In the itinerary (part 6)

Before reaching Sung Sot cave (Surprise Cave), you’ll pass through Cho Da Islet (or Dog Rock Islet). You can recognize a block of limestone in the shape of a dog standing with its back towards the sea, guarding for the safety of seagoing boats for millions of years.

You may be having first lunch aboard on day 1, then remember to look out of the window to enjoy the view, or ask our tour guide to point you at the rock. 

It’s time to relax

By Phillip Cabrera

We had our final dinner with Project Vietnam Foundation (PVNF) Friday at a hotel restaurant in Hanoi. I got contact information from PVNF members and then we went our separate ways the next day. My class’s destination was Halong Bay. This entire trip has been one big highlight reel.

The bus ride to Halong Bay took three hours from Hanoi. We immediately boarded our private boat – an entire boat to ourselves for the night. It was time to relax and enjoy the scenery of what I consider to be one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen. I would come to Halong Bay for a honeymoon or would travel here with that special someone.

We went cave exploring and saw the Surprise Cave, which could easily have been mistaken for an Indiana Jones movie set. A great part for me while exploring the caves was the exercise. We hiked almost vertically to get to the entrances of the cave. The next morning, some of my classmates and I hiked a steep incline to the top of a lookout point. Other adventures included me putting my body to good use and setting off a sweet cannonball off the boat into the bay. The water was so cold that I didn’t want to stay in long, but that jump made it worth it. I swam with my classmate Keith, while my classmates Johnny and Lucio shot photos of our sweet dives. The rest of the class kayaked around the bay. Then we had dinner and relaxed for the rest of the night.

More about Halong Carnaval 2011

There will be nearly 3000 actors participating in Halong Carnaval 2011 with 15 groups in different subjects, of which there are about 1000 professional actors from Hanoi.

According to the Organising Board of Halong Tourism festival – Quang Ninh in 2011, the focus of the week is Halong Carnaval with the theme of Halong By Night (or ‘Discover shimmering Halong’) shown out on May 1 at Bai Chay tourism area.

A 9,000 seat grandstand will be set up for guests attending the Ha Long carnival festival, according to the Organising Board for the Ha Long-Quang Ninh Tourism Week 2011. This will provide more seating space during the festival for the comfort and safety of local people and visitors attending the events.

Among the top 8 picture perfect bays across the globe

Halong Bay

This bay is along the coast line of North Vietnam. The name of the bay literally translates to Bay of Descending Dragons. The highlight of the visit here are the islands which are topped by vegetation completing the picturesque seascape of limestone pillars. Some of the islands form huge caves while some have lakes. There are also floating villages around the area serving as home to the fishermen and their families.

 (source: asiaexplorers.com)

Other bays listed:

Victoria Harbour (Hong Kong)

Paradise Bay (Antarctica)

Phang Nga Bay (Phuket, Thailand)

San Francisco Bay (the US)

Bay of Kotor (Montenegro)

Bay of Fundy (Canada)

Port Jackson (Sydney)

Source: www.journeyetc.com

Geological Value

Forget the dragon, it's all about geology

By MARY ANNE SHULTS
For the Daily Titan

One of my former geology professors said the best examples of geology existed in California and in the Western United States. Death Valley, with its mysterious sliding rocks, Mojave Desert offers “rock jocks” the chance to study all three rock types, and lastly, the Colorado Plateau contains three geological wonders – now national parks – the most well known is the Grand Canyon.

Junk boats cruise through Halong Bay among the vast limestone pinnacles that jut from the teal-colored gentle water.

I have to thank my instructors who have passed on their passion to me as I’m more of a geology hobbyist. This week I experienced one of the most beautiful examples of the combination of plate tectonics, sedimentary layering I’ve ever seen, set in the beautiful Halong Bay in northeast Vietnam. The area is acclaimed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site of international geomorphological significance.

List of activities during Halong Tourism Week 2011

The Halong Tourism Week 2011 from April 28th to May 2nd takes place in several districts and cities in the province of Quang Ninh. The 5th annual celebration of Ha Long Carnival is expected to be the highlight of the Tourism Week.

 Halong Carnaval 2010

The list of activities organised during the festival week is as follows:

April 29, 2011 

7:30 – Tran Quoc Nghien Temple Festival (Lan Be, Halong city)

9:00 – Opening Ceremony of Halong Bay Photo Exhibition (Thanh Nien Tourism area, Halong city)

9:00 – Opening Ceremony of Open Mong Cai Tennis and Football Tournament (Mong Cai city)

16:00 - Halong Cuisine Festival (Thanh Nien Tourism area, Halong city)

20:00 – Poetry and Music night on Halong (Thanh Nien tourism area, Halong city)

April 30, 2011 

8:00 – Open Quang Ninh Dance Sports Championship (Quang Ninh Stadium, Halong city)

8:00 – Exhibition on Ornaments, Fighting Cock Competition (Royal International Park, Halong city)

9:00 – Beach Volleyball Tournament (Tuan Chau International Tourism Area, Halong city)

9:00 – Open Quang Ninh Tennis Tournament (Halong Stadium)

15:00 – Vietnam Folk Games (Thanh Nien Tourism Area, Halong city)

20:00 – Poetry and Music Night on Yen Tu (Yen Tu Heritage Landmark)

20:00 – Quang Ninh Trademark Promotion Fair 2011 (The Children’s House of Quang Ninh Province)

20:00 – The Final Round of The Best MC on Halong Bay contest (Vietnam – Japan Labor Culture Palace, Halong city)

20:00 – Mong Cai (Vietnam) – Dongxing (China) Cultural and Art Exchange (Mong Cai city)

20:00 – Hip-hop Dance Team Festival 2011 (Thanh Nien Tourism Area, Halong city)

May 1, 2011 

8:00 – Conference on voting for Halong Bay as one of new seven natural wonders (Halong city)

8:00 – Open Quang Ninh Dance Sports Tournament (Quang Ninh Stadium, Halong city)

20:00- Hip-hop Dance Team Festival 2011 (Thanh Nien Tourism Area, Halong city)

20:00- Halong Carnaval 2011 (Bai Chay Tourism Area, Halong city)

May 2, 2011 

9:00 – Classical Music Concert in the Dau Go Cave (Dau Go cave)

20:00- Mysterious Halong Night (Cot 3 Area, Halong city)


See more:

Halong Tourism Festival Week 2011 (Updated)

Source: QN News

In the Itinerary (Part 5)

Bai Tho Mountain (Poem)

Bai Tho Mountain is 106m high. It former name was Truyen Dang (Transmission of light). It runs along the coast, half on land and half in the sea. Sailing in the bay, one or two hundred meters from the mountain, one can see a poem carved on a flat stone cliff.

In 1468, King Le Thanh Tong, who was also a poet, made an inspection tour of the North–East region. He stopped at the foot of the mountain and inspired by the magnificent beauty of the surroundings, he wrote a poem. Later, he had it engraved on the southern side of the mountain, thus it is called Bai Tho.

In 1729, Lord Trinh Cuong composed a poem in response to that of King Le Thanh Tong and also had it carved near the former. The mountain features other poems by Nguyen Can and some other poets.

Climbing to the summit offers spectacular panoramic views of the bay. In the background of immense emerald waters, of rock bobbing, of high sky, of surrounding flowers and trees, you can figure out the tiny images of boats. Bai Tho makes up one of the beauty spots of Ha Long.

Vote for Halong in Museums

Vote for Halong Bay

International Cooperation Department and Department of Cultural Heritage (Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism) have just launched a voting campaign for Halong Bay to become one of new seven wonders of nature in museums where attracts a great number of domestic and international tourists.

Voting campaign will be carried out at Vietnam Revolution Museum, Ho Chi Minh Museum, Vietnam History Museum, Vietnam Fine Arts Museum, Vietnam Museum of Ethnology, President Ho Chi Minh Relic’s Site at the Presidential Palace during the last week of April.

Reportedly, for four weeks, the proportion of votes by foreigners have accounted for 72.39%. Meanwhile New Open World, the organisation launched the competition, encouraged at least 90% votes. 

Source: Hanoimoi

Explore Vietnam

Vietnamese Girl in Ao Dai - the traditional costume of Vietnamese women

Appreciation for the minor things

International travel is a great way to remind yourself of all the things you take for granted back home. Whether it's ice in your tea, reliable sanitation, or a bacon cheeseburger with fries and a frosty beverage, you will have a whole new appreciation for the small things in your culture. 

I should know. I've just returned from a two-week trip through Vietnam with my classmates in the Kansas Agricultural and Rural Leadership program. 

We started our tour in the south, with a visit to Ho Chi Minh City, followed by a stop in the Mekong Delta. Then, we drove up Highway 1A to Hue, along the coast where we saw towering mountains and cliffs, amazing fishing villages, and all sorts of rice production. 

We drove through the town of Dalat, where we saw fields of vegetables and greenhouses of flowers clinging to the hillsides. We spoke with fish farmers, a farm family that raises sugarcane, and furniture makers. In Nha Trang we experienced a Buddhist temple and the beauty of the beach. And, we even spent one night on a boat in the middle of Halong Bay, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that is simply breathtaking. 

Halong Bay from Titov island 

In the Itinerary (Part 4)

Dau Nguoi Islet (Human head islet)

Far away in the distance, you can see an islet resembling a huge Egyptian head with a massive nose and a rough chin protruding from the sea surface. The Dau Nguoi Islet, approximately 25m high, is considered as a masterpiece of nature. Many people associated it with the image of Egyptian Sphix. It is located near Luon Cave (about 1km away), to the North of Bo Hon Island, Halong Bay. 

See more: 

In the Itinerary (part 1)

In the Itinerary (part 2)

In the Itinerary (part 3) 

Sounds of silence in Vietnam

Most recently I had the honor of visiting the incredible country of Vietnam. Vietnam was one of the places I was most excited about because I had heard amazing things about the food, people and breathtaking sights it had to offer.
Prior to our arrival, my roommate and I had mentally planned our time there and were intending to fly to the northern part of the country to a “natural wonder” of the world, Halong Bay. (Google image it and you will see why we were adamant about going.)

Upon porting the ship in Ho Chi Minh City/Saigon we called the airlines only to find that all of the flights to our intended destination were booked for the entirety of the five days we would be in Vietnam. Even with continued persistence and begging over the phone, we were told there was nothing they could do to help us get a flight to this tiny paradise in the northern coast. We were faced with the question, what now? The one thing we had wanted to do for the entire voyage so quickly became unattainable, and was so close yet so far from our grasp.

Vote for Halong Bay at Tourism centers

Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) has sent  official letters to the travel companies, hotels, tourism training schools to intensify the voting campaign for Halong Bay to become the world’s natural wonders with a slogan: “Each worker in the tourism industry one vote for Halong Bay”, “Each tourist one vote for Halong Bay”.

It is known that funding for this campaign is one billion VND. Ballots will be printed in four languages: Vietnamese, English, French, Chinese (one side is the image of Ha Long Bay, the back side is the slogan and voting instructions) and be issued to the following subjects: tourism enterprises; domestic tourist sites; Embassies and Representatives of international organizations in Vietnam; in the internal or overseas tourism events; representative networks of Vietnam Airlines and other airlines which fly to Vietnam.
 
In April, VNAT is going to carry on the voting campaign in major tourism centers around the country such as Ha Long, Hanoi, Quang Binh, Hue, Nha Trang, Ho Chi Minh City, Can Tho …

Source: Hanoimoi, QN News

In the Itinerary (Part 3)

Titov Island (Đảo Ti Tốp) (Panoramic view of Halong Bay from Titov Island's peak - Source: fotopedia.com)

Titov Island is situated about 7-8km south-east of Bai Chay. The island is noted for a beautiful crescent-shaped beach that's popular with swimmers and water sports enthusiasts. You may also hike 420 steps up to a pavilion at the summit for a panoramic view of Halong Bay. It also displays sand that has been washed to a snowy white by the tide.

Small though it might be, Titov Beach wins kudos for its quiet and airy atmosphere, its clean and clear waters, as well as its alluring landscape. At present, there has a bar in the island which also provides swimming costumes, floats and lukewarm shower. Fresh water was carried to the island from inland.

Quang Ninh welcomes nearly 2 million visitors in Q1

About 2 million tourists visited Quảng Ninh in the first three months of 2011, reported the Department of Culture Sports and Tourism.

Huong Hai Junk

The number of foreign visitors is over 600,000, a 13 percent increase over the last year. Over 614 thousand travelers visit Halong Bay, up 7 percent compared to the same time in 2010.
 
The Province's tourism turnover in the first quarter is estimated to reach VND 913 billion, showing a six percent increase compared to the same time last year.