Ha Noi Sightseeings

Ha Noi

The Huc Bridge

Thap Rua

Ha Noi - sightseeings

TI GON Flowers

The Story of Cay Khe

Cay Khe ( kind of star fruit tree )

Once upon a time, one family living in a countryside had two brothers, staying together very happily. But one day their parents became sick and passed away. They left a whole property and a house with a garden and a little star-tree to their children and expected the elder brother would take care of the little one.

However, soon after the parents died, and the elder brother inherited all of the property, which included a house with a garden, he gave only a little star-tree to his younger brother and forced him out of the house. As a result of this , the little boy lived alone with only a star-tree for company. He talked with the tree like he would talk to a good friend. Everyday he watered it and took very good care of it. Day after day, they grew up together. In spring, the star-tree bloomed very beautifully and had sweet fruits. The young man was so happy about it.
But every morning, there was a bird, flying in the star fruit free to eat most of sweetiest and biggest fruits. He was so sad and worried about it, and didn’t know how to survive if a bird ate all of his fruits, he just cried and pleased a bird was taken a look to his situation and back ground.
A bird still kept eating and eating … as usual , then a bird said to a young man :
“ eat a star fruit , give a gold bar . Make a three- wide hand bag to keep it ” .
A young man was very happy and did it exactly as the bird said. In the following morning , after eating star fruits , the bird took a young man flying to an island of jewellery and allowed him to get whatever he liked . He just got enough in to a three-wide hand bag and asked a bird bring him back to his tree. Since then he became a well-known of richest man in area and married a beautiful girl .

In his wedding , the elder brother was also an honour guest . They met up very happy and in their conversation , he opened to share story of a bird with an island of jewellery to the elder brother . After that his elder brother asked for him to exchange of inherited property with a house and a garden to a star fruit tree. The little brother was agree with it .

The elder brother was very happy and thought he would be very rich tomorrow, even much more than his little one. He started to prepare making a six-wide hand bag to be waited for a bird coming to eat star-fruits in the morning as usual.
In the following morning day, a bird came to the tree and after eating star fruits , the bird said to the man : “ eat a star fruit, give a gold bar . Make a three- wide hand bag to keep it ” . Immediately , he answered to the bird that he had it already , pleased take him right now . The bird took him to fly to the island of jewellery and let him get whatever he wanted. The elder brother got not only full of his six-wide hand bag , but also all his pocketful and wore on his hands and his body with jewelleries. Then the bird brought him back to the tree, but when flying over sea , it was too heavy and the bird was exhausted on the way . The bird dropped him in the sea with all his property .
Translated by Kim

Ho Hoan Kiem

The Huc Bridge , Ngoc Son Temple

Views of Hoan Kiem lake in the North East side

Views of Lake on the South West ( Thap Rua on the end of South West)

The Island of Ngoc Son Temple ( Jade Temple )

Ngoc Son Gate

Hanoi is well-known for its numerous picturesque lakes and the greenness of its old big trees on the long roads . The most famous lake is Hoan Kiem , located in the center of city . It’s considered the heart of Hanoi capital , and inspires many artists , composers , writers, poets, to create outstanding art works , beautiful songs and lyric poetries . Most curious to people is the history of magic of this lake.

According to legend , in the 15th century a nobleman Le Loi successfully fought against Ming China by having a magical sword . One day during the celebration of a victory , while he was boating around the lake , a golden tortoise swimming on the surface of the water and demanded he return the sword and disappeared immediately into the depths of the lake . Up until this time , the lake had no special name. Afterward, it came to be known as Ho Hoan Kiem ( The Lake of the Restored Sword ). In order to memorize the story , the emperor had a Thap Rua ( Tortoise Tower ) built on an island at the south end of the magic lake which can be still seen today.

Hanoians, who grow up with this story as a part of their childhood , embrace the lake as the spiritual heart of Ha Noi . I try to inhabit the heart of the Hanoians who love Hoan Kiem with all their being , as far as they go, as much as they love Ho Hoan Kiem in the heart , the soul and lungs of capital as well.

Author : Kim

Phat Diem Cathedral

Location: Phat Diem Cathedral is in Luu Phuong Commune, Phat Diem Town, Kim Son District, 130km south of Hanoi, and 28km southeast of Ninh Binh Town.
Characteristics: Phat Diem Cathedral is the center of Catholicism in north Vietnam and also a tourist site attracting foreign and domestic visitors.


Phat Diem Cathedral was built between 1875 and 1899 four roofs and six sets of iron wooden pillars and consists of a network of ponds, lakes, churches, and artificial caves.Phuong Dinh Church, part of the Phat Diem complex, is a giant building entirely made of stone. Numerous stone sculptures are on the inside and outside walls.

A large bell cast in the 1890s weighing nearly 2 tons is found in the bell tower.On both sides of the church are four smaller churches of different styles. On the extreme north corner are three stone caves. The most beautiful of these caves is Lo Duc Grotto. In the area surrounding this massive stone and wood cathedral, the rice paddies are peppered with stone churches. But, unlike these structures, built by Europeans and resembling typical churches of the era, Phat Diem Cathedral was designed by a Vietnamese priest, known as Father Sau. Father Sau rallied the local population to build the cathedral, five side chapels, three artificial grottoes, an artificial lake and a bell tower.

Phat Diem Cathedral seems to have changed very little since Graham Greene described its gigantic pillars formed out of single trees and the scarlet lacquer work of the altar. Indeed, with its multi tiered, curling roofs and its 48 lime-wood columns - (the largest of which weigh seven tones), Phat Diem is a far cry from a European cathedral. Stone relief angels overlook carved dragons and the cathedral's two-tone bell is accompanied by a giant brass gong.

Local Catholics view the cathedral's survival as almost miraculous; a bombing in 1972 flattened two of the side chapels and caused the cathedral to lean by some 20 degrees. Despite the ongoing war, restoration started immediately and today, the only obvious trace of the bombing is the destruction of some intricate stone carvings. And on Christmas Eve, an unforgettable midnight mass, attended by thousands and accompanied by a brass band, is held in the cathedral grounds.

The palace for christian era established in Vietnam in the most gorgeous period of history.

Published by Vietnam travel guild.
updated information by Kim

Ha Long Bay

History of the name “ Halong”

Halong Bay – The World Heritage Site

“Ha Long” is literally translated as "Bay of Descending Dragons." Prior to the 19th century, this name was not recorded in any document or archive. When mentioning the present-day Quang Ninh Sea or Ha Long Bay, old historical books often referred to them by the names of An Bang, Luc Thuy or Van Don.

Not until the late 19th century did the name of Halong Bay appear on a French Marine Map. “The Hai Phong News”, a French newspaper of the time, had an article, “Dragon appears on Ha Long Bay”, reporting the following story: In 1898 a sub-lieutenant named Lagredin, captaining the ‘Avalanse’ reported seeing a huge sea snake on Ha Long Bay.

This was also witnessed by many of the crews. Thus emerged the European image of the Asian dragon. Whether this appearance of a strange animal looking like a dragon resulted the name of Ha Long Bay is not known (Reference “Quang Ninh: Art and Culture” published in 2002).

There is also a local legend, which has been handed down, relating to the name Ha Long Bay, which tells the following tale:“Long ago, in the first founding days, the Viet people were attacked by foreign aggressors. The Jade Emperor sent the Mother Dragon and her band of Child Dragons to help the Viet people fight the invaders. While the enemy vessels were launching massive attacks against the mainland, the dragons descended in flocks from the sky.

They spat out innumerable pearls which changed into jade stone islands the moment they touched the water. These islands linked together to form firm citadels that checked the enemy’s advance and smashed their vessels to pieces. After the invaders were driven out, Mother Dragon and her Child Dragons did not return to Heaven but stayed on earth, right at the place where the battle occurred. The spot where the Mother Dragon landed was Ha Long, and where the Child Dragons came down was Bai Tu Long. The place where their tails violently wagged was called Long Vi, the present-day Tra Co Peninsula with its soft sandy beach stretching many kilometers.”

One of the world’s natural wonders, (and a common backdrop for films set in Vietnam), Halong Bay features more than one thousand awesome limestone karsts and islands of various sizes and shapes along the 120-km coastline of Bai Chay Beach.
Its waters are host to a great diversity of ecosystems including offshore coral reefs, freshwater swamp forests, mangrove forests, small freshwater lakes, and sandy beaches. The folk tale has it that the dragons descended from heaven to help locals by spitting jewels and jade to the sea, forming a natural fortress against invaders; these precious stones are represented by the lush green outcrops. Several islands boast beautiful grottos and caves with contiguous chambers, hidden ponds and peculiar stone formations.

The bay is about 160 kilometers northeast of Hanoi and accessed by road. Several travel agents in Hanoi offer overnight packages that include a selection of boating excursions from Chinese junks to kayaks.

Bai chay Beach may not be the nicest beach but it is certainly the busiest one in Halong Bay. This is mainly because it has a pier where travelers board a boat for a leisure cruise along the bay. Local hotels and shops spread along its beach road.

Caves and grottos in Halong Bay In Vietnam and many parts in Asia, it is common that some natural wonders and attractions are attached with folk stories and fables. In Halong Bay, many grottos, caves, stalagmites and stalactites have their own stories that explain how they got eccentric shapes and structures.

Hang Trinh Nu (Virgin Cave) is known as the Mid Gate cave. It is also known as the Virgin Cave. The name comes from a stone statue lying atop a flat surface of the cave. The story has it that a poor , and beautiful young girl was forced to marry an old mandarin who captured her from her family. She managed to escape but did not want to go home because of the fear of retaliation. Finally, she went to the cave and committed suicide. Her body then turned into the stone statue in that caveThe Virgin cave has tunnels that criss-crossing the island for approximately 2 kilometres.

There are many chambers along the tunnels. All are unique in their beauty.Hang Sung Sot Cave was located on the same island as the Virgin cave, Sung Sot cave is said to be the most beautiful - Sung Sot means astonishment or awe in Vietnamese. The path to Sung Sot is quite steep and flanked with trees. The cave is comprised of 2 chambers. The outer chamber, which is referred to as the waiting room, is square and approximately 30 metres high. The walls of the chamber are very smooth and generate a range of colors that blend with its surroundings.The inner chamber is known as the serene castle. Inside the chamber are stalactites and stalagmites that come in a variety of forms from conversing sentries to animals in varying poses. It is up to your imagination.

Many visitors are impressed by the reflection of the water that caused the formation of images inside the chamber.Hang Dau Go (Flowers on Stone)Dau Go Cave is not only known for its beauty but also famed for its historical tie to the Vietnamese history. The most famous of all grottoes in Ha Long Bay, Hang Dau Go Cave has been visited by many high rank local officials or even a Vietnamese king.The history of the cave dates back to 1288 when a Vietnamese general Tran Hung Dao fought against the Mongolian troops. He dispatched a convoy to cut wood from this region to make wooden stakes and hid them in Dau Go cave. The stakes were then embedded in Bach Dang River to form a barrier. The Mongolian soldiers were then tricked into the river. They got stuck in these wooden stakes and drowned. The cave was also used as a base where the general hid his force during the war.Indeed, Dau Go Cave is a part of a huge limestone islet 8 kilometres south of Baichay Beach. It has 90 rocky steps that lead to the entrance. The cave’s outer chamber is the largest one that can accommodate up to 400 people. It has the most impressive stalagmites and stalactites - some are as tall as 20 metres.The cave’s middle chamber has a round crystal like structure on the path that, when struck by light, emits a kaleidoscope of light that is both remarkable and unique. The inner chamber- the smallest one - has colorful stalagmites, stalactites and water filled stone wells.

Published by Vietnam travel guild.

Updated information by Kim