612 ha Tram Chim National Park has become an ideal habitat of more than 130 species of plants, 100 vertebrates, 40 species of fish, 147 rare and precious species of birds, especially the red-head cranes. Hence, it is also an ideal place for scientists to research into the life of migratory birds.

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Croc fishing and bat spotting in Vam Sat,Vietnam Travelling by boat to Vam Sat Ecological Tourist Area in the Can Gio Mangrove Forest in HCM City to go crocodile fishing is what Saigontourist Travel Service Co. offers. But fishing for these animals is not the only excitement on the trip.

In downtown HCM City, tour-takers board the Dong Duong, a modern boat that used to be a restaurant, docking at Bach Dang Wharf.

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