Lurking excitement

Streams and waterfalls give romantic Da Lat a ‘tough’ reputation

Visitors go kayaking on the La Ba River, a new thrilling adventure in Da Lat

Da Lat evokes the leisure of a hillside resort, the romance of lakes, flowers and misty mornings, but it has a dangerous and thrilling undercurrent as well.

The Central Highlands town in Lam Dong Province is a veritable paradise for a series of adventure sports - rock climbing, abseiling, parachuting or biking on rough terrain.

Attesting to the growing popularity of these sports and of Da Lat as an adventure-sports destination are nearly 10 service providers at the end of the sloping Truong Cong Dinh Street. These establishments have professional trainers and instructors, some trained abroad.

For the young and strong at heart, riding elephants, biking up Lang Biang Mountain or climbing down cliffs of the Prenn Falls and overnight stays in the forest are “relaxing” activities.

Among the most adventurous activities on offer is an exploration of the seven-storied Datanla Falls.

On the third floor of the fall is a cliff 20 meters tall that stands almost upright. Passing it is a challenge that is rewarded by gently flowing water on the fourth floor, but the real adventure awaits on the sixth floor with a 25-meter high cliff and a whirlpool. Its decision time... do you accept yet another challenge?

The magnificent seventh floor of the waterfall is sometimes referred to as the “washing machine” because of its crazy, whirling waters.

HOW TO GET THERE

By motorbike: Take National Highway 1A from Ho Chi Minh City. Turn to National Highway No. 20 at Dau Giay T-junction. Da Lat is 306 kilometers from HCMC. By bus or car: From the Mien Dong Bus Station in HCMC’s Binh Thanh District. It takes 7-8 hours and costs around VND100,000 (US$5.14) a ticket. Call (08) 3 836 9859 to book one with Dalattoserco or (08) 3 837 5570 with Phuong Trang, which also drives tourists to Da Lat from Nha Trang (call (058) 3 524 315 – 3 524 945) and Da Nang (call (0511) 3 899 899) By plane: A 45-minute flight takes off from HCMC’s Tan Son Nhat International Airport at 11:10 a.m. every day. There is an additional flight departing at 3 p.m. every Thursday and Saturday. Two flights leave for Da Lat from the Noi Bai Airport in Hanoi every day. Crossing the Tuyen Lam Lake on a rope

If you want a quick way down, a roller-coaster like contraption has been rigged up, adding to the excitement.

All these thrills and danger does not mean safety is not given priority. It is. Trainers will cancel the whole tour at the slightest hint of something unusual, weather-wise.

Vo Duc Trung, director of one of the units, said international schools from Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Thailand and several foreign-invested companies have in recent years been sending students and employees on these tours as a way to build up their courage, creativity and adaptation skills, not to mention to confront and solve problems.

Ngo Anh Tuan, a manager and trainer with Da Lat Discovery Travel, told the Lam Dong newspaper that their new tour – crossing the La Ba River on a rubber dinghy – led tourists to feel proud of their own courage and survival skills.

The tour begins with around 45 minutes of warm-up exercises after which they can enjoy the Hang Cop (Tiger Cave) Waterfall and a walk through a pine forest, pass several hills and walk down to the La Ba River.

Here, rubber dinghies wait. Trainers distribute lifejackets and instructions on rowing it through rough waters and tell you not to panic even when the boat capsizes.

This adventure takes about three hours, during which a seven-kilometer stretch of the river and eleven rocky waterfalls are navigated. After a well-deserved rest, there is another sixty-minute walk through forests to reach National Highway No. 20 before heading back to downtown Da Lat.

The rowing journey costs US$60 a person.

Tuan recalled that a US tourist named Justin had emailed him after returning home, saying he keeps missing the adventure that was “full of joy and excitement.”

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Lurking excitement

Streams and waterfalls give romantic Da Lat a ‘tough’ reputation

Visitors go kayaking on the La Ba River, a new thrilling adventure in Da Lat

Da Lat evokes the leisure of a hillside resort, the romance of lakes, flowers and misty mornings, but it has a dangerous and thrilling undercurrent as well.

The Central Highlands town in Lam Dong Province is a veritable paradise for a series of adventure sports - rock climbing, abseiling, parachuting or biking on rough terrain.

Attesting to the growing popularity of these sports and of Da Lat as an adventure-sports destination are nearly 10 service providers at the end of the sloping Truong Cong Dinh Street. These establishments have professional trainers and instructors, some trained abroad.

For the young and strong at heart, riding elephants, biking up Lang Biang Mountain or climbing down cliffs of the Prenn Falls and overnight stays in the forest are “relaxing” activities.

Among the most adventurous activities on offer is an exploration of the seven-storied Datanla Falls.

On the third floor of the fall is a cliff 20 meters tall that stands almost upright. Passing it is a challenge that is rewarded by gently flowing water on the fourth floor, but the real adventure awaits on the sixth floor with a 25-meter high cliff and a whirlpool. Its decision time... do you accept yet another challenge?

The magnificent seventh floor of the waterfall is sometimes referred to as the “washing machine” because of its crazy, whirling waters.

HOW TO GET THERE

By motorbike: Take National Highway 1A from Ho Chi Minh City. Turn to National Highway No. 20 at Dau Giay T-junction. Da Lat is 306 kilometers from HCMC. By bus or car: From the Mien Dong Bus Station in HCMC’s Binh Thanh District. It takes 7-8 hours and costs around VND100,000 (US$5.14) a ticket. Call (08) 3 836 9859 to book one with Dalattoserco or (08) 3 837 5570 with Phuong Trang, which also drives tourists to Da Lat from Nha Trang (call (058) 3 524 315 – 3 524 945) and Da Nang (call (0511) 3 899 899) By plane: A 45-minute flight takes off from HCMC’s Tan Son Nhat International Airport at 11:10 a.m. every day. There is an additional flight departing at 3 p.m. every Thursday and Saturday. Two flights leave for Da Lat from the Noi Bai Airport in Hanoi every day. Crossing the Tuyen Lam Lake on a rope

If you want a quick way down, a roller-coaster like contraption has been rigged up, adding to the excitement.

All these thrills and danger does not mean safety is not given priority. It is. Trainers will cancel the whole tour at the slightest hint of something unusual, weather-wise.

Vo Duc Trung, director of one of the units, said international schools from Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Thailand and several foreign-invested companies have in recent years been sending students and employees on these tours as a way to build up their courage, creativity and adaptation skills, not to mention to confront and solve problems.

Ngo Anh Tuan, a manager and trainer with Da Lat Discovery Travel, told the Lam Dong newspaper that their new tour – crossing the La Ba River on a rubber dinghy – led tourists to feel proud of their own courage and survival skills.

The tour begins with around 45 minutes of warm-up exercises after which they can enjoy the Hang Cop (Tiger Cave) Waterfall and a walk through a pine forest, pass several hills and walk down to the La Ba River.

Here, rubber dinghies wait. Trainers distribute lifejackets and instructions on rowing it through rough waters and tell you not to panic even when the boat capsizes.

This adventure takes about three hours, during which a seven-kilometer stretch of the river and eleven rocky waterfalls are navigated. After a well-deserved rest, there is another sixty-minute walk through forests to reach National Highway No. 20 before heading back to downtown Da Lat.

The rowing journey costs US$60 a person.

Tuan recalled that a US tourist named Justin had emailed him after returning home, saying he keeps missing the adventure that was “full of joy and excitement.”

Related Articles

• Lurking excitement

Lurking excitement

Streams and waterfalls give romantic Da Lat a ‘tough’ reputation

Visitors go kayaking on the La Ba River, a new thrilling adventure in Da Lat

Da Lat evokes the leisure of a hillside resort, the romance of lakes, flowers and misty mornings, but it has a dangerous and thrilling undercurrent as well.

The Central Highlands town in Lam Dong Province is a veritable paradise for a series of adventure sports - rock climbing, abseiling, parachuting or biking on rough terrain.

Attesting to the growing popularity of these sports and of Da Lat as an adventure-sports destination are nearly 10 service providers at the end of the sloping Truong Cong Dinh Street. These establishments have professional trainers and instructors, some trained abroad.

For the young and strong at heart, riding elephants, biking up Lang Biang Mountain or climbing down cliffs of the Prenn Falls and overnight stays in the forest are “relaxing” activities.

Among the most adventurous activities on offer is an exploration of the seven-storied Datanla Falls.

On the third floor of the fall is a cliff 20 meters tall that stands almost upright. Passing it is a challenge that is rewarded by gently flowing water on the fourth floor, but the real adventure awaits on the sixth floor with a 25-meter high cliff and a whirlpool. Its decision time... do you accept yet another challenge?

The magnificent seventh floor of the waterfall is sometimes referred to as the “washing machine” because of its crazy, whirling waters.

HOW TO GET THERE

By motorbike: Take National Highway 1A from Ho Chi Minh City. Turn to National Highway No. 20 at Dau Giay T-junction. Da Lat is 306 kilometers from HCMC. By bus or car: From the Mien Dong Bus Station in HCMC’s Binh Thanh District. It takes 7-8 hours and costs around VND100,000 (US$5.14) a ticket. Call (08) 3 836 9859 to book one with Dalattoserco or (08) 3 837 5570 with Phuong Trang, which also drives tourists to Da Lat from Nha Trang (call (058) 3 524 315 – 3 524 945) and Da Nang (call (0511) 3 899 899) By plane: A 45-minute flight takes off from HCMC’s Tan Son Nhat International Airport at 11:10 a.m. every day. There is an additional flight departing at 3 p.m. every Thursday and Saturday. Two flights leave for Da Lat from the Noi Bai Airport in Hanoi every day. Crossing the Tuyen Lam Lake on a rope

If you want a quick way down, a roller-coaster like contraption has been rigged up, adding to the excitement.

All these thrills and danger does not mean safety is not given priority. It is. Trainers will cancel the whole tour at the slightest hint of something unusual, weather-wise.

Vo Duc Trung, director of one of the units, said international schools from Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Thailand and several foreign-invested companies have in recent years been sending students and employees on these tours as a way to build up their courage, creativity and adaptation skills, not to mention to confront and solve problems.

Ngo Anh Tuan, a manager and trainer with Da Lat Discovery Travel, told the Lam Dong newspaper that their new tour – crossing the La Ba River on a rubber dinghy – led tourists to feel proud of their own courage and survival skills.

The tour begins with around 45 minutes of warm-up exercises after which they can enjoy the Hang Cop (Tiger Cave) Waterfall and a walk through a pine forest, pass several hills and walk down to the La Ba River.

Here, rubber dinghies wait. Trainers distribute lifejackets and instructions on rowing it through rough waters and tell you not to panic even when the boat capsizes.

This adventure takes about three hours, during which a seven-kilometer stretch of the river and eleven rocky waterfalls are navigated. After a well-deserved rest, there is another sixty-minute walk through forests to reach National Highway No. 20 before heading back to downtown Da Lat.

The rowing journey costs US$60 a person.

Tuan recalled that a US tourist named Justin had emailed him after returning home, saying he keeps missing the adventure that was “full of joy and excitement.”

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• Lurking excitement

Thundering hooves

A Khmer tradition plows a sporting furrow

 

Two pairs of oxen race along a muddy track while an excited crowd looks on

It would not be an exaggeration to say that the atmosphere was electric as the Khmer Dolta Oxen Race got underway in An Giang Province last week.

The 25,000-strong crowd at the Ta Miet Pagoda “stadium” was beside itself with excitement, and “spillovers” to the muddy, waterlogged racing tracks were frequent, keeping the race organizers busy and constantly on edge. With eighty pairs of oxen in the fray, this was not surprising. But the oxen themselves seemed to regard all the fuss with a degree of equanimity, with a certain detachment so to speak, of athletes biding their time before bursting into action.

The shook their heads and swished their tails as though they were warming up, but there was no snorting or scraping of the ground with their hooves ... no sign of aggression. Then it struck me that I was expecting aggression because somehow, I was thinking of the bull-fight in Spain.

Big difference, though. This was no man vs. beast contest with the latter provoked into anger and violence, and there would be no killing of the beast here. The race focuses on teamwork between the farmer and oxen and farmer, and symbolizes the cooperation that is necessary between the two to ensure a good rice crop.

The winner of the race, in fact, would be prized for bringing honor and glory to the village or community.

And there was a Spaniard on hand to provide a comparison from the horse’s mouth.

“It is spectacular to see big oxen racing on muddy racing paths. I was a bit scared to come to the middle of the racing stadium because it can be dangerous, just like in my country. People were both in a good mood, very excited and concentrated on the race. I was surprised by the number of people, security measures and police officials trying to control the crowd that want to come on to the racing track with bamboo sticks (batons)... and all this amidst a beautiful landscape,” said Nacho Madrazo, a photographer from Madrid.

Madrazo said that in many regions in Spain, people (especially the youth) were trying to stop the bull-fighting because it is cruel to kill the bull. “I was also surprised to discover that the “riders” use the small knife to force the oxen to gallop. It does not feel right but it is just once a year and at least they do not kill them.”

The race also had several other surprises in store. The rules were not as simple as I’d imagined – a starting point and finishing point and the fastest pair wins. The competition consisted of what can be called a “demonstration” round and the proper race. During the first part of the competition that involved the pairs going around the race track twice, the “riders” had to demonstrate good control over the plow and the oxen. If they happened to step on the plow in front, they would be eliminated.

However, the situation is reversed during the speed race when the plow of the contestant in front is touched, the latter is eliminated. All races are between two pairs, with the winners going on to the next round.

I got into a conversation with Nguyen Tri Ton, an 85-year-old member of the audience seated in the first line of the stands. Ton was there to support his grandson. “I joined the Oxen race when I was 20 years old and stopped when I turned 65. Then I taught the skills to my grandson.”

He spoke of the days when oxen were used regularly for plowing fields, and a very valuable resource. Now very few were being kept for the traditional purpose, while others were reared solely for the purpose of this traditional event. More and more tractors were being used in An Giang Province, Ton said.

He said it was important to choose the oxen with their hooves close to each other, strong and big hips and gradually sloping legs.

And a smart oxen owner will take really good care of his oxen, Ton said. “I used to feed the oxen not with the grass in the field, but with what I specially grew for them. When they got tired, I cooked porridge for them. We also had the net to protect it from mosquitoes and sometimes, took them out for walks in the field. One week before the competition I feed them with chicken eggs and coconut water to strengthen them and practice for the competition.”

Ton said he and his grandson chose a pair of Khmer oxen some months ago for VND60 million.

As Ton spoke, the competition heated up and there were more people climbing the trees around, and the MC was shouting himself hoarse, warning the excited crowds not to enter the racing areas and risk serious injury or worse. Some of the drivers jumped off and rolled in the mud towards the end of the race to avoid being “tagged” by the contestant behind, and jumped right back on track to resume racing, putting the opponent under similar pressure. The excitement reached fever pitch as this happened.

As one owner complained bitterly that he was the winner of a close race, Chau Set, a 33-year-old Khmer man explained in perfect Vietnamese: “He complains because he does not want to loose. If he’d won, the oxen would sell at higher prices.”

Chau Set said that unlike in old days, most of the people driving the oxen these days were not the owners themselves but farmers hired them, just like jockeys for horses. The winning “jockey” would get about VND2 to 3 million from the prize money of VND30 million. The owner of the winning pair of oxen would also get other prizes including a motorbike, a mobile phone and a watch. That these gifts are sponsored by different companies testified to the event’s growing popularity.

And what of the winning oxen? They live to race another day.

The Khmer Dolta Oxen race kicks off the the traditional Dolta traditional festival of the Khmer ethnic minority in An Giang Province. (which occurs at the end of eighth Lunar month and extends to the first days of the following month).

The races began as an entertainment for those households using oxen to till fields that belonged to local Buddhist pagodas and developed into a popular traditional festivity. They usually take place in the two mountainous districts of Tri Ton and Tinh Bien in An Giang province.

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Ha Noi comes alive in autumn

by Cong Thanh

Peaceful: Hoan Kiem (Returned Sword) Lake is the most visited destination in Ha Noi. — VNA/VNS Photo Trong Dat

Ha Noi will celebrate its 1,000th anniversary and 56th Liberation Day on October 10, making it an ideal time for tourists to explore the city.

Sai Gon Tourist Company is offering typical tours to favourite destinations in the north including the Ha Noi-Autumn season, Ancient citadels of Viet Nam, Sa Pa and Ha Long in Autumn.

Annually, the HCM City-based travel agency organises seasonal tours – Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter – to tourism sites throughout the northern provinces.

But this year, the Ha Noi-Autumn season is seen as the most attractive programme as it coincides with the city's millennium celebrations.

"We hope tourists will have more chances to witness numerous cultural festivities in Ha Noi during autumn. It's a special time," said a marketing staff of the company, Hoang Thuy Linh.

"The Ha Noi-Autumn programme has hosted around 12,000 tourists since early this year and hundreds of foreigners have flocked to the city this season," Linh added.

She also said the capital had lured tourists with the season of fruits, com (young sticky rice) flake and cool weather.

Autumn tour

Old style: Touring Ha Noi's Old Quarter by xich lo (a peddle-powered vehicle) is a relaxing way to spend the day during the autumn, a time that many Hanoians say is the most beautiful season of the year. — VNA/VNS Photo Anh Tuan

The travel agency began preparing the tour last year to meet the increasing demand to visit Ha Noi.

The four days and three nights tour will depart from HCM City and wind through the Trang An tourism site in Ninh Binh Province, Ha Noi and Ha Long Bay.

It costs VND4.2 million (US$215) per person.

After arriving in the capital, tourists will visit the four historic temples of Bach Ma (White Horse); Linh Lang, or Voi Phuc (Crouching Elephant); Tran Vu and Kim Lien – the homes of the four gods of the former royal capital – before touring part of the Royal Thang Long Citadel and the Temple of Literature.

A pedestrian route from the Quan Chuong Gate and exploring the city's Old Quarter will close the first tour day.

"Tourists will go shopping at the biggest whole sale market of Dong Xuan in the middle of the Old Quarter, which is a symbol of the ancient capital," said head of the agency's Ha Noi office Nguyet Nga.

The centre of Ha Noi will be the main visit for the tour second day with a visit to sites around Hoan Kiem (Returned Sword) Lake such as Ngoc Son Temple and turtle tower.

"The lake is also the heart of Ha Noi and visitors can experience a quiet moment as they walk around the lake and see the trees in the autumn.

The most visited places during the day are buildings dating back to the French colonial times including 1902-built Long Bien Bridge; the Opera House built in 1911 and 1931-constructed Museum of Vietnamese history.

The existence of buildings provides real samples of the capital's varied history.

Travellers can ask tour guides to take them to the night market, which opens at 7pm and closes at midnight in Hang Ngang and Hang Dao streets, which were the former silk trading centre of ancient town.

The third day will start with a two-hour visit to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and One Pillar Pagoda before going to Ha Long Bay – the World Natural Heritage Site.

Ancient capitals

The seasonal programme also includes the vestiges of ancient imperial cities in a trip to the ancient capitals.

According Sai Gon Tourist's marketing section, Doan Thi Thanh Tra, the tour offers visits to the former capitals of Hue, Hoa Lu in Ninh Binh, Co Loa and the UNESCO recognised Thang Long Royal citadel in Ha Noi.

"We have intentionally arranged destinations in a combined tour, to help tourists gain a deeper understanding of Vietnamese history," Tra explained.

"The destinations are quite well-known to Vietnamese people, but we link a string of citadels that were built from the country's foundation to the current capital."

Arriving in Ha Noi on the morning flight, tourists will take a visit to Co Loa spiral Citadel, which was built in the third century BC.

From Thang Long Royal Citadel in Ha Noi, visitors will return to country's former capital of Hoa Lu in Ninh Binh Province – 100km south of Ha Noi – in 968-1010.

"Hoa Lu was a capital nearly half century before it was moved to Ha Noi by King Ly Thai To. The route will provide a real historical story of the former capital at Hoa Lu and Ha Noi today," Tra explained.

The former imperial capital of Hue will be the last place visited on the fourth day.

A night cruise on the Huong River with folk music will help people relax prior to their departure for peaceful mind for HCM City.

Visit www.saigontourist.net for more information. — VNS

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Sapa salmon sashimi

Salmon sashimi, a new favorite dish in Sapa - Photo: Lam Van Son

Sapa Town in the northern mountainous province of Lao Cai, encapsulates the beauty of the mountainous north, with unforgettable views of terraced rice fields, misty mountains lined up into the distance, icy cold waterfalls and love markets. As a bonus, another specialty was added in recent years for visitors to Sapa to enjoy – dishes made from locally farmed salmon.

In Sapa, there are many restaurants that are dedicated to serve salmon. Salmon is made into a wide variety of dishes, such as salmon hotpot, salmon sashimi with mustard and wild vegetable, grilled salmon, fried salmon rolled in flour, salmon salads and steamed salmon with wild bamboo.

Of these the salmon sashimi prepared with mustard is recommended most for tourists. The dish delights by the sweetness of salmon, aroma of fresh wild vegetables and a hot bite of mustard.

The second dish that must be mentioned is the salmon hot pot made in a similar way to the sour soup of the South. The soup has pineapple, tomato and salmon. Then it will be served with Sapa-grown wild vegetables and watercress or pumpkin buds.

Salmon farming was piloted in Sapa since 2005 after the local authorities sent experts to Finland to research their aquaculture and buy salmon eggs to raise at Thac Bac Cold Water Fish Center at the foot of Fansipan Mountain. Currently, the center is doing research on salmon breeding and investigating what technology they need to produce salmon food so they can stop importing food and eggs from Finland.

Related Articles

• Sapa salmon sashimi

Sapa salmon sashimi

Salmon sashimi, a new favorite dish in Sapa - Photo: Lam Van Son

Sapa Town in the northern mountainous province of Lao Cai, encapsulates the beauty of the mountainous north, with unforgettable views of terraced rice fields, misty mountains lined up into the distance, icy cold waterfalls and love markets. As a bonus, another specialty was added in recent years for visitors to Sapa to enjoy – dishes made from locally farmed salmon.

In Sapa, there are many restaurants that are dedicated to serve salmon. Salmon is made into a wide variety of dishes, such as salmon hotpot, salmon sashimi with mustard and wild vegetable, grilled salmon, fried salmon rolled in flour, salmon salads and steamed salmon with wild bamboo.

Of these the salmon sashimi prepared with mustard is recommended most for tourists. The dish delights by the sweetness of salmon, aroma of fresh wild vegetables and a hot bite of mustard.

The second dish that must be mentioned is the salmon hot pot made in a similar way to the sour soup of the South. The soup has pineapple, tomato and salmon. Then it will be served with Sapa-grown wild vegetables and watercress or pumpkin buds.

Salmon farming was piloted in Sapa since 2005 after the local authorities sent experts to Finland to research their aquaculture and buy salmon eggs to raise at Thac Bac Cold Water Fish Center at the foot of Fansipan Mountain. Currently, the center is doing research on salmon breeding and investigating what technology they need to produce salmon food so they can stop importing food and eggs from Finland.

Related Articles

• Sapa salmon sashimi