Hai Van Pass among the world’s top 10 greatest scenic drives

The very famous UK magazine of The Guardian has listed Vietnam’s Hai Van Pass  in Vietnam (Sea Cloud Pass) in their top 10 greatest scenic drives all around the world.

Having the ninth place in the list, Hai Van Pass is a 13-mile road running alongside Truong Son (or Annameses) mountain range on the edge of South China Sea. Standing 500 meters above sea level, “the Sea Cloud Pass” is not only the longest but also the highest and most beautiful mountain pass road in Vietnam. Since 2008, the pass has become well-known worldwide thanks to its appearance on a very popular BBC’s motoring show of Top Gear. Jeremy Clarkson – the former host of the show supposed that the pass road is somewhat like “a deserted ribbon of perfection”, which makes it among the best coast roads in the world.

mausoleum ho chi minh

According to the suggestions of The Guardian, travelers can hire cars or motorbikes to ride through the “see cloud pass” as a very interesting part of a one-day loop. Then, at the top of about 496 meters, you are rewarded with amazingly stunning views.

Here is the complete list of “Top 10 Great Scenic Drives around the World” complied by The Guardian:

Carretera de Sa Calobra – Mallorca
Irohazaka Roads – Japan
The Old Strynefjell Mountain Road – Norway
Grimsel Pass – Switzerland
Serra do Rio do Rastro Road – Brazil
Rim Rock Drive, Colorado – US
The Loneliest Road, Nevada – US
Skeleton coast – Namibia
Hai Van Pass – Vietnam
Road to the Isles – Scotland

read more : old quarter Hanoi

Chao long - Dish Vietnam

First word to describe Vietnamese cuisine? The world would say ‘delicate’.  And the second word should be economical. Nothing goes to waste once it lands in a Vietnamese kitchen. From meat to bone to guts and blood, each and every part of an animal is put to good cooking use. Piggy odds and ends that most butchers would toss into trashcan are turned into soothing and hearty rice porridge in the very  visit ha noi dish — ‘Cháo lòng’.

In Saigon ( vietnam things to do ), Cháo lòng is served from morning until evening, by street vendors. They are easy to spot by their distinctive giant metal vats and piles of offal contained in glass display cases. Once sitting down on a plastic stool, you will be swiftly dished up with a bowl of Chao long, which is satisfactorily hot. The offering is rather easy on the pocket at around half of one dollar a bowl. Some cut golden fried dough deepened into the smoky bowl makes the perfect topping. This is not exaggerating to say the slices of fried dough are one of the biggest stars in a bowl of chao long. Once incorporated into the steaming porridge, they behave like little sponge softening and soaking up the tangy porridge. You will like them so much that you don’t think you can go on finishing the great chao long without asking for more of that crispy dough.See more dishs of Vietnam: old quarter hanoi 

The base of chao long is well-cooked rice in flavorful broth, thrown in cubes of congealed blood. When customers order, the porridge and tiết (congealed blood) are ladled into a bowl, pouring down on chunks of tubular innards, various forcemeats and slices of liver sitting in the bottom. Fresh ground pepper and scallions are sprinkled at last. A careful eater who wants to bring out the full taste of chao long will add fresh bean sprouts, fish sauce, ginger and a squeeze of lime, all of which are available tableside.

see more :  mausoleum ho chi minh

There is a majority of westerners distasting offal in spite of it mild and surprisingly palatable taste. Some people find the consistency quite a turn off while others think that chewiness is subtle and fun.

You are not going to see an aesthetical presentation when it comes to chao long. But you can absolutely rely on it to bring you the warmth in stomach on a chilling winter day.

Where to try 141 Trung Liệt – Đống Đa. One bowl of chao long here set you back about 35.000 vnd.
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Dalat travel phần 2

Where to visit? 

Summer Palace of King Bao Dai (Palace III)

Palace III is one of three imperial palaces of King Bao Dai, the last emperor of the Nguyen Dynasty. Built in 1933, Summer Palace of King Bao Dai offers visitors an insight into life of the royal resident.

Opening hour: 7:00 am – 11:00 am and 1:30 pm – 4:00 pm.

Location: 01 Trieu Viet Vuong Street

Tel: +84 (0) 63 549168

dalat vietnam

Truc Lam Temple (Thien Vien Truc Lam)

Truc Lam Temple was built to restore the spirit of Zen Buddhism in the Tran Dynasty. It features many Buddha images, a pagoda, and a cast bronze bell. Reaching this place by cable car offers visitors majestic view of pine forests.

Cable car prices:

Adult one-way/return: 50,000/70,000 VND

Child 30,000/40,000 VND

Opening hours: Cable car: 7:30 – 11:30 am, 1:30 – 5:00 pm

Crazy House (Hang Nga Guest House and Art Gallery)

This unique architecture is recognized as one of the world’s ten most “bizarre” buildings by the Chinese People’s Daily. It is designed by Dang Viet Nga, a Vietnamese architect and impressionist. Described as a “fairy tale house”, the building resembles a giant tree with exciting elements such as uneven windows, spider webs, mushrooms, caves, tunnel-shaped stairways, etc. There are also ten-themed guest rooms inside the house such as the eagle room, the tiger room, the kangaroo room, etc with furniture and decoration matching the theme. It is an exhilarating experience visiting this place.

Opening hours: 7:00 am to 6:00 pm

Location: 03 Huynh Thuc Khang Street

Tel: +84 (0)63-822070

Dalat Market

Dalat Market is made up of up to 1,000 shops selling various kinds of goods. This busy market offers visitors a chance to feel the vibe of the real Vietnam and to find some interesting and typical goods in Dalat such as wine, flowers, strawberries, avocados, artichokes, etc.

Location: Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Street

Prenn Falls
Dalat

Location: 10 kilometers in the south of Dalat city

Opening hours: 7:00 am – 5:00 pm

Entrance fee: 30,000 VND

Pongour Falls

This is one of the largest and widest waterfalls in Vietnam in rainy season with a height of 20 meters and width of 100 meters.

Location: Tan Hoi Commune, Duc Trong District

Elephant Falls
Dalat Travel Guide

Location: 30 kilometers in the west of the city center.

Entrance ticket: 10,000 VND

Xuan Huong Lake

This manmade lake is one of the major landmarks in Dalat. Beautiful flowers and trees planted along the banks create a stunning landscape. There are many café, restaurants, and accommodation nearby. You can take a swan boat and ride along the lake or rent a tandem bike  (about 20,000 VND/hour) to fully appreciate its beauty.

Lang Biang Mountain

This is the roof of Dalat city with 2.167 meters in height. This is your chance to try some adventurous activities such as trekking, paragliding, and mountain climbing. Lang Biang Mountain features pristine and poetic beauty and legendary of love. It is reachable by a steep paved path (about 3 hours hike).

see more: old quarter hanoi

Valley of Love

Valley of Love is an ideal place for couples. There are rolling green hills, beautiful gardens, lakes, amusement parks. It is also a great sport for canoeing.

Opening hours: 6:00 am – 5:00 pm

Location: Phu Dong Thien Vuong Street (5 kilometers to the north of the city center)

Entrance fee: 40,000 VND

What to eat?
Grilled rice paper with egg (Banh trang nuong)

It’s a kind of Dalat pizza. It’s a rice paper that is barbecued over little charcoal braziers with a mixture of dried small shrimps, one quail egg, and spring onions.

Recommended place: 112 Nguyen Van Troi or dark alleyway between numbers 32 and 34 on 3/2 Street

Price: 12,000 VND/each

Banh can

It is a mini-pancake topped with a quailed egg, sprinkled with spring onions and served with pork meatballs, a sweet fish-sauce.

Try it at: 22 Tang Bat Ho Street or 118 Bui Thi Xuan

Barbecued fermented pork (nem nuong)

This is a roll-your-own spring roll. A thin sheet of rice paper will be filled with a various kind of herbs (including sweet basil, mint, chive, perilla leaf), grilled pork patty (nem nuong), chả ram bắp (fried, crispy sweet corn and rice paper rolls), slices of carrot and then rolled up before dipping in a peanut sauce.

Try it at: B14 Hoang Van Thu Street, 254 Phan Dinh Phung

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Mi Quang

This noodle is special for its rich broth, gigantic pig’s trotter and thick white noodles

Try it at:

A29, Mac Dinh Chi Street. Opening hours: 2:00 – 5:00 pm

Or 58C Phan Dinh Phung Street. Opening hours: from 4:00 pm

Price: 30,000 VND

Interesting about Vietnam

This is your chance to get some interesting information about Vietnam while you can enjoy below fun facts. This will definitely bring you enjoyment and pleasure.

#1 Vietnam – the S-shaped land

The first interesting fact about Vietnam lies in its shape. While Cuba is shaped like a crocodile, Italy is shaped like a boot; Vietnam’s shape resembles a letter S.

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#2 Motorbikes are everywhere

The number of motorbikes in Vietnam has increased in the fast pace. You can see the overwhelming number of motorbikes in streets. There are about 39 million of motorbikes nationwide since it is an affordable means of transportation. Its price and tax are far much cheaper than a car. Motorbikes are everywhere.

A motorbike is used to transport all kinds of things
You may catch sights of people transporting giant packs of things just in their little motorbike and I guess you can never find out how they could handle that.

#3 Coffee paradise

Vietnam, the second largest producer of coffee in the world, is the paradise of coffee. You can find a café in every street corner. They are all tasty, aromatic. You may find various kinds of coffee in this country.

#4 White is beautifulWhile tanned skin is regarded as a sign of strength to Western people, Vietnamese considered that color as sign of low class of laborer working at the fields. To Vietnamese people, white color skin is the symbol of high class and is an ideal skin color. Hence, they wrap themselves up as much as possible when they go outside.

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#5 The most popular family nameNguyen (Nguyễn), the most popular family name in Vietnam, shared by 40% of the population. This surname dates back to emperor period of Nguyen Dynasty.

#6 Kitchen god

Vietnam is the only country that has the deity for the kitchen – Ong Tao. On the 23rd day of the 12th month in lunar calendar, people will buy a carp – a means of transportation for Ong Tao to rush up to heaven and report to the God of Heaven what family members had done in that year.

How to spend one day in Ho Chi Minh

If you choose Ho Chi Minh City as the destination for traveling with a short period of time, I will suggest some typical amazing attractions as well as awesome Vietnamese cuisine that should be on your itinerary for a trip within one day in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Morning
Tao Dan Park (1-2 hours)
Starting your day with a morning walk through Tao Dan Park, popularly known as a four-sided island of calm in the middle of madness with an ideal urban green space, is an optimal choice. In the morning, local people come here for doing exercise, strolling, running and doing tai chi. There’s nothing quite like admiring the lush green garden and sophisticated sculptures and walking through the uninterrupted tree lines to feel the strong vitality of this beautiful S-shaped country as well as the soul beauty of locals. The refreshingly cool air here will energize you and offers the fantastic experience to continue your promisingly wonderful trip within one day in mausoleum Ho Chi Minh.

It is also recommended that you should not miss Pho for breakfast which is one of the most favorite dishes in Vietnam and then sip a small cup of coffee with condensed milk following Vietnamese-style from a vendor along the path of the park.

Ben Thanh Market (1-2 hours)
Ben Thanh Market is an iconic central market and the most visited market in Ho Chi Minh City. A full lively picture of the whole city is portrayed by the exchange activities of local people selling countless necessary items for everyday life including clothes, food, souvenir, handicraft products, cosmetics and so on. One thing you should bear in mind is that if you want to purchase something, a proper negotiation will be preferred as the cost of each item is labeled up.

Here you can buy some popular drinks such as sugarcane juice or lemon tea and witness the atmosphere of hustle and bustle in this crowded city.

War Remnants Museum (1-2 hours)
Paying a visit to this historic War Remnants Museum, you will have a deeper insight in the other side of Vietnam War. The museum gives a clear illustration of the brutality of the war as well as its many civilian victims. Moreover, there’s a collection of precious documents, photos, films, the US vehicles, artillery pieces, bombs and infantry weapons that you can hardly see anywhere else.

Com Nieu Saigon Restaurant for lunchtime (less than 1 hour)From War Remnants Museum, take a 10-munite walk to traditional Com Nieu Saigon Restaurant offering authentic Vietnamese food. Come here and enjoy the local food and the relaxing atmosphere of spatial ancient decoration like a local people. There’s a wide range of choices for you but you should Com Nieu- unique flavor rice displayed in the old clay pot served with other mouth-watering dishes involving stewed fish in the clay pot, braised eggplant with tofu and pork in the clay pot and caramel pork in the clay pot.

After the meal, you should try some desserts such as mixed fresh fruits with yoghurt, banana and mango crepe. Take your time and have a short rest before going to discover the upcoming stunning places.

Afternoon
Saigon Opera House – Ho Chi Minh Municipal Theater (less than 1 hour)
Being one of the most prominent landmarks in Ho Chi Minh City, Saigon Opera House is the artistic treasure of French colonial architecture. Built in 1897 as a classical opera house with 800 seats, the architecture offers the gorgeous interior and exterior with the ornate arch on top.

The best thing to enjoy this legendary museum is by enjoying fabulous shows like the AO Show. In terms of ticket purchase, you can go directly to the venue, in District 1, or book at every travel agency in Ho Chi Minh City.

Additionally, you can walk along Dong Khoi Street with classy and high-end shops, restaurants and coffee shops.

Address: 7 Lam Son Square, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Telephone number:  +84 8 3823 7419

Bitexco Financial Tower – the tallest skyscraper in Saigon (1 – 2hours)Built in 2010, Bitexco Financial Tower ranks the top ten attractive tourist destinations characterized by a 262-metre commercial building with 68 levels with the total area of more than 37,000 square meters. The unique shape of this modern building was drawn from the Lotus- Vietnamese’s national flower representing purity, faithfulness and hopefulness by the world most renowned architect Carlos Zapata.

The highlight of the Bitexco Financial Tower is Skydeck Observatory in the 49th floor. From here, you will have a panoramic view of the fabulous and breath-taking view of the cosmopolitan Saigon and surrounding areas.

It can be said that Skydeck is a must-see site when coming to visit Ho Chi Minh City to get the sense of exciting experience.

Entrance fee for Skydeck:

200 000 VND for adults
130 000VND for children aging 4 to 12
Address: 45 Ngo Duc Ke, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City

See more:  things to do in ho chi minh

Evening
Bui Vien Street (1-2 hours)
Hanoi is famous for crowded Ta Hien Street while Ho Chi Minh City is renowned for Bui Vien Street, which is the main street stretching through backpackers’ area in District 1. This street is full of travellers from every corner of the world coming together for eating street food, drinking draught beer and enjoying the chaotic atmosphere here.

Crowded Bui Vien StreetThere are numerous restaurants, bars, nightclubs, and budget hotels and hostels, which are the ideal place for those who desire meeting like-minded people. You can have dinner here with Vietnamese BBQ meal laid on the simple wooden table at the corner of this street. Similarly, drinking some beers or soft drinks is a good choice to have a good meal.

Saigon Saigon Bar (1-2 hours)End your night at Saigon Saigon Bar belonging to the luxurious and sparkling five-star Caravelle Saigon Hotel and then enjoy drinks while watching live performances from excellent artists. From here, you can have a look at the hustle city.