Vietnam Heritage - August - September 2018 by Vietnam Heritage

4:8 AUG-SEP 2018

Heroes of a thousand faces

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4:3 MAY 2013 4 :3 MA MAY 2 013

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ISSN 1859-4123

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When W hen m making aking llove loovvee w was aass exalted exxalted aalted lted pp.8.8

Muddy tradition

wrestles its way back to Van Village

VIETNAM HERITAGE MAGAZINE 4th Floor, 1/1 Hoang Viet Street, Ward 4, Tan Binh District, Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam Tel: (84-28) 38118846 ; Fax: (84-28) 38118775 Email: vnheritagemagazine@gmail.com www.vietnamheritage.com.vn Vietnam Heritage

Vietnam Heritage

CONTENT No 4, VOL.8, AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2018

TOURISM

8 Fields of gold 10 Hue seeks great days for local tourism ARCHIITECTURE

14 An ancient house that stores dreams of humanity ART

16 Disabled artists create beauty in sand 18 Meeting a Grande Dame of Vietnamese Art GAMES

20 Red & black attack MYTHOLOGY

22 When an herbalist tamed a ferocious beast 24

HISTORY The boat race that celebrates the moon CRAFTS

26 To he - the edible toy 28 Heroes of a thousand faces LIFE

30 Mother’s initiative helps kids improve English

32 38 40 41 42 44

MUSIC

In the hands of the clap maestro

Green bean vermicelli is famous from South to North

Where to get pig bowels

WHAT THE PAPER SAY

EVENTS

DIRECTIONS

Cover photograph: Paper masks

Photo by Le Bich

Published by the Cultural Heritage Association of Vietnam

Publication licence No: 1648/GP-BTTTT from the Ministry of Information and Communications of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam for the English-language edition of The Gioi Di San (The World of Heritage) magazine Editor-in-Chief: Le Thanh Hai; Public Relations Director: Bui Thi Hang Managing Editor: Kha Tu Anh; Sub-editing: Erik Johnson, Le Hoai Nam ; Assistant: Van Thanh Nga, Nguyen Dang Khoa; Designer: Thanh Mai; Contributing Photographers: Nguyen Ba Han, Hoang Quoc Tuan, Hoang The Nhiem, Huynh Van Nam, Le Hoai Phuong, Nguyen Anh Tuan; Nguyen Ba Ngoc Correspondent: Pip de Rouvray; Advertising and Circulation: Green Viet Advertising JSC Email: tapchidisanvietnam@gmail.com & vnheritagemagazine@gmail.com; Thuy Phuong 0969 47 3579 Hanoi Advertising and Subscription: The He Moi MHN Viet Nam Co.Ltd, Mr Song Hao: 0903 476 999 Nha Trang Advertising and Subscription: Bach Cat Co. Ltd,; 22/6A Bach Dang Str. Nha Trang City Tel: (58) 360 7070 Fax (58) 387 0099, Email: bachcatprco.ltd@gmail.com Contact in the US for subscription and advertising: 2628 Sturla dr. San Jose, CA 95148

Vietnam Heritage Magazine

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AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2018 I

Vietnam Heritage

VIETNAM HERITAGE

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Mid-Autumn Festival in Ho Chi Minh City, 2015 Photo: Huynh Pham Anh Dung

TOURISM

Bac Son Valley, Lang Son Province, October, 2014 Photos: Nguyen Anh Tuan

Fields of gold

BY DAN VIET

ocated about 160km North of Hanoi, Bac Son is a small town in Lang Son Province, lying in a mesmerizingly scenic valley, embraced by green mountains and the soft band of a river that runs amid golden ripening paddy fields. The time between July and November is the best to visit Bac Son. The whole valley is covered in the shining gold of ripening rice that is sure to take anybody’s breath away. Towards the end of this period the valley is like an artist’s pallet with gold patches of ripened rice, reddish patches of havested fields, and rare green patches of late ripening rice. Under the sun zig-zagging canals look like stripes of tin that bundle all this bursting colors together. Bac Son rice fields are unique due to the surounding

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walls of rolling lime mountains that ripple to infinity. Dusk and dawn are the best times of the day to see sunrays penetrating those walls to animate the whole picture. The best spot from which to photograph the area is Na Lay Peak at 600m above sea level. Almost all tourists who have come to Bac Son have stood here to capture the majestic panorama. One should start climbing at 4 in the morning in order to capture cotton-like clouds wiping the pallete. On the way back, one can visit the nearby community tourist center Quynh Son. It is a village of Tay ethnic people with wooden stilted houses built in the traditional style that blends well with the scene of the mountains, forests and rice fields. n

TOURISM

Hanoi

Lang Son

TRANSPORTATION From Hanoi one can reach Bac Son by the Thang Long Bridge – Noi Bai – Soc Son – Thai Nguyen route or the HCM City Thanh Tri Bridge – Huu Lung route. Both take about five hours. Having arrived at Bac Son, ask for the way to Na Lay Peak. Cars can be left in a local house at the foot of the hill for about VND30,000 a night. Conditions should be negotiated before leaving the vehicle to avoid misunderstanding later. LODGING It should not be hard to find a place to stay at night in Bac Son, as it is an attractive tourist destination of Lang Son Province. The price is around VND200,000 a room a night. Alternatively, to make it easier to be ready on Na Lay Peak at dusk and dawn one can bring or hire a tent to set up right on the peak. Because there is a telephone signal transmission station here, be sure to get permission from the local authorities before you camp. AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2018

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TOURISM

Hue City

The night view of the Imperial Palace in Hue. Photo: Nguyen Van Loi

seeks great days for local tourism

BY HOA HA

ecently, the former imperial city of Hue proposed plans to boost tourism in an attempt to revive the sector’s heydays. The city has been appraised as having the most tourism potential in the country, thanks to its UNESCO heritage titles, scenic landscapes and vast lagoon system. Experts urged the city to utilize its potential, as Hue seems to lag behind other cities in Vietnam in tourism growth. ‘Hue has the maximum potential for tourism in the country, but this charming city has yet to become a top destination for visitors,’ said Vietnam Tourism Association chairman Nguyen Huu Tho. Tho said dynamic management of the sector would soon result in a better tourism profile for the city.

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GASTRONOMY MUSEUM

Nguyen Van Phuc, deputy director of the local tourism department, said the sector is targeting to make use of food varieties in the city to renew the sector. Researchers said among the 3,000 varieties of food found in Vietnam, some 1,700 dishes are made in the city, but visitors have hardly seen a decent restaurant serving authentic Vietnamese food. ‘Procedure the building of a museum for Hue gastronomy is underway. We found it is a must to conserve the authenticity of local dishes as well as to serve the visitors better,’ said Phuc of the tourism department. According to him, local sector is working with a big tourist

TOURISM

Hanoi

Thua Thien Hue

HCM City

Thai Hoa Palace at night, Hue. Photo: Vo Bay

operator from HCMC to build the museum and local authorities have reserved a wide plot of land at the centre of the city for the project. Meanwhile, the department and the project investor are working with experts and researchers across the country to obtain documents recording the dishes’ authentic ingredients and recipes. Both grassroots and royal recipes will be available at the museum. The proposed museum is expected to meet demands of dining, researching and taking part in the food-making process with instructions by local artisans. ‘The museum will have a space for study and showcasing the food, a space for dining and a space for visitors who want to join the chefs. We expect it to function perfectly for the conservation of local cuisine and offer good menus to visitors,’ Phuc said. In the meantime, local authorities of Thua Thien Hue Province, which includes the city of Hue, have recently announced a plan to build trademarks for prominent local dishes as well as create signatures for Hue food in general. Related agencies will work to have signature boards at restaurants and eateries serving authentic local dishes for easier recognition by visitors during their stay in the city. Authorities also urged local operators to have tour programmes focusing on street food, dishes made from ingredients taken from lagoons, and grassroots and royal courses. One of the highlights of those tours is Hue vegetarian food, which has developed in the city due to the influences of Buddhism that took root here hundreds years ago. The tour itineraries are, at the same time, expected to help visitors explore gardens growing fresh vegetables and witness the selection of ingredients in traditional markets as well as the cooking process.

Local authorities are ambitious for a strong boost for tourism from the utilization of plentiful food sources and recipes as well as a formal recognition of Hue as a ‘city of food’.

TOURISM MART

On the other hand, authorities also wanted a place for visitors to Hue gathering far from the old citadel, expecting to make the city into a fresh breath from values representing the past. Earlier in July, construction of a tourism mart was approved. Following the approval, a 22.86ha mart would be built the east of the city and its hotel facility could house 320 visitors. The mart will have a complex of hotels, trade centres, and parks. It will also include a nearby residential area sufficient for 1,200 residents. A lake, trees, a square and small parks will stay at the core of the mart and trade centres, including a tourism space, a floating market and duty-free stores, will be located in the surrounding area. Along with the gastronomy museum, the mart is expected to create a boom in the number of tourists to the city.

NIGHT ATTRACTION

Since last year, the city has come up with creating night attractions to rescue Hue from the bad reputation of a ‘sleep early’ city as both locals and visitors find it boring at night. In the backpacker area, authorities have banned vehicles during weekends, expecting to have a ‘free street’ for late night events like Lao’s Vang Vieng and Thailand’s Bangkok AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2018

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TOURISM

A performance at the Festival Hue 2014. Photo: Le Quang Thien

Experts encouraged the city to make the project really interesting for tourists as for the last few months, the night streets have showed no prominent features compared to other streets in the city. Inside the citadel, the conservation centre created a night show that they called ‘Imperial Palace by night’. The show allows visitors to see the royal buildings under the illuminating effects and performances of royal music, dance, games and re-enaction of night patrols. The night show has helped to attract more visitors to the city and reduce the situation of visitors fleeing to Hoi An and Danang after a day in Hue. Visiting the citadel at night, however, means no visits to this royal place in the daylight. Thus, visitors wanted to have interesting activities to entertain them during the day. Many said it would be best if the city could brainstorm some plans to deal with the demand soon. The Truong Tien Bridge, one of the icons of the city, is going to get some 0.4 million USD to replace its existing light system. The bridge is a place that almost all Vietnamese want to walk on when they are in Hue. The city had a light system to make it charming at night, but now they want something more. The city chairman said the new system would be more modern and make the bridge’s steel frame an art work. The light upgrade is also an attempt to add more recreation from the night street project, as the backpacker corner is located near the bridge. Locals supported whatever the city wanted to do to lift up the city’s economy with revenue from tourism, whether the city projects work well or not. On their side, the city has shown strong determination by inviting big investors, including Vingroup and Bayan Tree from Singapore. n

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MAIN SPONSOR On the occasion of the 13th Vietnam National Heritage Day (23rd November 2018), the Vietnam Heritage Photo Awards 2018 is launched. The competition seeks out photos about the natural and cultural heritage of Vietnam in general, and stories and images about “Ao dai Vietnam” and “Travel with Vietjet, Smiles of Vietjet” in particular, for publication in Vietnam Heritage magazine and for online exhibition of 100 best works on www.vietnamheritage.com.vn plus over 6 exhibitions throughout Vietnam

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A SPECIAL “SKY PRIZE – 1 YEAR FLYING WITH VIETJET” SPONSORED BY VIETJET for the winner of the topic “Travel with Vietjet, Smiles of Vietjet” (Photos having the image of Vietjet inside) THE BOARD OF JUDGES: Photographer Hoang Trung Thuy, Chairman of The Board of Judges; Photographer Doan Thi Tho – EVAPA, FIAP; Film Director Nguyen Quoc Hung, Deputy Director of TFS – HCMC Television The Awards Ceremony will be held in November 2018 Entries must be in digital format, either coloured or black and white, 5MB or smaller, 300DPI. Entries close on 30 September, 2018. Details are available on website www.vietnamheritage.com.vn

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AN ANCIENT HOUSE

THAT STORES DREAMS OF HUMANITY

TEXT BY NGUYEN VAN BAN; PHOTOS BY NGUYEN HUU THANH

rchitecture and culture experts say that the ancient house of Tran Cong Vang, with its Hue style interlocked beams, architecture, and numerous meticulously carved decor patterns and antiques is special among the few similar ancient houses still intact in the Southeastern Delta. The house structure and the artifacts inside show quite vividly the lifestyle and cultural values of the wealthy of late 19th and early 20th centuries. The house of Tran Cong Vang at 21 Ngo Tung Chau Street, Phu Cuong Ward, Thu Dau Mot City of Binh Duong Province has been recognized a National Relic of Art and Architecture since 1993 by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

A wooden house without a single iron nail

Feng-shui masters say that the house is well-located: with a hill behind it and a river at the front, it is very convenient for transporting wood logs down from the forests. Old documents show that the first owner of the house was Mr Tran Cong Doan. But the house bears the name of Mr Tran Cong Vang, a 4th generation descendant of Mr Doan. Currently Mr Vang’s children and grandchildren take care of the house and guide tourists around the site. The records department of Binh Duong Province’s Relic Sites Management says that the house of Tran Cong Vang was built in late 19th century. A small courtyard separates the main and subsidiary structures. Most of the buildings were made of precious

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timber such as sao, trac, and mun. Most remarkably, parts are joined by tenons and mortises without a single iron nail. Being a lumberman and owning a timber processing station was a huge advantage for the first owner and builder of the house. A large number of carpenters and artisans of the highest skill at the time took part in completing the house. The house of Tran Cong Vang has a total area of about 450m2, built on a 1,333m2 property. The main house, 323m2 in area, includes the owner family’s living quarters, where they receive distinguished guests and host big family and community events. The auxiliary structures, simpler and more modest, 119m2 in area, include a kitchen, a dining room and a room where common people were received. The front courtyard currently has a number of bonsai and flowerpots that are even more eye-pleasing.

The main house – a work of art

The house is roofed with ancient double tiles. The roof is supported by girders, beams and purlins robustly but gracefully joined, with all tenons carved beautifully and meticulously as dragon heads. The whole structure is supported by 48 cylindrical pillars, carefully polished and beautifully adorned.

The side and back walls are built with bricks and lime. The front wall consists of a number of thick and strong sliding removable wooden panels. The space inside is divided by wooden panels into compartments which serve as bedrooms, living rooms, and altar rooms. Each piece of wood, including sliding and turning doors and windows, and dividing panels is a unique work of art, and the whole structure is a feat of structural engineering and architectural design. The other elements of interior design and decoration such as the altar and its utensils, tables and chairs, calligraphic decorations and paintings are valuable works of carving art in their own right. Pieces of furniture are arranged in the style of an old Vietnamese family, cozy and convenient.

All the carvings and relief patterns seen on the antique pieces of furniture in the house follow the motif of flora and fauna and geometrical figures, expressing an aspiration for a happy harmonious life. The same aspiration is also expressed in parallel sentences and calligraphic works carved on precious wood panels. On the sides of the main gate, a pair of parallel sentences greets visitors and bids them to feel at home. On the second row of pillars, one sees another pair advising everyone to follow ancient rules of good living. At the ancestral altar, a calligraphic scroll instructs children to have filial devotion and piety towards the family, and a serene and pure heart for the deities. n AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2018

Hanoi

HCM City

VIETNAM HERITAGE

Binh Duong

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ART

DISABLED ARTISTS CREATE BEAUTY IN SAND BY KHANH LE

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o Dang Phi Long was born in 1988 as a normal child. But at the age of 1, he contracted pneumonia, which led to loss of hearing and speech. ‘He is my first child, and that devastated me. Negative thoughts filled up my mind. It was so unbearable,’ Phi Long’s mother, Ms Dang Thi Thu Ha, recalls those most terrible days of her life. When Phi Long was 7, Ms Ha, living at that time in Phan Thiet took him to a boarding school for disabled kids in Binh Duong Province. In 2005, attending the ‘Green Convergence of Binh Thuan’ fair, Phi Long by chance saw the very unique sand paintings of artist Y Lan. The famous artist’s paintings impressed him so much he, implored his mother to come down to the artist’s residence in Ho Chi Minh City to ask her to admit him as an apprentice. Just a year later, the young man became a skillful sand painting artisan. Back in Phan Thiet, Phi Long asked his mom’s permission to open a sand painting school for disabled youth. ‘I was so happy that my son wanted to help other underprivileged people. So our family spent all our savings to open a school of sand painting at home,’ Phi Long’s mother said. The kind-hearted mother added, the first paintings Phi Long made in this 20m2 classroom touched many people’s hearts. Some generous Maecenas helped by announcing widely about the admission to the training sessions. The number of trainees increased from 5-7 persons to 20 at some times. Seeing the constrains of the class at home in terms of space, in 2009 Phi Long and his mom developed a project of opening a more spacious and

ART

better-equipped school for the disabled to learn in better conditions. To support the young man’s kind-hearted determination, Binh Thuan’s Provincial government granted him 50 years’ right of use of 500m2 of land. ‘Even then we had a lot of financial problems. So I decided to mortgage my house to get some more funding,’ Ms Dang Thi Thu Ha recalled. About a year later, a sizeable sand painting vocational school was opened in alley no. 444, Thu Khoa Huan Street, Thanh Hai Ward, Phan Thiet City of Binh Thuan Province. The 500m2 school has workshops, an exhibition space, and living quarters for a number of disabled attendees. While establishing the vocational school, Phi Long also opened Phi Long Sand Painting Company under the management of Director Dang Thi Thu Ha. ‘From the opening of the first sand painting class to now, Phi Long has trained 340 people from all over Vietnam. Having learned the trade, they may open their own business or they can stay and work for Phi Long,’ his mother proudly concluded. Currently, Phi Long Sand Painting Company employs 30 disabled people, including skillful artisans and apprentices. The apprentices are provided with free boarding, food and receive an allowance of VND3-8 million a month, depending on their skill level. Here is how sand paintings are made: sand taken from Phan

Left; and right: At the Phi Long Sand Painting Gallery, Phan Thiet City, Binh Thuan Province Photos Tran Dinh Thuong

Thiet beaches is sifted to get fine, equal-sized grains. The sand is dyed in different colors and stored separately according to color. Next, using sticky paint, the artisan makes a sketch of the intended painting on the bottle, glass, vase or glass panel to be painted, and then pours sand of specific colors onto suitable sections with a tiny spoon and brush. ‘Only having witnessed the whole sand painting process at Phi Long’s workshops can one fully appreciate the underprivileged artisans’ talent and dedication. With love, artistic sensitivity, patience and precision, they meticulously work with every grain of sand to blow spirit into works of art that move people’s hearts,’ a tourist named Thuy shared. Phi Long sand paintings have taken part in many domestic and international handicraft fairs and won hearts and minds of viewers and customers far and wide. Today, many tourists that come to Phan Thiet find their way to Phi Long Sand Painting Gallery. The sand paintings in the gallery never cease to amaze the visitors, just as the authors never cease to invoke in them admiration. Phi Long paintings are very diverse in themes and topics. They depict nature, animals, people, and famous landscapes. The sizes also varies greatly, making them easy to arrange in an exhibition. Some paintings are as small as to fit in a chest pocket of a T-shirt. n

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ART

Meeting

a Grande Dame of Vietnamese Art BY PIP DE ROUVRAY

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ometimes I feel I have the best job in the world. I am always meeting the most interesting people. The other day, I interviewed a truly exceptional Vietnamese lady who produces the most exquisite and spiritually uplifting works of art. Amazingly,she only took up art seriously after retiring at the age of sixty-five. Now eighty years old, her name is Phi Loan. I met the artist in her flat which doubles as her studio. The artist looked radiant and young for her years dressed in a gold and brown ao dai. All around the room were examples of her work. The lady herself was full of energy, constantly getting up to seek out an old photo album to show us, make a cup of tea or adjust a frame. Also on the wall were certificates - one from the Danish embassy acknowledging her work and another to commend her anti-American efforts during the war involving that nation. Whilst Phi Loan now dedicates herself to art, it is clear she was born with the creative art gene. She showed us portraits of family members she drew as a young girl and some silk flowers, with which she used to make a living. However, it was geology that she studied both here and at the Lomonosov University in Moscow. She maintains that studying the colours of stones under the microscope influences her choice of hues, tones, tints and shades of colour in her art. Loan studied painting in oil for a year but reached the conclusion that this was not for her. Instead, she collects pieces of cloth from old clothes and cuts up pieces of colour magazines, always trying to get the most different shades from all the colours of the rainbow. She uses the pieces to make collages. She calls upon inspiration to put together a piece of art without ever making sketches. Once a work is done, she forgets it without dwelling on the creative process. Her cloth pictures remind me of Indonesian batik and her paper works of mosaics. Loan also studied formally in Japan and this is clear in the delicate Japanese characteristics of some of her frames. There are three main recurring themes in the work of this artist. Firstly, as one interested so much in the subtlety of colour, it is appropriate that she is very good at depicting flowers. Then she has many pictures of young women and girls in colourful clothing. Prominent here are collages of ethnic minority women, in particular of the Hmong from Loan’s native North Vietnam. Lastly the artist’s love of birds is reflected in her works. I especially loved her colleges featuring that most graceful of avians-the cranes, How naturally graceful they are-the ballet dancers of the wetlands! Many artists seem to painting more or less the same picture all the time-perhaps in different colours or from differing angles. This is never the case for Phi Loan. Each collage is individualistic despite there being no great range of themes. Each uplifts my spirit and leaves feeling contentment and joy. There is good news for those of you are in Hanoi. At the end of August, Phi Loan will have an exhibition of her works.

ART

It will be entitled ‘Sac Tam’ or ‘Shades of the Heart’ and is the third one of this name. The artist maintains she experiences a wide range of emotions during the creative process. Half of the proceeds from sales will go to a charity for disabled children and Hanoi Studio is providing its space for free for the purpose. The charity in question is the Australian N.G.O. ‘Hands for Hope (HFH)’. Phi Loan is a contemporary Vietnamese artist and we certainly hope she will certainly be so for many years to come. She is a completely independent artist, a free spirit who follows only her heart. Despite her years, this heart is full of youth and freshness and this is reflected in her frames. Her art is more of the last century rather than the conceptual and abstract work of

most younger artists of today, whilst it does use very innovative materials. Phi Loan is above all a natural, innate and spontaneous artist. I hope you get the chance to see and even buy her work and if you get the chance to meet her you will join me in a very honoured club of persons to do so! n

The exhibition of the Collage Artist Phi Loan ‘Sac Tam’ (Shades of the Heart) opens at 17:30 hours, Friday 24 August and will last through to the at 31 August at Hanoi Studio, at 13 Trang Tien,Hanoi. AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2018

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RED& BLACK

GAMES

ATTACK

BY DUNG HA

The king of human chess brings his celebrated pastime to all of Vietnam

uman chess is one of the original folk games that takes place during festive occasions in Vietnam in general and the North in specifically, especially during the lunar New Year. Human chess is an actual chess game in which humans replace the chess pieces. The chess board is drawn on a clearing or a temple courtyard. A game begins with all 32 chess pieces, including 16 young men and 16 girls. Those are good mannered, good looking young men and women from good, well respected families. Beside the pieces on the board and two players, any game must have a game master, who is also the arbitrator. The young men wear red or yellow dresses, while the young girls wear black or green. The outfits must be perfectly neat and tidy, representing the corresponding chess piece. The King wears King’s headwear and footwear. The mandarins wear caps with dragonfly wings and golden

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tassels. Before each game the “chess pieces” must train stances and martial moves and skills to demonstrate in each situation. The training is usually as strenuous as real military or circus training. At the announcement, the teams ceremonially march into the board under music and drum accompaniment. The board set, two players in scholar dress come out under a roll of drums, a five-color command flag in their hand. They clearly introduce themselves. As a rule, the red side takes the first move, then the green side, and so on. They take turn to move until the checkmate. Every time a piece of one side eliminates a piece of the other side, the two show a sparring scene with the attacking side winning. The human chess game goes on, lively and breathtaking. Spreading to Ho Chi Minh City by innovations of matial art master Ho Tuong, the chess pieces carry weapons and sit in the board. A large mat is spread between the two

GAMES

A human chess show. Photo: Lai Khanh

A performance at the Thuan An Town, Binh Duong Province, 2009 Photo: Bui Vy Van

sides or in a big clearing. When a piece of one side eliminates a piece of the other side, the two imitate a real fight with beautiful martial moves on the mat to passionate cheering of the spectators. A commentator describes the moves on a loudspeaker so that everybody can appreciate the playersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; skills. The human chess shows of Master Vo Tuong are really a sight to see, and the team has quickly becomes famous. They are invited to perform everywhere in the Middle and South of Vietnam. From a single show team, since 2007 Master Vo Tuong already has three human chess show teams headed by his disciples to satisfy the ever-increasing demands of the spectators everywhere. For those contributions, Master Vo Tuong is considered the man who restored and developed the genre of human chess martial art in Ho Chi Minh City and in Vietnam. n AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2018

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A kylin dance in Ho Chi Minh City, 2016. Photo: Nguyen Thanh Tung

MYTHOLOGY

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When an herbalist tamed a ferocious beast

MYTHOLOGY

BY HOAI AN

A kylin dance in Ho Chi Minh City, 2016. Photo: Nguyen Thanh Tung

Unicorn dance, Hai Chau District, Danang, 2015. Photo: Quang Ba Hai

he kylin has the head of a dragon or tiger, mane of a lion, the hooves of an ox or horse, the tail of a lion or ox, the scales of a fish, and it can have either 1 or 2 horns or antlers. The Kylin dance is an ancient genre of folk art that originated from China and followed the migrants that moved southward to Vietnam. The kylin dance shows normally take place during festive occasions, especially the New Year, Mid-Autumn, and the First Full Moon each year. East Asians believe that kylin represents prosperity, wealth and happiness. It ranks the second among the Divine Four of dragon, kylin, turtle and phoenix. In a kylin dance show, there is always a round faced, fat-bellied man with a constant wide smile, holding in one hand a stick with a globe that hangs on one end, his other hand flapping gently a fan. That is the Lord of the Earth. The Lord’s humorous benevolence and his slow, awkward motions adds an entire charismatic dimension to the festive air. Legends have it that once upon a time, there was a kind and jovial medicine man who spent all of his time searching the earth looking for medicinal herbs to help people. One day he found a

A kylin dance in Danang. Photo: Vo Tan Phuoc

herb that could multiply a person’s youth and longevity. The King heard the news, ordered him to the court and offered him honor and wealth. But the medicine man disappeared. Many years later, in a 12th lunar month, a ferocious monster came from the sea and killed all the domestic animals. The news spread, and the medicine man came back, lured the monster to the forest and treated it with the eternal youth herb. The monster turned into a benign animal, which was the kylin. The man that tamed it was actually the Lord of the Earth. Since then every New Year the Lord of the Earth takes the kylin bạck to the village, bringing with them good spirit and good fortune. In the past the kylin only danced on the ground. Nowadays, it dances also on high scaffolds, showing fantastic moves. The dance also transformed itself into lion and dragon dances. Recently in our country, the kylin dance became very popular and flamboyant in many places during the Mid-Autumn celebration. The kylins are much better adorned and dance much more skillfully, following much more sophisticated scripts. And the show takes place not only on the traditional festive days but also on the occasion of opening a shop or an office. n AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2018

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THE BOAT RACE

FESTIVALS

THAT CELEBRATES THE MOON

BY HOA KHANH

k om Bok festival, aka the Moon festival, is a tradition of Khmer communities in the 13 provinces of the Mekong River delta of Vietnam. It is celebrated on the full moon of the 10th lunar month each year to show the Khmer people’s gratitude to the God of the Moon for having granted them rich crops and happiness. Above all, the Moon festival in Soc Trang, recognized as a ‘national intangible cultural heritage’ contains Khmer culturerich activities such as moon worship ritual, flying lamps release, floating lamps release, songs and dances, sportive, fair, sportive games and most notably the ngo boat race. Owned only by Buddhist temples and considered a sacred object, the ngo boats have been always a part of life of Khmer communities in the Mekong River delta. Originally ngo boats were hewn from a big log of precious wood. They are 27m long, 1.1m wide, with long ends that curve upward making the boat look like a cresent. The bowels have 24 open compartments, each wide enough for two oarsmen to sit inside. Dragons, tigers, flowers and leaves are painted along the body of the boat to express the ‘character’ of its owning temple and the racing team. Nowadays ngo boats are built from many planks because big logs are usually unaffordable. But somehow the boat builder manages to make the new boat look the same as the old ones that some temples still possess. New or old, all ngo boats have to go through three sacred rituals of starting the hewing, finishing the hewing and dressing

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to be eligible for races. After the rituals, the ngo boat becomes a temple’s posession of a temple and is kept on its premises. Near the date of Ok om Bok, the temple clergy, the race team and the villagers contribute offerings and conduct the launching ritual for the boat. They pray to the deities asking for strength and luck to win the race. Having done so, under rolls of drums and gongs, the race team carries the ngo boat on their shoulders to the river bank and puts it down to the water. From that moment on, the strong men of the team begin a strict training program under the supervision of old-time racing champions. The boat launching and racer training take place almost at the same times in all participating villages of Soc Trang, heating the festive mood in the whole region. On the festival day, all the ngo boats of Khmer buddhist temples gather at the Maspero River section in Soc Trang City. On each boat, besides the 48 oarsmen, there are three comanders. One sits at the prow to control the paddling technique of the whole team. Two others sit at the middle and the stern to control the paddling rythym by whistling and spurring on the oarsmen. At the start signal, all the boats rush forward, trying to reach the finish line, which is 1200m away. Muscular arms acting Hanoi in unison, rythmically thrusting paddles down the water and pushing it back to propel the boat forward, HCM City that’s certainly a sight to Soc Trang see! n

AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2018

FESTIVALS

A ngo boat race, An Giang Province, 2011 Photo: Nguyen Minh Tan

Building ngo boat Photo: Dinh Cong Tam

Worshipping to the ngo boat before racing Photo: Dinh Cong Tam

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CRAFTS

To He

the edible toy TEXT AND PHOTOS BY LE BICH

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AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2018

uan La Village, Phuong Duc Commune, Phu Xuyen District of the Hanoi suburbs is considered the cradle of the starch figurine trade. Village elders say that in the past, due to the lack of toys, some people kneaded animal figurines for them with rice flour, mixed with a little sticky rice flour. After having played with them enough, kids can steam the figurines and eat them. Also, the toys are taken to be sold to Hanoi and surrounding provinces. That’s how the trade was started. So why the name ‘to he’? Surprisingly, it’s a mispronunciation of ‘to te’. Some artisans of Xuan La village say, in order to attract the kids’ attention, the peddlers attach a whistle to each figurine which sounds ‘to te’ when blown. So the product was given the name ‘to te’, which was later accidentally mistyped as ‘to he’ by a news reporter, and the name stuck, spread, and became commonly accepted. It’s a fact that the starch figurines are among the very few traditional toys that can still attract kids. And it’s a fortunate thing that there are still some young, dynamic artisans who have updated the characters to include new figures from modern movies, cartoons and everyday life that are easier to recognize. I am talking about young artisan Dang Van Hau, grandson of 90-year-old artisan Dang Van Ha, one of the most famous figurine kneading masters of Phu Xuyen today. A dynamic young man, Hau understands that the trade can survive only if conducted in a city, and he has marked

CRAFTS his spots in Hang Ma Street and around Hoan Kiem Lake. He makes his presence noticed on all festive occasions, and that’s how Ha Noi the trade gives him a comfortable life. Time improves the dexterity of his hands. Visiting him at his house, I was overwhelmed by the collection of starch figurines of classical characters such as the Fairy Ladies, the Lord of Longevity, the quan ho singers, HCM City and Teu the laughter maker. They are so alive, utterly silly and at the same time, extremely sophisticated. Hau said proudly, ‘I have found a formula to make a starch that doesn’t get mouldy.’ Not only that, he even orders glass shells and wooden supports for the figurines, turning them into collectible statues. Today, Hau not only does the trade, he also teaches the trade to his village youth. Primary and secondary school students come to him to learn the trade after dinner. It’s fun, really. No hard work required, and it can be done at any time, given good eyes and hands. According to the culture expert Trinh Bach, the MidAutumn starch figurine trade originated from Hanoi, too. In the past, before the Mid-Autumn celebration, traders used come to Hanoi to buy the figurines to sell in the country. Dong Xuan and Dong Lac were where Our (Vietnamese) figurines are sold, and Ma May, Hang Buom Streets were where to buy the Guest (imported from China) figurines. It was my luck to be introduced to Ms Nguyet Anh, the last Dong Xuan starch figurine kneading artisan of Hanoi. She used to live at Dong Xuan and had learned the trade from some Chinese who lived on Hang Buom Street. At first, she made the figurines only to entertain her family. In 1979, as the Chinese left the country, nobody sold them anymore. In the difficult years that followed, Ms Anh came up with the idea of making the figurines to sell during the MidAutumn season. The figurines helped her family to make ends meet for a long time. From her, I learned that the figurines made in the past were edible toys. She even made colorful rare fruits from the starch to sell in five-fruit sets to ladies who bring them to the pagodas and temple as offerings. Nowadays, Ms. Anh still works with her exceptional skills. Lovely figurines emerge from under her subtly sensitive hands of. She uses arrowroot starch to knead her figurines, and coat them with a layer of oil to prevent cracking. n

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CRAFTS

Heroes of a thousand faces

The ancient art of mask-making is still alive TEXT BY THANH HUYEN ; PHOTOS BY LE BICH

asteboard masks have been Hanoi kidsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; toys, especially in the occasion of Mid-Autumn celebrations, for ages. But today, just a handful of people still remain loyal to the art of mask-

At a workshop making paper masks designed by the artists Nguyen Van Hoa and Dang Huong Lan, Hanoi, 2018.

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making. The couple of Mr Nguyen Van Hoa and Mrs. Dang Huong Lan at 73 Hang Than Street, Ba Dinh District of Hanoi are among the last artisans that still hold the secrets of traditional paper mask-making trade. Making a quality pasteboard mask is quite a complicated process that requires a lot of skills, deft hands and artistic taste. Waste paper torn to small pieces is the main raw material. For each mask there is a concrete form cast beforehand. A layer of white paper is wrapped tight on the form, and then layers of torn paper are glued on top of it and left to dry. There are mask forms on traditional motifs such as Chi Pheo, Thi No, Teu (folklore characters),

CRAFTS

Aarcheological evidence from the Dong Son civilization shows that 2000-3000 years ago ancient Viet people were already making masks from tree barks and animal skins. Later on, with the advent of new, more modern materials, they started using paper. Like any other products of culture that carry elements of folklore, the masks reflect many aspects of agricultural life and aspirations of ancient Viet people. The Earth Lord mask, round and cheerful, represents the fertility of the land and healthy growth of every living thing. The jade rabbit mask, on the other hand, represents the beauty of heaven and earth, favorable weather and abundance of crops...

and animal faces etc. This year Mr Hoa has new forms to make modern and foreign characters such as Batm Man and Spider Man etc. to satisfy the market demands. Each mask is usually 5-6 layers thick, and the glue is simply cooked cassava starch. With such materials, the masks can only be sun dried. Any other, more advanced way to dry would deform and destroy them. So the artisan couple can only work on sunny days and have to find something else to do when it rains. Painting is the next most important part because it too decides how the masks look. ‘You can paint only one color at a time. Only when the top color dries you can you paint the next color. So it may takes many such repeating steps to finish coloring a single mask to ensure the colors are clear and welledged. It takes a lot of patience to achieve the desired effect.’n *The article in Vietnamese was printed on The Gioi Di San AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2018

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LIFE

Mother’s initiative helps kids improve English BY HOA HA

hirteen-year-old Bao Tram had her first chance to talk to foreign visitors, thanks to a tour she took in June. Tram said it was so much fun and such a nice experience that she wanted to do it again. Tram and many others students in Quang Tri Province had not have opportunities meeting with a native English speaker for chit chat, as the province is not listed as a destination for foreign visitors in Vietnam. Thanks to efforts by a young single mom who lives in the province’s Hai Lang District, Bao was able to have her experience in the country’s tourism hub, Hue City. ‘Hai Oanh was a good caretaker of us during her tour. She also helped us in overcoming our shyness in communicating with foreigners,’ said Tram. Hai Oanh is the tour organizer of the itinerary that Tram was included in June. The 27-year-old Oanh started the tour service over a year ago, aiming to offer a chance to students in her English class to have a better English-speaking environment. ‘I studied university in HCM City and worked there for three years on a television programme before I returned to my home district, where I found out that hundreds

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outskirt district of Hue but bordering Oanh’s home district. There, the group took a local bus to arrive in the former citadel in Hue and waited for visitors to pass. ‘In the beginning, I hadn’t thought of a tour itinerary but only trips to escape. I was in debt and going through a divorce at that time and I determined that community work would be the best way out,’ said Oanh. ‘Later, more people got to know about the trip, I decided to make regular tours for children in the district. I named it ‘Amazing English Tours’, wishing to illustrate the feeling of the kids at their first time meeting with foreigners for talks. Hai Oanh. Photo Hieu Tran Oanh said she got divorced early last year and her ex-husband of young people have learned English for left her a large amount of debt. ‘At the years but have never got chance to talk time, I had to tutor nearby children for a low salary and I found out they had never with a foreigner,’ she said. The young mother had the idea of had the chance to practise with a native bringing the children to the neighbouring speaker,’ she said. That was the strong push for me to locality, Hue, to seek a chance for English speaking. The first tour was in May of last decide to take advantage of the short year. With zero experience as a tour distance from my home district to Hue operator, Oanh had a tough time at her seeking for chances meeting with foreigners. beginning. In the former royal citadel in Hue, the Oanh at that time carried her 1-yearold son, driving her motorbike and leading young single mom met and asked a group of electric scooter-riding students foreigners if they could spend a little time from her home district to Phong Dien, an talking to the group.

AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2018

LIFE

The children talk with the foreign visitors in Hue. Photo: Hieu Tran

She felt much happiness looking at the confident boys and girls talking to strangers. Oanh emphasized that many in Vietnam were too shy to talk with foreigners, despite studying English for years. She earned a good reputation thanks to the first successful trips and more children registered to go on trips with her to Hue. Oanh offered free trips at the early time of the tour but later she started charging for coach fares and meals. The tours now do not use public bus in Hue, but they rented cars for private trips departing from Quang Tri. By August this year, the tours will have accommodated a great deal of children, with almost 1,900 girls and boys in more than 65 tours to Hue and Hoi An. Oanh said she expanded the tours to Hoi An to seek for the innovation for the itineraries. With tours to Hue, she gathered children, both primary and secondary school students from around Quang Tri. Her tours to Hoi An also welcome children from Hue.

Children are divided into groups and play together at various sites, a traditional craft village in Hue and the beach in Hoi An. Later they will present at the sites with large presence of foreigners to seek chances for conversation. Oanh now runs three tours a week with around 30 children each. She has volunteers with her to work as team leaders, usually high-school students or graduates with good English skills. She wants to build a facility in her home district and invite native speakers to come and communicate with the children. At the same time, she is preparing to launch overseas trips to other Southeast Asian countries. In late July, she made her first step in an expansion of the model. Oanh arrived in HCM City to offer chance to the city kids, using the same tour format she has applied in Hue and Hoi An. ‘That drove me to think of the upgrade for my tour format,’ she said.

She admitted that coherent planning skills gained in the three years working as a television editor has helped her much in designing tours, as she was innocent to the tour operating career game. Parents of the kids attended in Oanh’s tour programmes, however, appraised Oanh’s skills and they seemed to trust the single mom. ‘I was surprised a lot during a tour to Hoi An with Oanh. My children were so confident in talking with the foreign strangers. It was thanks to Oanh in inspiring them,’ said Yen Nhi, a resident of Hue. It’s good for Oanh to have such great skills as well as excellent chance for the kids in practicing English. Whenever you meet children dressed in red colour T-shirt printed with Amazing English Tours in the citadel of Hue or in the old town of Hoi An, give them a chance to talk. n

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In the hands of the clap maestro

MUSIC

BY PUTRA JATRAI

Cham instruments are an integral part of life and culture

hile visiting Cham villages of Ninh Thuan Province, one can not only enjoy and learn about their unique cultural values, festivals, customs and lifestyle, but also study traditional musical instruments that have been passed down through generations. Cham people use many musical instruments, which normally are divided into three main groups of string, wind and rhythm instruments. Among them the most popular are perhaps the gineng drums, baranung drums and saranai flute. Gineng drums are oblong, and raised in the middle. The body is about 0.7m long, made of iron wood or Siamese rosewood, smoothly planed both outside and inside. The two faces are unequal. The smaller one, played with the fingers, is covered with goat or deer skin, while the bigger one, played with a stick, uses stretched buffalo skin. Gineng drums always come in a pair, set side by side in tilted position, with drummers sitting in a meditating posture. To Cham people, the sound of gineng is like a sign from heaven announcing, for example, the coming of the festive season, a happy time for communities. Those who want to play gineng must make offerings, which include eggs, wines and areca, in a ritual called guru kowtow, to the artisan they choose. After that, the

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MUSIC A Cham show with gineng drums (left), saranai flute (middle) and baranung drum (right). Photo: Do Huu Tuan

artisan would teach them Hanoi everything from basic sounds to complex rythms. Cham people believe that only those Ninh with a serene heart and Thuan relaxed mind can make HCM City forceful, eloquent sounds, while the narrow-minded, egoistic ones canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t play the drum no matter how hard they try. Baranung drum is both a musical instrument and the sacred totem of the Maduen (maestro of clap). The drum body is an empty log, 0.4m in diameter, covered with goat or deer skin and stretched by a net of rattan strings and twelve wooden wedges which are used to regulate the sound. When playing, the drummer sits cross-legged, putting a rim of the baranung drum on his left thigh, his left hand on the drumâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s rim both to hold it and to play, and his right hand is free. The techniques include vibrating fingers, covering the drum face with the left palm to make dull sounds, slapping the drum with the whole right hand palm to make a deep sound, or half the palm to make a high sound. So a music piece is a combination of the above techniques applied in a suitable sequence with suitable force of the hands and fingers. Baranung is a simple instrument, but the hardest to play. To master the drum, it takes a long, tedious time to learn under the supervision of the clap maestro Maduen. Saranai flute is the most special among Cham instruments. It has three connected parts. The base, where the player blows, is made of brass and has a reed made of a kind of palm leaf. The wooden body is a hollow pipe with seven holes at the top and one auxiliary hole at the bottom. The last sound amplifying part looks like a funnel and is made of precious wood, buffalo horn or ivory. Cham music traditions developed very early. Music has been tightly attached to the community life, culture and belief. An even more interesting fact is that Cham people consider the gineng drum, baranung drum and saranai flute as representing the parts of human body. The gineng symbolizes the legs, baranung the torso, and saranai the head. Therefore they must always be played together in the complete set. n AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2018

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The Norfolk Hotel and Corso Steakhouse & Bar is at 117 Le Thanh Ton Street, Ben Nghe Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City. Tel(84 28)3829 5368 34 â&#x20AC;¢

Photos provided by Norfolk Hotel VIETNAM HERITAGE

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Touch of class, ‘touch of arts’ at Norfolk Hotel HCM City

ll businesses great or small find it beneficial to engage with the community and culture in which they operate. Hotels especially have an important role to play here. They welcome guests from far and wide and can be on hand to help them in their discovery of a new place and country. Moreover with their lobbies, dining rooms, corridors and other open areas, they have space to display local artwork, photography and artefacts. It was at Saigon’s centrally located business boutique hotel ‘The Norfolk’ late in July that I attended a soiree dedicated to Vietnamese paintings of the last century and to that most alluring and nationally identifying of garments - the Ao Dai. They had cleared away the furniture at Corso Steakhouse & Bar on the ground floor to make space for 13 exhibition works and also a winding red carpet to serve as the runway for the Ao Dai parade. There was quite a crowd of viewers - mostly locals, but with a sprinkling of westerners. Vietnamese canapés such as fresh spring rolls and other savoury delicacies were served along with the finest Australian Black Angus sirloin (strip loin) steak. This was presented Asian style in strips to be taken with little picks. Succulent, juicy, melt-in-your-mouth; these are the words that come to mind to describe this prime meat experience. As I normally eat only Vietnamese food and as this is no land of prairies nor pampas, steak comes as a rare treat. ‘Today I am at the Tower of London’, I said to the General Manager. As there was a puzzled look on his face, I added, ‘Today I am a Beefeater.’ All of this Vietnamese and Australian fare can be enjoyed by the readers any day of the week at Corso Steakhouse & Bar and of course,

BY PIP DE ROUVRAY

with the Aussie connection, you can be assured of a fine wine with which to wash it all down. On then to admiring the paintings; I was informed they were part of a collection belonging to the owner, a Vietnamese Australian. I often attend exhibitions of contemporary Vietnamese art and there are striking differences between pictures of the last century and those of this one. Firstly, the artists here all show French influence with their subtle pastel shades and treatment of delicate realistic subjects such as portraits of demure young ladies or a beach scene with a gathering storm. They are descriptive of the world whereas today’s artists are interpretative and more conceptual, although it is not always easy to see what they are getting at. Today’s artists have wider influences. When I interview them they tell me they like people such as Lucian Freud, Francis Bacon and American artists. Almost all contemporary artists now paint in the most vibrant colours. This is perhaps due to the popularity now of acrylic paints. These paintings use oil on canvas, water colours and gouache paint. There is also one exquisite lacquer painting of females dancing. Lacquer, an almost uniquely Vietnamese medium, I am glad to note has not lost its popularity. I got chatting with a New Zealander pal. He particularly liked the one painting here that referenced the dark side of the twentieth century for Vietnam; namely war. It is entitled 'Walking through the Forest' and it shows troops crossing a ramshackle bridge. It struck a chord with my friend as he explained he himself had been trained in jungle warfare in Malaya. My friend also raised an interesting question. ‘Why were the nine artists all

men?’ No less a luminary than Craig Thomas of eponymous gallery fame was on hand to attempt an answer. There was a lack of educational opportunities for females back then. ‘Nowadays there certainly are some great women Vietnamese artists’, Craig went on to say. We were requested to move away from the red carpet upon which were standing and I thought the arrival of the Duke of Norfolk was imminent, but no, the Ao Dai dress procession was about to start. To head it on came a girl of perhaps six years of age somewhat bizarrely wearing what seemed to be a bridal ao dai. She looked supremely confident but her mother or perhaps her aunt was following up in case of any mishap. On followed the adult models. I could not believe my eyes. They all looked like the same woman. They were all super tall and thin for this country and they looked related. My Kiwi friend remarked that must be tribe in the mountains they had recruited the models from. The good thing was that it made you concentrate on the costumes with their vivid floral designs and matching cloth head-kerchiefs. The designer was Vo Viet Chung, who is very famous, my daughter informs me and has studios near to both the Norfolk and our house. Finally there was a draw for the two trips to the ‘Six Senses Con Dao Resort’ which in recent years has come under the Norfolk Group’s management. Having visited this place I can tell you that is a very fine prize indeed! All in all, it is hats off to the Norfolk for organising this dual cultural event and for reminding us all that there is great Vietnamese and Western food and beverage with excellent service to be enjoyed at their hotel.

AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2018

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ADVERTORIAL

The gift of heaven 36 •

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AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2018

he famous scholar Le Quy Don described, ‘as it falls inside the mouth, the flavor penetrates the whole palate like a heavenly elixir.’ Indeed, Hung Yen longan is very special, diferent from those grown elsewhere. The fruit is round and big; the light brown peel is thin; the pulp is thick, ivory white, dry to the touch but very succulent, delicately sweet, mind-refreshingly aromatic, and the black round seed is tiny and shiny. Hung Yen longan usually has in its Vietnamese name an additional word ‘lồng’ which may mean ‘cage’ or ‘interfold’. Some say because the heavenly smell of longan attracts bats, birds and all kinds of other pests, people used to make bamboo cages to protect the fruits. Some others say that the king of longans, fit for kings, was given to the royal court as a tribute every year, packaged in glass cages. The most plausible explanation is that the pulp has many layers that fold around on another, making it more opaque than the longans from elsewhere. Hien Pagoda in Hung Yen City has an age-old longan tree, considered the ancestral tree of all and a symbol of the region. It is believed that this ancestral tree is the progenitor of all longan trees in the province that gave the land its fame.

ADVERTORIAL

Clockwise from left: Making dried longans, Bao Chau Village, Hung Yen Province. Photos: Ngo Vi Quang

Longan is a gift of heaven for the land of Hung Yen Province. It’s inconceivable that the alluvial land of the Red River produces such exquisite longan, called the king of all longans, only within Hung Yen Province. The tree even has a stele with inscription of its merits. Legends have it that once a mandarin passed by the place when the longan had ripened. He tried and found it exquisitly majestic. Recognizing this a valuable specialty, he brought some of it to the court to give the King. The fame of the longan quickly spread far and wide. Since then, every early autumn, people brought the longan to the court to make tribute to the King and the longan got a new name: tribute longan. Longan flowers bloom in spring, during cold drizzling days. But on rare warm sunny days the delightful aroma spread enrapturingly. The fruits ripen in the sixth and seventh lunar months. Heavy bunches of fruits of longan trees that grow on roadsides pull down the branches so low that

passers by can pluck and enjoy the cool sweetness. A refreshing fruit, longan is also very good for health. It has high calorie content, low fat, and is very rich in vitamin C that improves our immune system. Just peel it, remove the seed, then sun dry for a few days until the pulp becomes brown and lithe, and we have dried longan, which is sweet and aromatic but can be kept for a long time and used for many other purposes. It can be steeped in vodka for a certain amount of time, which then can be taken a small glass a day to improve one’s appetite and sleep and stablize one’s mood. Longan is a natural wonder when it comes to nerve-related disorders and illnesses, especially insomnia and depression. It helps the nerves relax and improves their active functionality. n AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2018

Hanoi

Hung Yen

HCM City

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FOOD

GREEN BEAN VERMICELLI IS FAMOUS FROM SOUTH TO NORTH BY HUAN PHAN

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FOOD

Above and opposite: Drying vermicelli at the An Thai Village, Binh Dinh Province, 2017. Photos: Phan Minh Tho

on River running along An Thai Village has a big yellow sand bar that clears the water well enough to use it to make vermicelli. Before the wells were dug, people used river water (which was not so polluted as it is today) to make starch and vermicelli. Vermicelli workshops, mostly in the form of tents and huts, were set up right on the sand bar, worked only during the dry season and were removed when the rainy season came. An Thai Village, Nhon Phuc Commune, Binh Dinh Province, is famous for double thread vermicelli (or double spirit vermicelli). Unlike other kinds of dry vermicelli, it is not made of rice, but of green bean and arrowroot starch, following a special formula. It is called ‘double thread’ because the vermicelli threads always come in a pair, as they were made that way. There are two packaging units: 30cm x 30cm square waffle-like package and a figure-8 braided package. It takes time, skills, dedication and a lot of work to make dry vermicelli. Basically, the stages of vermicelli making include flour milling, dough kneading, thread pressing and drying. First, choice green bean is sundried. Then, it is soaked for several hours to inflate and soften. The bean is then milled finely, put in cloth bags to press out water, and subsequently sun dried to get flour.

As it gets completely dry, the flour is Hanoi mixed with water and kneaded into soft dough, not too dry (vermicelli threads would break easily) and not too wet (the vermicelli Binh threads would melt into dough again on the Dinh other side of the press). HCM City Well-kneaded dough is put into a bronze cylinder with small round holes gouged at the other end, and pressed to push the starch out in beautiful threads that fall into a pot of boiling water. This part of the work must be done repeatedly at a constant speed that requires meditative patience of the worker. When the vermicelli threads become translucent and float in the pot, they are taken out and put immediately into cold water and shaken repeatedly. After the cold cleansing, the vermicelli is put on a grid to dry. This is not simple because it has to be laid to form eye-catching equal-sized squares. The vermicelli gets dried within a day, but it is not packaged right away. Instead, it is left overnight to soften, and only then picked up and put together into waffles, which will be wrapped in dried banana leaves. n AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2018

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WHERE CUISINE

PIG BOWELS TO GET BY NGUYEN AN

Bánh hỏi and pig bowels served with rice papers, green vegetables and sauces at a restaurant in Phu Long Town, Phan Thiet City, Binh Thuan Province. Photo: Do Huu Tuan

Phan Thiet has the most authentic bánh hỏi lòng heo

n Phan Thiet, bánh hỏi with pig bowels (lòng heo) is synonymous with Phu Long Town, which is the name of the native place of this dish, where it is the most authentic and fantastic. About 7km north of downtown Phan Thiet on National Highway 1A, Phu Long Town is a roadside station where tourists stop to enjoy this exotic dish before coming to the land of golden sun and blue sea. Bánh hỏi with bowels can be consumed all day but it is best for breakfast because it is both light and full of energy. Best quality rice, soaked overnight and cleansed multiple times, undergoes meticulous processing before becoming snow-white rice vermicelli woven into intricate bundles, not sticky but soft and melting on the tip of the tongue. The pig bowel must be picked up before dawn at a slaughterhouse when it is still hot. Carefully preprocessed, it is steamed with ginger and shell ginger just enough amount of time to make it soft, juicy and luscious, and then served steamy hot. A plate must contain slices of the heart, liver, kidney, small intestine, belly meat (which has three stripes of skin, fat and meat) and blood sausage. The blood sausage is normally stuffed with blood, chopped meat, roasted peanuts and a mixture of aromatic vegetables. It can be steamed, fried or grilled on charcoal. The dish is served with thin rice waffle sheets and salads. The rice sheets must be wiped clean one by one, and then moistened in morning mist or with banana leaves to make them soft. The veggies normally include basils, mint leaves, lettuce, green pepper and green chilli.

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The dish can’t do without the sauce. Hanoi Prime fish sauce is boiled with water, sugar and finely ground tomato and chili. When it has cooled down, some tamarind or lime juice is added for the sour taste. That is the Binh Thuan most authentic Phan Thiet sauce formula. HCM City Another minor but indispensable ingredient is crushed desiccated bread, stirfried in pig fat and spring onion. This completes the delicate combination of colours, aromas and tastes of the dish. There are two common ways to enjoy this culinary wonder. You can put a little of everything into your bowl, pour in a little sauce, and pick it up with your chopsticks. The more popular way is to put a little of everything on a rice sheet, wrap it into a roll, dip it in the sauce, take a bite and chew it slowly and softly. One more thing visitors should know is, Phan Thiet folks finish their breakfast before 9 a.m. So enough time should be spared to fully enjoy the depth of the taste and the wide range of flavors that the dish has to offer. n

Some places you may want to visit to have a taste of this dish include: Phan Thiet Bazaar (the temporary place opposite of North bus terminal on Tu Van Tu St, Phan Thiet City). Quynh shop and Hien shop, Phu Long Town, Ham Thuan Bac Dist, Phan Thiet City. Phu Long Banh hoi long heo shop, opposite of Phan Chu Trinh high school, Phan Thiet City.

WHAT THE PAPER SAY Thu Thiem residents stuck in temporary shelters Viet Nam News, 23 July

Twenty years since the launch of the Thu Thiem urban project in District 2, many people are still living in temporary shelters. The people have refused to resettle in Binh Khanh Ward. An Phu Area in District 2 is where they have chosen to construct their huts. In 2009, their families had to move, and were compensated with an amount lower than the regulated rate. According to District 2 People’s Committee, 106 houses were sacrificed for the An Phu Area. The majority were in Thu Thiem. Local authorities persuaded 44 families to leave, but 22 insisted on staying.

HCM City bans trucks during rush hour in urban areas Viet Nam News, 26 July

The HCM City People’s Committee has issued regulations to ban trucks during rush hours in urban areas of the city in an effort to ease traffic congestion. From August 1, light trucks will not be allowed to enter the city’s urban area during peak hours from 6am to 9am and from 4pm to 10pm. Heavy trucks and container trucks will not be permitted to enter urban areas from 6am to 10pm The urban area is bounded by the following routes, including National Highway No 1A, Hanoi Highway, Dong Van Cong Street, Mai Chi Tho Street and Nguyen Van Linh Street. The city’s People Committee, however, is considering granting licenses to allow certain vehicles to operate during these hours.

Eco-friendly bus to start running in in Hanoi Viet Nam News, 28 July

Hanoi plans to introduce buses that run on compressed natural gas (CNG) on a trial basis along three routes from August 1 as the city marks 10 years of the expansion of its administrative boundary, the city’s Department of Transport has said.

The proposed routes are from My Dinh Bus Station to Son Tay Bus Station, Yen Nghia Bus Station to Dang Xa Urban Area and the National Hospital of Tropical Diseases to Times City. The three routes will be managed by Bao Yen Tourism, Construction and Services Co. Ltd. Buses will run every 15-20 minutes with fares of VND9,000 (US$0.38) on the first and second routes and VND8,000 ($0.34) on the third one. According to the Hanoi Public Transport Management and Operation Centre, CNG has many advantages. It does not adversely affect human health or the environment, and compared with other fuels, CNG is cheaper so it can help reduce production costs.

Two men caught with 9 stolen dogs English VNExpress, 22 July

Authorities in Vietnam's central province of Quang Tri have detained two men for stealing dogs from locals in the province. Nguyen Van Vinh, 50, and Tran Hoa Tam, 49, were busted selling the dogs they had stolen overnight to a local woman in the early morning on Friday. Authorities seized nine dogs, including a dead one, with a total weight of 110 kilograms from the duo. Multiple tools for stealing dogs such as metal hoops, bottles of tear gas and flashlights were also found in their possession. Dog theft is rarely treated as a criminal offense in Vietnam, unless the stolen dogs are valued more than VND2 million.

Vietnam flood death toll rises to 27 English VNExpress, 24 July

The death toll from floods and landslides triggered by tropical storm Son Tinh rose to 27 on Tuesday. Seven people are still missing. Though tropical storm Son Tinh weakened to a tropical depression by the time it reached Vietnam last week, the torrential rains it brought caused heavy flooding and landslides in many parts of northern Vietnam. Some areas in the outskirts of the capital

Hanoi remain submerged. The remote mountainous province of Yen Bai has suffered the heaviest casualties in the latest floods and landslides, with 13 people reportedly killed, 18 injured and four missing, the disaster management agency said in a statement. The floods and landslides have also damaged and submerged more than 12,000 houses, more than 90,000 hectares of crops and cut off traffic to several parts of northern Vietnam.

Kindergarten owner jailed for hurting kids English VNExpress, 26 July

The owner of a kindergarten in Ho Chi Minh City will spend three years in jail for violence meted out to 24 children. A court in Ho Chi Minh City on Wednesday ruled that Pham Thi My Linh and her two assistants at the Mam Xanh (Green Buds) Daycare Center in District 12 had violated the dignity and health of the children, caused public outrage, as well as dishonored the image of teachers in general and undermined the child protection policy of the country. The court also made Linh, a trained preschool educator, pay VND800 millions ($34,466) in compensation to the children’s families. The two untrained assistants, Pham Nhu Huynh, 22, and Nguyen Thi Dao, 24, were given suspended sentences of 1.5 years and two years, respectively.

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EVENTS

EXHIBITIONS

HANOI

Epic fail 18 and 19 August The ‘Museum of Failure’ will be on 18 and 19 August at the Hanoi Information and Exhibition Centre to provide a space where people can share thoughts and create dialogue on failure. Visitors will have the opportunity to interact with the objects, stories, and their owners, from which they may learn to see failure as an opportunity for improvement and optimism, learn to face it and to change themselves because thereby. Hanoi Information and Exhibition Centre, 93 Dinh Tien Hoan St, Hoan Kiem Dist., Hanoi. Opening: 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Strings and things 25 August

Constantinople by another name Till 21 August There will be a classical concert by the string quartet Quatuor Arod accompanied by pianist Nguyen Viet at 8 p.m. 25 August at the L’Espace. The program includes String quartet in C major, Op. 74, No. 1 by Joseph Haydn; Al ‘Asr by Benjamin Attahir; and Piano quintet in F minor by César Franck. Tickets range from VND100,000 to VND300,000. Tickets are available at L’Esspace, 24 Trang Tien St, Hanoi. Cool ‘Summer’ Till 2 September

A photo exhibition ‘The Eyes of Istanbul’ by Turkish photographer Ara Güler is on till 21 August at Leica Boutique Hanoi, 14 Ngo Quyen St, Hanoi. Ara Güler, born 1928 in Istanbul, is arguably Turkey’s most eminent photographer having captured the everyday life of the city’s inhabitants for over 60 years. Ara Güler is the recipient of the Leica Hall of Fame Award 2016. The exhibition shows the images from the 50s and 60s in Istanbul that fabled city with one foot in Europe and the other in Asia, one that stands at the intersection of a multitude of cultures, religions and languages. At once modern and traditional, it’s a city that has fascinated and intrigued visitors for centuries.

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A painting exhibition, with the theme of ‘Summer’, by Bui Trong Du is on at Lotte Centre Hanoi till 2 September. He is famous for impressive oil-on-canvas works depicting a delicate simplicity with a strong identity of Vietnamese folk art identity. Lotte Centre Hanoi, 54 Lieu Giai St, Hanoi. Opening: 9.30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Free entry.

EVENTS

HO CHI MINH CITY

EXHIBITIONS

Theater of pain Till 7 September

7 p.m. every Friday TPD will introduce to audiences special movies with the theme of pain and complicated relationships between people in a world that is cruel and beautiful at the same time. TPD, 51 Tran Hung Dao St, Hanoi. Ticket: VND20,000. ‘Fragmented’ vision Till 7 October The installation exhibition ‘Fragments’ by the artist Japanese Hikari Sawa is on till 7 October at the Vincom Centre. The exhibition includes 12 videos and 3 art prints carefully crafted by Hikari Sawa, building a system of an imaginary world. The work is presented in fragments – small, scattered images so that it is not easy for the audience to grasp the full story in the beginning, but they are free to contemplate, to imagine and to connect the symbols and the hidden meanings in the artworks, and make for themselves their own stories. Vincom Centre, 72A Nguyen Trai, Thanh Xuan Dist., Hanoi. Opening: Tuesday to Sunday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Free entry. VALUE FOR MONEY Saigon Prince Hotel 63 Nguyen Hue Boulevard, Ben Nghe Ward, Dist.1, Ho Chi Minh City Tel: (028) 3822-2999 The Bar, at the Saigon Prince Hotel, serves ‘Afternoon Tea’ at VND1990,000++ per person. There is a 15 per cent discount for a group of 4.

‘Gang of Five’ Till 9 September The Factory Contemporary Arts Centre launches the exhibition ‘Gang of Five Chancing Modern’ till 9 September. With the participant of Vietnamese five artists Hong Viet Dung, Ha Tri Hieu, Dang Xuan Hoa, Tran Luong and Pham Quang Vinh, the exhibition has nearly forty paintings and numerous original historical materials. The Factory Contemporary Arts Centre, 15 Nguyen U Di St, Dist.2, Ho Chi Minh City. Ticket: VND35,000. Opening hour: Tuesday to Sunday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. ‘A Farm’ is looking for artists December, 2018 to May, 2019 A. Farm, a collaborative residency between Nguyen Art Foundation, MoT+++, and Sàn Art, is now open for applications. A converted factory, with 6 large studios, a spacious gallery and a sunlit courtyard, A. Farm would like to encourage every artist of any age and any career stage to examine how this platform might benefit their artistic practices. Apply now for the 1st residency Season from December 2018 to May 2019. For more information please read at www.san-art.org. Sàn Art, 264B Nam Ky Khoi Nghia St, Dist.3, Ho Chi Minh City.

OTHERS Knot of this world 23 August VinSpace Art Studio will hold a macrame making session at 6.30 p.m. to 8.30 p.m., 23 August. VinSpace Art Studio, 4-6 Le Van Mien St, Dist.2, Ho Chi Minh City.

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DIRECTIONS

HALONG

(TELEPHONE CODE: 033)

Chi Minh declared Vietnam’s independence in September 1945, is a complex of historic sites.

Syrena Cruises

Hung Thang new urban area, Bai Chay, Halong. Tel: (033) 3847-043 Hanoi Sales Office: Syrena Tower, 3th Floor, 51 Xuan Dieu St, Hanoi Tel: (04) 3719-7214 Email: se@syrenacruises.com www.syrenacruises.com

Lapaz Hotel & Resort

Tuan Chau Island, Halong Tel: (033) 3842-999 www.holidayvillahalongbay.com

Vinpearl Halong

Cot Co Tower

28 Dien Bien Phu St, Ba Dinh Dist, Hanoi Cot Co Tower, the so-called Flag Tower, is now part of the Vietnam Military History Museum complex. The Tower was built in 1950, under the Nguyen Dynasty, with the help of French engineers. The tower has 36 flower-shaped windows. At the top of the tower flies the flag of Vietnam.

66 Nguyen Thai Hoc St, Ba Dinh Dist., Hanoi Tel: (024) 3733-2131 www.vnfineartsmuseum.org.vn Open 8.30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Entry fee VND20,000 ($0.95)

Hanoi Opera House

Vietnam Military History

1 Trang Tien St, Hoan Kiem Dist, Hanoi Designed by a French architect along the lines of the Paris Opera House, it is embellished with wonderful Gothic statuary. For many decades, Hanoi Opera House has been a centre for theatre, traditional music and dance, symphonies, traditional and classical music. This, the largest theatre in Vietnam, was completed in 1911.

Hoa Lo Prison

‘La Maison Centrale’, the prison on Hoa Lo Street in Hanoi, was built by the French in 1896 and became the place where generations of Vietnamese freedom fighters were held.

St Joseph’s Cathedral

Reu Island, Bai Chay, Ha Long, Viet Nam. Tel: (033) 3556-868 www.vinpearl.com

HAI PHONG CITY Avani Hai Phong Harbour View 12 Tran Phu St, Ngo Quyen Dist., Hai Phong. Tel: (031) 3827-827 www.avanihotels.com

Hanoi Museum

2 Pham Hung (next to Vietnam National Convention Centre), Me Tri Commune, Tu Liem Dist., Hanoi Tel: (024) 6287-06 04 Opening hour: 8 a.m. to 11.30 a.m. and 1.30 p.m. to 5 p.m. Free entrance

TRAVEL

Emeraude Classic Cruises

46 Le Thai To St, Hanoi Tel: (024) 3935-1888 www.emeraude-cruises.com

19 Ngoc Ha St, Ba Dinh Dist., Hanoi Tel: (024) 3846-3752 www.baotanghochiminh.vn Open: 8 a.m. to noon (Monday and Friday), 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (other days) Entry fee: VND25,000

3rd Floor, 66A Tran Hung Dao St, Hoan Kiem Dist., Hanoi Tel: (024) 3828-2150 www.exotissimo.com

Imperial Citadel of Thang Long

Topas Travel

12 Nguyen Tri Phuong St/ 9 Hoang Dieu St, Ba Dinh Dist., Hanoi Tel: (024) 37345427 www.hoangthanhthanhlong.vn Open: 8.30 a.m. to 11.30 a.m. and 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. (Closed on Mondays) Entry fee: VND30,000

52 To Ngoc Van St, Hanoi Tel: (024) 3715-1005 www.topastravel.vn SIGHTSEEINGS

Ba Dinh Square

36A Dien Bien Phu St, Ba Dinh Dist, Hanoi. Ba Dinh Square, where President Ho HERITAGE

Vietnam Fine Arts Museum

Museum 28A Dien Bien Phu St, Hanoi www.btlsqsvn.org.vn Open 8 a.m. to 11.30 a.m. and 1 p.m. to 4.30 p.m. Closed on Mondays Entry fee VND30,000 ($1.43)

Vietnam Museum of Ethnology

Nguyen Van Huyen St, Cau Giay Dist., Hanoi Tel: (024) 3756-2193, www.vme.org.vn Open 8.30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed on Mondays Entry fee VND40,000 ($2)

Women’s Museum

36 Ly Thuong Kiet, Hanoi Tel: (024) 3825-9936 www.womenmuseum.org.vn Open 8 a.m. to 4.30 p.m. Closed on Mondays Entry fee VND30,000 ($1.43) TRAVEL

Vietnam National Museum

of History 1 Trang Tien St, Hanoi. 25 Tong Dan St, Hanoi.

I AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2018

Hue Riverside Boutique

Resort & Spa 588 Bui Thi Xuan St, Thuy Bieu Dist., Hue. Tel: (0234) 3978-484 www.hueriversideresort.com

Imperial Hotel

8 Hung Vuong St, Hue Tel: (0234) 3882-222 www.imperial-hotel.com.vn

Indochine Palace Hotel

105A Hung Vuong St, Hue Tel: (0234) 3936-666 www.indochinepalace.com The hotel is surrounded by lush green gardens that make it an outstanding landmark in Hue and give the city the feel of a resort. This luxurious, international standard hotel is created to appeal to Vietnamese and international visitors to Hue.

La Residence Hotel & Spa

5 Le Loi St, Hue Tel: (0234) 3837-475 Email: resa@la-residence-hue.com www.la-residence-hue.com Step back in time to Art Deco's golden age with a stay at La Residence Hue Hotel & Spa, MGallery by Sofitel. Nestled along the fabled Perfume River overlooking the former Imperial Citadel, La Residence is a one-of-a-kind masterpiece with luxurious cultural and culinary experiences. This former governor's residence with 122 guestrooms and suites offers visitors a warm hospitality and a chance to relive the pleasures of a bygone era.

Lang Co Beach Resort

Oxalis Adventure Tours

Phong Nha Commune, Son Trach Village, Bo Trach Dist., Quang Binh Province. Tel: (0232)3677-678 www.oxalis.com.vn

HUE

(TELEPHONE CODE: 0234) HOTELS, RESORTS

Century Riverside Hotel Hue

Ho Chi Minh Museum

Exotissmo

44 • V I E T N A M

40 Nha Chung St, Hoan Kiem Dist., Hanoi Fresh missionaries built this cathedral in the late 19th century. The small but beautiful panes of stained glass were created in Paris in 1906. Also of note is the ornate altar, with its high gilded sidewalls. MUSEUMS

HANOI

Tel: (024) 3824-1384 www.baotanglichsu.vn Open 8 a.m. to 4.30 p.m. Closed every first Monday of months. Entry fee VND40,000 ($1.82) for adults and VND10,000 ($0.48) for children

463 Lac Long Quan St., Lang Co Town, Phu Loc Dist, Thua Thien Hue Province Tel: (0234) 3873-555 www.langcobeachresort.com.vn

Hotel Saigon Morin

30 Le Loi St, Hue Tel: (0234)3823-526 www.morinhotel.com.vn

DANANG

(TELEPHONE CODE: 0236) 49 Le Loi St, Hue Tel: (0234) 3823-390 Email: res@centuryriversidehue.com www.centuryriversidehue.com Century Riverside Hotel Hue, with its 135 rooms, is located in a vast area of 20,000 square meters. It is surrounded by a garden full of fruit trees, various kinds of flowers and a green pasture. Hue Century Riverside Hotel lies by the side of Truong Tien Bridge and the bank of the romantic Huong River.

Vinpearl Luxury Danang Truong Sa St, Hoa Hai Ward, Ngu Hanh Son Dist., Danang. Tel: (0236) 3968-888 www.vinpearl.com

Danang Museum of Cham

Sculpture 2, 2 Thang 9 St, Danang Tel: (0236) 3572-935 www.chammuseum.danang.vn Open 7.15 a.m. to 5 p.m. Entry fee VND30,000 ($1.43)

HOI AN

(TELEPHONE CODE: 0235) HOTELS, RESORTS

Anantara Hoi An Resort

1 Pham Hong Thai St, Hoi An, Quang Nam Province. Tel: (0235) 3914-555 www.hoi-an.anantara.com

Aurora Riverside Hotel & Villas

NHA TRANG

(TELEPHONE CODE: 0258) HOTELS, RESORTS

Champa Island Nha Trang

Resort & Spa 304, 2/4 St, Vinh Phuoc, Nha Trang Tel: (0258) 3568-888 Email: sales@champaislandresort.vn www.champaisandresort.vn With architecture reflecting nearby Po Nagar temple, Champa Island Nha Trang offers exquisite cuisine and many entertainment services that promise a memorable stay in Nha Trang

Cam Ranh Riviera Beach Resort & Spa 242 Cua Dai St, Hoi An City, Quang Nam Province. Tel: (0235) 3924-111 www.aurorahoian.com

Hotel Royal Hoi An, Mgallery Collection 39 Dao Duy Tu St, Hoi An, Quang Nam Province. Tel: (0235) 3950-777 www.mgallery.com Palm Garden Beach Resort and Spa

Hoi An Centre for Cultural Heritage Management and Preservation

10B Tran Hung Dao St, Hoi An Tel: (0235) 3862-367 www.hoianheritage.net Open daily 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.

QUY NHON

(TELEPHONE CODE: 0256) AVANI Quy Nhon Resort & Spa Ghenh Rang, Bai Dai Beach, Quy Nhon, Binh Dinh Province Tel: (0256) 3840-132 www.avanihotels.com/quynhon MUSEUM

Quang Trung Museum

Block 1, Phu Phong town, Tay Son Dist., Binh Dinh Province. Tel: (056) 3580-320 Open 7 a.m. to 11.30 a.m. and 1.30 p.m. to 5 p.m. Entry fee VND10,500 ($0.50). Free for children under six

Bamboo Village Beach Resort & Spa

Seahorse Resort & Spa

Km 11 Nguyen Dinh Chieu St, Ham Tien Ward, Phan Thiet City, Binh Thuan Province. Tel: (0252) 3847-507 reservation@seahorseresortvn.com www.seahorseresortvn.com

Sea Links City Resort & Golf

38 Nguyen Dinh Chieu St, Ham Tien Ward, Phan Thiet City, Binh Thuan Province. Tel: (0252) 3847-007 www.bamboovillageresortvn.com

Km 9, Nguyen Thong St, Phu Hai Ward, Phan Thiet City, Binh Thuan Province Tel: (0252) 2220-088 www.sealinksbeachhotel.com MUSEUM

Cham Culture Exhibition Centre

Song Mao intersection, Phan Hiep Commune, Bac Binh Dist., Binh Thuan Province; Tel: (0252) 3641-456. Open: 7.30 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday. Free entrance

Northern Peninsula Cam Ranh, Khanh Hoa Province Tel: (0258) 3989-898 Email: info@rivieraresortspa.com www.rivieraresortspa.com 32-34 Tran Phu St, Nha Trang Tel: (0258) 3887-777 www.intercontinental.com

MUSEUM

Quater 5, Phu Hai Ward, Phan Thiet City, Binh Thuan Province Tel: (0252) 3828-288 www.aromabeachresort.com With 52 authentic Vietnamese rooms and bungalows, the hotel offers a breathtaking panoramic view of the blue sea

Blue Bay Muine Resort & Spa

InterContinental Nha Trang Hotel

Lac Long Quan St, Cua Dai Beach, Hoi An, Quang Nam Province Tel: (0235) 3927-927 Email: info@pgr.com.vn www.palmgardenresort.com.vn

DIRECTIONS

Mường Thanh Grand Nha Trang Hotel

6 Duong Hien Quyen St, Vinh Hoa Ward, Nha Trang, Khanh Hoa Province Tel: (0258) 3552-468 www.nhatrang.muongthanh.vn

DALAT

Suoi Nuoc, Muine, Phan Thiet City, Binh Thuan Province Tel: (0252) 3836-888 Email: info@bluebaymuineresort.com www.bluebaymuineresort.com

Hoang Ngoc (Oriental Pearl) Beach Resort & Spa

(TELEPHONE CODE: 0263) HOTELS

Ana Mandara Villas Dalat Resort & Spa

Vinpearl Resort Nha Trang

Hon Tre Island, Nha Trang City, Khanh Hoa Province Tel: (0258) 3598-188 Email: info@vinpearlresort-nhatrang.com www.vinpearl.com MUSEUM

Alexandre Yersin Museum

Pasteur Institute, 10 Tran Phu St, Nha Trang, Khanh Hoa Province Tel: (0258) 3822-406

PHAN THIET

(TELEPHONE CODE: 0252) HOTELS, RESORTS

Aroma Beach Resort & Spa

152 Nguyen Dinh Chieu St, Ham Tien Ward, Phan Thiet City, Binh Thuan Province. Tel: (0252) 3847-858 Email: info@hoangngoc-resort.com www.hoangngoc-resort.com

Muine Mud Bath & Spa

133A Nguyen Dinh Chieu St, Ham Tien Ward, Phan Thiet City, Binh Thuan Province. Tel: (0252) 3743-481 Email: sales1@bunkhoangmuine.com www.bunkhoangmuine.com

Le Lai St, Dalat, Lam Dong Province Tel: (0263) 3555-888 reservation-dalat@anamandara-resort.com www.anamandara-resort.com From VND3,150,000 ($150)

Monet Garden Villa

Caty Resort

6 Nguyen Dinh Chieu St, Ham Tien Ward, Phan Thiet City, Binh Thuan Province Tel: (0252) 2481-888 www.catymuineresort.com info@catymuineresort.com

Muine Bay Resort

Quarter 14, Mui Ne Ward, Phan Thiet City, Binh Thuan Province Tel: (0252) 2220-222 Email: info@muinebayresort.com www.muinebayresort.com

3 Nguyen Du St., Dalat City, Lam Dong Province Tel: (0263) 3810-826 www.monetgarden.com.vn

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DIRECTIONS

HO CHI MINH CITY (TELEPHONE CODE: 028)

Sofitel Saigon Plaza

TRAVEL

Asiana Travel Mate 113C Bui Vien St, Dist.1, Ho Chi Minh City. Tel: (028) 3838-6678 www.atravelmate.com 81 Mac Thi Buoi, Dist.1, Ho Chi Minh City. Tel: (028) 3827-9168 Email: travelagency@buffalotours.com www.buffalotours.com.vn

17 Le Duan St, Dist.1, Ho Chi Minh City Tel: (028) 3824-1555 Email: h2077@sofitel.com www.sofitel.com

Saigon Prince Hotel

Exotissimo 261/26 Phan Xich Long St, Phu Nhuan Dist., Ho Chi Minh City Tel: (028) 3995-9898 www.exotravel.com

Saigon Tourist 45 Le Thanh Ton St, Dist.1, Ho Chi Minh City. Tel: (028) 3827-9279 www.saigon-tourist.net

Trails of Indochina 10/8 Phan Dinh Giot St, Tan Binh Dist., Ho Chi Minh City; Tel: (028) 3844-1005 Email: dosm@trailsofindochina.com www.trailsofindochina.com HOTELS

63 Nguyen Hue St, Ben Nghe Ward, Dist.1, Ho Chi Minh City Tel: (84) 28 3822 2999 www.saigonprincehotel.com Windsor Plaza Hotel 18 An Duong Vuong, Dist.5, Ho Chi Minh City. Tel: (028) 3833-6688 www.windsorplazahotel.com GALLERIES

Apricot Gallery 50 Mac Thi Buoi St, Ben Nghe Ward, Dist.1, Ho Chi Minh City Tel: (028) 3822-7962

Craig Thomas Gallery 27i Tran Nhat Duat St, Dist.1, Ho Chi Minh City. Mobile: 0903 888 431 Email: cthomasgallery@gmail.com www.cthomasgallery.com Open: 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. Closed Mondays and Sundays

Eastin Grand Hotel Saigon

Galerie Quynh

253 Nguyen Van Troi St, Phu Nhuan Dist., Ho Chi Minh City Tel: (028) 3844-9222 Email: Info@eastingrandSaigon.com www.eastingrandsaigon.com

Park Hyatt Saigon

Level 2, 151/3 Dong Khoi St, Dist.1, Ho Chi Minh City. Tel: (028) 3824-8284 www.galeriequynh.com Tuesday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Sàn Art 48/7 Me Linh St, Ward 19, Binh Thanh Dist., Ho Chi Minh City Tel: (028) 6294-7059 www.san-art.org SIGHTSEEINGS

2 Lam Son Square, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City Tel: (028) 3824-1234 www.saigon.park.hyatt.com

Notre Dame Cathedral

Rex Hotel 141 Nguyen Hue St, Ben Nghe Ward, Dist.1, Ho Chi Minh City Tel: (028) 3829-2185 www.rexhotelvietnm.com HERITAGE

War Remnants Museum

Le Lai St, Ben Thanh Ward, Dist.1, Ho Chi Minh City Ben Thanh market is a trade centre and a favourite tourist destination, offering a wide range of Vietnamese handicraft, fresh fruits and local specialities.

28 Vo Van Tan St, Ward 6, Dist.3, Ho Chi Minh City. Tel: (028) 3930-5587 Email: warrmhcm@gmail.com Open daily 7.30 a.m. to midday and 1.30 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Chinatown – Cho Lon

Buﬀalo Tours

46 • V I E T N A M

Ben Thanh Market

Cong Xa Paris Square, Dist.1, Ho Chi Minh City Built in 1877, and the Cathedral opened to the public in 1880. The bricks used to build this marvellous structure were shipped from Marseilles.

I AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2018

It was set up at the end of the 18th century when the Minh Dynasty in China was overthrown. Chinatown has many shops and private workshops. The most interesting places are Binh Tay market, Soai Kinh Lam fabric whole-sales market, the street of herbal medicine located on Hai Thuong Lan Ong and Thien Hau Temple on Nguyen Trai Street. MUSEUMS

Fine Arts Museum of Ho Chi Minh City 97A Pho Duc Chinh St, Nguyen Thai Binh Ward, Dist.1, Ho Chi Minh City Tel: (028) 3829-4441 www.baotangmythuattphcm.com Open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed Mondays

VUNG TAU

(TELEPHONE CODE: 0254) HOTELS, RESORTS

Petrosetco Hotel 12 Truong Cong Dinh St, Ward 2, Vung Tau. Tel: (0254) 3624-748 www.petrosetcohotel.vn

Petro House Hotel 63 Tran Hung Dao St, Ward 1, Vung Tau Tel : (0254) 3852-014 Hotline: 0961.085.869 Email: info@petrohousehotel.vn www.petrohousehotel.vn

The Coast Hotel

Fito Museum 41 Hoang Du Khuong S, Ward 12, Dist. 10, Ho Chi Minh City Tel: (028) 3864-2430 www.fitomuseum.com.vn Open daily from 8.30 a.m. till 5.30 p.m. Ticket: VND50,000 The first museum of traditional Vietnamese medicine

Ho Chi Minh City Museum 65 Ly Tu Trong St, Ben Nghe Ward, Dist.1, Ho Chi Minh City Tel: (028) 3829-9741 www.hcmc-museum.edu.vn Open daily 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Independence Palace 135 Nam Ky Khoi Nghia St, Ben Thanh Ward, Dist.1, Ho Chi Minh City Tel: (028) 3822-3652 www.dinhdoclap.gov.vn Open daily, 7.30 a.m. to 11.30 a.m., 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Southern Women Museum 202 Vo Thi Sau St, Dist.1, Ho Chi Minh City. Tel: (028) 3932-7130

The History Museum 2 Nguyen Binh Khiem St, Ben Nghe Ward, Dist 1, Ho Chi Minh City Tel: (028) 3829-8146 www.baotanglichsuvn.com 8 a.m. - 11.30 p.m. and 1.30 p.m. - 5 p.m. Tuesday to Sunday. Closed on Monday

300A Phan Chu Trinh St, Ward 2, Vung Tau City Tel: (0254) 3627-777 Email: info@thecoasthotelvungtau.com www.thecoasthotelvungtau.com MUSEUM

White Palace 6 Tran Phu St, Ward.1, Vung Tau City Tel: (0254) 3852-605 Open daily 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.

PHU QUOC

(TELEPHONE CODE: 077) Eden Resort Phu Quoc Cua Lap Hamlet, Duong To Ward, Phu Quoc District, Kien Giang Province Tel: (077) 3985-598 www.edenresort.com.vn MUSEUMS Coi Nguon Museum 149 Tran Hung Dao St, Duong dong Town, Phu Quoc, Kien Giang Province Tel: (077) 3980-206 www.coinguonphuquoc.com