Archive for June, 2010
New and Varied Experiences Mark Vacations in Vietnam
Vietnam is beginning to attract a lot of attention as a vacation destination. It is popular with people who want to see new cities. Vietnam has great restaurants because meals are an important part of Vietnamese culture. Many families seem to treasure the time they spend together over a meal celebrating a significant milestone. Families on Vietnam Holidays should do the same and celebrate their visit with fine food at one of Vietnam’s street side restaurants. Up-scale restaurants are also prevalent and server Vietnamese, as well as, Thai, Japanese and Chinese inspired dishes.
Visitors will notice slight differences among the food choices from the different regions of the country. The national dish is called pho and it is at its heart a broth soup made with beef or chicken and rice noodles. Most often it is served alongside a plate of herbs, lime, hot chillis and bean sprouts. Other popular dishes tourists should try while on their Vietnam holidays are Banh Xeo, a crepe filled with shrimp, Bun Thit Nurong, rice noodles with barbecue pork and vegetables and Banh Mi, a baguette sandwich filled with pork, chicken or tofu.
To truly experience life in Vietnam, visitors should walk through some of the larger markets in the cities. There tourists can see a remarkable variety of products that they may never encounter at home. It is where the locals shop and it is a good way to meet people who may have interesting stories to share with people on Vietnam holidays. As tourism becomes more popular, seeing strangers about town becomes more common. People may begin to let their naturally friendly nature spill out to include tourists.
Seeing Vietnam by Train
No matter where a person may go, seeing the country while traveling by train is spectacular. When traveling by train the traveler can sit back and relax and let someone else do the driving. For longer trips, the travel can spend a little more money and get a sleeping accommodations. Trains usually provide a dining car or someplace to purchase snacks and a drink. From the train a traveler can see sights that they wouldn’t be able to see when travel by car or plane. This article is about Asia travel through Vietnam on a train.
Traveling by train can be one of the cheapest ways to travel. When traveling in Vietnam, the traveler has a choice of trips that they can take by train as they do their Asia travel. All trips listed leave out of Hanoi and travel to different destinations throughout Vietnam. One trip leaves Hanoi and travels to Lao Cal with final destination being in Sapa. Another leaves Hanoi and travels through Haiphong with its final destination in Halong Bay and Cat Ba Island. Another train goes from Hanoi through several towns with final destination in Saigon. All of these train have sleeper accommodations for the travelers relaxation. Some of these train trips take less time than flying since they don’t have to wait in crowded airports waiting for their flights or for their baggage to be unloaded. In fact when traveling from Hanoi to Hue City, the traveler can leave Hanoi in the evening and arrive in Hue City in the morning refreshed and ready to see the sights.
No matter what train trip the traveler chooses to take in their Asia travel across Vietnam they are going to see some spectacular sights. Reportedly there are many sights to see between Hanoi and Saigon. One of the most spectacular sights that the traveler will see as they travel through the Vietnam countryside is the views along the Hai Van Pass. As they go through this pass the traveler can see the beautiful bays and islands that make up coast line between Hue and Danang. As they travel through this part of their journey to Saigon, the train starts to climb into the hills that lead into the mountains. During this part of the journey, passengers are allowed to sit atop the train and enjoy the view as the train slowly winds through the mountain.
Quy Nhon – Charming Vietnam
Situated roughly halfway between Hoi An and Nha Trang, the city of Quy Nhon is much more than a convenient stop-over for those traveling between these two popular tourist destinations. The university two has a youthful vibrancy during term-time and the people are some of the friendliest in Vietnam. In many respects this is the Vietnam that travelers used to encounter before the advent of mass tourism to the country.
Recently the municipal beach has undergone something of a face-lift and clean-up campaign. Gone has the American tank that was half-submerged in the sand, instead a new palm-tree lined promenade hugs the coastline, providing a very pleasant stroll around sunset. It has something of the feel of a smaller Nha Trang.
Those wishing to get away from it all should head to ai Bau Beach some 19km to the south of Quy Nhon. The beautiful, sheltered white-sand beach is generally deserted, ideal for you to discover your own karma. Closer to town, Quy Hoa Beach is another good option. The almost idyllic setting belies the fact that this is a leper colony. Far from reeking of morbidity, the hospital grounds are extremely pleasant,w ith patients integrated into the community.
