Hotel in Hanoi Reference

Indochina’s old dame, Hanoi is striving to modernize, yet unwilling to let go of the beauty of its glorious past.

Slightly vain, the city won’t bow down and give any tourists and easy time. Only those who are truly willing to understand and listen will recognize the logic of Hanoi’s beauty, the complexity of its chaos and peace, its urban speed and rural tranquility.

History and name

Hanoi used to be called Thang Long (flying dragon). The myth was that in 2010, the new king Ly Cong Uan while visiting this valley saw a dragon flying into the sky, and took this as an omen that this place was a suitable capital to rule. Thang Long had rich soil and good defense because it was surrounded by the Red River and backed by mountains.

The city was later renamed Hanoi (which means inside the river) in 1831 when the Nguyen dynasty moved capital to Hue. Hanoi was returned its status as capital during the French rule from 1887 to 1954, and continued to be the capital, first of Communist North Vietnam (from 1954) and later,  of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.  

As of 2008, Hanoi will be expanded to include the surrounding province of Hatay and parts of Ha Dong, to a size of 3.200km2 and population of over 6 million people.

Getting there and around

Most visitors will land at Noi Bai international airports through one of the following airlines:

•    Vietnam Airlines – the primary national carrier
•    JetStar Airlines (tel: 84-4 9550550)  – discount Vietnamese carrier
•    Malaysia Airlines Malaysia Airlines fly daily to Hanoi from Kuala Lumpur
•    Cathay Pacific – upscale airline with flights to Hong Kong
•    Hong Kong Airlines  – new carrier with daily flights to/from Hong Kong
•    Thai Airways International – two flights daily to/from Bangkok
•    Lao Airlines – operating flights from Phnom penh to Hanoi
•    Nok Air  – budget airline flies to/from Bangkok
•    Tiger Airways

It takes around 40-60 minutes to get to the city downtown from the airport by taxi and costs 30 US$ .

By train

Vietnam’s major north-south train, the Reunification Express, runs from Hanoi south to  central Vietnam (Hue and Danang) and then further to Ho Chi Minh City (more than 30 hours from Hanoi).

By bus

Hanoi is the main gateway for buses run from north to south on the coast of Vietnam. There are daily bus routes from Hanoi to all cities around Vietnam at Kim Ma, Giap Bat, Luong Yen and Gia Lam bus station.

Source: hanoi.com.vn

Tags: Captipal, Peaceful
Posted in Destination | No Comments »

Walt Rostow and the Bombing of North Vietnam, 1961-1968

Walt Rostow Rostow was the most destructive civilian member of the John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson administrations in regard to the troublesome foreign policy issue that was troubling the administration: the Vietnamese Civil War.

Rostow advised Kennedy to deploy U.S. combat troops to South Vietnam, as well as providing the reasons to Johnson for the bombing campaign. “Rather than serving primarily as a muscular advocate of Third World development, as his background as an economic historian at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) seemed to portend, Rostow was one of the chief architects of America’s worst-ever military defeat”.

At this time, American was concerned, almost fanatic, with the subject of communism in Asia, especially Vietnam. He told the government that communism was a parasitic and troublesome infection within society. “Rostow argued that America alone possessed the capacity to guide developing countries towards the liberal-capitalist endpoint that he described unromantically as the “age of mass consumption.” But ironically, Rostow’s “stages of economic growth” were little more than Marx’s dynamic of historical materialism with a happier, capitalist ending. His was a model informed by economic determinism”.

Rostow believed that Vietnam would cave into America’s demands and promoted a forceful military reaction to communist infringements of the 1954 Geneva Accords in Laos and Vietnam.

“Rostow proposed to Kennedy three possible means through which the frontier with Laos, the infiltration hotspot, could be closed. The first was diplomacy, of which Rostow was skeptical; the second was to patrol the border through the deployment of ground forces and air attacks; but the third was a “direct attack on North Vietnam sufficiently costly to induce Hanoi to end its war against South Vietnam. I had in mind not only the possibility of air action but, after a suitable program of diplomatic warning, moving forces into North Vietnam itself””.

Rostow suggested that the Americans should bomb Vietnam, as the country would be susceptible to conventional bomb attacks. In March 1965, the Rolling Thunder campaign commenced.

Because of Rostow’s advice and actions, he tore a large hole in the social fabric of American society as well as undermining the people’s trust in the government and ended the career of a president.

Rostow later commented on his detestable actions: “I don’t spend much time worrying about that period.”

Bibliography:

Milne, David (2007) “Our Equivalent of Guerrilla Warfare”: Walt Rostow and the Bombing of North Vietnam, 1961-1968, The Journal of Military History, Society for Military History.

Tags: 19611968, Bombing, North, Rostow, Vietnam, Walt
Posted in Destination | No Comments »

The Cham are an ethnic group from southwest Asia, the majority of their numbers living in modern day Cambodia and Vietnam. The kingdom of Champa existed from around 192 CE to 1471 CE, when Cham power was decisively broken by the Vietnamese. It is believed among scholars that the term ‘Cham’ was used at an earlier time as a general term for all the Chamic-speaking peoples of Vietnam.

The first recorded Cham king was Cri Mara, who came to the throne in 192; the last was Ban La Tra Toan. The region of Amaravati, which lies between the Hai Van Pass and Quy Nhon, was the dominant political centre for most of the Cham’s power. Most archaeological sites are located at Quang Tri and the areas nearby, although little now remains of the Champa civilization that once thrived along the coastal plains of central and southern Vietnam. These ruins are the physical remains of the Champa civilization, which reached its zenith in the sixth or seventh century but has long since returned to obscurity. Early reliefs show the Chams playing zithers, harps, tambourines, cymbals, flutes, and gongs.

Starting just below what is now the city of Hue, the Chams at the apex of their power ruled most of Central and South Vietnam, with their allies the Funan and the Khmers ruling Laos and Cambodia. The Khmers were not allies for long, and many of the great battles chronicled in relief in the temples at Angkor depict the changing tides of wars with Champa. Usually the Chams were also fighting with the Vietnamese to their North, with the Vietnamese gradually pushing the Chams back from the ninth century on. However, it is unlikely that Champa was ever a unified state (Higham, p.592).

According to Louis Finot, who bases his belief on an inscription from Po Nagar which was set up by King Java Harivarmadeva in 1160 CE, describes the regions of Champa as ‘provinces’ (Higham, p.592). Indeed, a Chinese traveller, Ma Tuan Ling, confirms that Champa was a group of kingdoms, instead of a unified state. He describes the Cham people as “dark, ugly, half-naked but well-organized peoples with a simple agriculture” (Addiss, p. 32).

During the 11th and 12th centuries, the Cham experienced a large amount of warfare, including several serious battles with the Khmers, who dominated Champa from 1203 to 1220. Even before this, Chinese records state that the Linyi (the Chams) comprised numerous tribes that cooperated in resisting the Chinese expansion into Cham territory. It is because of the Chinese records that we have knowledge of the civil centres and the names f their overlords up to the 6th century CE.

It was due to a civil war among the Chams, starting in 1441, was the beginning of the end of their kingdom. They had endured with some success both the Khmers and Vietnamese, and indeed had sacked Hanoi in a raid in 1371, but after becoming politically separated they fell to the Vietnamese onslaught in 1471. Today, the Cham still speak Cham, the language of their ancestors, and live mainly along coastal regions.

Bibliography:

Addiss, Stephen (1971) Music of the Cham People, Asian Music, University of Texas Press.

Higham, Charles (2005) The Human Past – Complex Socities of East and Southeast Asia, Thames & Hudson, London.

Tags: Cham, History, People, Vietnam
Posted in Destination | No Comments »

Article by Tuan

VietNam ToursWelcome to a world where the colours are more vivid, where the landscapes are bolder, the coastline more dramatic, where the history is more compelling, where the tastes are more divine, where life is lived in the fast lane. This world is Vietnam, the latest Asian dragon to awake from its slumber – lonelyplanet.Classic & Culture

1 VT01: Vietnam at A Glimpse – 10 days from HN 2 VT02: The Best of Vietnam – 15 days from HN 3 VT03: Vietnam Highlights – 12 days from HN 4 VT04: Vietnam Heritages – 12 days from HN 5 VT05: Vietnam Relaxation – 12 days from HN 6 VT06: Vietnam in your eyes – 11 days from HCM 7 VT07: Beautiful Vietnam – 15 days from HCM 8 VT08: Vietnam Discovery By Train – 18 days from HN

Luxury

1 VLT01: Vietnam in Style – 12 days from HCM 2 VLT02: Vietnam in Style – 14 days from HN 3 VLT03: Essential Vietnam – 15 days from HN 4 VLT04: Luxury Vietnam – 16 days from HN 5 VLT05: Majestic Vietnam – 21 days from HN 6 VLT 06: Majestic Vietnam – 21 days from HCM

Family

1 VFT01: Family Holiday – 12 days from HN 2 VFT02: Impressive Vietnam – 12 days from HCM 3 VFT03: Best of Family Vacation – 14 days from HN 4 VFT04: Vietnam Values – 15 days from HCM

Adventure

1 AD01: Untouched North – 14 days / 13 nights 2 AD02: Mountain to Sea – 21 days from HN 3 AD03: Discover Vietnam – 19 days from HCM

Halong Cruises

1 HT01: Halong Deluxe Cruise – 2 days / 1night 2 HT02: Halong Deluxe Cruise – 3 days / 2 nights 3 HT03: Halong Luxury Cruise – 2 days / 1 night 4 HT04: Halong Luxury Cruise – 3 days / 2nights

Mekong Cruises

1 MC 01: Bassac Cruise – 2 days / 1night 2 MC 02: Le Cochinchine Cruise – 2 days / 1night 3 MC 03: Song Xanh Cruise – 2 days / 1night 4 MC 04: Mekong Eyes Cruise – 2 days / 1 night 5 MC 05: Pandaw Cruise – 4 days / 3 nights 6 MC 06: RV La Marguerite Cruise – 8 days / 7 nights

Sapa Tours

1 ST01: Impressive Sapa – 4 days / 3 nights 2 ST02: Sapa Markets – 5 days / 4nighst 3 ST03: Sapa Highlights – 6 days / 5 nights 4 ST04: Sapa Trek and Homestay – 5 days / 4 nights 5 ST05: Sapa Trek, Homestay & Market – 7 days / 6 nights

Beach Breaks

1 BK 01: Hoi An Beach Getaway – 4days /3nights 2 BK 02: Mui Ne Beach Getaway – 4 days /3nights 3 BK 03: Nha Trang Getaway – 5 days /4nights 4 BK 04: Phu Quoc Beach Getaway – 4 days /3nights 5 BK 04: Phan Thiet & Nha Trang Getaway – 7 days /6nights

Daily Tours

1 DT01: Hanoi City Tour – Full Day 2 DT02: Hanoi – Halong – Full Day 3 DT03: Hanoi – Hoa Lu – Trang An grottoes – Full Day 4 DT04: Hanoi – Perfume Pagoda – Full Day 5 DT05: Hue City Tour – Full Day 6 DT06: My Son – Hoi An – Full Day 7 DT07: Tay Ninh – Cu Chi Tunnels – Full Day 8 DT08: My Tho – Full Day Many Thanks and Best RegardsTony Sales Director_________________________________________________KT ADVENTURE – INDOCHINAVALUEHead Office: Suite 405, B13 Building, Sai Dong, Long Bien, Hanoi, VietnamPh: +84-4- 36740486Fx: +84-4- 36740487Hotline: +84-912988865Website: http://www.indochinavalue.com Email: info@indochinavalue.com | V I E T N A M | L A O S | C A M B O D I A |

Tags: Travel, Vietnam
Posted in Destination | No Comments »