Non Nuoc Beach given a Name among World’s Beautiful Beaches

Known as one of the most beautiful beaches in the world, Non Nuoc Beach with clear blue water and white sand runs for 5 km against Danang Marble Mountains. Tourists in Vietnam travel are mostly attracted to the beach, aiming to bathe and enjoy the seafood. This fine sandy beach with sunshine all four seasons makes it suitable for tourism in all year round.

Danang has a coastline of 30 kilometres long, famous for many beautiful seashores stretching from the north to the south such as My Khe, Thanh Binh, Tien Sa, Son Tra and so on. Non Nuoc Beach also pertains to Da Nang Sea and has been voted as one of the most beautiful and attracting beaches of the planet, 2005, according to Forbes, the leading magazine of America. This beach has gentle slope, mild waves, and purely blue sea water during the four seasons. The unpolluted water source here has attracted a number of tourists coming to bathe, enjoy local special sea foods and take a rest for weekends. The beach Non Nước is also a place that exist precious and rare seaweeds such as gracilarias "yellow thread" and glacilaria "screw" that have high value of exporting.

With green water and white sand, Non Nuoc Beach stretches five kilometers along the shore of Hoa Hai Ward at the foot of Ngu Hanh Son (The Marble Mountains). The beach is famous for its seaweed, which reaches exportation standards. Many five-star hotels were built in Non Nuoc to accommodate the domestic and foreign tourists in Vietnam travel. Together with its feature of wave degree, climate, weather and salinity, Non Nuoc Beach is suitable for water sports, especially surfing. In 1993, there took place an international champion with the participation of nearly 40 athletes from many countries around the world.

Along the beach, on the white sand is a forest of age-old casuarinas which is shady, green and is waving in the whistling wind. This is an ideal place for resting and camping. When the darkness falls and the moon rises, you can set yourself free on smooth benches along the beach to listen to melodious sounds of the waves and enjoy the occult space.

The beach is managed by the Non Nuoc Tourism Company that has  three hotels with more than 100 rooms on the beach. They provide entertainment services including photographs for souvenir, handicraft shops, massage, restaurant, tennis and some gymnastics. A chain of tourism resorts is planned to cater for international tourists including seaside hotels and restaurants, especially an international standard golf court.

Besides convalescence and bathing, tourists to Non Nuoc Beach can also combine their journeys with traveling the relic Marble Mountains, which boast some ancient pagodas and sacred monumental caves go around fine art stone handicraft villages right at the foot of the Mountains or go boating on Co Co River (Stork Neck River) to enjoy peacefulness of the Marble Mountains.

If you, foreign tourists, are making tours to Vietnam, I myself, a Vietnamese, advise you to come to Danang, a city of central Vietnam where there is Non Nuoc beach. It's an ideal destination in Vietnam travel that you should not ignore.

Breaking Drum Festival of the Ma Coong in Quang Binh

Lovers may be single guy - single girl or wife – husband; even ones from different marriages can date with each other according to the free love offered by Giang.

Belongs to Bru – Van Kieu ethnic group, the Ma Coong is a small group living in Thuong Trach commune, Bo Trach district, Quang Binh province. The legend has that the love night of the Ma Coong is derived by Giang (God) who helped local people to kill the naughty monkey that harassed crops, creating poverty, and after that he granted Ma Coong people a night of free love to live in wildness without worrying about restrictions and rules.

In the 16^th night of the first lunar month every year, Ma Coong people gather in the sacred land that is Ca Roong village. In the festival night, when the moon rises highest, the chieftain reads the prayers asking the Gods to support for peaceful life, productive crops… After finishing the ritual, the rice will be thrown out, wishing that new rice will come to make the baskets, the crops full.

The banquet of offerings to worship Giang must include tube-wine, chicken, fish, sticky rice, top of rattan tree, a part of doac tree trunk. Each village has a banquet and there must be totally 18 banquets. The offering banquets must be made by members in the families of villages’ chiefs. After several times worshipping, the chief speaks the command to start the breaking drum festival. The villagers and also guests flow close to the drum. Everyone try to get the drumstick.

The festival drum has been made since the morning, drum body is made from the trunk of convex woody tree, and the leather covering the drum surface is made from the skin of cow. The drum is covered by old rattan; old bamboo is used to pack the drum surface to make it stretched. The persons who beat the drum must be the strongest guys. The drum must be beaten to be broken before the morning so that the god will recognize sincerity of people and they will get productive crops in the next year.

As well as beaten the drum, the young guys shout: “Roa lu Giang oi!” (This means “How happiness it is!”). The faster the drum is broken, the sooner young people can take their lover to the forest for making love.

After the drum is broken, each couple quietly holds the hands of each other; find their private place to chat, make love. The location may be on the mountain, near the stream or wherever. Lovers may be single guy - single girl or wife – husband; even ones from different marriages can date with each other according to the free love offered by Giang.  There is no jealousy, no obstacle; others passing through and seeing this will consider it manual issue. This happens similar to Khau Vai love market or Moc Chau love market. 

When the fire is about to be off, the sun slowly rises on another side of the mountain, it’s time for the breaking drum festival of the Ma Coong to be ended.

Tourist attractions in Vung Tau

Coming to Long Son fishing village, Ba Ria – Vung Tau province, tourists will have a chance to turn into a fishman, catch fish and enjoy fresh seafood.

After travelling more than 10 kilometers from Highway 51 to An Son island commune, the image of a small beautiful village floating in the water gradually emerges. The hot and muggy weather in the summer is replaced with the cool and fresh air.

In order to arrive at the fishing village, tourists have to spend 10 more minutes going by boat. The restaurants in Long Son village are impressive with cages being full of fish, shrimp and crab.

After giving the order, customers can directly choose seafood from these cages. There are both rustic dishes and specialties of the Southern Vietnam here such as: barnacle coming with mustard, fish grilled with pepper and salt, grill crab, crab torrefied with tamarind, Long Son crab, hot pot, steamed fish, etc. Girls in Vietnamese silk pajamas (“áo bà ba” in Vietnamese) with suntanned skin are very considerate toward customers. Therefore, customers feel close and friendly.

The village is not only famous for its delicious dishes but also interesting experiences. Tourists can turn into fishmen and catch fish in the estuary of Rang river. Catching fish here is not too difficult, tourists just need to drop iron cages into the river and wait until fishes fall into your trap.

The flocks of fish often gather near the fish cage in order to eat leftover food. Therefore, this estuary is an ideal place for people like fishing. 

Long Son fishing village is one of tourist attractions in Ba Ria – Vung Tau. It attracts thousands of visitors every month. However, not many people know that the fishing village was built by a poor and low educated fishman. That man is Mr Ly Buu Hoi. Although he now has become very rich, he is still simple and plain like other fishmen in the village. Everyone and every staff admire and love him due to his sociability and kindness.

Nowadays, Long Son fishing village has the area of more than 1,000 square meters. It can serve 800 customers and give jobs for a lot of young people in the region. If you have a chance to visit Long Son, do not forget enjoy the famous dried fish and barnacle here.

Ba Na Hill Station

It’s easy to see why the French would run to the hills at the first opportunity, and why the Vietnamese were less keen. As you climb the winding road to beautiful Ba Na (admission 10, 000d, per motorbike/car 5000/10, 000d) you can feel the temperature and humidity dropping away. When it’s 36°C on the coast, it’s likely to be between 15°C and 26°C up the mountain. ..

Rain often falls in the section between 700m and 1200m above sea level, but around the hill station itself, the sky is usually clear, the view is truly spectacular, and the air is fresh and cool. Mountain tracks lead to a variety of waterfalls and viewpoints.

Founded in 1919, of the 200-odd villas that originally stood, a few tattered, atmospheric ruins remain. Until WWII the French were carried up the last 20km of rough mountain road by sedan chair.

Near the top, the Linh Ung Pagoda (1999) is a supremely peaceful spot, with a 24m-high white seated Buddha visible for miles around. Near the pagoda a cable car (return ticket 35, 000d) whisks visitors up to the hill station. The vistas are huge.

The provincial government has high hopes of once again making Ba Na a magnet for tourists – branding it ‘the Dalat of Danang province’ and developing the site to suit domestic visitors. This has led to a variety of accommodation and restaurants, but also lots of karaoke, a loud PA and litter.

There are no ATMs up here, but there is a small post office (791 500) near Le Nim restaurant.

Restaurants stick it on, travelers need to become “smart”

After having meals, a lot of travelers felt exceedingly astonished when receiving the bills. They were stung for millions of dong for the dishes worth several hundreds of thousands of dong.

The black list
The competent agencies in Vung Tau City have decided to punish Huong Viet seafood restaurant at No. 94 Hoang Hoa Tham Street for its behavior of overcharging tourists.

On March 26, a group of 7 tourists, including 4 Japanese, 3 Vietnamese, who stayed at Vung Tau Intourco Resort, were carried to Huong Viet by a taxi driver. The customers ordered 6 kilos of small lobsters, 3.5 kilos of crabs, 1.7 kilos of cuttlefish  and oysters.

The restaurant gave more than the amount ordered by the customers. After having meals, the tourists were asked to pay VND16.6 million dong.

This was not the only case of this kind happening in Vung Tau City so far. The restaurants here have 1,000 tricks to rip off travelers. The waiters deliberately did not give the menus to the customers, or gave the menus with unclear information.

If the customers queried about the big sums of money they were told to pay, the waiters would show other menus with the unit prices much higher than the prices they informed to customers before.

In most cases, customers had to pay the sums of money the restaurants asked for. They had to “swallow the bitter pill,” or they would have to fight with the workers at the restaurants, who always got ready to apply the “law of the jungle.”

The disreputable restaurants have been boycotted by local residents and travelers, or punished by the local authorities. Many of them had to close down. However, in fact, they only changed hands or changed the names. Tung Ngoc Thuy restaurant has been renamed into Phuong Vy, or Nhu Y into Thu Mai.

Two months ago, a traveler from HCM City denounced Thu Mai of ripping him off, charging him VND3.6 million for the lunch.

Nguyen Tung Nghia, the traveler, said he and his 5 family members had to pay VND1.26 million on average for every dish. Nghia said that each black tiger shrimp served was not bigger than a thumb, but the restaurant owner affirmed that it weighted 1.4 kilos, for which he charged VND900,000 per kilo.

On February 6, the Thang Tam Ward People’s Committee received a complaint from a group of 20 travelers from Hau Giang that they were cheated by the Bac Lieu restaurant on Hoang Hoa Tham Street.

The travelers complained they were charged VND9.23 million for a frugal meal.

The black list of the restaurants and hotels overcharging tourists has been prolonged. In Hanoi, 9 men were caught red handed when they tried to rob the assets of the two customers at the café at No. 32 Tran Quoc Toan Street, as the two refused to pay VND2.1 million for two bottles of beer and a pack of chestnut.

Heavy punishments imposed
Forcing the restaurants to close down after imposing fines is believed to be the heaviest punishment over the violators.

The Vung Tau City’s authorities have asked the local planning and investment  department to inspect the business premises before licensing, to be sure that the newly set up restaurants are not the disreputable ones which have changed names.

However, travelers have been told that they would be better to become smart to protect themselves instead of relying on the intervention of the competent agencies.

Unique Culture of Khmer Ethnic People

For the Khmer ethnic people the ceremony of launching the boat called Ghe ngo is a special event. A Ghe ngo is launched only once a year to participate in the Ok Om Bok Festival. After the ceremony it is taken ashore and preserved. This practice has become a unique cultural feature with both traditional and spiritual characteristics.

Once, we went from Ho Chi Minh City to Soc Trang Province to visit a friend. For us, the reporters, it is very interesting to participate in the festivals to learn about the cultures and people in different areas. My Khmer ethnic friend asked us: “You have watched the Ghe ngo race, right? Do you know the Ghe ngo launching ceremony?” All of us shook our heads with curiosity on our faces.

The Ok Om Bok Festival takes place in Mid-October of the lunar calendar. Before the Ghe ngo is taken to participate in a race at the festival, the hamlets and pagodas of the Khmer group usually organize a worshipping ritual on the Ghe ngo’sbow (locally known as Pith Sene Kbal Tuok) to launch the boat. The Khmer people consider Ghe ngo their genie who protects their peace. It is the embodiment of the strength of the hamlet, so it is carefully preserved and placed in the most solemn place in the hamlet. The Ghe ngo launching ceremony has a special role, showing the belief of the Khmer people in the spiritual element and the power of the supernatural force which is decisive to the success or failure of the boat in the race. 

Before the launching ceremony, the rowers stand along the boats for a traditional ritual.
During the ceremony, the sorcerer and the head of the rowers must constantly burn
incense and offer tea on the altar and the bow of the boat.
A Ghe ngo procession.
The villagers attend the Ghe ngo launching ceremony at Sro Lon Pagoda.

The time and date of launching the boat is decided by each hamlet and is suitable to the feng-shui and the worshipping object of the hamlet. At Sro Lon Pagoda in Dai Tam Commune, My Xuyen District, Soc Trang Province, the boat launching ceremony starts in the early morning. The main offering of the ceremony is Slath thor made of a coconut fruit (Slath thor Don) or a banana trunk (Slathor Chek) for planting the incense and candles. Before the ceremony is conducted, the sorcerer places the Slath thor at the positions of the rowers along the hulls of the boat. Trays of cakes, fruit and a pig’s head or poultry are placed at the bow, middle and stern of the boat, depending on each pagoda. The competing participants stand around the boat. The chief monk of the pagoda or a member of the management board works as the master of the ceremony. He prays for the Ghe ngo-protecting genie to accompany the boat to help it win the race. After that, the chief monk brings a jar of water with the scent of flowers and walks around the boat to splash the water over the boat rowers, wishing peace and strength for them.

After the water splashing ritual, the sorcerer will conduct the boat worshipping ceremony. First, he conducts the musical performance. Each ritual musical band consists of 5-7 people who play the Khum, Chapay Don veng, flutes, drums, two-chord fiddles and gongs. The performance takes place 3-5 times before the singing ritual starts. The singing ritual consists of Sene Kru (worshipping the superior), chom rieng berk both Tuk Ngua (prelude) and Run Tua (chorus). Depending on the worshipping object of each hamlet the sorcerer will sing according to this symbol. The Ghe ngolaunching ceremony often lasts one or two hours. When the ceremony finishes, the competing boat rowers will launch their boat to row to the venue.

The Ghe ngo of each hamlet has its own symbol of strength. The selection of the boat’s symbol is related to the traditional conception of each hamlet and pagoda. It represents the power of the boat and shows the strength of the boat. So the hulls, bow and stern of the boat are ornamented with decorative patterns with the colours suitable to the symbol of the boat. Each hamlet has its own symbol, such as the Neak (dragon), Khla (tiger), Dom Ray (elephant), Reach Cha Say (lion) and mermaid. Each Ghe ngo is protected by the genies, such as Srey Khmay, Konseng Sorya, Kontong Khiev, Chontiev Ok and Chon Tiev Tay. 

Carrying boats at the Ghe ngo launching ceremony.

Senior monks encourage the rowers before the race.
During the Ghe ngo race.
The Ghe ngo race at the Ok Om Bok Festival in Soc Trang Province.

The Ghe ngo launching ceremony has become a beautiful cultural feature in the spiritual life of the Khmer people. The hamlet residents gather at the boat with their respect to encourage the rowers and pray for peace, strength and protection from the genies. Today, the Ok Om Bok Festival in the Cuu Long River delta has become a common festival of the Kinh, Khmer, Hoa and Cham ethnic people, which helps strengthen and sustain community relations. 

EARLY MORNING AT A FISH MARKET

As usual, about 2 AM, when the sun still be under the horizon, many people had presented at Phuoc Loc beach of Tam Tien commune (Nui Thanh district, Quang Nam province, 12km far from Tam Ky city center). They were fishing traders, buyers came from many places, local people, transporting workers… and be waiting for boats to come back the market after a long fishing trip.

When the first sunrays began showing down the sea and the first fishing boats came back, a new trading morning  at Phuoc Loc fishing market started. The noisy atmosphere stirred up the calm  and silent dawn of a small sea area. Dawn over the Tam Tien sea Acording to Mr. Nguyen Xuan Luan, Vice chairman of Tam Tien People’s Committee, this small market was founded spontaneously more than 30 years ago by people of two hamlets Phuoc Loc and Ha Quang. In the first days, it was only a small stalls to sell and buy sea products for daily meals with low price. Years after years, thanks to high horsepower boats, new fishing technology and modern means which helped local people to fish far away, catched more and more product as well as the great demand of customers in the province, many people from some districts in Quang Nam and Quang Ngai provines have come here to buy fish and shrimp for their trade. Up to date, although this fishing market operates about 6 to 7 hours a day only, but it has become one of  the important sea products trading points in both retail and wholesale of  Nui Thanh district. Waiting for fishing boats to comeback Phuoc Loc market Basket boats with full of fresh fishes and shrimps make Phuoc Loc fish market more crowded and joyfull. Transporting fish to the seashore to serve customers come from remote places. Fishermen’s happy face after a rich fishing trip. An overview landscape of Phuoc Loc fish market.

Lotus Mũi Né Beach Resort & Spa- Relax paradise

Lotus Muine Beach Resort & Spa is centrally located in the tourist and entertainment area of Binh Thuan province, about 20km away from Phan Thiet city, near to Mui Ne and Cham Poshanu Tower.

Lotus Muine Resort & Spa is a 4-star standard resort  and includes 78 rooms with 48 deluxe rooms, 26 bungalows, 4 suites all with ocean view, 3 restaurants, 2 bars, 1 café,  1 conference room, 2 meeting rooms with with many other services.

Some typical types of rooms:

Premium Panorama View.

The location is closer to the sea views. Rooms are decorated to reflect the Lotus ambience with a view of the sea from every room. Each room fits with one double bed or two twin beds and offer modern amenities as well as a private balcony.

Beach Front Family Villa.

Located perfectly on the beach, each bungalow provides an uninterrupted view across the Spectacular South China Sea. The enormous 82 square meter bungalow offer additional space to enjoy your escape, with a private balcony featuring two sun lounges and overhead ceiling fans and equipped with kitchen and cooking utensils, spacious bed room with bath tub in bath room.

Lotus Luxury Family Ocean View.

There is the structure of two floors with two large bedrooms with the view overlooking to the ocean.  Lotus suite features fully furnished living room, a dining room with a table, equipped with kitchen and cooking utensils.

110 square meter suite, suitable for a medium size family or a group of friends from four to six people with sentiment of privacy at home, a place where good moments last a long.

In addition to comfortable rooms, Lotus Muine Beach Resort & Spa also has many necessary entertainment facilities such as: Spa, outdoor pool..or business center, fitness center, housekeeping, safety deposit boxes, babysitting, bar/pub…

The system of luxury restaurant and toilet…

With a voucher from KAY, you must pay only VND 1.390.000 (discount 50%), you will have to relax 2 days one night at 4-satr resort for 2 adults and a child under 6 years old.

Intriguing shrimp vermicelli noodle

Shrimp vermicelli noodle has grown to be an essential part of Hai Phong gastronomy for a long time. Thanks to its intriguing taste and materials, shrimp vermicelli noodle has become a unique dish that you should try.

The main ingredient is fresh shrimp that is picked up directly from Hai Phong sea.  

Shrimp shells are peeled and then they are fried with green onion until shrinking. And the next step, we add yellow frilled chopped fish, grilled chopped piper lolot (lá lốt) or grape leaves, Indian taro and a mixture of mashed onion, sliced tomatoes and dill to bring out richer flavor. A soft, white thread of rice vermicelli noodle harmonized with reddish shrimps and tomatoes, together with green onion, Indian taro and yellow grilled chopped fish make a colorful, attractive and lively picture that wake up visitors’ taste.

As you savor the dish, you will be greatly comforted by the sweet and slightly greasy taste of the broth, fragrance of shrimps and especially the pungent smell of grilled chopped piper lolot (lá lốt). More special is a sour taste of tamarind broth seasoned with common slices of red chili. All flavors harmonize so well with each other that the first try can bring out immediate temptation for a return.

Trekkers take to skies on Ba Na Hills adventure

Offering world record breaking cable cars, wild forest trekking and a stunning nature reserve, Da Nang's Ba Na Hills caters for almost every taste. Cong Thanh reports.

Be our guest: A panoramic view of the beautiful Ba Na Hills Resort.

When Hoang Xuan Ty called the monkeys to come for breakfast, they moved quickly towards him.

"I always put some bananas or candies in my pocket to feed them in the morning. Banana is their favourite fruit," Ty said.

The 72-year-old tour guide has worked for the Ba Na Hills Cable Car company since 2000. Previously, he was a farmer, which gave him valuable knowledge about the flora and fauna in every corner of the forest.

Visitors to the resort can see 543 flora and 256 fauna species and ride on three cable car routes, including one that received four Guinness World Records for length, weight and height.

A return ticket on the new cable car, which takes only 17 minutes to reach the top of the mountain, costs VND400,000 (US$20).

"The first and second routes, which opened in 2009, stop at Ba Na and Morin. You should go by the Toc Tien Waterfall route if you want to go straight to the top," Ty explained.

Suspended over the valley of springs, waterfalls and forests, all the routes offer a unique experience.

The Ba Na Hills route also set world records for the longest and highest non-stop cable car system in 2009.

The 17,641ha of primary forest in the Ba Na Mountain area are a nature reserve with six trekking routes. In spring, visitors can see flowers like bell-shaped peach blossoms, and all year round hydrangeas are on view.

Old resort

Ba Na Hills, built in 1912 by French colonists, is located 30km from downtown Da Nang.

It takes an hour to drive the zigzagging 15km road to the top of the mountain.

While many buildings were almost destroyed during the first Indochina war, some old villas and a wine cellar built in 1923 have still been preserved.

"So much has changed since we arrived to farm in 1979. The 15km road took almost half a day to climb," Ty recalled. "The mountain was surrounded by a green forest and we often saw wild animals on the way."

He singled out the wine cellar as worthy of exploration. The 100m tunnel through a mountain has wall covered "by a thick plaster of molasses and resin". Visitors can taste wine inside the cool cave while learning about the place's history.

The Morin, Debay and Le Jardin hotels, built in the French colonial style, are designed to resemble the original resort.

All aboard: Cable cars embark on the slow ascent to Ba Na summitø. — VNS Photos Cong Thanh

Trekking routes

Even on hot days, Ty still makes the exhausting trek to the top of Chua Mountain.

The 1,487m-high summit features a new temple where Buddhists can present offerings and others can relax after the long walk.

"The peak, covered with wild bushes, is a must-see for not only Buddhists but all tourists. You can worship the goddess of the forest or just rest a while to enjoy the view of Da Nang and Cham Island," the guide said.

On the way downhill to the lower Ba Na cable car station, Ty turned down a 1km path. The route, a remnant of the French presence, zigzags around the mountain slope, with thick layers of leaves and rotten trunks. A bamboo bridge stretches over a small stream.

It takes two hours to walk around the mountain. Many opt for the 800m Nai (Deer) Spring and Rainbow route, where monkeys, squirrels, reptiles and birds can often be found.

"Deer often approach to get water from the spring, as the name suggests. But the noise from people, construction and illegal hunting limits the number of wild animals in the forest," Ty said. "You may not see wild animals crossing the route as we saw in previous decades, but the nature and cool air still make you feel relaxed."

On the trek, visitors can see a waterfall that reflects sunlight into a magnificent rainbow.

"The Vang (Gold) Valley, the longest route, offers a 3km trek. It was once a gold mine, but only traces of mines and wells are left from last century," Ty said.

After finishing a trek, visitors who have worked up an appetite can eat at Ba Na Square, where chef Zakharov Roman whips up specialties like Kavkaz-style roast lamb.

The Ba Na By Night location, which includes Debay wine cellar, offers local mountain specialties.

Ty finishes his tour by offering a taste of French wine at the wine cellar. Touring the cellar costs only VND50,000 and includes a glass of wine.

Last year, Viet Nam Tourism Stock Company (Vitours) began operating a bus route to shuttle tourists to the resort from downtown Da Nang. It runs between 7am and 6pm. A return ticket costs VND110,000 (about US$5).

Tourists can also take a bus from Hoi An to the resort.

The resort expects to welcome one million visitors this year. But the influx of tourists has less welcome implications for the nature reserve. A wax museum and an entertainment space are set to debut this summer, joining the amusement park that has already been built. Thinking of how Ty recalled the steadily decreasing number of wild animals, one might well feel trepidation at how this development will affect the future of this beautiful place.