Guilin city, 1 and 2 May 2008 - We arrived in Guilin at 1:00pm. It took us 5 hours to travel by bus from Nanning to Guilin (500km). Our first impression on the city is the sweet osmanthus trees on both sides of the streets and we saw them everywhere in the city. Guilin means "forest of sweet osmanthus" (Quế Lâm). 80% of the trees in this city are sweet osmanthus trees, 20% are peach trees and others. Our Chinese tourist guide pointed at a board on the roof of a large building and said "There are 2 rivers and 4 [View Full Entry]

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The Chinese food in this blog are the food that we had at breakfasts (buffets), lunches and dinners on my 4-day tour (from 30 April to 3 May 2008) in Guilin and Nanning, China. 6 people shared a table and there were 8-9 dishes. The lunches and dinners included pork, chicken, duck meat, fish, tofu, egg, vegetable, rice, soup, noodles and fruit (orange or watermelon). The locals often put a lot of oil (dầu hào) into their fried food. As for breakfasts, we had buffets at our hotel. Mantou (bánh bao), rice porridge and Xiangtiao (quẩy) are traditional Chinese food. I [View Full Entry]

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I’m just back in Hanoi after traveling 1,800 km by bus between Hanoi and Guilin. On the way to Guilin, I had to stay for a couple of nights in Nanning. I traveled to Nanning for the first time in April 2000, ie 8 years ago. Nanning is the capital city of Guangxi province. The majority of ethnic people in this province are the Zhuang people (Khu tự trị dân tộc Choang, tỉnh Quảng Tây). As Guangxi and Yunnan provinces are bordering with Vietnam and I traveled on a tour, I didn’t use my passport and apply for a Chinese visa. [View Full Entry]

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I traveled in Sapa for the first time in April 1998, ie exactly 10 years ago. At that time, I traveled by bus, 12 hours from Hanoi to Sapa (Never again!). Last weekend, I returned to Sapa, but this time I traveled with my parents and their friends. We traveled by night train from Hanoi to Lào Cai (approx. 350km, 8 hours by train), then we got a bus to Sapa (38km, an hour by bus). Things have changed much during the last 10 years since my first visit, but the place is always beautiful with its mountain and rice terrace [View Full Entry]

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Sapa market is located right at the center of the city, just a short walk to the old church, which was built by the French in the last century. There are many things that are sold inside the market and at the surrounding area of the market. At night, many ethnic minority people also sell their products on the pavement along the streets in Sapa's center. The photos in this blog were taken at Sapa market on 19 and 20 April 2008. The products for sale are local specialties, mainly medicinal herbs, weaving and hand embroidery bags or pillow sheets, wooden [View Full Entry]

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I have just got back to Hanoi by train at 4:30 am this morning after a great trip to Sapa. I traveled with my parents and their friends. The first day after we arrived in Sapa, we saw some major sites in the city (old French church and Sapa market in the city's center), then visited Cát Cát village in the afternoon. On my last trip to Sapa 10 years ago, I visited Tà Phìn village (Red Dzao ethnic minority group) and Cát Cát village (Black H'mong ethnic minority group). At that time, it was a long way to walk to [View Full Entry]

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Tomorrow 15 April is an important day in Vietnam. It's the memorial day of Kings Hùng (Ngày giỗ tổ Hùng Vương), who were the founders of Vietnam. According to the Vietnamese legend and old historical records, during the bronze age, there were about 15 Lạc Việt tribes living in the midland and northern delta of Vietnam. The Văn Lang was the most powerful tribe and the leader of the tribe played a historical role of unifying all other Lạc Việt tribes to establish the Văn Lang kingdom. He became the first King Hùng. During the Hùng Vư&# [View Full Entry]

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Around Hanoi, there are many "Làng nghề truyền thống". They are the villages where the specialized products have been made and become traditional works preserved by many generations. The products are handicrafts, traditional paintings, wooden furniture, lacquerware, bronze or silk products etc. Bát Tràng ceramic village is one of them. The 700-year-old Bát Tràng village is located 13km away from Hanoi's center. It's an ancient village, which is very famous for making ceramic products. Many of these ceramic products have been exported for years, as a result, they are a goo [View Full Entry]

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Ceramic tile paintings are one of special art forms in Vietnamese culture. It formed in Vietnam under the Trần dynasty and developed under the Lê dynasty. At that time, the ceramic centers were located at Bát Tràng and Chu Đậu. Today, the ceramic tile paintings still play an important role in the architectural decorations. There are various topics for the ceramic tile paintings, similar to their colors. There are 6 basic colors used on the ceramic tile paintings. It's easy to preserve the ceramic tile paintings. We can use wet cloths to clean the paintings without losing their [View Full Entry]

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On Sunday 6 April 2008, the Japan Sakura Festival (Lễ hội hoa anh đào Nhật Bản tại Việt Nam 2008) took place at Giảng Võ Trade Fair Center in Hanoi. The event was organized in order to celebrate the 35 year anniversary of the Vietnam - Japan friendship. Many people in Hanoi visited the place. Most of them are young people or students who are learning Japanese. I learned Japanese for 3 years, traveled in Japan on business in 2004 and now still working with the Japanese, so I went to this cultural event with great interest. Sakura is the famous [View Full Entry]

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