Tours of North Vietnam

Hello

Over a year ago, I posted a long message with all my tours in North Vienam, which I do frequently since I live in Hanoi. The country is moving VERY fast, things appear (or disappear like Lai Chau/Muang Say, evacuated because the valley will be flooded by a dam), new hotels open, etc and I have discovered a lot of new things. Therefore, I put here the notes completely revised. Don't hesitate to contact me if you need more infos

**NORTH-EAST VIETNAM**

One Day Bicycle Tour to Thay and Tay Phuong Pagodas

At 8:00 you will be met up at your hotel in Hanoi by Lotussia Travel team. After a short briefing and warming up exercise, upload your bikes on the support vehicle and travel south.

Vietnamese New Year

Tet Lunar New Year (The first day of Lunar New Year) This is the biggest celebration of the year in Vietnam. Like Christmas, a tree is set up in every house and a feast is prepared. Shops and businesses are closed for the entire week. It is an occasion for gathering of family and friends. Tet is a time for family reunions, exchanging gifts, best wishes, forgiving others, paying debts; in short, to start the new year with a clean slate, or else bad luck curse will remain with your for the coming year. Literally, Tet Nguyen Dan means the first morning of the first day of the new period. Officially, it marks the beginning of a new year on the lunar calendar. In reality, it is a friendly, festive, family holiday. Painstaking care is given to starting the year out right, since it is believed the first day and the first week of the new year will determine the fortunes or misfortunes for the rest of the year.

Travel to Vietnam for New Years 2011 - Tet Holiday

Besides the idyllic weather, visiting Vietnam during the Tet celebration can be a wonderful time, but it does pose a specific set of challenges and has some nuances. Because of this we have put together an overview of a sample itinerary that will highlight the best Vietnam has to offer during the Tet celebration.

Bai Dinh, the biggest pagoda in ASEAN

Bai Dinh Pagoda is famous for its great size and imposingness. The pagoda will be also set more record for the owner of the most Arhat Statues in ASEAN with 500 Arhat statues made of stone and stand higher than human’s head.

Located behind a range of limestone mountains in Gia Sinh Commune, Gia Vien District, Ninh Binh Province, the site with construction lying about in disorder and in the way, so it is difficult to imagine its beauty as well as its solemn to a pagoda in the true sense of the word as the  tradition. However, its great size and imposingness can be felt by anybody when visiting it one time. Its back leans against the Bai Dinh Mountain with the height of 200m. The area for constructing Ba Dinh Pagoda is 80ha, which is located on the mass of “Bai Dinh Pagoda hallowed culture” belonging to Trang An Tourism Area. Currently, this mass is executing many items of Pagoda including Tam The (Past, Present and Future) Temple, Sanctuary and Bodhisatva Kwan Yin statue, Dharma Temple, Bell-tower, Three-door temple gate, and dormitory area for Buddhist monks, etc. In front of Pagoda valley, a hundred of  excavators, bulldozers and power-shovels are digging land and build up a dike to make a  huge semicircular lake, which will be taken water from the river crossing to create a landscape of “on shore and under boat” like the Yen Stream flowing under the foot of Huong Tich Pagoda.

Vietnamese Culture

The richness of Vietnam’s origins is evident throughout its culture. Spiritual life in Vietnam is a grand panoply of belief systems, including Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism, Christianity, and Tam Giao (literally ‘triple religion’), which is a blend of Taoism, popular Chinese beliefs, and ancient Vietnamese animism.

Tet Vietnam Lunar New Year

Tet is the most important and popular holiday and festival in Vietnam which is around late January or early February, depends on each year. It is also an occasion for family reunions and forgetting about the troubles of the past year and hoping for a better upcoming year. This custom has become sacred and secular and, therefore, no matter where they are or whatever the circumstances, family members find ways to come back to meet their loved ones.

Holidays in Vietnam

Like Chinese, Vietnamese people follow the standard 12-month calendar, otherwise known as the Gregorian or solar calendar used in the West. However, most of Vietnam's small village fetes and holidays follow the traditional Chinese calendar, which has 355 days and adds a "leap month" every three years or so to keep up with the solar calendar. Following the Chinese lunar calendar means that most holidays correspond with full moon (on the 15th of each lunar month) or no moon (on the 1st); it also means that holidays fall on different calendar dates each year. For example: Tet, the Lunar New Year and Vietnam's biggest holiday, will be on February 3, 2011.

Vietnam tours boom during Christmas, New Year

Vietnam Travel firms reported an increasing demand for Vietnam tours and abroad tours on Christmas and New Year holidays this year. Many cited the fact that the holidays fall on weekends, which is a motivating factor for the enthusiasm.

Vietnam Travel Package 2010, Vietnam Travel Packages 2011-2012

The national park of Cuc Phuong boats one of the best preserved tropical forests in Vietnam. This morning we take a short drive to the park headquarter before we set off on a half day walk in the jungle. This is home to many species of plant and rare animals, several of which we may see on our trekking.

Hue

Understand

Hue is intimately connected to the imperial Nguyễn Dynasty, based in Hue, who ruled from 1802 to 1945, when the Emperor Bao Dai abdicated in favor of Ho Chi Minh's revolutionary government. The city went through tough times during the Vietnam War, when it was conquered by the Viet Cong and held for 24 days, during which the VC slaughtered around 1,000 people suspected of sympathizing with the South, and then subject to an American bombing campaign to retake the city.

Merry Christmas on Halong bay (viet nam tours )

Seasons Greetings is coming. Vietnam Holiday Now would like to send the warmest and best wishes to all our value customers. On this occasion, we launch an elegant and luxury Halong bay cruise trip on newly-built White Dolphin cruise plus with very special offer. Here is the trip in details:

Night on Cat Ba Island

So much for a lie in this morning, we were all woken up at 6am when they turned on the engines in order for us all to be up for a 7am breakfast. We ate breakfast and had to be out of our rooms for 8am so that they could start cleaning them for the next set of people who arrive on the boat at around 11am.

Christmas in Vietnam

Vietnam is predominantly a Buddhist country but come Christmas time and the country takes on a Catholic tinge and Christmas is celebrated with much fervor and gusto. This is because the Vietnamese are a fun-loving, sociable people and the various Vietnam festivals & events are actually occasions for them to a gala time, all together. Christmas in Vietnam is a grand party.

Vietnam travel in month discount

The hub of Vietnam travel, Ho Chi Minh City(HCMC), will launch a month-long promotion for visitors to the city with attractive discounts from December 15 to January 15. It will promote the city as a tourist destination during the high season, the tourism department said.

$450, Highlights of Sapa & Halong Bay 6 Days/5 Nights

Departure:    From Hanoi . Date upon request
Duration:      6 Days / 5 Nights
Price:            Please contact us for update quotation
Tour Code:    DH - VHT05
Highlights:   Hanoi , Lao Cai , Sapa , Cat Cat , Lao Chai , Ta Van Village , Halong Bay