Christmas atmosphere is everywhere in Vietnam

Posted on December 21, 2012 by IndochinaSails

How is Christmas in Vietnam celebrated?  Despite Christmas not being traditionally celebrated in Vietnam, the Christmas spirit has certainly arrived in recent years, with decorations proudly lacing many an office and apartment building. Today, Christmas is one of the major festivals in Vietnam and celebrated with much enthusiasm by people of almost all religious communities.


Unlike Christmas in the United State, where most of celebration in the home with home cooked   meals and family gathering, the Vietnam hold the event outside. On Christmas Eve and the morning of Christmas Day – December 25th, there is a large focus in the church. People go to many churches around the cities or towns to enjoy the Christmas atmosphere. For the Christians, it is a solemn ceremony. For others, this is an interesting spectacle. The biggest, most crowded and beautiful church in Hanoi is the Saint Joseph Cathedral and in Ho Chi Minh City is the Notre Dame Cathedral (or Notre-Dame Basilica). Both of these cathedrals are in the center of the cities. In other cities or provinces, they do not have many interesting activities like Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City, but with the Christians, Christmas is still the most important occasions in a year.

Another interesting way in Vietnam enjoins Christmas in Halong bay, one of the world nature wonders. Spending the Christmas Eve in the traditional Vietnamese Junk would be much better than staying in the city. Santa will arrive by dingy at midnight bringing some small gifts for everyone on board. To sing Christmas songs together, you won’t forget about a special christmas in Vietnam.


For more information about cruise in Halong bay, please visit: http://www.indochinasails.com/

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Tips for cruising with children in Halong Bay

Posted on December 14, 2012 by IndochinaSails

It is a great experience when your family can spend time travelling together. However, travelling with children can cause some difficulties for parents. Here are some tips that parents should know when joining a cruise in Halong Bay:

Preparation

Clothes: make sure that you bring warm clothes in the winter and comfortable clothes in the summer for the children.
Others: you also should bring some medicine in case your children are not fine.

Safety on board

The safety on board is very important, especially for children, parents should:
Always take notice of the children, keep them in your sight.
Make sure that children do not climb on the handrail or the railing on boat. Children are not allowed to stand on the bow.
Ask the staffs on board to show you the life vests for children.

Activities on board

Children can join the activities on board like: cave visiting, kayaking, swimming or fishing village but they need their parents’ attention. Before each activity, children need to be told in advance about the safety so that they are more careful to follow the instructions.
Children also need to be well- equipped with life vests during all the activities.
The role of the tour guide and staffs on board
Take care more, playing and chatting with them.
Ask the parents if the children need to have dinner early as they need to go to bed earlier than adults.
Check with the parents if the menu for adults is also suitable with children; otherwise, the alternative food should be prepared.
Prepare some games for children.

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Enjoy Lobsters When Visiting Halong Bay

Posted on November 24, 2012 by IndochinaSails

When you are on your favourite Vietnam Tours and you think you have marvelled enough on the beauty of Halong Bay, then you have only satisfied one of your senses. Of course the landscape, the emerald sea, the more or less 2000 limestone karst and the beautiful junk boat cruises leave nothing but beautiful visual memories. World travellers say that if you want classical music and refined culture you go to Prague, but if you want amazing wonders of nature you go to Halong Bay. This was a fact recognized worldwide as Halong Bay was officially named one of the Seven Wonders of the World in 2012. On top of that, since 1994, the bay was already listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. But do you know that the perfect Halong Bay experience of your best Vietnam tours is more than what meets your eyes?

Enjoy-Lobsters-When-Visiting-Halong-Bay


Once you reach Bai Chai City when your Vietnam Tours adventure brings you to Halong Bay it is recommended that you take a journey down gourmet lane as you take a sample of the city’s delicious seafood selections. All the seafood is fresh as they were ordered by the restaurant owners early in the morning directly from the boat of fisherman docking on the beach. This means you can be sure that the flavour of the sea is still not lost on the lobster that is going to be served to you. If you want the surest way to eating the freshest lobster, then go to restaurants that have lobster tanks where you can choose a live lobster to be cooked exclusively for you by the resident chef. You will enjoy a sumptuous meal of lobster cooked Vietnam style and this means that only fresh ingredients are used to cook your live lobster.

Once you have tasted the best lobster on your Vietnam Tours travel in Bai Chai City, it is time to enjoy your lobster to the next level. On Halong Bay’s biggest island, you will experience fine dining on board a floating restaurant. And what could be better than eating your favourite seafood on top of the bay that offers its own bounty. On Cat Ba Island, seafood is ordered from floating villages that have their own aquaculture. Residents of these floating houses tend lovingly their fish cages full time since it is attached to their house and that means only seafood of top quality is going to be served on your table.

After enjoying a hearty meal of lobster on the floating restaurants, why not treat yourself to a relaxing foot massage. A half hour foot massage cost only $3.00 and they are available in several places in Cat Ba town. You can also go to the North West side of town and roam around the market place. The seafood section will give you an idea of how rich and bountiful Halong Bay is to its own people as you will see so many varieties of fish caught locally. You may not believe this but about 200 species of fish and more than 400 kinds of molluscs provide the daily sustenance of locals. They also can absolutely satiate your hunger for extraordinary seafood on your Vietnam tours excursion to Halong Bay.
So what are you waiting for? It’s time to pack your plate and fork and be ready to enjoy lobsters in the very beautiful Halong Bay.

Source:internet

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Ha Long Week aims at European market

Posted on November 21, 2012 by IndochinaSails
The Ha Long Week 2012 will take place in the northern province of Quang Ninh from November 27-30 at Ha long city, with a focus on European market. During the week, participants and European tourists will have the chance to enjoy art and cultural programmes, join a picture drawing competition on Ha Long Bay, Yen Tu heritage site. Moreover, there will be a workshop introducing tourism potential and investment opportunities in Quang Ninh.

Co-organised by the provincial People’s Committee and the national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines, the event expects to attract the participation of 140 international representatives from leading tourism companies and travel agencies from France, Belgium, Holland, Germany and the United Kingdom.

Ms. Vu Thi Thu Thuy, Deputy Chairman, Organizing Committee Week Ha Long 2012 said: With the purpose promote the tourism image of Ha Long City, Quang Ninh to European markets; create conditions for tour operators, hotels, transportation … of Quang Ninh been direct exchanged, cooperated with Europe tour operators, agencies, media firms and the big tour operators in Vietnam.

Halong Week 2012 program is an opportunity for media agencies, tour operators of the major markets in Europe, the major tour operators of Vietnam recognize and directly experience the tourism product, travel services of Halong, Quang Ninh and Vietnam. At the same time, through this program, the local tourism management, tourism businesses in Quang Ninh Province and Vietnam will receive the opinions of the travel businesses from the tourism market largest in the world as well as to receive evaluations from global travel agencies for better services.

Source: dtnews

Supported by Indochina Sails – The most luxury and safest cruises in Halong Bay

INDOCHINA SAILS

Hanoi Office

Add: 27 – A6 – Dam Trau Quarter – Hai Ba Trung District – Hanoi – Vietnam

Tel: +84 – 4- 39842362

Fax: +84 – 4 – 39844150

Email: info@indochinasails.com

Website: www.indochinasails.com (http://www.indochinasails.com/en/)

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Vietnam wants waterway tourism safety

Posted on October 25, 2012 by IndochinaSails
The number of life jackets on tourist boats accommodating guests overnight must be twice the number of passengers on board, according to the draft of a circular to be issued by the Ministry of Transport.
The forthcoming regulation will require all passengers on board to be equipped with sufficient life jackets in the bedrooms, while the remainder must be available in dining, bar and working decks.
When coming out the rule will apply to all overnight tourist boats, and floating restaurants and hotels.
Under the draft, overnight tourist boats in lakes, rivers and coastal waters must be equipped with at least eight life-saving buoys, with each side of the boat having four.
Life saving equipment must be easily seen on board the boat and must have detailed instructions on them. If lifesaving jackets cannot be placed near passengers due to the vessel’s specifications, ship owners must increase the number of life saving appliances.
To ensure safety, exit doors must be always unlocked and available to passengers at all time and exit directions must be highlighted for them to recognize in case of emergency.
Owners must equip their ships and floating facilities with loudspeakers to announce emergency situations to each cabin. Announcements and directions must be in both Vietnamese and English.
Source: Vietnam tourism

Supported by Indochina Sails – The most luxury and safest cruises in Halong Bay
INDOCHINA SAILS
Hanoi Office
Add: 27 – A6 – Dam Trau Quarter – Hai Ba Trung District – Hanoi – Vietnam
Tel: +84 – 4- 39842362
Fax: +84 – 4 – 39844150
Email: info@indochinasails.com

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Kayaking in Halong Bay – Things to know

Posted on October 15, 2012 by IndochinaSails

Halong Bay attracts thousands of passengers every month. Nearly five hundred cruises run every day and hundreds of passengers stay on board every night. Halong Bay is famous for its natural beauty and thousands of limestone islands and islets.When you are on board, you admire the majestic beauty of the Bay but when you GET closer to the limestone islands, discover the beauty yourself, you admire its nature. But… how to get closer? The best way is joining kayaking activity.

Kayak in Halong Bay?


This is a small, relatively narrow, human-powered boat primarily designed to be manually propelled by means of a double blade paddle.

How to use a kayak?

Kayaking is generally assumed to be very safe in these calm waters of Halong Bay but there is still some areas and warning that you should avoid and listen to the tour guide. Kayaking is not difficult; however, to enjoy it completely, you need some tip:

Preparation do not skip this stage

  • Suitable clothes: T-shirt and short, swimming suit in the summer; warm clothes in the winter; wet shoes, hat, sunglasses
  • Necessary things: Water, sun cream, dry bag, camera, insect repellent
  • Life vests


Medical box and food (for the long duration)

  • Follow your tour guide: it is very important
  • Listen to the route, time and rules
  • Learn how to use the kayak even it is not your first time kayaking, wear the life vest and use the dry bag
  • Strictly follow the leader (tour guide) about the moving rules
  • Check with your tour guide the weather, tide and wind strength to have the best and safest route.
  • Keep a suitable distance with the others, not too far, keep in sight with the others
  • Keep away from the places which have strong flow, against the wind; take advantage of the wind strength and flow.

What about the children?

  • Follow the tour guide and their parents
  • Sit still in the kayak, do not move in front of or behind
  • Wear the life vest
  • Wear the hat and sun cream

Handle unexpected situations:

  • Adjust the speed of the whole group if any of the member is out of sight
  • In case the kayak capsizes, passengers need to swim a bit, and then take the water out of the kayak with the help of the tour guide. He will catch thekayak; take the water out by putting your kayak on his in the T- shape. After that, he will put the kayak back into the water; keep it still so that passengers can be on the kayak again.
  • If there is an expected storm, find the safest place in the sheltered areas, beaches… to avoid the storm. In case passengers are in the middle of the sea and cannot find a safe place, passengers need to be gathered to make a raft
  • If you are not sure about the route you are going, you should keep in touch with the others and paddle around the mountain, you will not be lost. Passengers should know for sure the route, search on the map.
  • It is better if passengers have mobile phone, radio or any means of communication (often for professional kayakers)

Supported by Indochina Sails – The most luxury and safest cruises in Halong Bay

INDOCHINA SAILS Hanoi Office

Add: 27 – A6 – Dam Trau Quarter – Hai Ba Trung District – Hanoi – Vietnam

Tel: +84 – 4- 39842362Fax: +84 – 4 – 39844150

Email: info@indochinasails.com

Website: www.indochinasails.com

Posted in Ha Long Boat, Ha Long Kayaking, Ha Long Tour, Ha Long cruise, Halong Bay, Halong Bay junks, Halong Boat, halong bay boat, halong bay cruise, halong bay deluxe, halong bay junk, halong bay kayak, halong bay resort, halong bay vacation, halong bay vacations | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Vietnam Mid Autumn Festival_The children’s festival

Posted on September 26, 2012 by IndochinaSails

In Vietnam, Têt-Trung-Thu (tet-troong-thoo) or the Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the most popular family holidays. It is held on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month.


Vietnamese families plan their activities around their children on this special day. In a Vietnamese folklore, parents were working so hard to prepare for the harvest that they left the children playing by themselves. To make up for lost time, parents would use the Mid-Autumn festival as an opportunity to show their love and appreciation for their children.

Appropriately, the Mid-Autumn Festival is also called the Children’s Festival. In the United States, this tradition continues in many Vietnamese-American communities. Trung-Thu activities are often centered around children and education. Parents buy lanterns for their children so that they can participate in a candlelit lantern procession at dawn. Lanterns represent brightness while the procession symbolizes success in school. Vietnamese markets sell a variety of lanterns, but the most popular children’s lantern is the star lantern. Other children’s activities include arts and crafts in which children make face masks and lanterns. Children also perform traditional Vietnamese dances for adults and participate in contests for prizes and scholarships. Unicorn dancers are also very popular in Trung-Thu festivities.
Like the Chinese, Vietnamese parents tell their children fairy tales and serve mooncakes and other special treats under the silvery moon. A favorite folklore is about a carp that wanted to become a dragon. The carp worked and worked and eventually transformed itself into a dragon. This is the story behind the mythical symbol, Cá hóa Rông. Parents use this story to encourage their children to work hard so that they can become whatever they want to be.

There’s also a story about how the Moon Lady ascended to the moon. A man named Chu Coi found a lucky that had special healing powers. Because this tree was sacred, people were forbidden to urinate at the foot of this tree. Unfortunately, Chu Coi’s wife, Chi Hang forgot the rule and urinated on the tree. On day, while she was sitting on the tree’s branch, the tree started to grow and grow. Eventually, it reached the moon, Since then, Chi Hang lived on the moon for the rest of her life as a punishment for desecrating the sacred tree.

It can be said that the meaning of Mid-Autumn Festival has changed over time. Originally, it’s not only a special day for children, but also for adult. Today, it’s Children’s Festival and the Mid-Autumn Festival is still a meaningful tradition. It’s the sense of caring, of gratitude, of friendship, of family gathering, and of showing the love.  We – Vietnamese citizens should maintain and develop this noble sense.

Please enjoy Mid-Autumn Festival with Indochina Sails !!!
Indochina Sails:
Email: info@indochinasails.com
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Great 3 day trip through Halong Bay!

Posted on September 21, 2012 by IndochinaSails

Coppy right Blogger BertBo

Amsterdam, The Netherlands

We had booked a 3 day trip through Halong Bay with Indochina Sails on board of their Indochina Sails 1 or 2 and we stayed in two Superior rooms. A good mid size boat with in total 15 cabins.It was GREAT ! Luxury boat, excellent service, nice cabins, great program, fine sun deck with deck chairs, cool lounge, sunny clear weather and above all the stunning beauty of Halong Bay.

Halong Bay is actually quite a risky location as is is often foggy and it is known for its rainy days. Well, that is just a matter of ‘luck’. In all kinds of weather Halong Bay has a certain magic, and when sailing through you sort of expect a dragon to appear any time…..
The first day soon we arrived at Luon Cave after an excellent lunch. We explored the area in a sea kayak; great fun and good opportunity to be active.
Stay on the sun deck having an early afternoon drink and enjoy the stunning sunset in Halong Bay.



Getting up early the second day we started with a lesson Tai Chi. Quite an exercise as it was already 30+ Celsius at 7 am. We loved it and being home in the Netherlands again my wife and I just started a full course.
During this second day we explored much more of Halong bay using a ‘day boat’. I had no idea what a day boat was supposed to be and had imagined a tender or other kind of small motor boat. On the contrary: it proofed to be a mid size fully equipped ship with a nice cool lounge, beautiful sun deck and full staff. And that for about 12 people. Not bad at all.

During this day we really went into Halong Bay visiting a remote floating village, doing some kayaking, visiting a Pearl farm, doing some swimming and all being surrounded by the most beautiful scenery. You did not know what to photograph first or last. I would not want to have missed this second day as it opened upHalongBay to us.


The third day we visited Surprise Cave. I usually am not so much into caves, if you have seen one of them you have seen all of them, but I have to admit that Surprise Cave was something special. The size alone is unbelievable and the beautiful rock formations are stunning.


This 3 day cruise with Indochina Sails was for sure of of the highlights of out trip through Vietnam. Perfectly organized and the crew had not lost its personal attention to detail even having done this trip XXX times over.You will regret doing the 2 day only cruise as you miss the most beautiful parts of Halong Bay and all the fun exploring it.

Posted in Ha Long Kayaking, Ha Long Tour, Ha Long cruise, Halong Bay, Halong Bay cruises, Halong Bay junks, Halong Boat, Uncategorized, Vietnam travel, halong bay boat, halong bay cruise, halong bay deluxe, halong bay excursion, halong bay excursions, halong bay experience, halong bay hotel, halong bay hotels, halong bay junk, halong bay kayak, halong bay resort, halong bay tours, halong bay travel, halong bay vacation, halong bay vacations, vietnam excursions, vietnam tours | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Luxury Cruise through Vietnam’s Historic Halong Bay with Indochina Sails

Posted on July 17, 2012 by IndochinaSails
Halong Bay, only 105 miles from Hanoi, is a UNESCO World Heritage site and considered to be one of the most beautiful places in the world. Guests will be surrounded by hundreds of lush islands, each with names that reflect their unique shapes, like Voi Island (Elephant), Ga Choi Island (Fighting Cock), and Qua Chuong Island (Bell). The over 900 islands are said to have been created when God sent a group of dragons to help the Vietnamese fight invaders.

When the dragons spit out jewels and jade, the islands were formed and blocked the invaders’ path. Once the dragons decided to stay in peace, many of the islands were given names to honor them. Bai Tu Long Island is where the young dragons looked after their mothers and Back Long Vi Island is where young dragons played in the sea and wriggled their tails.
Indochina Sails, an extension of luxury cruise company Huong Hai Junks, boasts over ten years of experience, bringing guests from all over the world to the beauty of Continue reading →
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Beautiful boat for a great tour

Posted on June 28, 2012 by IndochinaSails
This is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been! Halong Bay was breathtaking and a once in a lifetime experience I will never forget. It is no wonder why this place is a UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.
We arrived at the pier mid-day and were taken by boat out onto Halong Bay for our 2 day/1night on the Indochina Sails cruise.
This boat was so beautiful! Heavenly. Our stateroom had nice big windows looking out onto the bay, a big comfortable bed and a surprisingly Continue reading →
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