Sapa, The love Valley

Take a luxurious train from Hanoi, the capital to LaoCai station. The complete package for 2 days may cost not more then 90$ depending on the tour you book. The sinh cafe tour group can be one of your good choice for the trip but same time you should mistake in recognizing the correct SinhCafe group. There are many other tour group which are not original sinh cafe. All tour group are located near hoam kiem lake. A pickup will be provided from your hotel which will drop you to Ga Hanoi(hanoi railway station). 9pm the train will start which will drop you to LaoCai station in morning 6:30AM. A minibus will be ready for you to take you to Sapa from there which may take 1 more hour. You can checkin in Hotel and have breakfast. Checkout time is 11AM for all hotels. 

Basically a beautiful hill station and climate is the main thing to enjoy here. Although there are some tourist spots and Villages around which may be interesting fi you like to study new culture and living style. Black Hmong tribe of CatCat and Sin chai villages can be included in tour program. 

Trekking to these villages is really a fun and luckily if you get a little drizzling. If you have planned such that you land on saturday you will be lucky to enjoy the local culture in night called "love market". Choosing groom and bride is the main purpose of this market. 

The naother side of SAPA have tay and Dzay tribes in ta van and la cai village. 

Night is very beautiful with night markets and pubs and restaurants serving delicacies of world including indian restaurants. the church is standing in the middle of city and around it is spread you may call as walking street with all tourists enjoying the market and new delicacies. 

People here are more comfortable in english then in Hanoi, with friendly behavior and giving you all comforts to make your stay comfortable in SAPA.

Vung Tau,Brazil of vietnam

Vung tau, only 60 kilometer from Saigon(HCMC) is a nice place for Saigon people to relax. It is also called as the place of rich as most of the rich people have at least one house in VungTau.
The distance can be covered with a fast funfilled trip in motor boat which will take 80 minutes to reach Vung tau or the bus services, which will be cheap (only 50000VND) but will take 2 and half hour.

Including the beautiful and clean beaches of Vung tau, the other main attraction also includes its beautiful pagodas and coffee shops, the hound race (only on saturday evening) and above all a Jesus Christ big statue made in the style of Brazil which is the must see place. Weekends the hotel prices goes up and the place will be mostly crowded with the Saigon people. If you are planning to visit Vung Tau in wekend it is always better to book the hotel in advance before you drop down there.
Hound Race is arranged a little away from sea beach and a taxi can be taken to reach there. If you can predict better that which dog will win, will make you earn money in few minutes. The betting on hound Race is legal and there are counters to manage this.

The jesus Christ statue is really the centre of attraction and can be seen from far distance. Climbing all the way to the top of mountain and sneaking inside the small stairs and places to reach on the top of jesus to see the complete VungTau city will leave you in an unforgettable experience.
The pagodas location and beauty will pull you inside when you are crossing it. Some pagodas are located right beside the sea beach and endless water can be seen form top of pagoda. The incense sticks and and silence in pagoda with a view of Ocean will let you enjoy an intense pleasure.
Bicycle and bikes are easily available on rent. If you are never tired Kind of person renting motor bike and exploring the city is the best way I can propose.



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Nha Trang

Nha Trang

Situated at a 7 hours journey by train and takes

some 8 hours road ways from Saigon(HCMC), Nha Trang is considered as the one of the top 29 bays in the world. Nha Trang city also attracts quite a good number of international tourists and backpackers for its Scuba diving, beautiful beaches and mud bath one of its kind. Nha Trang have their own domestic AirPort also having direct flights from HCMC.

Nha Trang photos can be seen at http://picasaweb.google.co.in/kumar.prashant108/NhaTrang

If you are not in holiday season it is easy to find sleeper buses and train to go to nha trang starting in night which will take u to see sunrise in Nha Trang. You can just book 2-3 days in advance. In holiday season planning 10-15 days in advance and then booking hotel on phone will make your trip pleasant. Try to get hotel on tran phu Street which is the main street of Nha trang and adjacent to beach. Many tourist spots and tourists offices are situated on this road. You can find all kind of hotels on this road. A descent room for two in 10$ to 20$ with sea facing balcony is easily available.

Historic name of Nha Trang city was kauthura which was under champa dynasty. Founded in 781AD Ponagar was the name of the place. The main city of nha trang was dense forest populated with tiger and different wild animals. In early of 20^th century Nha Trang went under a rapid change. At that time Nha Trang five ward and villages merged to make a town which is now one of the most busy tourist point in Vietnam. There are still the remains of Ponagar and the Hindu temple of goddess Bhagvati. Also god Shiva and shivalingam was worshipped in this temple. The remains of temple are still standing high and telling the stories of centuries.

Ponagar is located 3 kms from city centre and open till 6pm. Entrance fee is 11.000VND.

Nha Trang is a popular destination of two very different kind of activities you can cherish here. First is Scuba diving and second is Mud bath.

There are few certified Scuba Diving centre in Nha Trang which start their trip in morning 7:30 and will finish by 1pm. Cost varies from 40$ to 50$. Don’t mix your scuba diving with any other activities. You will end up with wasting money. Also at the entire tourist centre you can have scuba diving trip which they divert to the certified Scuba diving centers. You can take the address from these tourist centres and go to scuba diving centre directly to get a discount up to 15-20% which they give as a commission to these tourist companies. The Scuba Diving team includes trained and certified divers who will take you for diving at 3-4 different island locations and will include lunch. There is no cheating and all scuba diving trips are well planned.

Situated 2 km away from Ponagar is located one of its kind hot Mineral water mud bath. They have mud bath tub for 2 for 4 for 8 and for 12. Will cost around 200.000Vnd per head and includes swimming pool and sprinkler which can be enjoyed after mud bath. The best time to go in evening and it closes by 8 Pm. Ypu can spend 3-4 hours here. Also have massage center which is charged separately.

Also there is a full day trip to 4 islands on boat which starts by 8am and ends by 3Pm. Try to get the trip from sin Café .

They have nice dance and singing program on boat and also have floating bar in ocean where you will swim in sea and can drink.

Halong Bay

 

Means 'Descending Dragon bay' is located in Quang Ninh Province of Vietnam, almost 160Km from Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam. It is a Unesco World Heritage site and one of the Great natural Wonders. With its picturesque view it is one of the world's most beautiful natural spots. Expanded in almost 1500Km dotted with thousands of rocky islands , it is really a heaven for nature lovers.

Going:

You can plan your trip with any tourist company. Most of the tourist companies are well organized and planned. You can start early morning from Hanoi to reach Quang Ninh province in 3 hours. The boats will be ready to take you in Halong bay.
A 2 day one night trip will be a nice idea. Riding the silent sea when the sun sets in the west will make your trip memorable. You can spend your night on boat or in hotel as preferred. 

Kayaking can be included in your trip organized by locals who have  floating houses on the sea. Beaches are not comfortable for swimming. although you can go to Cat Ba, Cat Ca islands which have very beautiful beaches an also a small city settled down only for tourism. The place is packed with hotels and restaurants all around.
The hotels in Halong City or Cat Ba, Cat Ca city is starting with 8$ till 12 $ for an average hotel.

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Dalat

Dalat , The City of Flowers

located 300Km away and 6hours journey from HCMC is one of the most beautiful place of Vietnam also referred as honeymoon capital, Dalat. At an elevation of 1500 m, bears the look of an Old French city. Dalat can be reached through airways as well. Dalat is a bit of french legacy.

You can get continuous running buses from Sinh Café, Thanh Buoi , Phuong Trang.The buses (sleeper150,000VND and sitter110,000VND) are available 24/7- every hour, especially per 15minutes on weekends. Also the buses are available from many bus company offices around the city.It’s better to take bus in night around 11pm or mid night so youcan reach Dalatto(old name) in the early morning by 6. The hotels are easily available provided you are not going in pick tourist time. Better try to rent a hotel near the Cho Dalat , Ho Xuan Huong Lake to enjoy Dalat beauty in night as well. Hotels are available of all the ranges starting from as low as 6 Dollar. Around the Ho xuan Lake there are many spectacular flower gardens.

Try to locate all the tourist places of city and plan the tour accordingly. There are many package tour for one day ranges in 200-300K VND.If you are comfortable driving bike, list out the tourist places of Dalat, can be done easily using a map and enquiring a little with locals, rent a bike which will cost you from 50,000 to 100,000Vnd depends on the Brand and the condition of the bike, and explore the beautiful city of your own. You can find many places where it is Just keep an eye when you are roaming on road and you can find where u can getbike on rent. Every Hotel also provide bike on rent.

Cho Dalat (Dalat Market) Can be your last destination to hang around till midnight. you can have close look on the culture and the specialties of this place. you can happen to






find some souveniers and lot of Dalat special freshy fruits here. Soya bean soup is a popular drink here can be seen sold many places by street vendors. you can buy some tea with medicinal values ie Atiso Tea. helps your hair more black and smooth skin. Don’t forget to try Dalat wine which is famous through out the country. Close to dalat market is a beautiful lake reflecting the colorful lights of city.



Places to Visit:

Since the Dalat is not spread in a wide area, you can get a map and locate tourist places and then can visit all following the map. 30 to 45 minutes is enough to go to the farthest tourist spot.

1)Ho Tuyen Lam (Tuyen Lam Lake) about 15 km from city center. A cable car (2,267 m long) will take you to Thien Vien Truc Lam (Truc Lam Meditation Centre) temple, situated on the hill top. This is the biggest buddha meditation center and education institute of Viet Nam. The temple surrounded with beautiful flowers and greeneries. A Lake at the end of temple adds the beauty to max. An ideal place to do meditation and feel the healing power of nature. The lake at the end of temple is bful and big lakes surrounding some island.You can take a boat (200k VND) for 4 people to Suoi Da Island to enjoy forest meat (chicken, pork, rabbit, fox, deer (mien) etc… riding on elephant, drinking A-ma-cong wine (highland minority’s wine).

2) Dalat train station– the image of Langbian mountain as well as combination of romantic Western and special Highland house construction – located in 01 Quang Trung, Da Lat. You can take the return ticket of 86k to Trai Mat Village (about 7km from Dalat). Good news for Vietnamese – if u are Vietnamese and u act as you are a tour guide you will get a free ticket ;). Go sight seeing the landscape of the suburb and Linh Phuoc pagoda. Once in Trai Mat, u can visit ornate Linh Phuoc pagoda (DSC05897) – decorated with colourful wall carvings all around the temple giving an impression of sounth Indian temples. build in in 1950, the pagoda is a great piece of art. It is said that sometimes a bright circle surrounded the temple. You can see some photos on the entrance of pagoda giving the details of this incidence.

3) Xuan Huong Lake (06052) 5,1km2 square – in the centre of DaLat lies the Xuan Huong , meaning “fragrance of Spring”, aquiring a shape of plantain. Walking around the lake in cool weather of dalat and enjoying the pedal boat ride in lake in a warm sunny day and eating baked eggs, sweet potatoes, corns sold by street vendors on the bank of lake will be a nice experience of Dalat.

4) Dalat Flower Gardens (DSC05922) – 02 Tran Nhan Tong, Da Lat. The area is 7,000m2 square with many colourful and beautiful flowers like hydrangeas (DSC05585), especially orchids (DSC05637) - the most famous and beautiful flower in Vietnam (DSC05942…). If you would like to have a feeling of being a part of minority people you just spend only 10k VND for wearing a traditional dress of minority people here (DSC05965). Women carry their infants on their backs in a long piece of cloth worn over their shoulder and tied in the front .

5) Crazy House - 03 Huynh Thuc Khang, Da Lat – DSC 06041

This weird and creative edifice is the brain child artichect Dang Viet Nga – the daughter of Vietnamese former President – Truong Chinh. The rooms in this hotel are decidedly odd. The carvings and the architecture can not be explained. Moreover the building looks like you are seeing something in an ununiform mirror. You can lay your head in the bamboo forest, Kangaroo room or the Termite room a nice piece of art will leave your mouth wide open.(DSC05980).

There are caves, giant spider web made of wire (DSC05997), concrete tree trunks and scary-looking animals with glowing red eyes (DSC05995).Some part of scary house is carved on the tree stading stiff in the middle of the construction. You can also rent the crazy house rooms though it will be costlier than the normal hotels of Dalat and will cost you around 25-70$ for a night. With a nominal entrance fee you can visit a 5 storey crazy building which is more popular then the architect owned 5 storey hotel few doors from there. With the entrance fee, the crazy house is under construction. Inspite of noisy dove, colorful birds, hens, Crazy house, situated in silent place, is a proper place with relaxing environment.

6. Love Valley ( Valley D’amour) – 07 Mai Anh Dao, Dalat – 5km north of center of city, the valley of love is surrounded by mountains and covered with flowers and manmade attraction points. In the middle lies a beautiful lake placid reflecting the mountains standing over it. Makes you feel like nature have put all the colours here and left a painting from which you can't move your eyes. Coffee shop aided by governemnt situated on Human Paradise Hill, right in the cradle of nature, at the bank of lake surrounded by greeneries will make you feel a experience of heaven. Horses are available in valley to have ride.

Eat & Drink: Considered as a city of flowers is bestowed with lot of juicy fruits. Strawberry is the main fruit here also used for trade. THe city have countless restaurants to serve the delicacies to tourists. Finding western style food is pretty tough since most of the tourist are vietnamese. Even though you will find beautiful restaurants serving really delicious vegetarian food. Most of the tourist leave place loaded with candies, dried fruits, Dalat wine, dalat fruit drinks. Also different type of tea is avaialbe with medicinal value. Dalat doesn't offer many good handicrafts compared to cities.

Enjoy Dalat. Leave comment and queries here.

Cu Chi Tunnel

Cu Chi Tunnels

Cu Chi Tunnel issituated in the town of Cu Chi, a district of HCMC, almost 40Km from City Center. It takes about 2 hours to get to Cu Chi tunnels by road.There are good government bus services also.

You can go through one day package trip which will include Cu chi and black lady pagoda in a day. It’s better to start early in the morning to avoid traffic jam and enjoy fresh air. There are many coffee shops, situated along the highway.

You can relax there lying on the hammock with lot of fresh fruitjuice.

Historical Fact: The tunnel network of Cu Chi became legendary during1960s for its role in facilitating Viet Cong control of a large rural area only 30 – 40 km from HCMC. Viet Cong used this tunnel for guerrilla war and hiding place. American called this tunnel the black Echo. The tunnel network includes threestorey underground. Life in the tunnel was difficult. The tunnel was acquainted with ants, poisonous centipede and mosquitoes. The second highest death during war was caused by malaria. During American bombing Viet Cong were forced to live in the tunnel for many days. The two operations Operation Crimp and Operation Cedar Falls were launched to study and destroy the tunnel. Operation Crimp began in January 7 1966 with B52 bombers dropping 30Tons loads of high explosive only on Cu Chi. Later the bombing plan changed to Carpet bombing exposing most of the tunnel and turning lush green forest to a bare land. Ultimately both the operation failed. Cu Chi was a big frustration of American soldiers. Courtsey:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Củ_Chi_tunnels.

The 1^st is 1 meter deep for kichen, guest room, dining room, field hospitals , weapon factories – 2^nd three meters for bedrooms, command centre and the last is 6 meters deep here there are lots of trap door.

The whole tunnel is very dark and humid. This will make

the American soldiers could no

t find the way in or out and easily stuck in

many traps .

When the American began using shepherd dog, trained to use their keen sense of smell to locate trap door guerrillas, the Viet Cong began washing with American soap or put American soldier death into this chimney

which gave off scent the canines identified as friendly. Trapdoors were installed throughout the network to prevent tear gas, smoke or water from moving from one part of the system to another.

The Cu Chi Tunnel have lot of hidden traps which gives a merciless end to the enemy which falls in it.

The Cu Chi tunnel is one of the special and must see tourist place. Experiencing it yourself will give you a real scenario of war and pain as well the way Vietnamese fight for their independence.Tourist can fire the rifle and AK47 with a cost of 10Bullets for 250.000VND.

On the way back to HCMC, you can visit Ben Duoc Temple

build in 1993 in the memory of the Vietnamese killed at Cu Chi. It’s nine storey with flower garden in front.