Sep
25
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Province cracks down on tourist ripoffs
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VietNamNet Bridge – Tour boats in Ha Long Bay, a newly voted world heritage site in the northern coastal province of Quang Ninh, have been banned from stopping at floating fishing villages during tours since the start of this month, according to the provincial People's Committee.
Boats anchor in Ha Long Bay. The Ha Long Bay Management Board has received
many complaints from both international and domestic tourists about rip-offs
and fraudulent activities at private fishing houses in the bay.
Chairman of the committee Nguyen Van Doc said the move was aimed at preventing tourists from being disturbed, overcharged or even ripped off, which had become a common occurrence at private floating fishing houses.
Captains of vessels that violated the ban would have their licences revoked and refused permission to cruise around the bay the next day, he said.
Do Duc Thang, vice head of Ha Long Bay Management Board, said that the board had received many complaints from both international and domestic tourists about rip-off services and fraudulent activities at private fishing houses in the bay on its hotline.
"These fishing houses are temporarily set up in the middle of the bay by local residents. Some are established by residents from fishing villages. They all profit by selling seafood to tourists," he said.
"They are not on the province's registered seafood trading list and they are not a stop-off place for tours," Thang said.
However, many boats ignore the ban and anchor at these fishing houses.
According to the board's estimation, there are about 650 floating fishing houses scattered around the bay, and many have become a destination for tour boats, including Ba Hang, Cua Van, Vong Vieng and Cong Dam.
Thang said that Ba Hang was one of the worst places for overcharging tourists. Ba Hang is a temporary fishing village with more than 30 households, and most earn a living from aquaculture and farming, as well as selling snacks to tourists.
Chaos had broken out in recent times, with locals chasing after tour boats to sell seafood, he said. Last week, Pham Van Thuong, captain of a tour boat in Ha Long Bay, was attacked by two seafood sellers in Ba Hang Village when he tried to prevent them from coming aboard to sell seafood to foreigners.
Thuong was hospitalised with multiple injuries.
Early this year, a tourist from Thailand was reportedly forced to pay VND11.5 million ($552) for a 6kg fish in Ba Hang Village. Sellers even threatened to tie up the boat if he refused to pay.
To clamp down on the situation, the province has also established a tourism inspection force with the involvement of inspectors and police in tourism, environment, transport and construction.
However, the decision has yet to receive support from tourist enterprises and residents of fishing villages.
Tran Thi Hoa, tour manager of the Ha Long-based Thanh Nien Co Ltd, said that banning tour boats from fishing houses would not solve the problem.
"Overcharging can happen anywhere. We've heard complaints from tourists in Bai Chay Beach and the night market as well," she said.
Hoa said the company had stopped mooring at floating fishing villages since early this month, but admitted that it made the trip less interesting.
"Visiting fishing houses, seeing different kinds of marine creatures and taking photos are among the leisure activities of our tourists. It's much more interesting than seeing cooked seafood on the boat or seafood sold at the market," Hoa said.
The company receives about 1,000 tourists to the bay annually, 40 per cent of whom are foreigners.
"It's hard to say how the ban will affect our businesses as it is not peak season and it's only two weeks since the ban took effect," she said.
But for Do Van Huu, a resident in Ba Hang Village, no more tour boats means no food for her family of nine.
Huu said to Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper that he and his wife usually row small boats to take tourists to visit surrounding caves, and earned VND3 million ($144) per month.
Huu had to catch fish to earn money at night and his wife wove fishing nets. A whole night's fishing only brought them enough food for one meal.
According to Thang, most households in the village are poor and their income from tourist activities only met their daily needs.
Jenna Allen, a US tourist, said she had been to Ha Long Bay twice and found floating houses quite interesting.
"It'll be amazing to catch fish from the sea and cook it right after that. I'm pretty sure that they are all fresh," she said.
However, Jenna said she didn't buy anything from the floating villages because she was unsure about the price.
"I will never go back to a place if I'm ripped off," she said.
According to Hoa, it would be better if authorities tightened control over floating fishing villages by registering them and requiring valid price lists.
"Floating restaurants could be a good place for tourists to enjoy while creating a stable income for residents," she said.
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Sep
25
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Nha Dai of E De ethnic people
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Located in Buon Me Thuot City, Dak Lak province, the E De people in Ako Dhong Hamlet are considered a model community of ethnic people in the Central Highlands.
Built in the unique architectural style of the E De people into basalt red soil, the charming Nha Dai (long houses), will put visitors to the sunny plateau immediately at peace.
There are about 300 E De people living in 30 long houses in Ako Dhong Hamlet. The long houses are about 15-100m long, largely dependant on the number of family members.
Many generations of a family live together in each long house, typically in the matriarchal structure common to the E De people.
The long houses are made from natural materials such as bamboo and wood, with the roof covered by reeds. Walls and floors are then grafted by Nua (Neohouzeaua) that is cut in half and crushed.
Built upon stilts for the practical purpose of protecting dwellers from floods and dangerous wild animals, the length of the long house is measured by the number of collar beams.
Traditionally the house is lengthened with a compartment every time a girl living in the house gets married, following E De matriarchal society where men typically live in their wife’s house.
E Pap, an elder who has lived in Ako Dhong for over 40 years, said that in front of the door there is a large yard, also called a guest yard. People walk through the yard before entering the house.
The more prosperous the family is, the larger and more beautiful the yard is. Each house has two doors and two staircases at either end with one staircase for residents and the other for guests.
The staircases have an odd number of steps, which is considered lucky in E De culture and is always the pride of the family.
It is made by hand and decorated with breast-motifs at the top, the symbol of matriarchal vitality and power.
In Ako Dhong, visitors not only enjoy the charm of the special long houses, but can also discover the typical lifestyles of the E De ethnic people in the Central Highlands.
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Sep
25
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Discovering the beauty of the northern provinces by motorbike
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VietNamNet Bridge – There's a reason why the mountainous provinces of northern Viet Nam top the to-do lists of countless backpackers and visitors. I've been fortunate enough to trek through the westernmost forests of Dien Bien Province, drive a motorbike across Ha Giang Province's Ma Pi Leng (one of the most beautiful passes in the north), and wander around the Khau Vai love market until midnight. However, despite these adventures, I had never seen terraced mountian fields of ripened rice before.
Plain as day: A beautiful terraced field in Van Chan District's Tu Le Commune.
To remedy this exception, I joined a four-day motorbike tour with 11 other people to the northern provinces of Son La and Yen Bai during the Independence Day long weekend earlier this month.
From Ha Noi, we drove 200km to Son La Province's Moc Chau District and spent one night there. Our group missed out on tasting stone crabs at a market on Thung Khe Pass but experienced unforgettable moments at Moc Chau love market.
The love market is held annually from August 31 to September 2 for Mong ethnic people. Unlike Khau Vai market in Ha Giang and Sa Pa market in Lao Cai, few tourists visit it. Upon our visit, groups of girls and boys dressed in traditional attire walked the streets, enjoying a live music show, complete with song and dance routines. We also caught boys attempting to make friends with girls and young men flirting with beautiful young women.
The darker it got, the more fun it was. However, we had a long journey the following day and reluctantly retreated to our hostel for an early night.
In the market for love: Mong young women flock to the centre of Moc Chau town
to enjoy the love market and celebrate the Independence Day.
We drove nearly 180km in the next day to reach our destination – Ngoc Chien Commune in Muong La District. We had no difficulty driving along the concrete roads from Moc Chau to Muong La, but the route from It Ong Town to Ngoc Chien was more challenging due to loose rocks and small stones that had fallen onto the path, preventing us from picking up speed.
To overcome the steep slopes of the natural terrain, our drivers were forced into first and second gear while the passengers held them tightly. Only our leader, with his mighty Minsk motorcycle, was able to coast smoothly up the gradients.
Despite concentrating heavily on driving, we still managed to observe some beautiful sights along the way, stopping several times to take photographs of breathtaking green terraced fields stretching down from the mountains and Thai people bathing in the springs along the sidewalks.
Ngoc Chien Commune is located about 1,800m above sea level with a cool climate all year round. Home to Mong, Thai and La Ha ethnic people, there are no hostels or guesthouses here, with homestays the only accomodation option for visitors. As such, we opted to stay in a stilt house of a Thai family.
Tough terrain: Drivers find it difficult to overcome
muddy roads from Ngoc Chien to Nam Khat.
There is a saying that "Ngoc Chien Commune's women are most beautiful in Muong La District". The local people claim their beauty comes from bathing in hot springs. Although we reached Ngoc Chien late in the day, we still tried to enjoy the famed hot springs ourselves, driving 5km to the neighbouring Muong Chien Commune. For only VND5,000 (US$0.25) per person, we bathed for as long as our hearts desired. The natural hot water helped to reduce our tiredness and regain full possession of our senses.
Following our soak, we had a quick dinner consisting of simple local dishes before cutting loose at a nearby karaoke house. Unfortunately, we didn't have much time to talk with our hosts as we had to go to bed early in order to save our strength for the most difficult stage of our trip the next day.
No one can explain why, but it rains on Independence Day in Ha Noi every year. However, when celebrating this important event outside of the capital for the first time, I realised that it rains in other areas, too. The road from Ngoc Chien to Nam Khat Commune in Yen Bai Province's Mu Cang Chai District opened in 2005 without any concrete laid. As a result, the paths are full of gravel and stones, meaning driving motorbikes under added rain was always going to be taxing.
With our wheels covered in mud and our tyres unable to grip the road, we dismounted our motorbikes and helped our drivers to push them along.
After nearly two hours of pushing and driving, our efforts were paid in kind with a stunning view of the hallowed ripened rice fields. Ypoundsellow flecks of colour spreading across the terraced horizon appeared in front of us, resembling a beautiful painting by a masterful artist.
We eventually arrived in Van Chan District's Tu Le Commune in the afternoon and had lunch there before heading to Nghia Lo Town. After one night there, we spent a whole day travelling back to Ha Noi.
As well as laying eyes on the one sight I had so longed to see, the trip provided me with so much more: bathing in hot springs, experiencing offroad terrain and so on. Now, I'm left with the idea by Father Alfred D Souza: "Happiness is a journey, not a destination". He couldn't be more right.
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”The Little Prince” to go on Saigon stage, in English
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25/09/2012 09:49:34
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Schumann, Alpers return to capital
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25/09/2012 09:44:52
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Luu Huynh’s much-hyped lay chong nguoi ta has arrived
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25/09/2012 09:33:20
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Nam Dinh to celebrate royal heritage
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25/09/2012 09:32:21
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Elle Autumn-Winter Fashion Show 2012
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25/09/2012 09:31:04
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Hanoi’s autumn colors shine in Saigon
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25/09/2012 09:27:59
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Vietnam wins two gold medals at Int’l Circus Festival
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25/09/2012 09:26:56
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Pens at the ready for prestigious national writing competition
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25/09/2012 09:21:24
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Hawaii guitar melodies touch hearts
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25/09/2012 09:17:33
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