HCM City in the top 10 of street food destinations

HCM City has been listed in the top 10 of world's best street food destinations.

 

The list was created by Food and Wine magazine, a monthly publication of American Express Publishing.

HCM City's most famous street foods include “pho” (rice noodles), “banh my kep pate” (sandwich with pate), and “banh xeo” (literary sizzling cake or fried pancakes made of rice flour, turmeric powder, and slivers of fatty pork, shrimp).

According to Food and Wine, street food has played an important role in the gastronomy of the world. The magazine sent readers to HCM City's Ben Thanh market where food-lovers can discover the beauty of Vietnamese cuisine and enjoy delicious dishes. It also suggested other destinations where tourists could enjoy street food, such as Bangkok (Thailand), Penang (Malaysia), Berlin (Germany), Austin (Texas, United States).

Food & Wine was founded in 1978 by Ariane and Michael Batterberry, American food writers. It features recipes, cooking tips, travel information, restaurant reviews, chefs, wine pairings and seasonal/holiday content.

Source: travelweekly.asia

Travelwise: The etiquette of Japanese onsen

Thanks to its location in a volcanic zone, Japan is a hotbed -- quite literally -- of geothermal activity. There are more than 25,000 naturally-occurring mineral hot springs which help power 3,000 spa resorts across the country.

 

Most onsen have separate baths for men and women. (Antony Giblin/LPI)

 

The area around Kyoto, Japan’s former imperial capital, is home to more than a dozen hot springs, called onsen. One of the most popular isKurama Onsen, a peaceful outdoor bath located less than an hour from downtown Kyoto. Located in a lovely modern ryokan (traditional inn), with stunning mountain views, Kurama is surrounded by Japanese cedar trees. Traditional ryokan with hot spring baths include Gyozanen andSeryo, two beautifully designed resorts in Ohara, a rural district north of downtown, near the Sanzenin Temple.

 

Health benefits and bathing etiquette

Balneotherapy, the use of bathing as a form of medical treatment, is widely practiced in Japan. Although generally considered an “alternative medicine”, balneotherapy’s benefits have been demonstrated by globalpeer-reviewed medical studies. The chemistry, temperature, pressure and buoyancy of thermal baths have curative properties used to treat skin conditions such as dermatitis, inflammation-related conditions such as arthritis and musculoskeletal conditions such as lower back pain.

 

The sulfur and magnesium found in hot springs promotes skin health, while the heat of these baths can reduce inflammation and pain, and boost the immune system. Japanese onsen must be at least 25C, though some get as hot as 100C.

 

Onsen bathing is an important part of Japanese culture, and proper etiquette is well-established. The following tips should help you through your first experience.

 

Rinse off before going in

Depending on the facility you visit, you must either rinse off with tap water or scrub down with soap and tap water before entering the thermal bath. Bring your own soap, shampoo and towel just in case

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Take it all off

Most onsen do not allow swim suits. At these spas, there are separate baths for men and women. You can use a towel to cover up when outside of the spring water – just be sure not to let that towel fall into the bath, since the goal is the keep the water as clean as possible.

 

Check beforehand about an onsen’s “tattoo policy”

 

According to the site OnsenJapan, tattoos have traditionally signified gang or organized crime ties. While it may be discriminatory, some onsen are still not open to people with tattoos.

 

Do not take pictures

Many onsen do not allow photography. If you wish to photograph the surrounding scenery, ask the resort staff before taking any chances.

 

Drink water not booze

Drink bottled water to stay hydrated. Alcoholic beverages are not recommended as prolonged exposure to hot water can be dangerous if you are intoxicated.

 

Travelwise is a BBC Travel column that goes behind the travel stories to answer common questions, satisfy uncommon curiosities and uncover some of the mystery surrounding travel. If you have a burning travel question, contact Travelwise.

 

BBC

My Son Cham Ruins, Hoi An

My Son Ruins

Mankind builds marvelous and imagination-defying cities and structures, then erases them again as the centuries, along with the fickle loyalty of scholars, priests, kings, and common people render them either obsolete or irrelevant. The ruins of My Son in Vietnam, not far from Da Nang and Hoi An, fall into this category.

My Son was once an impressive place, a holy valley of impressive Hindu temples and burial grounds of the royalty of the Champa people. My Son was the Vietnamese equivalent of places like Cambodia's Angkor Wat and Egypt's Valley of the Kings. In its heyday, My Son included over seventy temples, along with a number of monuments with inscriptions in both Sanskrit, the holy language of ancient India, and Cham. In 1999, UNESCO named My Son a World Heritage Site.

History of My Son

The My Son site dates back to the fourth century AD, when the Champa king, Bhadravarman, erected the first temple there. He named it Bhadresvara, which was a combination of his own name and the Hindu god Ishvara, another name for Shiva. On the temple, the king added a request for subsequent generations to respect the temple and not destroy it. For many centuries, his request seemed to work; for generations after Bhadravarman's death, the My Son site was the hub of spiritual activity for the Champa people. Even when the original temple was destroyed in a fire two hundred years later, a later king made sure to rebuild it. The temple lasted in one form or another until it was obliterated during the Vietnam War.

In the fourteenth century, the Champa were conquered by the Viet people, for whom the modern country is named. The disappearance of the Champa also meant the gradual dissolution of the My Son site, which the jungle slowly started to reclaim. Ignored and largely forgotten, My Son was discovered again at the turn of the twentieth century by a French scholar.

In the 1930s, the French began to restore the My Son temples. The French scholars and archeologists were able to identify a total of seventy-one temples, with various groupings of temples belonging to different eras of development of the Cham kingdom.

 

My Son Today

Unfortunately for both visitors and world history, much of what remained of My Son in the twentieth century was bombed out of existence by American B-52 bombers during the American Vietnam War. The temples that had been so lovingly restored by French archeologists and local people were quickly devastated by the American bombs. In fact, local people are still wary of the area surrounding the My Son ruins because of the still unexploded bombs and land mines.

Nevertheless, My Son is still one of Vietnam's most important historic sites. Visitors with any interest in Southeast Asia's history will enjoy the bus trip from Da Nang or Hoi An to the ruins. Most tours of the My Son ruins range in price from £30 to £47, depending upon the size of the group and the city of origin.

Source: Vietnam Travel

Vietnam tourism still disorganised

Even though international tourist organisations have expressed their appreciation of Vietnam’s tourism industry there are still many factors that need addressing.

 

Foreign tourists visit War Remnants Museum in HCMC. (Photo: Sggp)

The tourism sector brings in huge economic gains. However, Vietnam tourism is still disjointed, according to travel businesses, in a discussion held in Ho Chi Minh City on February 23 under the theme “Building an image for Vietnam’s tourism”.

The nation’s tourism industry must combine all activities of the sector with each other, said journalist Dinh Phong, former chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Journalists’ Association.

Director General of Saigon Tourist forecasts that Vietnam’s tourism will not see much change in the next five years.

The national tourism sector should develop in parallel with eco-tourism to protect the environment while still keeping the traditional character. Local authorities have not yet seen a close and effective connection. Overcharging also occurs everywhere and influences tourism development, added Chairman of the Vietnam Tourism Association, Nguyen Huu Tho.

International travellers in HCMC . (Photo: Sggp)

Director of Lua Viet Travel Company, Nguyen Van My, who has spent many years in the tourism industry, and is very good at guiding and teaching, complained that tourist training programmes in schools are not effective. Schools should focus on developing tours and producing tourist products.

He said that the sector is offering services and products that visitors may not need or like.

Regulations for granting tour guide certificates are cumbersome. Mr. My gave an example, Vietnam sees a large number of Cambodian tourists, but the country does not have any tour guide who can speak Cambodian. Many Thai tour guides have learnt Vietnamese to receive travellers from Vietnam. ASEAN countries have tourism offices in Vietnam, but the country does not have a representative office abroad.

Tourism laws should be corrected soon to be suitable for new changes and conditions. The industry needs appropriate policies to make an effective breakthrough, said Chairman of the Vietnam Tourism Association, Nguyen Huu Tho.

By My Hanh – SGGP