MangoVine
Adventures in East Asia

Entries in Vietnam

 16 March, 2009
Monday Dong Trieu Ceramics and Pottery Village
After a fantastic day so far at Ha Long, we begin our journey on the road back to Hanoi, but we stop off at the Dong Trieu ceramics and pottery village. Its a place that sells all kinds of ceramics, embroidery and marble statues and at arrival, we enter the large showroom with all these goods on sale.

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Everything gleams and is presented nicely but in contrast to smaller urban shops whose goods may be knock-offs coming from anywhere, you can be assured these are genuine, handmade quality handicrafts. That's because they are stamped with the place's name and you can go round the back to see the workshops where all the goods are made.

Read more... 16 March, 2009
Monday Tuan Chau Island Five Star Resort near Ha Long City
Located eight kilometers south-west of Ha Long City, Tuan Chau is the most beautiful and only populated island among the 2000 islands in Ha Long Bay. It covers an area of 2.2 kilometres square and has a luxuriant pine forest together with two man made beaches of very white, fine sand to the east and south.

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Investments have been poured into the island to turn it into a modern tourist resort. Dao Hong Tuyen, chairman of Au Lac Company, decided to take a big risk and transform the island into a five-star resort. In 1988, Mr. Tuyen spent 80 billion VND to build a 2 kilometre road, the first of its kind in Vietnam to go across the sea, linking the mainland to Tuan Chau.

Read more... 16 March, 2009
Monday Ha Long Bay Part 5 - Cruise Lunch and Pearls
During our Ha Long Bay cruise, a female member of the three person crew took the opportunity to present her case of jewellery for sale. On tourist attractions like the Ha Long Bay Cruise and the previous Tam Coc Sampan trip we took, it almost seems customary to encourage cornered tourists to buy souvenirs for sale. Its definitely a practical opportunity for them anyway.

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I have to admit that this lady wasn't as pushy as the sampan rower in Tam Coc, but then she was selling more expensive ware and probably wasn't expecting a sale. She touted genuine pearl necklaces, earrings and bracelets and even a specimen oyster shell with embedded pearls to prove her point.

Read more... 16 March, 2009
Monday Ha Long Bay Part 4 - Fresh Cuttlefish Deboning and Ha Long Bay Life
After visiting the caves, our little boat chugged along around the corner to visit what seemed like a focal point for a little fishing community within Ha Long Bay. A mini artificial island housing a building and some sunken net pools containing the catches of the day.

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A display of cuttlefish, larger grey fish and some smaller sea creatures and crustaceans populated the pools and plastic baskets, ready to be bought by passing trade and tourists.

Read more... 16 March, 2009
Monday Ha Long Bay Part 3 - Dau Go Cave
The entrance to Dau Go cave, in contrast to the narrow opening of Thien Cung, is much wider, allowing lots of natural light to flood into the opening chamber of the cave. There are three chambers with the outer one having the most spectacular stalagmites and stalactites with some as tall as 20 metres.

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Dau Go cave is not as colourfully lit as Thien Cung cave (thank god!) with a much more muted palette consisting of naturally lit earthy rocks and warm illuminations from the bulbs in the inner chambers. It was also discovered much earlier than Thien Cung.

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