Explore the South

Away from the city noise and bustle, drive southward to enjoy the fresh air, the quiet that visitors will find more comfortable and fresh. Besides, down to the southwest, to the Ben Tre, you will see the coconut tree lines along the canal bank, listening to the sweet folk songs to feel gentle.

Itinerary: 

Saigon – My Tho (Mekong delta) – Saigon

Am: Pick up at the hotel around 8h00. Drive southward to Mekong delta. Upon arrival at My Tho pier, embark on a private boat for cruising along small creek to Mekong River estuary, to Con Phung (Phoenix Island) and stop over at a beautiful and delicious garden restaurant at a local house for Vietnamese lunch.

Pm: The motorized boat cruises along natural creeks and quiet village in Ben Tre Province. Visit orchards, bee – keeping farm, taste natural honey and honey tea, enjoy tropical fruit, traditional music, see round a distillery, explore the local coconut candy production process, taste candy & coconut pulp. In the afternoon, back to Saigon with stop over in VinhTrang pagoda for visiting. Arrive in Saigon at the end of the day. Tour ends

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Inclusion:

• Private boat trip in Mekong river


• Private and comfortable transportation during the whole trip


• All entrance fees


• English speaking guides. Other languages can be arranged upon request


• All meals as mentionned per program

Exclusion:

• Any unmentioned drinks


• Personal insurance


• Personal expenses 


• Vietnam visa (can be done with our Visa service)

Explore the South

A very tasteful Vietnamese speciality - Quang Noodles

Knowing about Vietnamese speciality – noodles sometimes can be extremely helpful, as “pho” in Hanoi and beef rice noodles in Hue and especially, popular Quang noodles in Quang Nam and Da Nang.

 Quang noodle soups are different with most other normal noodle soups in that the soups have just enough broth to barely cover the noodles. Unlike other Vietnamese noodle soup bowls whose broth will cover the noodles almost completely, Quang noodle broth is barely enough to slurp during the meal. If you do not eat a Quang noodle bowl fast enough, the broth will generally quickly be soaked up by the noodles. Quang noodle soups are generally pork and dried shrimp broth based, although some regional and family recipes will use chicken and even duck. What makes Quang noodle soups unique is the richness of the broth, the lack of it and the crushed peanut toppings on the noodles.

The mystery of Quang noodle is in that pot above. This is ‘nuoc sot mi quang’ or Quang noodle sauce. This makes the stock slightly sweet and a smidgen spicy. This dish’s ingredients include rice, vegetables and meat. After being soaked in water, the rice is ground to a fine powder and made into attractive smooth white noodles. Accompanying vegetables are water morning-glory, cress, young banana flowers and herbs. Especially, the famous Tra Que savory of Quang Nam Province will give the dish more flavour. You can use pork, chicken, fish, crab or shrimp to make the broth. If chicken is chosen, the meat is separated, seasoned and stir-fried while the bones are stewed. Finish the stock by adding cooked chicken meat.

There are many Quang noodle restaurants in Quang Nam and Da Nang. Each area is famous for one certain recipe. For example, Thanh Chiem Village in Dien Ban District, Quang Nam Province is known for shrimp noodle, while chicken noodle is at its best in Tuy Loan, Hoa Vang District, Da Nang City.

A traditional version says: “I make for you, darling, green tea and Quang noodles to express my feelings”. Thus, you can visit a Quang noodle kiosk in Danang City to enjoy the typical flavor of the soups, for instance: Ngan Quang Noodle at 108 Dong Da Street, Lu Quang Noodle at Ham Nghi Street, Vi Quang Noodle at 155 Trung Nu Vuong Street and so on.

A very tasteful Vietnamese speciality - Quang Noodles

Vietnamese speciality - Hue beef noodle (the typical culinary art of Hue)

In Hue city, the former citadel of Vietnam, it doesn’t take you a lot of money to dine like a King!

Hue beef noodle takes its origin from the Royal Hue City of Central Vietnam. The broth is from cooking beef bones for a long period of time as well as a variety of different spices including lemongrass.

Having a bowl of Hue beef noodle, it is easy to recognize that it is completely different from Pho since the former’s beef broth is much spicier.

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. 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.

Vietnamese speciality - Hue beef noodle (the typical culinary art of Hue)

“Cơm Việt” – a different taste

If you have ever tried “Cơm Việt” (Vietnamese boiled rice), you will find the difference from the boiled rice in other countries!

In an ordinary meal of Vietnamese people, together with a variety of different dishes, Com or plain boiled rice is an indispensable one, the most popular food at the main meals of the day (lunch and dinner).

Different cooking method makes “Cơm Việt” different!

In Vietnam, Com is made from different kinds of rice; typically fragrant rice is used, such as Tam Thom and Nang Huong. The main ingredients of Vietnamese boiled rice are commonly as follows:

      Vietnamese plain boiled rice

       – 1 cup of rice

                                                                                                       – 2 cups of boiling water

                                                                                                       – 1 teaspoon of salt

If you have chance to see how Vietnamese people make a good pot of boiled rice, you will notice that its process is not so difficult. Firstly, pick the rice over, taking out all the bits of brown husk; fill the outside of the double boiler with hot water, and put in the rice, salt and water, and cook forty minutes, but do not stir it. Then take off the cover from the boiler, and very gently, without stirring, turn over the rice with a fork; put the disk in the oven without the cover, and let it stand and dry for ten minutes. Then turn it from the boiler into a hot dish, and cover.

Other rice–made foods…

Beside the above-mentioned recipe of “Cơm Việt”, the Vietnamese people created many other rice-made foods, such as: rice ball, fried rice, rice gruel, steamed glutinous rice. Among them, making a rice ball (“Cơm nắm” in Vietnamese) is so interesting! “Cơm nắm” is a Vietnamese rice dish pressed into cylinder or sphere shape, which is sold in small alleys in Hanoi by vendors. This dish is very familiar with Vietnamese people. “Cơm nắm” has become a cheap but delicious rustic gift. When being fed up with nutritious food like vermicelli or “phở”, people often look for a frugal dish like “Cơm nắm” served with roasted sesame and ground nut.

Rice balls

Do you think it is easy to make a rice ball? A lot of people may say “Yes”, and you can obey the following simple process to make perfect a rice ball. To begin with, you boil the rice in a rice cooker. Please bear in mind that you have to make rice balls while the rice is hot or else it will not stick together. Next, you wet your hands and put a pinch of salt on your palms. Then, you put rice on your hand and wad up the rice and shape like cylinder or sphere. “Cơm nắm” is served with not o­nly sesame but also other things, such as stewed fish, simmered pork or salted shredded meat. However, salted roasted sesame (and ground nut) is still the first choice. The dish is so delicious that you surely would like to taste more than once… The rice is white clear, soft and used to be wrapped in a green banana leaf, which is so attractive. However, its cover is replaced with a plastic bag or paper. The salted sesame is roasted light brown and grated, which has an appealing fragrance. “Cơm nắm” is cut into slices and served with this sesame or/and ground nut. The sweetness of rice combining with the buttery taste of sesame is so unique that can not be found anywhere in the world.

Being in Vietnam, you are strongly recommended to give you the chance for enjoying “Cơm Việt” with dishes of pork, fish, shrimp and vegetable cooked in oil, as well as vegetables, pickles, etc. Enjoy your meal!

“Cơm Việt” – a different taste

Yen Tu Festival

A popular saying goes: “Even after 100 years of virtuous religious life, if you don’t come to Yen Tu you cannot be called a true religious person”. Pilgrimage to Yen Tu Festival in respect of Buddha and sightseeing is so meaningful…

Situated within the immense arched mountain range of north-eastern Vietnam, Yen Tu Mountain in northern coastal Quang Ninh province bears at its peak the Dong Pagoda: at an altitude of 1,068m above sea level. The beauty of Yen Tu consists in the majesty of its mountains mingling with the ancient and solemn quietness of its pagodas, shrines and towers. Yen Tu has been a centre of Buddhism for many centuries, and is the starting point of the Buddhist sect of Truc Lam. Travelers to Yen Tu Festival to stay away from the mundane and go on a religion pilgrimage in the midst of the mighty nature.

The history…

Under the Ly Dynasty, Yen Tu held the Phu Van Pagoda, with Yen Ky Sinh as its warden. But Yen Tu only really became a Buddhism center when Emperor Tran Nhan Tong surrendered his throne to establish a Buddhist sect called Thien Truc Lam and became the first progenitor with the religious name Dieu Ngu Giac Hoang Tran Nhan Tong (1258-1308). He ordered building hundreds of constructions, large and small on Yen Tu Mountain for leading a religious life, sermonizing. After his death, his successor, Phap Loa Dong Kien Cuong (1284 – 1330) the second progenitor of Thien Truc Lam, compiled a set of book “Thach that ngon ngu” and ordered the building of 800 pagodas, shrines and towers with thousands of value statues throughout 19 years of religious life. Some famous pagodas are Quynh Lam, Ho Thien. There is the third progenitor of Thien Truc Lam, Huyen Quang Ly Dao Tai (1254 – 1334), in the sermonizing centre of Phap Loa.

Passing through to the Le and Nguyen Dynasties, Yen Tu became the focal point of Vietnamese Buddhism, and was often subject to restorations. It is a meeting place of different styles from various historic periods: visible in the many different designs and decorations that ornate its constructions.

The mountain scenery and beautiful pagodas and hermitages, inspired King Tran Nhan Tong, who reigned over the country from 1279 to 1293, to pass the throne to his son to lead the life of a Buddhist monk at Yen Tu. There, he founded the Truc Lam medication sect, making Yen Tu the country’s leading Buddhist center.

The festivals

Yen Tu Festival commences annually on the 10th day of the first lunar month and lasts for three months. Tens of thousands of pilgrims begin their journey to the uppermost shrine after a solemn ritual held at the base of Yen Tu Mountain.

During the festival, the people near and far flock to Yen Tu which was regarded as the Buddhist land to show their belief and aspiration or to get rid of all sorrows and sadness. Other go to Yen Tu to do sightseeing and to enjoy the pure atmosphere of a mountain region. Foreign visitors come to Yen Tu to witness a famous beauty spot, a mysterious tourist attraction. Many cultural and historical values are carefully preserved in Yen Tu, where is also home to a rare ecosystem in Vietnam.

In the wide ensemble of vestiges in Yen Tu, there are 11 pagodas and hundreds of shrines and towers. One form of entertainment is to climb the peak to where the Dong Pagoda was built (1,068m above the sea). On the way, you will see pagodas, a tower, a stream and a forest. At the top, after having burned joss-sticks, you seem to be lost in nature somewhere between the sky and the earth. When clear, you can perceive almost all of the northeast area from here.

The route of the pilgrimage from the foot of the mountain to the pagoda is nearly 30 km. The highest point of Yen Tu is Dong Pagoda, which is located 1,068 m above sea level. You can get to Hoa Yen Pagoda at the altitude of 534m by the cable car system recently put into operation and will see on this peak two 700-year-old frangipane trees. From there, you will continue walking up stairs to pagodas of minor note lined up along the path leading to Dong Pagoda. There you will feel like walking on clouds. If the weather is agreeable, from this summit you can admire the dramatic landscape of the northeast of Vietnam.

The complex of historical sites and beauty spots in Yen Tu features various pagodas, shrines or stupas now appearing now disappearing under the thick foliage of the primary show their belief, or doing away with all sorrow and sadness. Others go to Yen Tu to do sightseeing and to enjoy the pure atmosphere of a mountain region. Foreign visitors come to Yen Tu to witness a famous beauty spot, a mysterious tourist attraction. Anyone who makes all the way to the Bronze Pagoda feels the magnificence of Yen Tu and forests. Atop Yen Tu Mountain, one feels like standing by the Heave Gate shrouded in white cloud. On clear days one can have a partial view of the northeastern region…

Yen Tu Festival

The ancient Duong Lam village

The ancient Duong Lam village attracts visitors by the ancient houses and cultural space of an old Vietnamese village which has everlasting life over the time. Through its ups and downs, Duong Lam has kept a picture of Vietnam ancient village with the village gate, banyan trees, wells, lotus pond. Pass the ancient gates which is located under the a giant banyan tree over 300 years old are the alleys, roads, roofs, laterite  walls, and ancient architecture in a space of community with a bold identity of an agricultural village and are the mark of a rice civilization.

Duong Lam village consists of 5 hamlets: Mong Phu, Cam Thinh, Dong Sang, Doai Giap and Cam Lam lying together under the bottom of Ba Vi Mountain, next to the major rivers such as Day, Da, Red and Tich River. In particularly, Mong Phu has the most ancient village’s gate which was built in 1833. The significance in the village is Mong Phu temple built in 1684 under the reign of King Le Hien Tong, on a vacant land in the center of hill which is in the center of village. There are two old wells in two sides of the temple which are believed as two eyes of dragon. The fence around was built by the honeycomb stone, making a quaint beauty and quiet for the temple.

Mong Phu villagers said that “The lateritic stones have appeared since their ancestors and this type of stone is dug up from underground. Whenever the stone is dug up, it is really hard because its diameter is typically about 15-40 cm “. Time makes the stone become firmer and more rigid… as well as the Duong Lam villagers are more trust in their place through idyllic life.

The Duong Lam villagers are very conscious of the value of the village. They aware of the charm of the ancient houses attracting tourists who want to look for the beauty of the past.

The ancient Duong Lam village

Nha nhac (the Royal Refined Music) of Hue

On 7th, November 2003, the Royal Refined Vietnam has ever Music was proclaimed by UNESCO as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity, the first title of this kind received

 The UNESCO Council appraised Vietnamese royal music in the following terms: “Vietnamese royal music represents an elegant and refined music. It deals with the music performed in the imperial courts and on different anniversaries, religious festivals, and on such particular occasions. Of the different categories developed in Vietnam, only the royal music was national.

The Royal Refined Music was first introduced in the 13th century, but only reached its peak under the Nguyen Dynasty. The Royal Refined Music had long enjoyed a preference as an official form of royal music. It was recognized as the symbol of a powerful and long-lasting monarchy and as an indispensable part of all ceremonies. Every year, the Royal Refined Music was played in nearly 100 different ceremonies.

Varied in its themes, the Royal Refined Music is considered a means of communication to express the respect to gods and kings.

Compared to other forms of art, the Royal Refined Music boasted high artistic value, first and foremost because the court had enough political power and finance to bring together talented composers and players from around the country. Given favorable conditions to practice and improve performance skills, they became professional artists in composing and performance.

After being recognized as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity, the Royal Refined Music performances was held in France and Belgium, etc. and was highly valued by the audience and art-culture researchers.

Royal refined music and royal meal are two highlights in Hue that visitors should experience to get a full view at how the royal life was under Nguyen dynasty. It is said that King Tu Duc who reigned from 1848 to 1883 lived a life of truly imperial luxury: at every meal, 50 chefs had to prepare 50 dishes served by 50 servants and 50 artists to play music and dance. Then, Royal meal became a kind of special talk (story) in cultural life of Vietnam.

Nha nhac (the Royal Refined Music) of Hue

The Cultural Space of Gong in the Central Highlands

The fame of Central Highlands “Gong” culture has crossed national borders to become a property of all human beings.

Specific values of the cultural space of the Central Highlands “Gong” which is a part of Vietnam’s cultural heritage and quintessence has been recognized by the international community.

On 25th November 2005, the UNESCO decided to recognize “The cultural space of “Gong” in the Central Highlands” of Vietnam as “Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity”.

Caption

Throughout the Central Highlands of Viet Nam, “Gong” ensembles are parts of various ceremonies and closely linked to the communities’ daily life and the cycle of the seasons. The instruments, measuring 25 to 80 centimeters, are played by men as well as women.

The culture space of the “Gong” of central Vietnam is about original musical forms, which are performed against the background of the linguistic and ethnic diversity of the region. Diversity is also found in the compositions and customs of the Gong ensembles, in their performance techniques, in the musical genres and in the ritual functions of the gongs.

In the realm of Vietnam’s musical instruments, the “Gong” is very well-known for their outstanding value and regarded as the privileged language bridging humanity and the supernatural world. The “Gong” is made from a mixture of bronze and silver, with some distinctive features. The peoples living in the Central Highlands of Viet Nam possess many sets of “Gongs”, which would be performed differently. A set of “Gongs” consists of two to twenty units.

Culture Value

The most outstanding value of “Gong” culture presents masterpieces of human creativity. The masters of “Gong” culture are the ethnic people of the Central Highlands. Although they can not cast “Gongs” themselves, they raise the value of a product into an excellent musical instrument with their sensitive ears and musical soul. In the hands of talented folk artists, each “Gong” plays the role of a musical note in an orchestra to perform different pieces of gong music.

 As for ethnic minorities in the Central Highlands, “Gong” and “Gong” culture present a means to affirm the community and its cultural identities. As time passes, “Gongs” have become an attractive and appealing symbol of the culture of the Central Highlands. It is an activity associated with cultural and spiritual life, and beliefs of ethnic people when they are born, grown up and return to the soil.

Customs

The Central Highlands “Gong” comes from long-standing historical and cultural traditions. In the past, community of people in the Central Highlands knew how to play the “Gong”. Its sound is either deep or strong, moving and combining with the sounds of streams, wind and the hearts of people so that it can live with the heaven, the earth and people in the Central Highlands.

 However, different ethnic minority groups arrange different orchestras. Listening to the sound of the “Gong”, people in the Central Highland can know which ethnic group is playing.

“Gong” players in the majority of ethnic groups in the Central Highlands are male. Only in a minority of ethnic groups in the region, “Gong” players are female.

Visual description of the picture  

It is a bright sunny day and a group of seven men are outside playing brown tambourines. Only five of the seven men are clearly visible. Their bodies describe a semi-circle facing the left of the picture. They all wear calm expressions. Each man holds the tambourine in his right hand, hitting it with a short thick piece of wood held in the left. The tambourines all have white characters written on them. All the men are wearing the same costume: a dark-blue long-sleeved shirt with multicolored cuffs and a red square piece of material with golden buttons down the front. Some of the men wear caps; the first man from left to right wears a yellow cap, the second from right wears a blue cap. In the background we can see a forest with blue sky just visible through the dense foliage of the trees. Smoke is spiraling upwards from the dirt floor. On the far left of the frame we can see the entrance to a hut.

 The Central Highlands’ gongs, together with the epics, the treasure of folklore, folk sculpture and folk knowledge, constitute the unique cultural heritage that have attached to the life of the highlanders for over thousand years.

The Cultural Space of Gong in the Central Highlands