Vietnam Airlines news: Magical moon cakes

Do you have a sweet tooth? Every autumn, bakers across Vietnam turn out special cakes and pastries. For children, the Mid-Autumn festival is arguably the most exciting event of the year. As well as being given toys and lanterns, kids enjoy special fruits, sweets and cakes during this traditional festival. Sticky cakes and grilled cakes are essential, but each region has its own recipe. Here, Vietnam airlines introduces some of the tastiest Mid-Autumn cakes on offer in Vietnam’s three regions.

The North:

-Green bean-filled sticky cake (bánh dẻo nhân đậu xanh):

Green bean-filled sticky cake

The most popular Mid-Autumn cake across all regions, sticky cakes are circular in form-just like a full moon. Sometimes, sticky cakes are designed to resemble cats, dogs or fish, which adds to kid’s excitement. Covered in dough made from sticky rice flour, sticky cakes are stuffed with a mix of ingredients, including salty eggs, meat, lotus seeds and whatever else takes the chef’s liking.

-Vietnamese sausage cake (bánh chả):

Sausage cake

Available everywhere, sausage cakes are a simple but appealing gift for people of all ages. Ingredients include rice dough for the outer cover and a stuffing of ground chicken and lime leaves. Sausage cakes are often served at tea parties and at family meals. They often accompany a plate of autumn fruits, such as sugar apples, and grapefruits.

The Central Region:

Green tea- filled grilled cake (bánh nướng nhân trà xanh):

Green tea-filled grilled cake

All over Vietnam, grilled cakes are essential during the Mid-Autumn Festival. Filling may include meat, salty egg, green bean paste, red bean paste, or whatever is on hand. A green tea-filling give these cakes a special scent and flavor. There is nothing like a green-tea grilled cake washed down with a cup of tea on a crisp autumn morning.

The South:

Pia cake filled with durian and salty egg (bánh pía sầu riêng trứng mặn):

Pia cake filled with durian and salty egg

Along with sticky cakes and grilled cakes, pia cakes are popular in the South, where they are often given as presents. These cakes feature a soft doughy shell stuffed with a mix of sweet durians and fatty salty egg. Pia cakes are made in many different regions, yet those from Soc Trang province are said to be the most delicious.

Foreign travelers can take flights with Vietnam Airlines to go around Vietnam and enjoy all the specialties.

Discover the green highlands with Vietnam Airlines

Passengers of Vietnam airlines to Vietnam’s Lam Dong province will find beautiful mountain views, diverse flora and fauna, and a sense of adventure.

Located on the Lam Vien- Di Linh Highlands at an altitude of 1,500 meters above the sea level, Lam Dong province offers great tourism potential thanks to its beautiful scenery. Dubbed “The city of Flowers”, Dalat enchants visitors with its romantic French Festival. Not far from town, visitors can ride mountain bikes, visit waterfalls, rock-climb, camp and hike.

About 50km from Dalat City along Province Route 723, Bidoup National Park features amazingly rich biodiversity. Located on Ba Mountain, it is one of 28 national parks in Vietnam designed as a special-use forest. The park is home to more than 1,468 species of plants, including rare orchids and daisies. 91 plant species are unique to this area, such as the red pine tree and Lang Biang flowering tea. Rare animals live here too, and Bidoup ranks as one of the world’s most vital bird reverses.

Lang Biang flowering tea

All-terrain jeeps take visitors on an adventurous journey through the Central Highland. Crossing beautiful valleys, dry springs and sloping paths through dense forests, visitors encounter magnificent towering mountains and cozy cottages nestling in the quiet hamlet of Cu Lan- Suoi Can in Lat Commune, Lac Duong Province. Cu Lan village is home to the ancient Lach people. Visitors ship Ruou Can-homemade rice wine that is drunk through hollow canes that serve as straws- and listen to Cong Chieng performances, deep bass sounds of which seem to hold the very souls of the highlands.

Central Highland

About 18 km northwest of Bao Loc Town, the Damb’ri Waterfalls offer a majestic sight of white water plummeting 60 meters off a cliff. Nearby, visitors can discover the habits and customs of the Chau Ma ethnic group through the scared Giang ceremony and displays of local antiques.

A trip to Lam Dong province is an enchanting mix of culture, history and natural wonder. Highlands delight even the most jaded travelers and you will never regret following Vietnam Airlines’ invitation.

Dos and Don'ts in Vietnam

Vietnam is a friendly and safe place to travel. Vietnamese people are very gracious, polite and generous and will make every effort to make customers feel comfortable. Here are some general advices on things to do and not to do Vietnam as:

Do and do not in Vietnam

Bargaining and shopping

Bargaining is a culture in the small retail business in Vietnam. If you look at any items without listed prices when you go shopping, salespeople often ask you 10% - 20% higher than actual price. Be ingenious and skillful when buying favorite items and keep in mind the following tips:

• Some stores display "fixed price", which means you will not have to bargain! However, there are many places you can still bargain for discounts such as: markets, stalls, souvenir shops, etc. You should always keep a friendly attitude. Bargaining is sometimes a fun experience, not a battle, and leaves both parties satisfied.

• You may need to make a reference and consider carefully before buying valuable items such as jewelry, gem or camera. With such valuables, you should buy at big and prestigious stores with clear warranty.

Currency exchange

• You can easily exchange currency in places like: the reception in the hotel or the surrounding banks.

• Visa, American Express Cards, Master Card and JCB are accepted in many places such as: hotels, restaurants, tourist centers, shops, supermarkets and ticket office.

• Most foreign currencies can be exchanged into Vietnam Dong, especially U.S. dollars. Many restaurants give you the bills in even U.S. dollars. However, you should still use Vietnam Dong for easy shopping for souvenirs or enjoying the delicious food on the street vendors.

Dress code

• Vietnamese dress style is quite casual and simple. Unless you want to dress for dinner in a luxurious hotel, opulent places, normally you should not wear smart dress and accessories.

• Always keeping awareness when you visit a family, a locality or a religious place such as temple/ pagoda. There, you need to leave shoes at the door before entering, never wear shorts, dresses or skirts with low-neck line and bare shoulder. Because this is considered to be extremely crude and offensive.

Gift giving

• If you are invited to Vietnamese home, you should give small gifts for women, children or the elderly of the house to show your respect. They may be cosmetics, clothing or flowers, and fruits and wrapped in Nice and colorful paper.

• Avoid using black color, daisy when you visit them because it represents bad luck.

Language and expressiveness

Expressiveness and language of Vietnamese people are very rich, you can sometimes cause misunderstanding. Many Vietnamese do not speak English well; they somehow can listen to you, smile and nod. It really is their friendly gesture, but it does not mean that they fully understand what you mean. When you need to demonstrate your language without an interpreter, you should use pen and paper.

Public behavior

• Handshake is the most common form when you want to greet someone.

• Avoid excessively intimate actions and feelings for the opposite sex at public

• Do not touch someone's head

• Do not put anything over someone's head.

• Do not touch the shoulder of anyone.

• Do not touch a strange opposite sex.

Safety

• Really pay attention to your valuable items such as jewelry, money and passport

• Always leave cash, airline tickets, passport, copy of your ID card, original documents and other valuable in thehotels safety deposit facility

• Never bring too much cash with you when you go out to avoid pickpockets. You should leave your passport in the hotel. Your pocket and cameras should be kept in font.

Transportation

In major cities, you will often experience traffic jam during rush hours. Sometimes, you can see the drivers on the streets of Vietnam as circus artists. Please keep in mind the following points:

• Always drive on the right of the road in Vietnam

• Always wear a helmet when driving motorbike

• Should not use public transport during rush hours because it is not needed. It would be inconvenient and a waste of your time.

Note: The best way to travel Vietnam is to book Vietnam airlines to ensure high quality services.

Taking part in Le Muong festival with Vietnam Airlines

This autumn, Vietnam airlines invites all visitors to experience a place of extremes and marvelousness with the beauty of Vietnam’s Muong culture. Thai A reports on what is sure to be an exciting event.

On September 30th, the Le Muong festival will open in Hoa Binh town to honor the culture, music and traditional graphic arts of the Muong people. Held in the Muong cultural space museum in Hoa Binh city, Hoa Binh province, the event will encompass a festival and an exhibition.

Designed to celebrate and preserve ethnic Muong culture, the Le Muong festival features four key sections:

Mo Muong singing: The Mo Muong artist known as “Mr. Mo Muong” and other singers will take the stage to perform rhymed epics detailing the Muong people’s vision of the start of the world. The 70-year-old oracle Bui Van Chay will perform ancestor workship rites and recount the epic “The Birth of earth and Heaven”, a folk myth that narrates the Muong people’s history.

Special art: Stone and timber reclaimes from old Muong stilt houses will be transformed into artworks. There is also a 3000 square meter herb plantation. The displays are sent on a 1.5 hectare hillside,

Music: an orchestra will play traditional Muong gong music.

Body art: Body art in the patterns of Muong folding skirts will be painted on the bodies of Muong youngsters.

Weigh everything up, there will be definitely no disappointment revealed after long flight to set foot on this wonderland.

Over an area of 1.5 hectares of steep terrain in the museum grounds, a group of contemporary sculptors led by Mr. Dao Chau Hai and including the four sculptors Khong Do Tuyen, Nguyen Ngoc Lam, Nguyen Van Ngoc and Nguyen Van Thao, will use timber and stones obtained from two demolished Muong stilts houses to arrange and create works of art that combine Land art and Ecological art.

The fertile soil between the timber and stones will be filled with 200 species of herbs cultivated by Muong people. These herbs will contribute to the restoration of the Muong’s herb steam-bathing customs. Herbal steam-baths has long been used for medicinal reasons. One 200-square meter stilt house is devoted to herb stem baths.

The 1.5 hectare site and its various artworks will form an important visual focus for the festival. Exhibits should be in place for one year. A unique blend of modern arts and old-fashioned rituals, and an east meets West festival style, will hopefully bring new ideas to the community. The festival should have long-lasting impact on Muong society and leave visitors with enduring impressions of this fascinating culture.

Foreign travelers can book flights with Vietnam Airlines to Hanoi then take tours to Hoa Binh and enjoy the festival with the local people.

Vietnam Airlines introduces Co To Island

5 years ago, “Co To island” seemed to be a strange venue with many passengers. Nevertheless, this land is becoming an increasingly interesting place to go for a special trip, which will be introduced by Vietnam airlines as following.

Tourists visiting Co To island are impressed not only by pristine beauty of nature here but also by the friendly attitude of locals and their hospitality. All are thanks to the new and advanced management of the local authorities, triggering the development of tourism sector. Difficulties in transportation, water, electricity is being solved and other conditions and services are being gradually improved to meet the demand of travelers.

Eco-tourism is attracting many domestic and international tourists to Co To island. It also becomes huge revenue of this island village beside exploiting and processing sea creature. An increasing number of households are investing in several kinds of services such as: transportation, restaurants, hotels…”Home stay” is a new decision of the province government, which is just applied in Dong Tien commune. It is proving its effective side so that the local authorities are going to expand it to some other areas.

Infrastructures of Co To island are being built to make it more convenient with visitors but there remains indispensable pure nature to attract them. More special venues as well as relaxing activities will be discovered such as: local art exhibition, discovering the natural sea, one day becoming a fisherman. Besides, protecting environment will definitely plays a vital role in relation with developing tourism field.

Vietnam Airlines advises all our honored foreign passengers that you should take flights to Hanoi and utilize some means of transport to visit Co To island as soon as possible. Needless to say, Co To island will be a perfect choice in your summer holiday.

Explore green rice with Vietnam Airlines

Each year, Vietnamese families look forward to the harvest of fresh green glutinous rice. Vietnam airlines presents some favorite dishes made with sweet-smelling green rice. Here, Vietnam Airlines introduces some popular dishes.

Fried minced pork with green rice flakes (chả cốm):

Greasy minced pork fried with sweet-scented young green rice flakes (Com) add up to a tasty dish typical of Northern Vietnam. Young green rice flakes produced early in the Com harvest season are thin and soft. By the end of the Com harvest season, the green rice flakes are bigger and thicker. Only green rice flakes produced in the middle of the Com harvest season are suitable for this recipe. Steamed pieces of chopped pork and green rice flakes are soaked in boiling oil. This tasty savory dish is best served hot.

Sweet green rice porridge (chè cốm):

Sweet green rice porridge is a very popular dish in Vietnam. Green rice is cooked with sugar to create a subtly sweet pudding. What makes this dish special is the scent of fresh green rice.

Fried green sticky rice (cốm rang):

Sweet-scented Com Vong is used to make one of the most famous local specialties in Hanoi-fried glutinous green rice. The cook adds green rice flakes into boiling water and sugar, stirs the mixture well and fried it in a pan over low heat. It takes just a few minutes until the mixture turns smooth and dry. Diners cut the cakes intro squares and dip them in roasted sesame seeds and coconut.

Green rice flake cakes (bánh cốm):

 Green rice flake cakes are made of dried green rice flakes, green beans and sugar. To prepare the covering of the cake, 1kg of green rice flakes is mixed with 1.3 liters of water and 1kg of sugar. The essence of grapefruit flowers is added to the mixture. The filling consists of 1kg of steamed green beans and 1.2kg of sugar. Other ingredients include sugared lotus seeds, coconut and grapefruit essence. This delicious yet simple cake is often wrapped in banana leaves.

Even if you are not hungry, it is hard to turn down a plate of sweet steamed green sticky rice. This dish is made using fresh soft and very dry green rice flakes, green beans, coconut and sugar. First of all, green bean are steamed in a rice cooker and ground into flour. A paste of green bean flour, coconut and two or three spoon of sugar is fried over a low fire until the mixture become thick and smooth. It takes about 10 minutes to steam fresh green rice yet 15 to 20 minutes to cook very dry green rice. The dish has a delicious flavor of green rice, green beans and coconut essence.

Foreign travelers can take flights with Vietnam Airlines to go around Vietnam and enjoy all the specialties.

Vietnam Airlines - Before Flight

You need to know something before your flight. They are:

1. Special meals
2. Baggage information
3. Frequent flyer
4. Travel documents
5. Aircraft information
6. Restrictions on liquid
7. At the airport