250 compete in Ta Cu Mountain trek

Athletes trek to Ta Cu Mountain in Binh Thuan Province - Photo: Khai Nguyen

In the chill of the seventh morning of Lunar New Year on Wednesday, thousands of locals and tourists went to watch the trekking contest to Ta Cu Mountain in Ham Thuan Nam District, Binh Thuan Province.

The contest, organized for the fifteenth time, attracted 250 male and female athletes from Binh Phuoc, Dong Nai, Tay Ninh, Binh Duong, Ba Ria-Vung Tau and Binh Thuan provinces. The course covered 6,300 meters for males and 5,300 meters for females, of which are 2,300 steps to Linh Son Truong Tho Pagoda.

After 40 minutes, Ta Thanh Xinh in Binh Thuan won in the men’s open division, while Nguyen Ngoc Quang in Dong Nai and Tran Cong Binh in Binh Thuan came second and third, respectively. In women’s division, Nguyen Thi Diem My of Binh Phuoc won the first prize while Nguyen Thu Hiep of Ba Ria-Vung Tau and Nguyen Thi Dung in Binh Phuoc pocketed the second and third prizes.

Binh Thuan and Ba Ria-Vung Tau won the team prizes.

In the individual division for men, Ta Thanh Xinh won, Tran Van Cong and Nguyen Hoang Duy came second and third. In the individual division for women, Huynh Ngoc Bao Tuyen came first while Nguyen Thi Hong Lin won the second and Huynh Thu Thu Thuy won the third prize.

Phan Thiet City and Tuy Phong District of Binh Thuan Province won team prizes.

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Int’l yacht festival promotes yachting tourism

Yacht teams from 20 countries and territories in the world will take
part in the 2011 International Yacht Festival which will be held in Mui
Ne, in the central province of Binh Thuan from March 17-20.

Themed
“Yacht, Sea, Sand and Sun,” the second yacht festival will include
interesting sports, tourism and entertainment activities such as a yacht
exhibition, a yacht performance by professional athletes, plus
international music performances with the participation of artists from
the Czech Republic, the Republic of Korea, Australia and Russia
and arts performances from Vietnam.

There will be a
seminar on building a brand name for Vietnamese sea activities, along
with advertising and developing yachting amusements in Vietnam.

At
a press briefing in Hanoi on Jan. 20, Deputy Chairman of the Binh
Thuan provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Van Thu said the organisation
of the festival is to popularise Mui Ne beach attractions to domestic
and foreign tourists and develop Vietnam’s sea tourism.

The
event is also a chance for international yacht groups to consider
investing and building yacht production plants for export in Binh Thuan
to provide for the Asian market.

Boasting a 192 km coastal
line, Binh Thuan province boasts abundant sea resources with beautiful
beaches, historical and cultural monuments and captivating traditional
festivals which are suitable for sea tourism development.

The International Yacht Association ranks Mui Ne as one of the best beaches for sailing in Asia.

Mui
Ne welcomed 2.5 million tourists, 15 percent of whom were foreigners,
in 2010. Binh Thuan province aims to attract 3.5 million visitors –
including 500,000 foreigners – to the beach by 2015./.

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Ca Na, voice of sea

Ca Na Beach in Ninh Thuan Province

Ca Na, about 30 kilometers from the Cham Towers in Phan Rang City in Ninh Thuan Province, is a land of sun, sand, sea and wild forest. The three kilometer long Ca Na Beach on National Highway 1A is the pride of the province’s coastline.

The beach that some say is the most beautiful beach in Vietnam, is renowned for its crystal blue bay backed by mountains.

The pagoda on Ca Na Mountain- Photos: Anh Viet

After lolling around in the tranquil sea you can prize oysters off the rocks at low tide to hold your own private sashimi party. The rocks can be slippery and sharp so it’s a good idea to wear some sand shoes.

On romantic night strolls under the full-moon, the sea glitters and the rocks appear like people sitting deep in thought.

You can also take a trek up the mountain to discover the wildlife and visit the pagoda. On the way up the mountain will also find fruit on the trees that you can eat. There are many large rocks in weird shapes like a human head, a lion, a Buddha and other animals.

Visitors to the province should taste bun cha ca (rice noodle soup with fish paste), one of popular breakfast dishes. Bun cha ca is served at almost all street-side shops and restaurants for only VND6,000.

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Ninh Thuan bun cha ca

A bowl of bun cha ca in Ninh Thuan Province - Photo: Mai Ly

Bun cha ca (rice noodle soup with fish paste) is a popular breakfast dish in the coastal areas of the south. In Ninh Thuan Province, bun cha ca is served at most street-side shops and restaurants for the cheap price of VND6,000.

The main ingredients of the dish are white rice noodles, fish pieces and fish cakes but there’s an art to making a tasty bowl of bun cha ca.

The fish cake must be made of good fish such as thu phan, moi or song. To make the cake, remove the bones and grind the meat with spices and a bit of saffron flour to make it an attractive yellow color.

Then knead the ground fish meat into a sticky paste and roll it into a ball which is flattened with the hands before being placed in a hot oiled fry pan.

The pieces of fish are then fired and cut into pieces. The soup must be boiled from sweet pork bones, fish bones and some fried shrimp. Then the fish is added and the cake is cut up into slices before being added in.

The dish is always served with many kinds of vegetable such as bean sprouts, sliced rau muong (water spinach), salads, banana flowers and many kinds of aromatic vegetables. A bit of fish sauce, and some drops of lemon and chili sauce will complete the taste.

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Ninh Thuan bun cha ca

A bowl of bun cha ca in Ninh Thuan Province - Photo: Mai Ly

Bun cha ca (rice noodle soup with fish paste) is a popular breakfast dish in the coastal areas of the south. In Ninh Thuan Province, bun cha ca is served at most street-side shops and restaurants for the cheap price of VND6,000.

The main ingredients of the dish are white rice noodles, fish pieces and fish cakes but there’s an art to making a tasty bowl of bun cha ca.

The fish cake must be made of good fish such as thu phan, moi or song. To make the cake, remove the bones and grind the meat with spices and a bit of saffron flour to make it an attractive yellow color.

Then knead the ground fish meat into a sticky paste and roll it into a ball which is flattened with the hands before being placed in a hot oiled fry pan.

The pieces of fish are then fired and cut into pieces. The soup must be boiled from sweet pork bones, fish bones and some fried shrimp. Then the fish is added and the cake is cut up into slices before being added in.

The dish is always served with many kinds of vegetable such as bean sprouts, sliced rau muong (water spinach), salads, banana flowers and many kinds of aromatic vegetables. A bit of fish sauce, and some drops of lemon and chili sauce will complete the taste.

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