He said he was really nervous at the beginning of the adventure tour, but excitement had gradually taken over and he overcame his fears.

Most tourists feel the same way Taub and Keagel did, when they look at the vertical cliff face they have to climb down.

They feel slightly safer though, when the travel companies in Dalat give them a short course on basic climbing skills and prepare them for any mishaps on the way down.

Tran Tuan Hiep, a trainer from travel firm Highland Holiday, says it is important for people to know how to maintain their balance during the rope-assisted climb down, but it’s crucial that they know how to regain their stance if they slip. Abseiling is not as easy as it sounds.

Staying calm is the best advice for climbers, as it will help them think clearly if they encounter a problem.

At the end of the climb, as a kind of trophy for scaling the waterfall, participants are given shorts and a printed T-shirt.  

A one-day cliff and waterfall adventure costs VND600, 000 (US$31.5) per person for a group of two to five guests and VND400, 000 (around US$21) per person for a group of at least six people. The price also covers transfers between hotel and the area where the adventure begins, and sandwiches for lunch.

“Once I carried him on my motorbike in Tra Vinh and he saw a foreigner who couldn’t communicate with a

salesperson, so he got off the motorbike to help, ” Khai’s mother Nguyen Nguyet Quang recalled about the first time she witnessed her son working as an interpreter.

Khai has worked as an interpreter for hundreds of travelers to Vietnam. He works with 5-6 visitors a day on average and travelers keep Khai’s contact information and give it to others.

“I’ve never received money from visitors because I wish to help them. Moreover, I can improve my English when I help them, ” Khai said.

This boy has many international English certificates like Cambridge Young Learners English Test – STARTE; Cambridge Young Learners English Test – MOVERS; Cambridge Young Learners English Test – FLYERS and KET.

Bui Ngoc Suong, chairman of the local people’s committee, said the plan had been created by Vietnamese companies and the US-based design company WAGT.

Under the plan, the district would be transformed into an economic, tourism and administrative centre.

The Duong Dong urban area, the district’s administrative centre, would be expanded to 2, 500ha where international trade and finance centres, as well as community and service facilities, would be located.

In an aim to attract 2-3 million tourists each year, the district has so far attracted nearly 230 projects, most of them in tourism.

To meet development demands, airports, ports and a transportation system are being built.

More than half of the Duong To Airport project has been completed, and investors are preparing to build facilities like parking lots and access roads.

Construction on the 950-ha airport began in November 2008 with total investment capital of VND16.2 trillion (US$852 million).

Suong said if investment continued as planned, the airport was expected to be completed on time at the end of the second quarter of 2012.

The Duong To airport is one of eleven projects being carried out on the island, while another 220 projects have been postponed.

Pham Vu Hong, deputy chairman of the Phu Quoc District’s People’s Committee, said the projects were postponed because the water, electric supply and transportation system was unable to meet the construction demands of investors.

The delay of many projects was also due to the lack of capacity of certain investors, according to the Phu Quoc Island investment and development managing board.

The chairman of the province’s People’s Committee said that it would cancel the licenses of projects that had been delayed without appropriate reasons.

One of those projects, which would have been located in Cua Can Ward, was proposed by Quoc Do Trade, Tourism and Security Limited Company.

The company was allotted land to build a tourism site in April 2007 and was asked by the provincial administration to build it within six months.

However, although the district authority extended the project deadline many times, it was never carried out, and no reasons were given.

In July 2007, the provincial authorities also approved a US$1 million 542-ha eco-tourism site owned by the Starbay Holdings Limited Company. However, the site for the project is still deserted for no apparent reason.

Tran Kieu Hung, vice chairman of the Cua Can Ward’s People’s Committee, said 19 tourism projects that had been on paper for many years had not been developed.

The investors disappeared after they received the licences, Hung said.

Phu My forging village is 110 years old and Cho Thu woodwork village has existed since the 18^th century. Besides, there are craft villages specializing in making Cham brocade.

In 2007, An Giang Tourism Department started a trial tour program that became successful. To date, five tours have been built to bring tourists to 12 craft villages. This has helped craft villages advertise and sell their products.

Bui Thi Dung from An Giang Industry and Trade Department reported that this is a new solution to preserve and develop craft villages.

In Dong Thap province, there are 44 traditional craft villages, including Lai Vung nem (spring roll) village and Sa Dec flower village, that attract hundreds of thousands tourists every year. Nguyen Thi Nga, General Director of the Dong Thap Tourism Company, revealed that they transport 1000 tourists to Sa Dec flower village every month. They are also considering new tours to bring more tourists to other villages in the province as well.

 Bui Thi Hong Ha, Deputy Director of the An Giang Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, called the initial achievements encouraging, but added that the potential of these craft villages has not been fully exploited. In An Giang, for example, there are many original craft villages, but just that have arranged tours.

“Most craft villages have poor infrastructure and small production scale, so, it is very difficult to build up tourism, ” Ha noted.

“Especially, residents do not know anything about tourism and marketing, ” Ha added. Tan Chau silk is famous and many tourists want to buy it, but the products are not sold at restaurants or hotels.

Vu Kim Anh, Deputy Director of the HCM City Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, also admitted that the many travel firms in HCM City cannot build tours to bring travelers to famous craft villages like Go Vap flower village.

So far, nearly 100 foreign and local martial art troupes, including 1, 200 instructors and practitioners, have registered to attend the festival, said the organising board on July 13.

The festival is part of the activities to celebrate the 1, 000th anniversary of Thang Long – Hanoi.

During the event, an exhibition will be held for the first time to display weapons and martial arts costumes of Vietnam, focusing on Tay Son – a martial art sect of Binh Dinh province.

There will be a photo exhibition taking the theme of the people and sceneries of central Vietnam and the Central Highlands region.

Vietnam Sightseeing tours to six well-known martial arts schools in Binh Dinh province are expected to help visitors understand how martial arts have been taught and upheld in Vietnam.

Roses for mid-level star hotels

A survey on Vietnam hotels service released in mid-June by the Grant Thornton business advisory firm reveals two distinct tendencies.  Business at two and three star hotels held up well during the Great Recession and now their business is booming.  Business at four and five star establishments on the other hand, tanked in 2009 and has yet to recover.

The survey covered 50 hotels and resorts across the country, offering a total of 7911 rooms.

Room occupancy at three star hotels in Hanoi in 2009 was two percent above 2008; occupancy fell about ten percent at the elite hotels.  Revenue per available room at the three star hotels increased by 0.9 percent in 2009, but fell at the elite hotels.

“We are seeing a pronounced shift in the preferences of clients” said Ken Atkinson, Managing Director of Grant Thornton in Vietnam.  The tourism expert predicts the tendency will continue in 2010

Director Phan Dinh Hue of the Vong Trong Viet agency concurs.  He reports that about 60 percent of his firm’s foreign tourist clients are choosing two or three star hotels, while nearly 70 percent of domestic travelers chose medium class hotels.

“Foreign travelers used to always ask for four star hotels.  Nowadays they mostly choose to stay at three star hotels.” Hue said.

A representative of Vietravel adds that in the first six months of the 2010year, 60 percent of the firm’s clients chose three star hotels.

Tran Kim Long, General Director of Bong Sen Co., says that the company’s three star Bong Sen Saigon and two star Bong Sen Annex now have clients who previously always put up at elite hotels.  Another HCMC hotelier, Thuy Cung at the three star Sapphire, confirms that business is improving steadily.

The Thornton survey found that the average cost of a room at a three star hotel in 2009 was $43, off only two percent from 2008.  At four star hotels, the average room cost $75, off 12 percent from the previous year.  At the five stars, average room prices fell to $130, a drop of 33 percent.

Elite hotels face a sea of troubles

Sven von Moock, a senior executive at the Norfolk Hotel on HCM City’s Nguyen Du street, said that in 2009 his establishment saw a 38 percent decrease in room occupancy even though the hotel reduced its rates by an average 18 percent.

“Most of our clients are businessmen, ” Moock said, “and it is understandable that they have to cut down expenses during a difficult period.  Scaling back their hotel outlays is a typical strategy.”

Thoi bao Kinh te Saigon newspaper reports that four and five star hotels in Ho Chi Minh City all have seen their hotel room occupancy drop significantly. Some hotels are only forty to fifty percent booked.

The Grant Thornton report said that in 2009 the occupancy ratio of five star hotels decreased by 6.3 percent on average.  Business was off a whopping 14 percent at four star hotels.

Notwithstanding current difficulties, luxury hoteliers remain optimistic. “When the  economy fully recovers, clients will surely return to 4-5 star hotels, ” said Moock at the Norfolk.

Hue from Vong Tron Viet also judges that the difficulties of high grade hotels are just temporary. “Clients will choose the hotels which can provide better services even though when they have to pay more money, ” Hue said.

Bat Trang Village is about 15 kilometers from the Red River and next to Phung Cong Commune. Famous for tea flower trees, Phung Cong has been considered the cradle for the trend of growing bonsai trees in Northern Vietnam. 

Today, the commune is also well-known for rang bua cake which is popular for its distinguished flavor and taste. 

Rang bua cake got its name as its shape looks like a rake used for farming. The cake is made of rice soaked in water and grinded in lime water. Then the rice flour will be boiled until half-done and husked one more time so that the flour can become viscous, sticky and leathery. The process of making the dough is very important as it decides the cake’s quality. 

The kernel of the cake includes meat, dried onion and wood-ear mushroom. The dried onion will be fried until it pervades fragrance and then will continue to be fried with small sliced pork together with wood-ear mushroom, pepper and fish sauce. 

The cake will be wrapped by dong (phrynium) leaves to be steamed or boiled in lime water. 

Wrapping cakes also requires carefulness and dexterity. After spreading the dough on the leaf, makers will put the kernel into the center of the flour and then wrap it up in the shape of a rake that swells out in the middle and becomes smaller at the two ends. 

Makers often take dong leaves that grow in alluvium plains along the Red River. Dong leaves are soft, leathery and green. 

The investor plans to build the Mui Dinh complex on the total area of 800ha in Phuoc Dinh Commune, Thuan Nam District. The complex will comprise a tourism urban area, hi-end resort, tourism and trade centres.

Previously, Polo Beach had proposed a similar project in the central province of Binh Thuan, said Binh Thuan’s Department of Planning and Investment director Luong Van Hai.

Though receiving an in principle approval from the local authorities, the project however failed to get the final approval from the Prime Minister due to some problems relating to surveying the titanium reserve in the province, Hai said.

Other domestic and foreign investors have met similar problems in Binh Thuan.

After disembarking the Indochina Sails Junk onto a smaller wooden boat, we sail towards the shore of Ngoc Vung Island along with my fellow travellers and a bunch of mountain bikes. We are off for a cycling tip across this mysterious island which sits amongst the awe inspiring Halong archipelago. Ngoc Vung (Mother Pearl) island is 50km from Halong City’s Wharf.

Once all around the island you could plunge below and find a plethora of pearls, hence the name ‘Mother Pearl’ island. The island is 12 square kilometers in area with over 1, 000 inhabitants living mainly off fishing, farming, aquaculture and afforesting.

“If you see the island from helicopter, Ngoc Vung looks like a beautiful velvet handkerchief with white edging, ” says the captain of Huong Hai junk. “It seems to be floating on the water’s surface.” “Once upon a time, when night fell, the island would have been illuminated by the incandescent pearls below, ” he continues, lost in his own happy reverie. Too bad, I reflect, that these finite ocean treasures have been plundered.

After we arrive at the island’s small wharf we grab our bikes and prepare to cycle to the east side of the island where we’ve been promised we will find deserted beaches. We take a coastal road that skirts the island’s hilly terrain. The road is spectacular. There is never a chance to get bored with stunning views of land and sea.

Off the shoreline fishermen are caulking their bamboo boat with tar or scrapping worms off the panels of their wooden boats. Along the road several women are mending fishing nets or drying peanuts. Up the hilly slopes, children blithely tend to oxen or geese. On the verdant paddy fields farmers pull up weeds or busy themselves with fresh water ponds of fish and shrimp. We’re told you can find big fish in these little ponds.

One farmer we meet along the way, says, “Last week, my uncle caught a butterfish weighing over 10 kg.” For those worried about cycling on country roads on remote islands, Ngoc Vung boasts fairly smooth infrastructure all round. There is certainly little by way of traffic. Just the odd three-wheeled vehicle or motorbike passes by. Life on the island is simple. If you’re after tranquillity, it is here in spades.

“Everybody here knows each other very well, ” says Mien, who transports goods around the island in his three-wheeled vehicle. “Whenever someone is sick everyone on the island comes to wish them a speedy recovery. Whenever a family has bad luck, everyone is ready to help them.

I have never locked the door to my house. Here we are one big family.” The cycle from the wharf to the beach is rather short, just 5km, so even if you’re not a keen cyclist you should find it easy enough. There is no need to rush, no need to stress out. We stop frequently and bask in the island’s natural beauty.

When we finally arrive at the white sandy beach, it glistens under the sunshine. There is not a soul bathing on the beach. For tourists looking for a remote hidden getaway spot this fits the bill. That of course means you have zero by the way of services – no bars or restaurants, no showers or toilets. But that’s why we’re here: To escape the crowds and bask in our own little private paradise. We park our bicycles under the pine-trees where a small tent has been set up for us to change into our swimsuits.

Then, one by one, we run for the clear blue waters and dive in. After swimming, sun-bathing and walking along the beach, with heavy hearts we cycle back towards the boat. But the fun isn’t over. After sailing away from Ngoc Vung we clamber into kayaks and paddle towards Cong Do, a floating fishing village in Bai Tu Long bay, 25km southeast of Halong city. There are over 50 floating houses and boats nestled in amongst a series of green rocky stacks and islets.

Covered from the wind that sweeps across the sea, all around the floating village the water is extremely calm. We paddle through as the villagers go about their daily business. Fishermen mend nets, women cook up meals or wash clothes while kids jump and splash outside in their watery gardens.

One of the houses is an arresting shade of pink. We can’t help but head towards it. The owners, a recently married couple, tell us that they spent VND200 million building the house. They have a baby on the way and previously had lived on a small fishing boat. This pink house on the high seas was where they were settling down to raise a family.

Getting there You can travel to Ngoc Vung island by boat from Halong wharf, but remember there are no hotels, restaurants so make sure you arrange a round-trip! The locals here are very friendly and there may be a possibility of a homestay accommodation with a homecooked seafood dinner. An easier way to go about it is to book a tour.

You can join a three-day and two-night tour with Indochina Sails that includes visiting Ngoc Vung as well as caves, fishing villages, swimming and kayaking in spots all across the World Heritage Site Halong Bay. Shorter trips to the island are also possible. Indochina Sails, 04 984 2362, indochinasails.com