Cat Ba Island

The Spectacular Home of the Cat Ba Langur
Cat Ba Island is situated in Ha Long Bay, 50 km to the east of Hai Phong City, in Northern Vietnam. It is the largest of 366 islands in the Cat Ba Archipelago, and has a surface area of about 140 square km. The Cat Ba Archipelago shares the distinctive rugged appearance and scenic beauty of the Ha Long Bay Area that was declared a UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site, in 1994. The area is one of the best examples in the world of a Karst landscape invaded by the sea. Some 1500-2000 large and small islands and cliffs rise steeply from the shallow marine waters. Many of these islands reach towering heights of 50 to 100m with sheer vertical cliffs on all sides. Spectacular rock relief and bizarre rock formations provide evidence of a long history of erosion and landscape evolution through the sculpturing power of water. The greatest part of the islands’ mountain range like most of the smaller offshore islands of the Archipelago, are covered by tropical moist limestone forest. Cat Ba Island also has coral terraces, sandy beaches, freshwater wetland areas, tidal flats, mangrove forests and willow swamp. Spectacular scenery and a high diversity of landscapes make Cat Ba a special place and it has become a main destination for national and international tourists.

The People
Cat Ba Island is currently inhabited by about 13500 people, living in 6 communes, of which Cat Ba Town is the largest. Archaeological remains suggest that people have inhabited the Cat Ba area for at least 6000 years. Local livelihoods in the villages are built on subsistence agriculture and fishing. Comparatively new sources of employment and income at the local level are shrimp and fish-farming, and tourism.

The National Park and Biodiversity Conservation
Cat Ba National Park was established in 1986. After a re-arrangement of the park boundaries in 2006, the park now comprises of 109 square km of land area and an additional 52 square km of inshore waters and mangrove covered tidal zones. Cat Ba National Park was Vietnam’s first national park to include both terrestrial and marine ecosystems.

Cat Ba Island, its national park and the surrounding area are nationally and internationally recognized for their importance to biodiversity conservation, exemplified through the recognition of the Cat Ba Archipelago as a UNESCO Man and Biosphere Reserve, in 2004.This is not only because the area has a high number of different ecosystem and habitat types, but also because it possesses a great variety of plant and animal species, many of which, like the Cat Ba langur, are now rare and endangered.

About 1400 vascular plants, including 23 Endangered and Critically Endangered species (Red Data Book of Vietnam; IUCN Red List) have so far been recorded. Large and partly endangered mammals include the Cat Ba langur, the Southern Serow (Naemorhaedus sumatraensis), Rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta), Leopard Cat (Prionailurus bengalensis), black giant squirrel (Ratufa bicolor), and civet cats (Viverricula indica, Paradoxurus hermaphroditus). The cave, land snail and butterfly fauna is rich including the most northerly cave-adapted crab species, plus four species of true cave snails. The region is considered a hotspot for land snail diversity and might also be conserving a considerable number of bat species including rare ones.

In 2007 a reptile survey was conducted in Cat Ba National Park by Dr. Thomas Ziegler, from Cologne Zoo and Nguyen Quang Truong, from the Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources, in cooperation with the Cat Ba Langur Conservation Project. It led to the discovery of the Cat Ba Tiger Gecko (Goniurosaurus catbaensis), endemic to Cat Ba Island, adding to the list of endemic and rare species and once more emphasizing the need for nature conservation on the island.

(Source: catbalangur.org)

Ha Giang Vietnam

Ha Giang is the province located in the North East of Vietnam, next to China. Ha Giang Vietnam is the home of many different hill tribe groups and Ha Giang is also the province which owns amazing natural landscapes in Vietnam. Ha Giang province in Vietnam has amazing, picturesque mountain ranges, rock plateau and spectacular river of Gam and Nho Que. Ha Giang in Vietnam is known for its harsh nature as major area of Ha Giang in Vietnam is Rock Mountain but this offers unique and incredible countryside and landscapes of wonderful nature in Ha Giang. 

The tour to Ha Giang in Vietnam will let travellers explore amazing land of Vietnam where travellers will experience wonderful creatures from Mother Nature. Travellers will enjoy spectacular landscape of Quan Ba, amazing twin mountains, implausible Nho Que River, magnificent view of from the top of Lung Cu Peak, colourful local markets and meet friendly hill tribes living in Ha Giang province in Vietnam. The tour to Ha Giang in Vietnam also let travellers visit ancient villages of Han, known as Chinese people living in Pho Ban and Dong Van. Travellers will experience daily life and amazing traditional houses made of wood, rock in Ha Giang in Vietnam. Travellers will also meet friendly H'mong, Dao, Tay or Lo Lo people in Ha Giang in Vietnam.  

(Source: bluebelltours.net)

Ho Chi Minh City's potential for tourism

World travelers agree that Vietnam has become a superb travel destination. Having overcome years of colonization and wars, it has arisen as a vibrant and exciting part of Southeast Asia
. So as you plan for your journey, consider the beautiful city of Ho Chi Minh. Many still call it Saigon. Tourists refer to it as “the pearl of the orient.” “Energetic” would be another way to describe Ho Chi Minh City. When it comes to enjoying life, the Vietnamese have elevated it to an art. In addition to a multitude of festivals and celebrations, the city is home to a plethora of nightclubs, bars and karaoke halls. Among the top favored haunts, Apocalypse Now, Q Bar and Cheers are a must. You can also spend the evening at the opera or witness a performance of puppetry.

If you bring an extra suitcase, you’ll be glad you did. The shopping opportunities are beyond extraordinary. In Ho Chi Minh you can purchase exquisite lacquer handicrafts. The jewelry is truly unbelievable and certainly unique. There are plenty of markets selling regional clothing, military memorabilia and other souvenirs at excellent prices. And in your quest for out-of-the ordinary items, you’ll come across antique shops stocked with unimaginable treasures.

As you make way through the busy streets, you’ll observe a wealth of landmarks. Be sure to visit the Emperor Jade Pagoda. It’s not just a lavish representation of Chinese architecture, but a most revered sacred temple.

Learn about the bravery of the Vietnamese people, as embodied in an icon like the Cu Chi underground tunnel. It took twenty-five years for its completion, and was the site of the bloodiest episodes in the country’s history.

Pay special attention to the Paris Square, where you’ll encounter the imposing Notre Dame Cathedral. It was built in the 19th century and is truly a work of art.

If you’re wondering when would be the ideal time for your trip, the months of April, May or October offer the best weather. But if you’re in town during the hot season, head out to the water parks. You’ll cool off and have a ball. In Ho Chi Minh, you’ll discover the new Vietnam.

(Source: Dan Viet Travel)

Perfume Pagoda

After 70 km or 2 hours driving out of Hanoi, located on the limestone rocks of Huong Son Mountain in beautiful and mystical surroundings. Unlike other temples in Vietnam, the only way to reach this sanctuary is floating along a narrow but extremely poetic stream by rowing boats that takes 45 minutes.

An iron boat can carry 3-5 people and a large wooden boat – up to 20 locals. The stream is edged by rice, grass, small paths, and temples here and there. A local pilgrim can spend here traditionally three days to visit entirely the area and pray at all the temples. The first temple they often stop is called Den Trinh (i.e. The Shrine for First Presenting), where Vietnamese burn the first jossticks to inform the local deities about their presence and pray for a good trip and good luck for the year ahead. If you are anxious to reach the main Wharf of Huong Son mountain to start the uphill trip to see the Main Grotto of Huong Tich, you may skip this temple, especially in the peak season between January and early April.

The uphill trip takes an hour climbing on the ancient flat and sometime slippery stones, which have been here thousand years ago. The road is "breathtaking" in all aspects – you will have some exercise, and at the same time have chance to take some stops to contemplate beautiful scenery and daily life of local farmers, who plant cassava and apricots in the valleys, who run quickly on the slippery stone with their burdens of tapioca, apricots or medicinal herbs whilst you are careful with your steps. The main pagoda is set in a huge grotto containing a highly decorative shrine. Each stalactite and stalagmite inside, which are soaked by undercurrent, is combined with a legend about its miracle and good luck. Most of them became small shrines by now. Remember that the stone grotto is huge and very cool, so stop for a while at the entrance to dry your sweat before coming in.

The main festive days of Chua Huong stretches from January to early April, busy and exciting. Sometimes it's drizzling and the Vietnamese all believe that the real good things will reach you if you catch rainwater after praying in a sacred pagoda. And among all the sacred temples and pagodas in Northern Vietnam, Chua Huong is even more attractive and mysterious not only for its spectacular scenery, but for the painstaking road you passed over to reach to the top.

(Source: Footprint)

Phong Nha - Ke Bang National Park

The Park is considered a paradise for researchers and explorers of grottoes and caves and is the home to 140 families, 427 branches, and 751 species of precious plants
 

Phong Nha - Ke Bang is a national park in the center of Quang Binh province in north-central Vietnam. It protects one of the world's two largest karst regions with several hundred caves and grottoes. Its name derives from Phong Nha cave, the most beautiful one, with numerous fascinating rock formations, and Ke Bang forest. The plateau is probably one of the finest and most distinctive examples of a complex karst landform in Southeast Asia.

Location:
Geographically, the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park (PNKBNP) is located in central Vietnam, about 500km south of the capital, Hanoi, within the Quang Binh Province.

The western boundary of the Park partially forms Laos-Vietnamese border, which is only 42km from the sea. The Park is found within the geographical co-ordinates of 170 20'-170 48' N and 1050 46-1060 24' E in Bo Trach and Minh Hoa Districts.

Recognition by UNESCO in 2003
Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park was first nominated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1998. The dossier submited to UNESCO was for the recognition of Phong Nha nature reserve as a world natural heritage under the name “Phong Nha Nature Reserve”. The reason given for the nomination was that this nature reserve satisfied the criteria of biodiversity, unique beauty and geodiversity (criteria I and iv).

It was recognized as a world natural heritage site at the UNESCO's 27th general assembly session being held in Paris in June 30th – July 5th, 2003. At the session, delegates from over 160 member countries of UNESCO World Heritage Convention agreed to include Phong Nha-Ke Bang park and 30 others worldwide in the list of world heritage sites. Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park meets with criteria viiii in accordance with UNESCO’s appraisal scale since it displays an impressive amount of evidence of earth’s history and is a site of importance for increasing human understanding of the geologic, geomorphic and geo-chronological history of the region.

Physical features:
Criterion (viii): Phong Nha is part of a larger dissected plateau, which also encompasses the Ke Bang and Hin Namno karsts. The limestone incontinuously demonstrates the complexity interbedding with shales and sandstones. This, together with the capping of schists and apparent granites has led to a particularly distinctive topography.

Looking into the caves, you may recognize discrete episodic sequences of events, leaving behind various levels of fossil passages, formerly buried and now uncovered palaeokarst (karst from previous, perhaps very ancient, periods of solution); evidence of major changes in the routes of underground rivers; changes in the solutional regime; deposition and later re-solution of giant speleothems and unusual features such as sub-aerial stromatolites. The location and form of the caves suggest that they might owe much of their size and morphology to some as yet undetermined implications of the schists and granites which overlay the limestone. On the surface, there is a striking series of landscapes, ranging from deeply dissected ranges and plateaux to an immense polje. There is evidence of at least one period of hydrothermal activity in the evolution of this ancient mature karst system. The plateau is probably one of the finest and most distinctive examples of a complex karst landform in SE Asia.

Cultural heritage:
The oldest evidence of human occupation of the area are Neolithic axe heads and similar artefacts found in some of the caves. There are some relics of Ham Nghi King, a final King of the Nguyen dynasty before the French colonial period, at the Maria Mountain in the north of the Park. Currently the Arem, Ma Coong and Ruc ethnic groups live in two villages in the core zone of Phong Nha Ke - Bang National Park. Until 1962 these indigenous people lived in the forest in houses made of bamboo and leaves or in the caves, living from forest products and hunting. They used simple tools and their clothes were made from the bark of a toxic forest tree (Antiaris toxicaria) and lianas.

Since 1992 the Government of Vietnam has set up two new settlements for these 475 people, who are the two smallest ethnic groups in Vietnam. These people are familiar with a number of economically valuable species, especially precious timber such as Mun and Hue (Diospyros spp., Dalbergia rimosa), and oil-extraction from species such as Tau (Hopea hainanensis) and many medicinal plants. The Phong Nha Cave has long been a site of religious and touristic importance, with an old Cham Temple discovered in the cave and it was a site of worship in the ninth and tenth centuries. During the war with the USA the Phong Nha - Ke Bang forest and caves were a garrison and weapons store for the Vietnamese army.

Conservation value:
Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park is of high conservation value as one of the largest areas of intact forest habitat remaining in Vietnam. As part of a continuous forest block with the neighbouring Him Namno Biodiversity Conservation Area in Laos it forms one of the largest areas of forest on limestone karst in Indochina. The presence of tall lowland forest, which is regionally threatened as a habitat type, in the National Park increases the area's conservation value.

Tourist activities
The number of tourists has increased dramatically since the park was listed in UNESCO's World Heritage Sites. Tourism activities in the area are the responsibility of the Trading and Tourism Department of Quang Binh province, with 280 international standard rooms in the province and 8 vehicles with capacities of 4 to 15 seats for tourist transportation. The forest guards of Son Trach commune in Bo Trach district are placed on tourist security duty.

Quang Binh Province has invested into upgrading the Phong Nha-Ke Bang visitor site to turn it into one of Vietnam's major tourist destinations.

Multiple eco-tourist projects have been licensed for development and the area is being heavily developed by the province to turn it into a major tourist site in Vietnam. Phong Nha Ke Bang is part of a tourism promotion program called: "Middle World Heritage Road" which includes the ancient capital of Hue, the Champa relics of My Son, the city of Hoi An, nha nhac and the Space of Gong Culture in the Central Highlands of Vietnam.

Tourist activities in Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park are organized by local travel agencies and vary in form:

    * Tour for expedition of caves and grottos in boats and with professional cave expedtion means.
    * Ecotourism, discovering the florae and fauna in this national park in the Ke Bang Forest.
    * Mountain climbing: There are extreme sloping mountains here with a height of over 1,000 m, which is a real challenge for adventurous climbers

In order to facilitate the increasing flow of tourists to the site, the Dong Hoi Airport was constructed and is due to be operational at the end of 2008.

Phong Nha-Ke Bang, together with Ha Long Bay and Fansipan of Vietnam, is listed as a candidate for 7 new world natural wonders vote. As of February 12, 2008 it ranked 10th in the voting list

In summary, Phong Nha displays an impressive amount of evidence of earth’s history. It is a site of very great importance for increasing our understanding of the geologic, geomorphic and geo-chronological history of the region.

(Source: Vietnam-Beauty)

Cat Ba National Park in Vietnam

Cat Ba National Park is centred on Cat Ba Island, the largest island in Halong Bay. The Cat Ba archipelago itself comprises 366 islents and islands. Together they cover an area of 20,000 hectares of limestone islands. When I visited Halong Bay with a group of AsiaExplorers members, we had an opportunity to kayak in Cat Ba National Park. The kayaking session was long and exhausting, but ultimately fulfilling, as we rowed from island to island, and on our return journey, even had to row across the open sea.

Most of the islets dotting Cat Ba National Park is covered with vegetation, although there are sheer limestone cliffs where hardly anything grew. Nonetheless, it is not uncommon to sea tenacious shrubs clinging to those otherwise barren cliffs, and on occasion, we even saw mountain goats and monkeys on the cliffs. The feeling of kayaking through the labyrinthine maze of islands, where the only sound was that of your oar on the water, was simply magnificent.

There is at least one floating village in the national park. They earn a living through shrimp and fish farming, and from the occasional tourist boat that drop by. As soon as our junk arrived, the villagers rowed towards us with their wares, nothing of value and nothing that we need.

How to go to Cat Ba National Park?
The easiest way to reach Cat Ba National Park is to book a tour of Halong Bay. There is plenty to choose from in Hanoi, but if you wish to use the tour that I used, you can contact Mr. Johnny  of Visit Beyond at address 29 Hang Hom Street, Hanoi. Phone: +84-4-39287124, Email: vietnam@visitbeyond.com.

VISITING REMOTE BA BE LAKE

We weren’t quite sure what to expect from our final road trip in Vietnam. Ba Be Lake was not even mentioned in our two guidebooks, but we had been happy with the itinerary up to this point, so we figured we would trust the travel agency.

The original itinerary had called for our two nights in Ba Be Lake to be a home stay with a local family. After our experience in the loft with the rice bags in Sapa we were thinking that one home stay was enough and we requested the hotel option. Ms. Trang, who was our contact person at the agency, emailed us back assuring us that a hotel stay was fine, but she asked that we visit the home first and then make the decision. We said this would be OK, but I was wondering about the propriety of visiting a home and then, in effect, saying, “No thanks, we’d rather not stay.”

Phong and Quang picked us up at 8:00 AM for what would be a long day of driving. It was a 6-hour drive to the lake, plus taking time for a lunch stop and a break to visit a museum along the way. The final leg of the trip was on a narrow, winding road up and over a high mountain then down into a fertile valley.

We arrived at the home of Col. Ngon Van Toan and his family. The Colonel had retired from the North Vietnamese army in 1994 after a 30-year military career. He did not speak English but he greeted us warmly holding his 11-month old granddaughter, who was an absolute charmer. The house was a traditional wood stilt house, but it was built on cement pylons. It had two large rooms. One was set up for the family with cooking areas and partitioned bedrooms, and the other was for guest quarters, which featured real beds separated by plywood sides and curtains. Pam gave me the OK, and we told Phong we would skip the hotel option and bunk in with the Toan family. We used what daylight was remaining to explore the neighborhood and get acquainted with the family’s farm animals.

In the evening we joined the family sitting on the floor in front of the TV and watched the four generations of ladies do the meal preparation. Col. Toan’s daughter and daughter-in-law did most of the cooking, while his wife did the prep work, and his mother kept the baby entertained. A more accurate statement is that the baby entertained all of us.

The colonel was an intriguing gentleman. He came across as a gentle and gregarious family man, educated and intelligent. One wall of the guest quarters was filled with plaques, certificates, and citations from his military career. It was one of those times I would have loved to have had one of those computers of the future, which will provide instantaneous interpretation, allowing us to carry on a detailed conversation in any language. I looked upon him as a grandfather and a contemporary of my own father, but after recording my passport information in his guest log he informed me that I was only a year younger than him. Occasionally I get reminded that I’m not really sitting still while the rest of the world is getting older.

We were served dinner in the guest quarters at a small coffee table, so we didn’t have to negotiate all the dishes on the floor like the rest of the family, but the Colonel joined us for a couple of rice wine toasts, as did his son, who arrived home mid-way through the meal. By 9:00 the temperature had dropped considerably, and we were ready to crawl under the heavy blankets and read ourselves to sleep.

We began waking up, with help from numerous roosters, starting at about 5:00, but it was 7:30 by the time we finally rolled out from under the blankets and wandered into the family area to sit around the fireplace and watch the preparation of “banana cakes.” The batter, which resembled a pancake batter, was poured into a wok containing an inch of bubbling oil (origination unknown), where it would solidify and cook for about five minutes. When Toan’s daughter-in-law placed a large plate full of these in front of us we looked at each other skeptically, but after the first bite we were banana cake fans. They were really delicious.

The rest of the day was spent exploring Ba Be Lake. Our driver, Quang, joined Phong, Pam and I as Col. Toan’s son, whose name was Sun, manned the small motorboat and we traversed the large, scenic lake. We left the lake area and continued down a shallow tributary past a small village and farming area. There were villagers all along the way going about their daily chores of fishing, doing laundry, working the fields, etc. We eventually reached our destination, which was a large cave through which the tributary ran. We docked the boat inside the cave and explored. We could hear the sounds of a large colony of bats hanging from the ceiling, resting up for their nocturnal flight.

We returned to the small village, which we had passed earlier, and disembarked for a short hike to a place along the river featuring some small waterfalls. Then we returned to one of the homes, which doubled as a small restaurant, where lunch was being prepared. Our host for lunch was a gregarious older man who insisted on numerous toasts of homemade moonshine poured from a plastic water bottle. I reasoned that since the liquid did not melt the plastic bottle it was probably OK for consumption.

One of our many lunch dishes was fried water buffalo. Pam actually braved a bite or two, but declared it a “guy dish” and returned to her rice and chicken. After a tasty and filling lunch we bid our hosts farewell, boarded our motor launch, and returned to the lake. Once we were back on the lake we met up with a young lady in a dugout canoe. Pam and I and Toan’s son shifted into the canoe, and we spent the next hour and a half traveling in the style that has probably been used for the last thousand years on scenic Ba Be Lake.

We spent the evening enjoying the hospitality of our hosts and another huge meal. While we were touring the lake a group of four French women arrived so we had a total of six tourists, two guides, and two drivers sharing the guest quarters for the evening. None of the girls spoke English so we didn’t visit much, but it was a congenial group and we didn’t really mind sharing our bedroom.

The next morning, after another round of banana cakes, we bid farewell to all the members of the Toan family and started our long drive back to Hanoi. Along the way we asked Phong if we could stop at one of the brick making operations we had seen along side the road. When we did so we attracted the attention of a group of children and eventually the owner of the factory came out to visit. When Phong explained to him that I was an American businessman who owned a factory he became very friendly and asked several questions about my company and about the places Pam and I had visited on our travels. After sharing with me that he paid his workers about $50 per month he asked about salaries in the U.S. When I told him that my employees all made over $100 per day he took a quick look over his shoulder to make sure none of his employees overheard that piece of information.

Back in Hanoi we checked back into the Majestic, took hot baths and dressed for dinner. Phong took us to the French Quarter to the upscale Tonkin Restaurant, where we enjoyed a fish dish served in a clay pot and some tasty pepper steak. After returning to the hotel we visited the night market, which was set up on the street in front of the hotel.

Our last day in Hanoi was filled up with hitting the main tourist sights. We lined up at Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum to get a glimpse of old Uncle Ho lying in state. I think Pam accurately described the experience as “creepy.” We then visited the Ho Chi Minh Museum, the small stilt house where he lived in his last years, the famous One Pillar Pagoda, and a large museum dedicated to the Ethnic tribes of Vietnam. We also had lunch at famous restaurant called Cha Ca La Vong. It serves only one dish and has been doing so for over eighty years. It is called cha ca fish served at the table in a frying pan sitting on a charcoal brazier. After tasting it we can understand why it has been around for so long and why the recipe remains a closely held family secret.

Our last official stop of the tour was at the Hoa Lo Prison, known during the war as the Hanoi Hilton. While most of the prison was torn down to make room for a high rise hotel what remains is now a museum mainly dedicated to the Vietnamese patriots who were held and tortured there by the French authorities during the French colonial period, but there are also two small rooms that contain exhibits and photos of American pilots that were held there. The exhibits tell about how well all the prisoners were treated. Hmmm, perhaps just a bit of mismanagement of historical facts.

The following morning was spent getting the last of our foot massages and packing our bags. Phong and Quang picked us up at noon for our trip to the Hanoi airport and our flight to Siem Reap, Cambodia. Our eleven days in North Vietnam were filled with new adventures and great memories. As for the people we met, we found, as we have on all of our travels, that we are more alike than different. And, the differences are never enough to prevent us from being friends and learning from each other.
(Source: Realtravel.com)