Giarai (or Jarai) is an ethnic group based primarily in Vietnam’s Central Highlands. Sharing a couple of photos of a traditional Giarai Tomb at the Musuem of Ethnology in Hanoi; pretty interesting design lol…
The floating village is one of the tourist attractions and cultural heritages in Halong Bay, Vietnam. People have been living in these floating houses for hundred of years with fishing as the main income activity.
The tourism boom in recent years should bring a bit of extra income for the villagers, but to be frank… what they get is only a very small chunk of the Halong travel business. Well, I guess a little is better than nothing.
Most of the junks and cruises would pass by at least one of the floating villages and would probably make a short stop at a fish farm where travellers can buy some extra seafood to supplement their meals on the junks, or perhaps just taking a peek into the basic living of the villagers.
Photos below were taken during my Vietnam trip in July 2008…
Halong Bay (Vịnh Hạ Long - Bay of the Descending Dragons) is a UNESCO World Heritage site in Quang Ninh province of northern Vietnam, famous for its scenic landscape with thousands of limestone isles in various sizes and shapes.
Halong Bay has become an international travel hotspot in recent years; there must be more than 200-300 junks and cruises that depart daily from the port, with thousands of travellers visiting the destination each day.
The weather was perfect during my July 2008 visit. My guide told me that the clear blue sky are normally seen only for two-three weeks in one whole year… and my Hanoi friends later reaffirmed the statement. In fact one of them have been to Halong Bay for five times and didn’t manage to catch a clear weather like I did. Lucky me :)
Some photos from the seaport and first glimpse of Halong Bay…
Interesting culture and places in Hue, Vietnam; as featured in the 3rd episode of The Amazing Race Asia (TARA) season 3.
Hue City
Huế is a historic city in central Vietnam and was the imperial capital of Nguyen Dynasty (1802-1945). Hue is located about 1100km from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam’s capital city. It took about 25 hours of bus ride to travel from HCMC to Hue.
Complex of Hue Monuments
The Complex of Hue Monuments is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Sites; the complex comprises of 16 historic monuments from the Nguyen Dynasty. Among the monuments that featured in The Amazing Race Asia were the Khai Dinh Tomb, Minh Mang Tomb and Hue Citadel (the pitstop).
Bahnar Rong (Ba Na Rông) are communal houses of the Bahnar tribe from Central Highlands (Tây Nguyên) region of Vietnam.
The distinctive features of the traditional Bahnar Rong are the tall & steep roof and lifted platform which are built to adapt to the (often rainy) tropical weather; the houses are traditionally used for cultural, religion and gathering purposes for men.
These traditional Bahnar Rong are almost obsolete nowadays, as the people are replacing their communal houses with iron and cement instead.
The photos here were taken at the Museum of Ethnology in Hanoi where the Bahnar Rong, along with other traditional houses of various ethnic minorities, were built as an effort to preserve the fading Vietnamese culture and heritage.
Interesting culture and places in Chiang Mai, Thailand, and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; as featured in the 2nd episode of The Amazing Race Asia (TARA) season 3.
Mae Kompong
Mae Kompong is a village in Chiang Mai Province. Once a poppy growing area, but now home to a small community of forest dwellers who cultivate tea and coffee plantations.
Mae Kompong is also home to the Treetop eco-tourism village where visitors can take an exhilarating flight (with zip line and slide) through a 1500 year-old rainforest in the “Flight of the Gibbon” adventure…
Quan An Ngon (Quán Ăn Ngon) is a popular restaurant in Hanoi, Vietnam, which offers a variety of traditional Vietnamese dishes and street food.
The place was quite cozy, and the food quite decent. Not really my favourite restaurant in Hanoi, but if you can only have one meal in the city… this is probably the place you want to be because of the great varieties.
Quan An Ngon is located at 18, Phan Boi Chau Street, Hanoi.
Fried spring rolls, traditional spring rolls and roast pork
The Vietnam Museum of Ethonology in Hanoi is a great place to have a glance at the traditional culture of Vietnam’s 54 ethnic groups. The museum is located outside of the main city area… took a bit of travelling time but it’s worth a visit.
Sharing some photos below, taken inside the museum building…
