BINH TA ARCHAEOLOGICAL VESTIGES IN LONG AN PROVINCE (MEKONG DELTA)

If travelling to Long An Province, you shouldn’t miss a visit to Binh Ta Archaeological Vestiges for a chance to admire the remnants of the Oc Eo-Phu Nam culture dating back from the first to seventh centuries.

The vestiges are situated in Binh Ta Hamlet, Duc Hoa Ha Commune, Duc Hoa District, Long An Province. Binh Ta’s architectural and archaeological vestiges including Go Xoai, Go Don and Go Nam Tuoc can be found 40km north-east of the town of Tan An in Long An Province.

Architectural works discovered in Binh Ta’s vestiges are considered to be dedicated to the Siva Deity of Brahmanism which appeared in India around the first century BC and was introduced to southern Indochina at the beginning of the Christian era. Go Xoai Temple at a depth of 1.7 to 1.9m is considered a one-time celebration place of the Phu Nam people. On a collection of 26 gold objects discovered in Go Xoai, there are thin gold leaves with sentences of Buddhist sutra written in the ancient Sanskrit language. Other valuable objects were also excavated here. There are pieces of Oc Eo pottery, metal, precious stones, sandstone and a series of other relics from primitive man discovered around the temple.

Go Nam Tuoc monument is built of bricks, 17.2m in length, 11.1m in width; its the upper part was lost but its foundation is still characterized by the features of Oc-Eo cultural architecture such as: the angle structure, very straight brick foundation lines, and the semicircular three-door temple gate towards the East, which the base of affirmation that this is a temple architecture of Hinduism.

Go Don Sanctuary is a temple-tower architecture built of bricks, 78.5m in East-West length, 60m in width (North-South direction); before being excavated, the whole architecture had been in the earth’s womb; 0.4m is the nearest position to the earth’s surface. Many stone objects on display such as the statue of Dvarapala genie (Temple Guard Genie), the statue of Ganesa Genie’s head (Blessing Genie), many objects of worship including Linga, Yoni, Mi, the door carved the designs of flowers and leaves, the holy water condiut (Somasutra) and old pottery objects were collected from the excavation. In the worship hole, the vestige center is 3m in depth, there is a sacred object “Broken Yoni” and are a lot pebbles reckoned as worship stone.

 Most of the works were constructed for religious purposes, but at the same time played a role as a cultural and political centre of the ancient state. Hence, it can be said that Binh Ta Vestiges are the large-scale site of archaeological remnants in the Oc Eo culture.

 Should you are interested in like-no-other guided expeditions to discover mystic Binh Ta Archaeological Vestiges and other hidden corners of charming Mekong Delta , email Vietnam Jeep Tours at adventure@vietnamjeeptours.com or call +84 909 602 370
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 Related programs to Long An Province & further in Mekong Delta:
- Full Day Discover the rural of Mekong Delta by Jeep
- Biking to explore My Tho (Mekong Delta
- Full Day - Explore Mekong Delta by Motorbikes
- 2 Days 1 Night Explore Rural Mekong Delta on Motorcycles
- 2 Days - 1 Night Pedal into The Heart of Mekong Delta 
- 3 Days 2 Nights Bird-Watching at Tram Chim National Park of Mekong Delta
- 3 Days Deep into Mekong Delta (Motorbike Tours) 
- 5 Days Deep into Mekong Delta by Motorbike 
-5 Days Loop of Mekong Delta on Bikes 
-6 Days Discover Mekong Delta and Phu Quoc Island

PRISTINE WHITE WATERFALL IN QUANG NGAI PROVINCE

Located in Thanh An Commune of Minh Long District, about 23kms South-West from the center of Quang Ngai City, White Waterfall is a must-see attraction for travellers when exploring Central Vietnam.

 The best way to reach White Waterfall is by motorbikes. We climb over the Wind Waist Pass and admire the peaceful beauty of gentle Ve river and cottages on riversides then the amazing view of Ethnic Minority Hre’s Village with stilt-houses nestled slopes, tea farms, and terraced paddies come to our sight as a signal that we are close to the Waterfall.

Tucked in the magnificent Truong Son Mountain Range, White Waterfall is surrounded by an area of huge mountains and hills painted with the green color of trees, fresh and quiet. From a height of over 40 meters, the fall is like a fairy tossing her long hair in the wind. At two sides of the fall, there are lots of Doat trees that Hre people make its juice as the yeast for their special Doat wine.


Climbing to the fall upstream, we have to follow a rocky jungle trail with a deep abyss at one edge. Higher we hike more risks we may get. Then all the hard work will be paid off as we reach the top and witness the amazing panorama that will unfold in front of our view. Reaching the top is already a victory in itself, but setting sight of the wonderful scene stretched out is another experience worth taking pride in. However, this hard trekking is only recommended for advance trekkers with necessary gear.

 For light hikers, walk down to the foot of the White Waterfall to meet up with two natural lakes. Each lake is hundreds of square meters in size with clear water in which you can enjoy swimming or fishing. After swimming or fishing, having a noon snap in a hammock in the middle of jungle and near the fall is really ideal.

The White Waterfall is well-known to local people but not so tourists and that’s why this attraction still remains completely intact. As a result, there is no service for tourists here, hence, if you plan a day trip to discover White Waterfall of Quang Ngai by yourself, do not forget to bring food, beverage and first-aid kit with you on the trip.
 Should you are looking for an guided journey to unspoiled White Waterfall , email Vietnam Jeep Tours at adventure@vietnamjeeptours.com or call +84 909 602 370
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 Related programs to Quang Ngai Pronvince:
  BBC Top Gear Style: 8 Days Hard-core Motorbike from Ho Chi Minh City to Halong Bay 
19 Days on Bike from Saigon to Hanoi

Saigon, with no doubt, to both travellers and local residents is certainly a busy city with dense traffic flows in rush hours filled by motor bikes and cars, fast moving life pace, full of activities both night and day. The city, however, like all other places, contains several hidden surprising corners that visitors often miss because of their ‘ordinary’ nature: early morning flower market, the typical street foods, corner café stands, and the city’s rare slow pace moments of the day. All together, create a different angle of the city life and the ordinary but precious daily life experience that surprise visitors and even locals.

5:30AM – Visit the Hidden Flower Market 

Start our tour early in the morning, ride our motorbikes from your hotel to the Ho Thi Ky Flower market which is around 15 minutes from the city centre. The first amazing view comes into our view are huge bunches of roses, lotuses, lilies, daisies and orchids being unloaded from trucks and motorbikes mostly from the highland and Mekong Delta. In the air, we could feel the eternal springtime magically created by the pleasant fragrances of hundreds of varieties of fresh flowers. A short chat with a flower seller here, we can learn the flower trading is not an easy job because the vendors have to work from very early morning until mid-nights but with their strong passion of work. Given the fast developing speed of the city, the flower market remains as the bridge to nature and countryside.


7:00AM – Enjoy Street-Food Style Breakfast 
The period from 7.00am to 9.00am is really rush hours when everybody tries to escape from daily crazy heavy traffic to reach their workplace in time. After 20 minute riding in the crowded motorbike lines, we stopped at a local street food stall in Ho Ba Kien Street to order a very delicious dish named “Cơm Tấm Sườn Bì Chả” (Steamed broken rice with grilled pork ribs, thinly shredded pork skin, and egg custard). A small bowl of sweet fish sauce mixed with ground garlic & chilly is the must-have to make this combination tasteful & more special. “Cơm Tấm Sườn Bì Chả” is considered as a very traditional specialty of Southern Vietnamese breakfast.

9:00AM – Get Into the Oldest Part of China Town

Get back on our motorbikes after the breakfast and head to Tran Hung Dao Boulevard – a main vein to enter China Town. Our first stop on Tran Hung Dao Boulevard is at an antique Minh Huong Temple (also called Ming Dynasty Assembly Hall) built in 1789 to the dedication and worship of the Ming Dynasty. Especially, Minh Huong Temple is the remnant of Minh Huong Village – the foundation of present China Town. Here still we find architecture and hundred year old relics in the temple. We continue on this big boulevard then off to colorful Luong Nhu Hoc Street, where many traditional shops concentrate on selling unicorn heads & royal costumes. Turn to the oldest street of Chinese Herbs & Medicine: Hai Thuong Lan Ong. The strong odors of different types of medicinal herbs impressed us as soon as we reach this street. Smells come from many medicine stores built in a mix of western and Chinese architectural elements in the mid-1800s. Continue riding slowly on Hai Thuong Lan Ong Street, we encounter most of ancient houses & stores where patterns still remain for more-than-100years. Walk into a traditional medicine shop for a chance to see how Chinese medicine is made & used. Next, we leave the medicine street to ride a round of Binh Tay Market to view the special structure, colorful surrounding Chinese house-shops, and vibrant atmosphere.

11:00AM - Taste Special Lunch in China Town
It’s time to have “Sui Cao” (shrimp wonton soup) - one of traditional Chinese food on Ha Ton Quyen Street for our lunch before riding back to Saigon center (District 1) to end our half-day trip.

 If you are looking for the similar experience, email Vietnam Jeep Tours at adventure@vietnamjeeptours.com or call +84 909 602 370

Air Mekong to launch direct flight from Hanoi to Con Dao

Air Mekong is set to launch a new direct route between Hanoi and Con Dao starting May 19, to meet the increasing demand of tourists from the northern regions to the southern historical island during the summer months, the airline announced.

The two-hour flight will depart from Hanoi at 1pm every Wednesday and Saturday so far. However the airline is prepared to add and   increase the number of flights to four a week, if the demand increases during the summer.

In addition, the carrier will also increase the number of flights on the Ha Noi-Phu Quoc route to nine per week. Promotional tickets for the Hanoi-Phu Quoc and Hanoi-Con Dao routes will be around VND2.4 million on a one way ticket from May 1-20.

In related news, Jet Star Pacific will launch a daily service between Hanoi-Da Nang and Hanoi-Nha Trang, to meet the excessive tourist demand in the summer.

Flights from Hanoi to Da Nang and Nha Trang will re-open from June 1 to August 31.
Source: www.saigon-gpdaily.com.vn
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Con Dao located as an archipelago of Ba Ria-Vung Tau province, in southeastern Vietnam, is also an island of immense natural beauty with forested hills, deserted sandy beaches and extensive coral reefs making for some excellent diving.
Beside its interesting great history, Con Dao is part of a maritime and national park and is made up of 20 or so islands. The islands are mostly rugged and still have a lot of original forest cover and associated flora and fauna. The most famous indigenous animal is the dugong or sea cow although it is rarely seen. Several species of rare squirrel and apes are found here and there is an important breeding program for turtles on Banh Canh island near to Con Dao island.
Related programmes to Con Dao Island: (Please contact adventure@vietnamjeeptours.com or sales@vietnamtraveldepot.com for more services in Con Dao Island):
http://www.vietnamjeeptours.com/adventure-tours/diving-and-snorkeling-tours/con-dao-island-snorkeling-and-trekking-package-105.html

More boat trips for tourists to visit Wild Ly Son Island

With many historical, cultural relics and fascinating tourist areas, Ly Son Island in the central province of Quang Ngai is becoming an amazing travel attraction of Vietnam.

Thank to The district’s Passenger Transport Co-Operative, there are now four boat trips to the island each day to cope with the increasing number of visitors. Since the beginning of this year The Island has welcomed more than 6,000 visitors, receiving 200 to 350 tourists a day. Tourists can catch boats from Quang Ngai province’s Sa Ky port to reach Ly Son Island after nearly one hour.

Visit isolated Ly Son Island referred as the “fairy island” & “Garlic Kingdom”, travelers have chances not only to learn about its very diverse ecosystem with five mountains including many mysterious caves, imposing waterfalls, and splendid rivers and lakes (Thoi Loi, Gieng Tien, Hon Vung, Hon Soi and Hoi Tai) and the  lines of stunning beaches laid with colourful rocks, pebbles and corals but also to see many artifacts of Sa Huynh and Cham Cultures. Especially, the Thien Yana and old ruong houses are evidence for Sa Huynh and Cham’s ancient civilizations.

Vietnam Travel Depot is operating 03 days 2 nights package tour to visit beautiful Ly Son Island, for more information, please contact sales@vietnamtraveldepot.com or hotline: +84 909 602 370.

Vietnam mountain elevator to open by end of April

The Ngu Hanh Son Mountain Elevator, in central Vietnam, will be operational in time for the country’s Reunifi cation Day holidays on 30 April, local media has reported.

According to the Saigon Times, the 50-metre tall elevator, which lies approximately 8km from the central city of Danang, was completed seven months ago but has not yet been put into service. The lift has two cabins which can transport approximately 20 guests at a time to the pagoda that sits on top of the mountain. A journey on the elevator will cost VND30,000 (US$1.40) per person – twice the price of a ticket to the pagoda itself.

Source: Travel daily asia

Majestic Hotel To Expand New Hotel Complex

Saigon Tourist Company plans to invest VND1, 900 billion (US$92 million) in expanding the old Majestic Hotel in District 1 of Ho Chi Minh City.

Two 24 and 27 storey buildings with a total of 353 rooms and four basements will form the expansion plan.

The old Majestic Hotel built in 1925 in French architectural style and recognized by the Viet Nam National Administration for Tourism (VNAT) as a 5-star hotel in 2007, will remain unchanged and will preserve its heritage status.

The old hotel has 185 rooms and along with 353 rooms in the new hotel complex, the majestic hotel will offer a total 538 guest rooms. The new complex will be fully operational by 2014.

For more information about the hotel, you can visit http://www.majesticsaigon.com.vn/ or contact Email: sales@majesticsaigon.com.vn.