The 40km route will bring tourists to the home of writer Son Nam (1926-2008) in My Tho to explore the life and career of the writer known as the “Old Man of the South”.

Tourists will also get a chance to visit the archaeological site of the Oc Eo Culture (1st-7th centuries) and visit farms growing dragonfruit, the provincial speciality, where they can enjoy popular singing with the farmers.

* Ethnic youth receive English training

The first English course for 15 ethnic youth in Kon Plong District in the Central Highlands province of Kon Tum was completed on Tuesday after being conducted for six months.

After the course, the trainees are equipped with skills to work in the tourism industry.

Other courses will be held in the future to equip the students with skills to communicate with tourists and introduce the local culture and landscape.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News

1.  Obtain a passport. If you are in the United States, you will obtain your passport from the U.S. State Department (see Resouces below).

2.  Get a visa to visit Vietnam. Anyone who visits Vietnam will need to have either a tourist visa or business visa in their passport. Apply for your visa with the Vietnam Embassy in Washington, D.C., or through your local Vietnamese consulate. Additional information can be obtained on the U.S. State Department website.

3.  Make your travel arrangements. You should reserve both airline tickets and hotel rooms. You can travel to any city in Vietnam to buy jewelry. Choose a destination that allows you to visit other historical monuments as well. Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City are both good options.

4.  Visit the Saigon Jewelry Company in the city that you choose to visit. Known as the SJC, this jewelry retail outlet is state owned, with the gold being certified by the Vietnamese government. This makes the SJC a more reliable place to shop than other jewelry stores. The SJC has retail jewelry stores in every major city, including Ho Chi Minh, Hanoi, Da Nang and Nha Trang.

1. Choose a destination first. Vietnam is so diverse that you can find anything from jungle to beach to city accommodations without much effort. If you’re traveling to a specific area of the country, you should research first what the lifestyle and economy of the area are, so you can better understand what to expect in terms of lodging quality and prices.
2. Rent a bungalow if you’re staying on the beach or close to it. Bungalows range from the plain small cabin without running water (ideal for backpackers) to the luxury room with air conditioning and indoor Jacuzzi. The best bungalows can be found in the China Beach area, between Da Nang and Hoi An.
3. Look for honeymoon suites and high-class hotels if you’re staying in or near Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). The city is well known for its five star hotels and luxurious villas, many of which are fitted with period pieces.
4. Consider sleeping on the water. Vietnam is full of rivers, canals and waterways, many of which have become tourist attractions in their own right. Small wooden boats touring Halong Bay usually allow for overnight sleeping onboard for an extra fee.
5. Look into guesthouses if budget is a consideration. The area around Hoan Kiem Lake is especially popular with backpackers because of the number of lodging options at extremely low prices. Rooms tend to be plain and usually without air conditioning, but you still get a clean space in a nice location.

There are certain things a man needs to feel like a man: a classic timepiece, maybe a sports car. But one thing every man most certainly needs is a solid, snug-fitting tailored suit for those formal occasions (awards ceremonies, gangster parties, court …) Problem is, a made-to-measure suit can cost more than a night at the Ritz. What’s a poor boy to do?

Enter the ancient town of Hoi An, one of Vietnam’s most charming cities (think a sort of Southeast Asian Venice), under UNESCO protection since 1999 and home to over 400 custom tailors. Once the largest harbour in Southeast Asia and an important trading post throughout its history, Hoi An has antiquated, yellowed architecture, narrow roads, well-preserved Chinese and Japanese relics and storefront after storefront of custom threads and spools of silk.

A city that has one tailor for every 220 people can be overwhelming: it’s a little like suffocating in a sea of wool. Even after you’ve settled on a tailor, the whole experience can get a bit dizzying, so here are a few tips to help you make the perfect selection.

Know what kind of suit you want
Before you arrive in Hoi An, comb your local fashion mags for a suit that pops out at you. Tailors here can copy every little detail from virtually any photo you bring in, so come prepared — a few pages torn from GQ can go a long way towards getting the style you’re looking for.

Choose a tailor
Doing some preparation is a good idea, but the real work begins on arrival. Take your time. Stroll the streets with Sunday morning indifference and resist the urge to buy anything in the first store you walk into. Once you do decide on a store, one of a line of sales girls will immediately approach you. For the most part, they’re there to help.

Choose a fabric
Once you’ve shown the sales girl the photo of the suit you want, you’ll be directed to an endless array of fabrics in a variety of price ranges. The cost of your suit will vary wildly depending on the quality of fabric you choose (the cost of the tailoring itself is negligible).

At Yaly, the most respected tailor in town, suits range from US$60 to $210, depending on the fabric. Unless you’re well schooled in the subtleties of fabric quality, you won’t notice much difference between top-shelf and bargain rack. Since you’re looking for something that matches your photo, your saleswoman will direct you to closely matching designs in a variety of price ranges. If she’s pushing you towards the high-end only, this is not the shop for you.

Decide on a price
Once you decide on a fabric, you’ll get your price. The bill includes jacket, pants and all custom tailoring. Prices are negotiable, but not by much. If you decide something is out of your price range, go ahead and walk, but know that it’s not like buying a car — they’ll let you walk.

The first extra you’ll be offered is a silk lining for your jacket. It’s pretty much a necessity, but it doesn’t drive the bill up too much (it only costs around $5-8). The wide variety of silk colours and designs offer you a chance to give your suit a bit of flair. You’ll also be offered a shirt.

Get measured
This is quick and painless. Head-spinning barrages of Vietnamese numbers are yelped out to the seamstress. ”Muoi bon! Hai muoi! ” The whole thing takes all of three minutes. This is more or less the last step. Your suit will be furiously churned out by the next morning and delivered to your hotel as early as 8am for a fitting. If all goes well, your bespoke makeover is complete — you’re a new man. If anything is amiss, they’ll take it back and knock out the alterations before returning it you, ready for travel in a convenient carry-on garment bag.

1) Appreciate
Be sure to express your appreciation for your host family’s hospitality at every opportunity.
Sincere smiles and profuse thanks go a long way towards smoothing out early interactions, and the more you consciously and visibly appreciate what your host family does for you, the more they will be inclined to create and share fun experiences with you in the future.
Good times are contagious, and a positive outlook can go a long way.

2) Relax

Stress is also contagious, and the beginning of a home-stay will definitely be a high stress time for everyone involved.
Make a conscious effort to relax, smile and be at ease around your host family, and they will relax in turn.

3) Immerse

The most successful home stays, like the most effective language study programs, are fully immersive.
Although you might be tempted to hang out with people from your home country from time to time, make the effort to totally commit yourself to the local culture instead.
You might find that homesickness and culture shock pass quickly without a fellow traveler around to remind you of home.

4) Laugh

Don’t take yourself too seriously!
No one will expect you to have mastered every cultural intricacy as soon as you arrive, so if you botch an introduction or mistakenly pour the salad dressing into your soup, just laugh about your mistake.
Nothing breaks down cultural barriers like a mutual gigglefest.

5) Respect

Maintain a respectful attitude, especially when interacting with older people.
Constantly give attention to how your actions and demeanor impact other members of the household, and strive to model culturally appropriate behavior at all times.

6) Gift

Never arrive for a home-stay empty-handed, and make an effort to acknowledge host family milestones with a culturally appropriate gift.
The best gifts are those with a connection to your home culture, such as a local handicraft or regional delicacy.
For example, as a Vermonter, I always travel with maple sugar candies.

7) Ask

If you’re unsure about something, just ask!
Even if you don’t share a common language with your host family, a simple question like how to bathe will be easy for them to answer.
Be proactive and cheerful about your questions and needs.

8 ) Chill

Travel is often a high-energy activity, but home stays are different. Don’t expect your host family to constantly entertain you.
Instead, take the opportunity to chill out and observe the daily rhythms of the household and community.

9) Risk

Take chances, and try things you might not attempt at home. Try cooking a meal for your host family, or sing a song at the local festival.
Even if you aren’t a chef or a singer, making the effort to step outside your comfort zone and attempt something new is a great recipe for personal growth – and your host family will appreciate the effort.

10) Remember

Keep in touch with your host family after you return home. A thank you note is the bare minimum.
Share photos, exchange New Years cards and really make the effort to maintain your friendship.
A deep and enduring international friendship is one of the most valuable things in life. With luck, your home stay will be just the beginning of a warm and lasting relationship.

Line up early and choose your own adventure: top or bottom bunk? Front, middle, or back of the bus? Do you want the window, or the middle aisle? Read on to find out how your choice will influence your night.

You choose bottom bunk, go to 1.

You decide on top bunk, proceed to 2.

1. Easier to hop in and out of, you reason. Rookie mistake. The air-con doesn’t reach you down here, and you’re closer to the bus driver’s buddies, who take their shoes off and curl up on the floor in the aisle. Spend a sweaty, smelly night.

2. Once you’ve winched yourself up with your elbows to the top bunk and settled in under the air-con, you congratulate yourself on the right choice. Five minutes later you’re shivering and realising the air-con vent is broken open with no slats to close it off. Stuff the curtain in there if you’re on the window. If there’s no curtain or you’re in the middle aisle, use that extra pair of socks you packed for this purpose. (See packing list below.)

Front of the bus, go to 3.

Back of the bus, read 4.

3. Front means no queuing to get off the bus at the many stops, and you can keep an eye on the driver as he texts and smokes continually. Who knows, maybe if you see an impending crash you could Tarzan leap from your bunk and be close enough to grab the wheel. Or maybe you decide this vantage point is a little disturbing and you’d rather not know what’s coming, but the constant air-horn honking pierces your trusty earplugs and punctuates every almost-dream.

4. In the back, there’s finally a bit of peace and quiet. If you’re travelling with mates, you can take the entire back row, which has five bunks side by side. Good choice, but beware the potholes — the ceiling is startlingly close to your forehead.

Central aisle, go to 5.

5. You choose the middle aisle of bunks because you’re slow and all the windows are taken, or maybe you just like being the centre of attention. You’d better hope it has a functioning seat belt, or that you’ve brought your own rope to tie yourself down.

The roads can be so bumpy there’s a high chance of being flung out of your bunk, and it’s a long fall down onto the Vietnamese man on the floor in the aisle. With the window beds at least you can only fall out of one side.

You choose top bunk, window aisle, in the middle of the bus, but not above the toilet, go to 6.

6. Congratulations! With an eye-mask, ear plugs, warm clothes, and perhaps a sleeping pill, you will be able to sleep.

Note: If you’re tall you’ve got only one choice, and that’s the fully reclined bunk above the toilet. Pity about the smell!

Source: http://matadornetwork.com

Vietnam is rapidly becoming one of the most popular countries in the world for adventurous bike touring. It’s easy to see why. This long, slender land with such an unhappy history has an amazing array of landscapes, with thousands of km of roads linking mountains and beaches, jungle with intensive paddy field landscapes. Vietnam represents a viscerally intense cycling and cultural experience, love it or hate it, you will not forget your trip.

There are many possible cycle tours in Vietnam, ranging from very tough and challenging rides in the northern uplands, to more gentle meanders along the Mekong Delta. The classic route for cyclists is Highway 1, the main road linking Hanoi in the north to Ho Chi Minh City in the south. The most popular section of Hwy 1 is from the historic capital of Hue south to Nha Trang and other tourist resorts to the south. For the fitter and more adventurous cyclist, the central and northern highlands are very worthwhile challenges.

What to take?

Roads in Vietnam can be rough in sections, and more minor roads are often dirt tracks. However, for most of the main routes, the surface is good enough for almost any type of bike, except perhaps for the lightest of road bikes. Even the paved roads can be a bit muddy, don’t forget your mudguards. Bike repair shops are around in nearly every town, but they often do not have the tools for western bikes. Local bikes are usually poor quality and are not recommended for touring. Bring a basic toolkit or multitool and some spare spokes, along with a cracker/chain whip for repairing drive-side spokes. Regular touring or road tyres are sufficient for most of the country.

The climate changes significantly from north to south. There can be snow in winter in Sapa, at the same time as it is 40°C in Ho Chi Minh City. The coast can be very windy. Rain can be heavy and persistent over most of the country at many times of the year. Only in later winter on the northern highlands would serious wet/cold weather gear normally be required. Elsewhere, a light fleece and wind/waterproof top should be sufficient in addition to your normal kit. There is no major cultural problem with wearing shorts/lycra, but longer trousers/skirts may be more appropriate in more remote areas or visiting temples. T-shirts and casual clothes are widely available, and if you can’t find anything to fit you, there are numerous tailors who will make you anything from shorts to a silk sleeping bag liner to a tuxedo, all in a few hours. Cosmetics and medicines are very widely available, but watch out for counterfeits.

Camping is very difficult in most of Vietnam; there are few suitable places to pitch a tent. Nearly every town will have guesthouses, so tents and sleeping bags are an unnecessary encumbrance. Expect to pay between US$6 to US$20 a night in a typical guesthouse or local hotel. The quality is very variable, and can rarely be judged by outside appearances so always check out a room on offer before accepting it. Food and beer is very cheap and usually of a high quality. The best Vietnamese cooking is superb, always ask locals for recommendations, Vietnamese people are enthusiastic foodies. Vegetarian food is usually available, but sometimes communicating what you want is difficult. Roadside stalls selling typical Vietnamese food and drink are nearly everywhere so it is not necessary to bring cooking equipment or food (apart from snacks). Chlorine or iodine tabs are necessary for drinking tap water in most of the country.

Don’t take too much luggage. It increases fuel consumption and reduces manoeuvrability. Just because your average Vietnamese can somehow carry three family members, a dog, a month’s groceries and a shop display (complete with stock) on the back of their bike does not mean you can.

(Source: mortorcylevietnam.com)