Crab noodle

A bowl of crab noodle soup with some pork sausage thrown in - Photo: Thanh Huong

Hanoi takes great pride in its delicious traditional cuisine, including crab noodles.

The meat from fresh river crabs from the country is cleaned and minced then put in a big pot. The way the crab is minced or ground decides the charm of the dish. Take a look at the boiling pot and you will see the floating crab mince mixed with red tomatoes. A bowl of soup looks great because of the mix of colors: crab meat in beige, red of tomato, yellow of fried soya curd, white of noodle, green of onion and neptunia. Crispy neptunia makes the noodles more delicious with its special fragrance and taste.

Nowadays, to make the dish more delicious, sellers add some grilled pork meat mixed with wood ear mushroom, which is very tasty. The soup has an excellent cooling taste. The noodles are served with salad and prepared fish sauce with vinegar, chili, sugar, pepper. Crab noodles are a casual cheap meal of Hanoi, so you can find it on the pavements of large streets everywhere. To enjoy the best taste of the noodle, you should go to the center of Hanoi, near Hoan Kiem Lake. The crab noodle there is made the original way.

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Citadel doors open after decades for grand celebration

A long line of tourists visit the Thang Long Royal Citadel

The Thang Long Royal Citadel, recognized as a world cultural heritage in August, is open for tourists during October on the occasion of the Grand Anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi. The site, which used to be a military base, has been a closed to the public for many decades. As part of the jubilations, thousands of visitors queue for this once in a lifetime chance to discover the history of the site. Finishing in December last year, archaeologists excavated over 3 hectares at the site and found 168 heritages including 95 building foundations, 16 walls, 24 wells and 33 stone water inlet sluices.

Here are some photos taken by The Saigon Times Daily’s photo-journalist Kinh Luan at the site.

These stones found during the archeological dig are decorated with lotus petal patterns. They were used to make pillars, wells and sewers in the citadel

Tourists listen to the guide talk about this wooden boat which has been underground since the tenth century. The boat is protected beneath a layer of glass

A visitor inspects pottery vases at the opening day of an exhibition of artifacts about Hanoi’s 1,000 years on Saturday at the Thang Long Royal Citadel, 9 Hoang Dieu

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HCMC may get institute for Indian cultural studies

 The University of Social Sciences and Humanities administration plans to establish an institute for Indian Cultural Studies, the Dean of Oriental Studies at the HCMC university said.

“In the near future, the faculty’s administrative staff will submit to the school’s board of presidents a plan for establishment of a center for Indian cultural studies,” Dean Hoang Van Viet said on Friday at this year’s Hindi celebrations at the university.

“We need cooperation from the staff, students of the faculty, support and  practical help from the Consulate General of India, Indian Business Chamber in Vietnam, individuals, Vietnam and Indian government and non-government organizations; especially, direct and regular guidance of the university’s board of presidents,” Viet said.

He said the University of Social Sciences and Humanities in HCMC would concentrate on improving the Oriental Studies department’s research and international cooperation.

Indian Studies officially became the seventh department of the Oriental Studies faculty in 2000, and the University of Social Sciences and Humanities in HCMC offers the only Bachelor of Arts majoring in Indian Studies in Vietnam. Nearly 80 students have graduated with the major and they all have stable jobs, Viet said.

Hindi language teaching is an important part of the department. Standard Hindi which is one of the 22 official languages of India is widely spoken there and used in the administration of 10 states of the country, comprising 41% of the population. The total number of Hindi speakers as the first or second language is up to 650 million worldwide, ranking second after English with 1.8 billion speakers and Chinese with 1.35 billion.

The U.S.A’s National Security Language Initiative launched in 2006 identified Hindi as a critical language, and the nation’s Federal Government provides a grant of nearly US$1 million annually for Hindi teaching in the American schools. 

Also at the event, Abhay Thakur, Consul General of India in HCMC, said, they would soon sponsor a visit for a senior professor from the University of Social Sciences and Humanities to India to visit the universities; bring an Indian senior lecturer to Vietnam; offer scholarships, as well as sponsor publication of a Vietnamese – Hindi dictionary.

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Vietnamese service providers win tourism alliance awards

Nine tourism and transportation service providers in Vietnam along with 18 companies in Laos and Cambodia have won the Tourism Alliance Awards 2010.

The prizes were given late last week during the sixth International Travel Expo in HCMC.

In the Vietnam category, HCMC, the biggest tourism center, was the biggest winner. The city has the Inbound Tour Operator of the Year- Saigontourist, the Outbound Tour Operator of the Year – Vietravel, the Business Hotel of the Year - Caravelle Hotel, the Luxury Hotel of the Year - Park Hyatt, the Budget Hotel of the Year- Palace Hotel Saigon, and the Restaurant of the Year - Li Bai (Sheraton Hotel).

Both of the other Vietnamese winners were located in the coastal city of Nha Trang - Resort of the Year - Six Senses Hideaway Ninh Van Bay and the Spa of the Year - Evason Ana Mandara.

The national airlines of Vietnam Airlines won the Airline of the Year award.

According to the organizing committee, around 80 service providers in Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam were nominated for awards.

The three-day travel expo themed Three Countries - One Destination ended in the city on Saturday. The event was organized by the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, VINEXAD and IIR Exhibitions.

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Over 200 join Blood Donation Day

Over 200 donors take part in the Blood Donation Day at the Saigon Times Group in HCMC’s District 1 on Saturday morning

Tom Tobin, CEO of HSBC Vietnam, who is one of the first donors at the event, receives a blood-pressure check before giving blood

More than 200 people donated blood at the sixth Blood Donation Day at the Saigon Times Group at 35 Nam Ky Khoi Nghia St. in HCMC’s District 1on Saturday morning to mark the birthdays of The Saigon Times Daily and The Saigon Times Weekly.

The Daily began Oct. 2, 1995 while The Weekly began Oct. 10, 1991.

The event attracted local and foreign entrepreneurs, diplomatic corps, students, reporters and staff of the

Bambang S. Tarsanto, Consul General of Indonesia in HCMC, donates blood

Vo Tran Thao Tien, a donor from Binh Thanh District, begs doctors to allow her to give blood. The doctors say she needs to put on more weight before they will accept her blood.

Saigon Times Group.

“This is such a practical way to help not only people in need but also myself. After giving blood, I feel healthier and I’m so happy to take part in a meaningful social activity like this,” Consul General of Indonesia in HCMC, Bambang S. Tarsanto, who has donated blood 25 times, said

CEO of HSBC Vietnam, Tom Tobin, said, “This is the third time I have donated blood at the Saigon Times. Not only I but many HSBC staff also want to contribute something to the

One of the Movenpick Hotel staff gets on the scales before she gives blood

society, so this blood donation day is a good chance for us to join hands with the Saigon Times and the Red Cross to care for the community.”

“Donating blood to help poor patients is a meaningful activity. I’m ready to contribute my blood to save more people,” Le Ngoc Dao, deputy director of the HCMC Department of Industry and Trade said.

The donor day collected 217 units or 55 liters of blood - Photos: Le Toan

The donation day is held annually by The Saigon Times Daily and The Saigon Times Weekly in collaboration with the Vietnam Red Cross Chapter in HCMC, and sponsored by HSBC Vietnam and Pepsi Co Vietnam.

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The Hmong king’s palace in Ha Giang

The palace of Vua Meo, where the king of H’Mong lived last century in Dong Van Plateau, Ha Giang Province - Photo: Lam Van Son

On a tour of Ha Giang Province we visited Dong Van Plateau and decided to take a day to see the palace where the king of the Hmong people lived early last century.

The king of the Hmong lived in this palace in the early 20th Century

Often dubbed Vua Meo (king of H’mong), the palace’s official name is Vuong Chinh Sinh. The Hmong king ruled over a vast territory from Dong Van Plateau to Meo Vac Town.

During his reign, the charismatic king attracted a lot of attention when he and other Meo residents joined forces with Ho Chi Minh to gain national freedom.

The palace is in Sa Phin valley in Lung Phin Commune, Dong Van District at the base of a mountain, backed by cliffs and topped by a mass of clouds.

Tall sa moc trees surround the palace that is built from stone, fir wood and terra-cotta tiles in the Chinese architectural style of the Man Qing era.

Our first impression was of a small market called Sa Phin market at the palace gates and a parking lot run by H’Mong people, many of whom are descendents of Vua Meo.

Covering a total area of 1,120 square meters, the palace was used as a residence and fortress during the Vuong Dynasty.

The two storey, 50 meter long palace that took eight years to build has four long houses and six wide houses with 64 rooms for the king’s wives, children and soldiers.

All the walls are 50-60 centimeters thick. Surrounding it is stone barrier which is 2 meters high and 80 centimeters thick.

The palace is divided into many areas such as dining room, bed room, kitchen, marijuana store, rooms of his wives, a prayer altar and an area for criminal executions.

After entering the main gate, we passed about four smaller gates to explore the site. There are two fortresses.

No one lives at the palace anymore but it has been well maintained by the provincial government. It contains wardrobes, fireplace, beds, flour-mill, crossbow and pan-pipe.

Still largely un-restored the palace is a great place to learn about the province’s interesting history.

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Stone plateau declared world geopark

Dong Van Stone Plateau in the northern mountainous province of Ha
Giang has been recognised as a member of the Global Network of
National Geoparks (GGN).

The news was announced by
the Vietnamese delegation attending the European Geoparks Conference in
Lesvos , Greece , on Oct. 3.

The plateau has now
become the first geological park in Vietnam and the second geological
park in Southeast Asia after Langkawi Geological Park in
Malaysia.

The GGN proposed Vietnam develops a
master development plan to encourage people to preserve cultural and
geological heritage values together with local sustainable development.

The park is expected to eliminate poverty through sustainable economic development in Ha Giang province.

The document on Dong Van Stone Plateau was among six dossiers approved at the conference.

Dong
Van, which has remained untouched for hundreds of millions of years,
has mammoth rocks spread over four districts – Quan Ba, Yen Minh, Meo
Vac, and Dong Van – and is 1,000m above sea level.

The
plateau is made up of at least 80 percent limestone and has fossils of
thousands of species of ancient creatures from 400-600 million years
ago.

It is also home to several cultures that sprung up
over the centuries. The 574-sq.km plateau now has 250,000 people
belonging to 17 ethnic groups./.

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