Top 10 Travel Tips You Should Know

1. Check the latest travel advice for your destination and subscribe to receive free e- mail notification each time the travel advice for your destination is updated.

2. Take out appropriate travel insurance to cover hospital treatment, medical evacuation and any activities, including adventure sports, in which you plan to participate.

3. Before travelling (particularly travelling overseas), register your travel and contact details online or at the local Vietnamese Embassy, high commission or consulate once you arrive, so we can contact you when in need.

4. Obey the law. Consular assistance cannot override local laws, even where local laws appear harsh or unjust by Australian standards.

5. Check to see if you require visas for the country or countries you are visiting or transiting. Be aware that a visa does not guarantee entry.

6. Make copies of your passport details, insurance policy, travellers cheques, visas and credit card numbers. Carry one copy in a separate place to the originals and leave a copy with someone at home.

7. Check with health professionals for information on recommended vaccinations or other precautions and find out about overseas laws on travelling with medicines.

8. Make sure your passport has at least six months validity and carry additional copies of your passport photo with you in case you need a replacement passport while overseas.

9. Leave a copy of your travel itinerary with someone at home and keep in regular contact with friends and relatives while overseas.

10. Before departing your home check whether you are regarded as a national of the country you intend to visit. Research whether holding dual nationality has any implications for your travel.

Top 10 Travel Tips You Should Know

1st Vietnam – Japan piano festival organizes

Some young Vietnamese and Japanese pianists has participated into three performances at the first Vietnam – Japan Piano Festival in Hanoi from November 27-29.

The festival consists of a pianist Nguyen Le Binh Anh, along with the Japanese artist Airi Katada, under the supervision of Japanese piano talent Ayuko Higuchi who has held more than 40 charity concerts to support disadvantaged Vietnamese children. The 16-year-old pianist Nguyen Le Binh Anh, one of the most talented classical young pianists in Vietnam, has got many international awards including International Hanoi Piano Competition in 2010, Steinway Piano Competition Youth in Hanoi in 2011 and Steinway Piano Competition Youth in Singapore in 2012. As scheduled, the pianists will perform at Chu Van An high hchool on November 27, at the Vietnam National Academy of Music on November 28 and at the Hanoi Children’s Palace on November 29. The festival aims to promote friendship and mutual understanding between the two countries and two peoples through musical exchange.

1st Vietnam – Japan piano festival organizes

Hue Sour Shrimp

Sour Shrimp is one of the most sought-after specialities of the old capital of Vietnam. When they first come to Hue and taste this dish, visitors from other regions must be really amazed and surprised.

The right Sour Shrimp dish must be made from fresh shrimps living in brackish water (most delicious if they are from Hai Bridge!). The shrimps must be equally big and round-shaped. To start preparing the dish, the cook removes the heads of the shrimps, cleans and dips them in wine. The shrimps are then dried and mixed with many other ingredients such as galingales, garlics, chilies, bamboos, fish sauces and rice. Among all of these, galingale is most important. The garlics are sliced; the chilies are cut into long and thin pieces; bamboo is also cut into thin slices. The cook keeps the shrimps in glazed terra-cotta jar until they are fully fermented. He will then add honey to the shrimps before putting them into separate bottles. In a bottle of Sour Shrimps, we can see all types of colors: whites, yellows, pink, red, etc. and taste all types of flavor such as sweet, buttery, sour, spicy, etc. These entire elements combine together to create an attractive fragrance.

To savor the flavor of Sour Shrimp, you have to eat this dish with 2 other food: sliced boiled pork sides and fresh veggies (green bananas, star fruits, cinnamons, and chilies). These vegetables give the meal a good look implying the balance of Yin and Yang in the dish. People love Sour Shrimps since they look at it and their love grows continuously when they taste the buttery meat, the sweet and sour shrimps and the hot, spicy veggies!

Hue Sour Shrimp

Ninh Hoa Grilled Meatball

Many people know about Ninh Hoa District (Khanh Hoa Province) through its famous Sour Meatball. However, there is another type of meatball that is by no mean sour but has also become a well-known food.

Called Grill Meatball, it is an inevitable dish of local people as well as of visitors from outside the regions. Eating Ninh Hoa grilled meatball in Nha Trang is no different from having it in the district located 34 km away from the city as the cuisine and the sauce are still the same. In general, Ninh Hoa meatball is made of pig’s leg. The meat is grinded before mixing with garlic, chili and sliced pork skin. The mixture is then divided into small pieces, each of which can be wrapped in a special type of leaf to make Sour Meatball or grilled to make Grilled Meatball.

On any table of a Ninh Hoa restaurant, beside the grilled meatball ordered, there is a plate of sour meatballs to eat as appetizer. We eat all kinds of meatball with fresh vegetables and chili sauce to get the most delicious taste.

You can also wrap the meatball with rice paper to make a summer roll. If you decide to do so, remember that each type of veggie adds a different flavor to the roll. The last thing to do is to follow your creativity and enjoy the delicious food!

Ninh Hoa Grilled Meatball

Truc Bach Lake in Hanoi

Truc Bach Lake is a lake of Ba Dinh District, Hanoi, Vietnam, which is a part of West Lake. Previously, it is the west lake. Ye Hoa residents and Yen Quang residents make a small embankment for easier fishing. After that, Trinh Lord made embankment broaden and called ‘Co Ngu’ embankment. Now, it is Thanh Nien road.

The corner of the lake, there has a place for Trinh Doanh Lord, then it became where palace ladies were detained because of crime. They grew mulberry and made silk so that the place was called ‘Truc’ village and they named ‘Truc Bach’ Lake. In the Trinh Lord reign, Truc Bach Lake planted lotus, which burst into fragrant one region. Truc Bach Lake is not large; standing here can see the looming shadow at the far edge.

Going around Truc Bach Lake, turn on Ngu Xa peninsula, visiting ancient pagoda and the statue of Amida, tourists will have strange feeling. There have some structures, historic relic, and cultural relic around Truc Bach Lake. On the western angle, it is Quan Thanh temple to worship Saint Tran Vu.

On the eastern lake, it has Chau Long pagoda, linking to Princess of Tran reign “Khiet Co”. This Pagoda is located on the mountain with dragon shape releasing the jade so that people named “Chau Long”. It was built from Ly-Tran reign. Chau Long, pagoda is a valuable sculpture, which was classified by the State. On the north, there has Than Quang, where has the biggest bronze Buddha statue in Vietnam. The statue has 4 meters height and 14 tons weight. It is the valuable sculpture not only in Vietnam but also on the world. Most tourists come to Hanoi visiting around Truc Bach Lake because there have many historic relics and unique architecture. Truc Bach Lake along with Ly Tu Trong Park and West Lake makes a harmonious nature and a beautiful landscape of Hanoi capital. Currently, Truc Bach Lake is one of the ideal destinations for domestic and foreign tourists to Hanoi.

http://vietlegendtravel.com/tour/vietnam-tour.html

Truc Bach Lake in Hanoi

Enjoy Sa Dec Flower Gardens

Enjoying an excursion to Sa Dec Flower Gardens, you will surely admire the vast lotus and bonsai in here. A forest of flowers of all colors and aroma are always available…

Being one of flower centers of South Vietnam, Sa Dec Flower Garden is specialized in growing flowers and ornamental plants. Located in Tan Qui Dong Commune, Sa Dec Town, the garden occupies 60 hectares with 3,600 laborers.

When Spring comes, Sa Dec bonsai village also starts its festival. Cars from everywhere come in crowds. All type of flowers and bonsai hasten to go to Ho Chi Minh City and neighboring provinces to boast their beauty in Tet Holiday. Situatated by the bank of annually windy Tien River of fertility and sun, flower village of Sa Dec is the homeland of hundreds “uncanny flowers and strange herbs”. Here, you can see scarce and priceless bonsai of hundreds of years old. There are simple trees close to life of laborers like thistle, areca, fig, benjamine fig, ochna atropurpurea and so on.

However, through skillful, industrious, talent hands of artisan-artists, they became priceless bonsai with beautiful and uncanny forms. In this village, you will have an opportunity to contemplate at any moment a forest of flowers of all colors and aroma.

Especially, here keep about 50 kinds of roses: velvety rose, lotus violet Grada roses, pink Cleopatre roses, Bridibat roses of dark brick color, Fortini rose – which are red inside and yellow outside, Elizabet flesh-colored roses, orange maccaras roses, Metsai roses of white color, etc. Ornamental flowers not only give colors and aroma, but also are used to decorate interior, to make landscape of parks, offices, cultural constructions, and dwelling house. Besides, some of them are used for treatment.

Sa Dec flower village, one of attractive tourist attraction, indefinitely satisfy tourists when you visit Dong Thap Province, which is also very famous for lotus – a kind of flower with pure beauty.

Enjoy Sa Dec Flower Gardens

The beaty of birds in Bac Lieu Bird Sanctuary

Bac Lieu Province, around 100 km from the southernmost tip of Vietnam, is home to a popular bird sanctuary located in Hiep Thanh Commune of Bac Lieu Town. The sanctuary is one of the most attractive ecological tourist spots in the Mekong River Delta.

The Bac Lieu Bird Sanctuary is the vestige of a forest which ran along the East Sea coast and came into existence over a century ago. The sanctuary is just around five kilometers from the town center. It covers some 107 hectares and lies within the remaining 385 hectares of forest area. The sanctuary is now home to 46 bird species, 60 fish species, seven frog species, 10 species of mammals, eight reptile species, and 100 species of plants. On the ground are a massive number of eggs, and in the air, you can spot some species with 2 m wing-spans.

Over nearly one century, the Sanctuary is the place where generations of birds are born, usually in the rainy season, and developed. There are currently some 40,000 birds and 5,000 nests, according to preliminary statistics. Birds mostly gather here during the rainy season between May and October. In August and September, flocks of birds gather at the sanctuary to build nests and breed. The forest comes alive with the singing of various kinds of birds and trees overflow with hundreds of birds’ nests. The Sanctuary is also the important home of several water birds, mainly teal, stork, heron, night heron and cormorant. According to documentation of Bac Lieu Bird Sanctuary Nature Reserve, in the first, it was a coastal rich and diversified salt forest floor with the natural salt-marsh ecosystem. As a part of the remaining forest floor along the East Sea, it is increasingly far from the sea due to alluvial deposits. In 1962, it was looked after, protected and controlled by a household. Then, the local authority realized that it is a precious natural property, so they have a step by step investment.

The best time to visit Bac Lieu Bird Sanctuary is in the early morning when most birds leave their nests to begin a day of feeding. Alternatively, at sunset the birds can also be seen more easily as they return to their nests to sleep, flocks of bird fly one after another. This is the moment of enjoying the most spectacular sight the sanctuary. Moreover, the rich flora and fauna of the enclosure gives the lush, natural area a feeling of wonder and enchantment. Bac Lieu Bird Sanctuary is a favorite destination of both nature lovers and researchers and visitors will easily find several types of birds listed in Vietnam’s “Red Book” of endangered species of plants and animals. The area is also popular amongst photographers who come to the sanctuary for one-of-a-kind shots of the breathtakingly beautiful birds.

Although it has potential for further development, the Bac Lieu Bird Sanctuary remains off the radar of most large tourist companies and thus, tourists wishing to visit the area must organize travel themselves or seek out a local guide.

Traveling to Bac Lieu, you should not forget to visit Bac Lieu bird sanctuary, the area of nature conservation with over 40 species of inhabiting bird, especially the species rare and valuable.

The beaty of birds in Bac Lieu Bird Sanctuary

Bánh Bèo (water fern cake)

It is merely a thin steamed rice cake with its top stuffed with minced shrimp mingled with scallions, green bean paste, and crispy fried shallots. But with addictive sour and spicy sauce, an eye catching color mixture of fish sauce, sugar, garlic, chili and fresh small shrimps, watery grease, the cake is certain to whet appetite of anyone.

The cake is not wrapped in leaves but served in “chen” ( a small condiment size bowl) or stacked on a “dia” (a plate).

It is not surprised when guests smile with satisfaction after leaving a pile of more than 10 empty bowls but still crave for more.

After a day of sightseeing, sitting in a small vendor stall, savoring sweet, spicy and refined flavor of Bèo cakes is really a great experience.

Bánh Bèo (water fern cake)

Banh Goi (fried pillow cake) - a popular snack in Hanoi winter

Bánh gối (“pillow cake”) is a popular snack in Hanoi winter.

It is deep-fried to have crispy and golden brown shell, stuffed with pork, shrimps and some vegetables. It’s served with sweet and sour fish sauce.
The most famous place to enjoy Banh Goi is at 52 Ly Quoc Su Street, Hanoi

Banh Goi (fried pillow cake) - a popular snack in Hanoi winter

How to configure smart phone for 3G in Vietnam?

Depending upon your service provider, there are different ways to adjust the Network Settings to use 3G on smart phones in Vietnam.

Follow this instruction:

1. Settings

2. Wireless & Network

3. Mobile Network Settings

4. Access Point Names

5. Menu -> New APN.

6. Name (network name)

7. APN, Username and Password

- VinaPhone: APN: m3-world

User name for ANP: mms

Password for ANP: mms

- Mobifone: APN: m-wap

User name for ANP: mms

Password for ANP: mms

- Viettel: APN: v-internet

User name for ANP: (blank)

Password for ANP : (blank)

Beeline & Vietnammobile APN: internet

User name for ANP: (blank)

Password for ANP: (blank)

How to configure smart phone for 3G in Vietnam?

Where can I go for a walk in Hanoi?

Hanoi is not the best bet for some pedestrians, but if you really want to go for a walk, there are still some choices.

The Old quarter is supposed to be on your top list with many local shops and street vendors. Old houses with French colonial architectural style dotted along streets are all worth sightseeing. A walk in “night streets” (at weekend’s night markets) is even better with wonderful light and very local feel atmosphere. You would certainly feel the lively nightlife of Hanoi by visiting the Old Quarter at night. Areas around Hoan Kiem Lake, Thanh Nien Road or Ly Thai To Park are better choices for people who want to contemplate the tranquility of Hanoi, or want to take photos. Another suitable place is Truc Bach Lakeside with wind blowing and the road lined with trees. The trail that curves around the lake has trees and water on the one side and many street vendors on the other. You can always stop for some ice cream or sweet treats along the way.

So just off your taxi or tour bus for a while and enjoy a walk for a better health!

Where can I go for a walk in Hanoi?

Son Doong - The world"s Largest Cave

Son Doong, a cave belongs to the Phong Nha-Ke Bang grotto system in central Quang Binh Province, has been discovered to be the biggest in the world.

Son Doong cave, discovered by a local 18 years ago, is more than 200 meters wide, 150 meters high, and at least 6.5 kilometers long, though the explorers said they were unable to explore it fully. Bristish explorers have recently discovered that Son Doong is much larger than the world’s biggest known cave.

The biggest section of Son Dong is five kilometers in length, 200 meters high and 150 meters wide, said Howard Limbirt of the British Cave Research Association team searching the area April 10-14, 2009. Son Dong is much larger than Deer Cave in Malaysia, currently considered the world’s largest, an explorer said (Deer is 90 meters wide, 100 meters high and 2 kilometers long). The Son Doong cave has replaced to take pole position as the world’s largest cave. The Son Dong is situated below another cave in Phong Nha-Ke Bang, though its entry passage is very difficult to traverse. The exploration team said they had set foot on just 6.5 kilometers along the cave, as there is a large amount of fast flowing water inside Son Dong. It takes explorers six hours of walking through a 10 kilometer long forest path from Truong Son Highway to reach the mouth of Son Dong cave. The explorer added that the Quang Binh cave has beautiful stalactites and stalagmites that are not seen anywhere else. Phong Nha-Ke Bang grotto system belongs to the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park. It is a limestone region of 2,000 square kilometers in Vietnam and borders another limestone area in Hin Nammo in Laos.

When describing the newly-discovered cave, the team’s spokesman, Haward Limbirt, said that it was a thing of overwhelming beauty and grandeur. He added that each grotto has its own beauty, but he is impressed by Ca Xai. This cave is near the Vietnam-Laos border. It is very deep and has a big lake inside. Explorers measured the depth of this lake, but they had only 200m of rope and the end didn’t reach the lake bed. The British team suggested to the local authorities not to develop Son Doong Cave as a tourism site immediately to preserve its natural beauty.

Son Doong - The world"s Largest Cave

Xoi Xeo

Xoi Xeo There is nowhere in Vietnam that so many types of sticky rice- or “xoi” present like they do in Hanoi. But standing out among the various kinds, “xoi xeo” is not only creative art with a sophisticated combination of ingredients and color but the sophistication even leaks out to its odd name.

Amazingly attractive with its bright yellow color, “xoi xeo” is sold in every wet market or may even be right on the street corner early in the morning. The

seller keeps “xoi xeo” warm in a bamboo basket which is carried on the shoulder or fastened behind the bicycle.

“Xoi xeo” is a special dish for breakfast, especially with students and manual laborers thanks to its rather low price, its fulfillment and palatability. “Xoi xeo” is regarded as one of the hardest-to-cook “xoi”, despite the fact that it is concocted from ingredients which are very popular and familiar with Vietnamese. The ingredients for making “xoi xeo” remain the same everywhere: glutinous rice, turmeric powder, mung bean, shallot, and some liquid fat. The turmeric powder, mixed with water and glutinous rice, will create the natural yellow for the dish. Mung bean, after being carefully chosen and peeled; is steamed, pummeled and then rolled

into small balls.Travellers often are amazed at the sight of the seller skillfully smashing those balls inside their palms, covering the base with yellow thin layers of bean. On top of the portion laysbrownish crunchy deep fried shallot. To complete the taste of “xoi xeo”, the seller will add a tablespoon of liquid fat.

The yellow of the turmeric rice and bean, the brown of shallot, the distinctive green of banana leaf mix and match perfectly, and combine to make an eye-catching “xoi xeo”. Some people, especially children, like eating “xoi xeo” with much mung bean or fried shallot while other may enjoy theirs with lot of “ruoc”- smashed and fried salted pork.

A warmly large portion of “xoi

xeo”, wrapped in banana leaf and old newspaper, first thing in the morning, which runs for a mere 5000-7000vnd can keep one full until late noon. In the cold weather, the brazier is used to prevent the oil from being frozen. “Xoi xeo” is exceptionally favorite dish in winter because the bright yellow and

the liquid fat make people feel warm and cheerful. Nobody knows where “xoi xeo” came from and why it has such a weird name “xeo”; as in Vietnamese,

“xeo” is used as an impolite way when telling people to go away. Abnormal as it is, “xoi xeo” is still a unique part of Hanoi’s cuisine that is loved by many

people, both locals and foreigners.

Xoi Xeo

Com (Green Rice Flakes) - Hanoi"s autumn feature

One of the most origins of Cốm can be traced to Vòng village, 7 km west of Hanoi downtown. The legend begins with a severe starvation in the village years ago.

Since the rice crop was not ready for harvest, residents then had nothing else to eat. One hungry farmer tried roasting the unripe grains of rice as his last resort. Just like the accidental invention of Cocacola in the West, Vong villagers found that by roasting the rice in a clay jar and smashing it to remove the husks, they could produce a delicious dish, called Cốm. As the rumors about the new dish spread widely, the King sent for the head villager of Vòng to the court. The King was so delighted with this dish that thereafter, each autumn, Vòng villagers were requested to present him with their Cốm. The making of Cốm is still kept as a family secret. What most people know is that the process of making Cốm is complicated and tedious. The main ingredient is young glutinous rice, carefully selected since they are in their blossom. The grain must be manually threshed and cleaned, before being roasted with a stoneware pan over firewood. The fire is kept low and steady and the cooking process need full attention. For flavor and color preserving purpose, each batch should comprise 800 grams of rice at the maximum. The dried grains are then pounded in a mortar and stirred frequently from bottom to top. This step is repeated 7-8 times to remove all the husks from the grains. The final result is glossy green rice, soft and slightly chewy, that is nowhere to be found. Cốm is normally eaten by hand, a pinch at a time, or served with red persimmons and ripe bananas.

Green Rice with Banana

Sweetened Green Rice Paste

Chewing Cốm slowly is the way to enjoy its subtle scents, tastes and softness. One note is that Cốm should be eaten within 24 hours or its original taste will be lost. Due to the short season, Cốm is used to make many other Vietnamese specialties to relieve people’s craving in other months. Examples of derivatives from Cốm is Cốm xào (stir-fried green rice), Cốm rang (puffy green rice that resembles rice krispie), Bánh cốm (green rice cake- a must for Vietnamese engagement ceremonies), Xôi Cốm (steamed sticky Rice), Kem Cốm (ice-cream with Cốm flavor) and Chè cốm (sweetened green rice paste), etc. Many worth-trying dishes involving Cốm are chicken stewed with herbs and green rice, or fried shrimp coated in Cốm.

fried shrimp coated in Cốm.

Stirred-fried Green Rice

steamed sticky rice

Green Rice Cake

Green rice cakes are sold on Hàng Than Street. Sticky cakes stuffed with green rice are sold on Hàng Điếu street and green rice paste is sold on Hàng Bông Street. Special Cốm Vòng used to be obtained directly in Vòng village but now, thanks to modern means of transport, foreign tourists or people from many parts of Vietnam can also enjoy dried Cốm. Simply soak the grain for a few hours and more or less of the taste can still be felt over the dining table.

Com (Green Rice Flakes) - Hanoi"s autumn feature

Breakfast in Hanoi – an essential part of the Vietnamese cuisine

No matter how busy and modernized Hanoi has become, the Hanoi food and the traditional breakfast habit of the Hanoianshave been well preserved.

Their breakfast menu is quite diversified with dried food, including rice, bread or pastries, and many different types of noodles and noodle soup. The Hanoians make their breakfast at home or go to a small restaurant on the street – some prefer to buy the food on the street and eat it at home. As the Hanoi people go to work or school early in

the morning, the streets here are already crowded early in the morning with small eateries lining up and plastic stools occupied by hurried eaters. Most popular and crowded are ‘pho’ and other noodles restaurants, including snail noodle soup, crab noodle soup, noodle soup with assorted toppings, noodle soup, fish noodle soup, etc, which are the distinct traditional dishes of Hanoi and Vietnamese street food. These meals are light enough for the summer and hot enough to keep you warm in the winter.

Phở (beef noodle soup) – THE SIGNATURE OF HANOI

Phở (chicken noodle soup) – A VARIATION OF “PHO BO”, WITH A LIGHTER TASTE

People who want a heavier meal can go for sticky rice or a Vietnamese sandwich. There is a varied choice of toppings or side dishes to go with them – different kinds of Vietnamese sausages, Vietnamese pate, fried eggs, shredded pork, butter, sauces, fried spring onions…

Fresh rolls, fried rice or fried noodles are also among the favorite breakfast dishes.

Sticky rice – WITH A VARIETY OF TOPPINGS TO CHOOSE FROM

Bánh cuốn

The Hanoi people prefer to eat their breakfast and sometimes other meals at street restaurants and the street vendors’ than classy, air-con restaurants. Most of them say traditional food tastes best in the street – the expensive restaurants only copy it in a

clumsy way. That is why Vietnamese street food is popular not only among Vietnamese people but also foreign tourists.

To a real Hanoian, a decent breakfast has to be followed by a cup of Vietnamese coffee or bitter tea in one of the tiny, laid-back places in the Old

Quarter where they get updated on daily news or get their shoes shined. Only after then does a new day really begin.

Breakfast in Hanoi – an essential part of the Vietnamese cuisine