Vinpearl Land Resort

Vinpearl Land Resort, originally uploaded by Hoang Viet.

Vietnam is widely known as a country with a hidden tropical charm. With the beautiful S-shaped strip of land closely surrounding the mysterious Indochina, Vietnam can easily fascinate visitors. Coming to Vietnam, visitors will have a chance to not only enjoy numberless beauty spots that the nature has generously endowed this country with but also find out about about plenty of traditional and modern Vietnamese cultural backgrounds. And, one of the most outstanding features of Vietnamese tourism is Nha Trang (Khanh Hoa).

Coming to Vinpearl, you will feel as if you were lost in a wonderland. With the typical tropical climate, Nha Trang is brilliant with blue sea, white sand, beautiful sunlight. The beautiful and poetic sea tourism city is named “Brilliant flower basket on the bank of the East Sea, “Sunny deck”. It is not accidental that 100 years ago, the talented scientist Alexandere Yersin left splendid Paris for Nha Trang, where he stayed and worked until his death. Nha Trang Bay is ranked as one of the most 29 beautiful bays in the world. As flowing across here, some sea currents suddenly blend with each other to create “a common home” for all beings to reside and grow. Nha Trang Bay is not only rich in natural resources, beauty spots but also closely linked to sea culture and unique cultural-tourist attractions… And the story of Nha Trang is now continued with the fame of Vinpearl Land, Vinpearl Resort & Spa, a sparkling pearl glued on the crown of the Sea Queen.

Vinpearl Land has become a great pride of the locals as well as of Vietnamese people in general. It’s hard for tourists to imagine how much energy and money has been spent on creating such a wonderful island as this.

After just 5 – 7 minutes traveling by motor-boat or 13 minutes enjoying Nha Trang’s panorama from Vinpearl Cable-car system, the longest sea-crossing cableway in the world, visitors then set their foot on Vinpearl Land – The Vietnamese Pearl. Located in the North of Hon Tre Island, leaning on Dam Mong Mountain and towards Nha Trang Bay, Vinpearl Land is an international-class 5-star entertainment-tourism complex with all modern comforts; however, it is still an attractive and wild Pearl Island located in the middle of one of the most beautiful bays in the world. Vinpearl Land blends a modern style with the enriched national character. The modern Western style is mainly used in the interior composition, service, operation…, meanwhile the traditional Eastern style here is found in curved roofs up to the sky, the tiles or the thatched huts in the peaceful home-village space of Vietnam; it is an open space for natural environment to pour in every moment. Just open the window to welcome the wind and lean on the balcony to enjoy the sunrise, you will feel the serenity all around and find the peace in your mind.

Visitors in Vinpearl Land will enjoy their stay in a 5-star hotel resort and spa. With 485 marvellously designed rooms, including 17 luxurious rooms and 2 Presidential Suites, the resort can satisfy the most fastidious visitors by bringing them comfort, privacy, convenience, and perfect service. Vinpearl Resort and Spa also has the most beautiful 700m long natural beach in Nha Trang and modern outdoor swimming pools covering an area of 5,700m2 (the largest one in the Southeast Asia) beautified with lots of coconut trees, green grass, nice plants and trees…… Besides, there are beauty and health care services in Viet Spa and other relaxing activities, tours in combination with sports for all ages. A diversified system of restaurants will meet all your eating and drinking demands from typical Vietnamese flavor to other Asian and European one… You will also freely do shopping in Shopping Mall, play games in the Amusement Park, the Water Park, and enjoy wonderful musical fountain shows at the Amphitheatre or discover the beauty of the ocean in the splendid Vinpearl Underwater World. To meet the MICE tourist demands as well as to organize big events, Vinpearl Land also has an adequate system of meeting rooms, an Event Hall with 1500-seats and a 5000-seat lean-to outdoor stage. .

A great number of cultural-entertainment events has been held here in Vinpearl Land, especially major Vietnam and World beauty contests such as Miss Vietnam, Miss World Vietnamese, Miss Earth, and Miss Universe… Therefore, apart from the lovely name “Vietnamese Pearl,” this place is also named “Beauty Island,” “Paradise Island”…

Unique Vietnamese bay is a must

50 kilometres from the central city of Nha Trang lay the gorgeous area surrounding Van Phong Bay, one of the world's deepest bays and an ideal spot for scuba diving and eco-tourism.


The bay is formed by Hon Gom Island, and is home to a diverse ecological system replete with rain and mangrove forests, islets, peninsulas, beaches and sand dunes-almost anything a tourist could ask for in a bay.

The bay is one of the most beautiful eco-tourism sites in Vietnam thanks to a rare and diverse ecosystem.

Boasting picturesque mountains, virgin forests and lovely beaches, the bay is home to an array of rare fauna and flora.

The weather is warm throughout the year and the site's natural beauty is very much intact, uncontaminated by industrialization. Clean and untouched white sand beaches still impose themselves against the blue seawater.


United Nations tourism experts have recognised Van Phong as one of Asia's nearly perfect eco-tourism sites, and an ideal place for scuba diving.

Its blue crystal-like water and coral reefs are enough to humble the most experienced divers.

Excursions

While visiting the bay, it's hard to resist visiting the surrounding sites like Hon Ong, Dam Mon and Bai Nhau. These places remain relatively unscathed by the outside world save a few small fishing villages.

Nearby, indulge in a trip to Hon Ong (Whale Island) for more rest and relaxation amidst quiet and beautiful scenery.

You can talk to local fisherman and learn about their lifestyle and customs there or sail catamarans, go windsurfing, scuba diving, snorkelling, or take part in one of the island's many other activities.

If you grow weary of the ocean, you can walk along the beach and climb up into the mountains to observe natural wildlife in the hills.

As night falls, you can stay in bungalows along the beach or enjoy seafood with the locals.


Dam Mon Peninsula is also worth a visit as it boasts casuarina forests and the primitive Tuan Le wetland forest.

You can rest in hammocks under shady coconut trees along the beach or talk with children from fishing villages.

Scuba diving, exploring coral reefs, rowing boats and fishing for squid or cuttle-fish are popular activities at Dam Mon. From Dam Mon, you can hire a motorboat to take you all around the surrounding area.

If you have more time, you can visit all the other islands as well as fishing villages, lobster farms and farms where oysters are raised for pearls.

In 1999, the Vietnamese government allowed local authorities to draw up a plan to develop the bay into an international deep-sea port and tourism venue.

Previously, the bay had been called Port Dayot by the French.

Compiled by Hoang Bao/ Thanhniennnews

Water world

Wise management of one of Vietnam’s most beautiful marine areas has benefited tourists, locals and the creatures of the underwater realm.

When the sun casts its first rays on the peaceful Nha Trang Bay, hundreds of fishermen have already put out to sea. But thousands of locals now have an alternative to working in this traditional industry. Some 5,500 people from six fishing villages now work in the field of environmental protection in the Hon Mun Marine Protected Area.

Despite the pressure from economic development, Nha Trang Bay-considered one of the world’s most beautiful bays – retains some of the very few intact coral reefs in Vietnam and Hon Mun has become a pioneer in marine environmental protection in Vietnam.

It takes an hour to travel by boat from Nha Trang Town’s Cau Da Port to Hon Mun Marine Protected Area.

Famous for its white sand, clear blue waters and wild bird’s nests, the 160 square-kilometer Hon Mun Marine Protected Area, the first of its kind in Vietnam, is also a paradise for divers. Underneath the sea there are more than 300 species of coral, 196 species of reef fish, seven species of sea grass, 300 algal species, 112 species of mollusks, as well as several species of star fish, sea urchins and sea cucumbers. Rare marine turtles such as Eretmochelys imbricata and Chelonia mydas are also found in the area.

“Amazingly, my wife and I dived 10 meters deep,” said Le Anh, an overseas Vietnamese who was visiting his homeland. “We saw a kingdom of corals.”

Anh toured Hon Mun with more than 20 other travelers in a vessel named Le Mont St. Michel, which belongs to the Coral Reef Dive Center, one of some 10 businesses that offer diving services in Nha Trang.

But to Thien Long, a local tourist guide: “At the depth of 10 meters tourists have only reached the edge of the ‘forest’ and are yet to see the fantastic world of the interior.”

Only those who have diving licenses are allowed to dive down to 18 meters, where they can witness the busy lives and interactions of lobsters, turtles, groupers and seahorses.

“To look into the 10-meter-deep caves on the seabed, divers have to use flashlights,” Long said.

During the May to September dry season, some local tourist agencies hold night diving trips for the more adventurous.

Japanese tourist Tanaka said his first-ever night diving trip of his life was an eerie experience.

“I jumped into the pitch-black water and tried to survive with a flashlight,” he said. “I felt like that some sea monster was targeting to attack me from the back. It felt chilly, dangerous, but challenging and extremely exciting. The seabed looked amazingly stunning at night, like a bustling city. I could see many kinds of creatures that are said can’t be seen during the day.”

As well as diving, tourists at Hon Mun can try snorkeling, mooring on buoys, jetskiing and parasailing.

Huts on Hon Mun Island are available for groups who want to have a picnic or relax after a morning of swimming, sunbathing and diving.

A model of saving the sea

The appeal of Hon Mun today is the result of a protection project which started in 2001 financed by the World Bank’s Global Environmental Facility, the World Conservation Union and the governments of Denmark and Vietnam.

Local residents of Nha Trang Bay are dependent upon the resources of the bay for their daily livelihoods. However, other than fishing, there are few other activities to support local communities. In 2001, more than 79 percent of women had little or no opportunities for employment and the primary occupation of 79 percent of men was fishing.

Over the last five years, the project has placed significant emphasis on employing people from local villages. By 2005, the average income of people living near the marine park had increased significantly.

The Hon Mun Marine Park Area is the first marine park in Vietnam, representing a new approach to marine protection and management.

It is a successful example of sustainable use of a natural resource. The marine park maximizes biodiversity conservation, minimizes the impact on the environment while appealing to a solid tourism base.

Source: Thanhniennews

A visit to Son Dung on the way to Van Phong Bay

Since the completion of Dam Mon-Co Ma Street, linking Van Thanh Commune of Van Ninh District in central coastal province of Khanh Hoa with National Road 1A, tourists can now travel from Co Ma Hill through the ancient mangrove forest of Tuan Le to this remote Dam Mon Peninsula. The road was built to promote tourism to Van Phong Bay, and tours to the bay have already increased since it opened.

Van Phong Bay is a natural collection of seaside features. The white sandy hills and untouched colorful coral reefs with many kinds of fish at Me Beach would entice any traveler to the region. Early risers who enjoy the morning sun should drop by a small fishing village named Son Dung to learn something of the inner land.

There are many reasons to visit Son Dung. One is the boat carrying tourists to Van Phong Bay always passes natural animal-shaped stones, high cliffs with many kinds of plants and a peaceful picturesque fishing village that looks like the pictures in a story book.

The small village has a population of about 14 households with some brick houses leaning over the cliff. On the right side of the village is a wonderful beach, while the front is a white sandy beach recovered when the tide goes out. A cliff and mountain with a sandy slope provide the backdrop for the village.

There are no roads in Son Dung so people there do not have bicycles or motorbikes. The main entrance to the village skirts the beach and is often flooded with seawater. The local streets are made of sand and broken coral skeletons.

The villagers have a legend of their own. It is said that they originated from the Dang Ha ethnic group that were thrown overboard from their boats and carried in to the place on the waves. They had no clothes and used leaves to make costumes. As time passed some generations left the village for the mainland, but there were outsiders wanting to escape from life for the love of the island, so they settled here. Now the village has about 20 youngsters studying at a class held in border gate military post 358 nearby.

The Son Dung people have adapted to many occupations to support themselves, like rearing lobsters, fishing for squids and other seafood, logging, planting cashew and fruit, and now tourism, hosting travelers for a few hours when they drop by.


One feature of Son Dung that attracts tourists is exploring the freshwater on the island, which is strictly protected by the locals. It seems incredible that on an island surrounded by seawater, a local child can dig a hole of twenty centimeters and freshwater appears and fills it up.

The story of the source of freshwater originates from the first emperor of the Nguyen Dynasty, Gia Long, who, having lost the battle with Tay Son, escaped to this place. When he and his army were in despair of losing their lives on the deserted island, he prayed to the gods and dug a small hole on the edge of the land and a miracle occurred: there was freshwater on the island.

The phenomenon has lasted and has become a vital source of survival for the locals to support themselves.

Nowadays it is an attraction for tourists and many have taken a bottle of freshwater from the island as a souvenir. The locals also set up a small temple to worship the Nguyen King who discovered the source for them.


Son Dung does not have any food stalls or restaurants, but visitors can buy seafood farmed by the locals and build a fire for an outdoor seafood barbecue. When visiting Son Dung, anchor the boat at a tree stump, walk bare foot on the smooth sandy beach to the land and have a chat with the locals. For those who like something more active, try to climb up to the forest on the sandy hill, or follow the locals on crafts to buy seafood, then stir cook or grill them on a fire and enjoy them with a drink.

(Source: SGT)

Big birds served up in Nha Trang

Long known for its idyllic scenery, cobalt waters and golden sands, central Khanh Hoa Province is now gaining a reputation for something entirely different.

Ostrich farming for meat, feathers, skin and eggs has come to the province and the world famous beach town of Nha Trang.

And like the world’s fastest bird, it has come in a big way.

Nha Trang is littered with restaurants serving up dishes from meat supplied by the town’s very own Khanh Viet Company (Khatoco) farm.

About 50 kilometers southwest of the Nha Trang, at the Yang Bay Waterfall Ecotourism Park, chefs are hard at work on more than 15 ostrich dishes.

Ranging from VND80,000-150,000 (US$4.8-9) each, nothing goes to waste.

The heart and liver are steamed with green pepper, legs are broiled with traditional medicines, fillets are whipped up in a minority ethnic style and fried with pumpkin flowers.

Coconut milk and spices are inserted into bamboo pipes for broiling and fillets are placed in gourds and pumpkins for steaming.

At VND150,000 ($9) a kilo, ostrich has carved out a prominent niche amongst Nha Trang cuisine, but is still something of a curiosity in the other provinces.

According to Thuy Phuong Livestock Research Center in Ha Tay Province, ostrich has as much protein as beef and more protein and calories per serving than chicken and fish, low levels of fat, and lower in cholesterol than pork, beef, chicken and fish.