CURRY TREES IN VIETNAM

This curry variety is native to the tropics of the Americas, is a tropical tree, can live up to 50 years, small tree, 4-10m high, many branches.

© Explore Vietnam by motorbike tours – VIETNAMRIDER® – since 1999

Unlike the common Indian curry variety, the trees have pink flowers and bright red thorny fruits, containing red seeds. The fruit dries and hardens into a brown capsule.

The fruit is not edible, but the seeds have many uses. The curry seeds are used to color foods, such as butter, fish and cooking oils. 

Not only the field of food but also cosmetics and pharmaceuticals in some countries such as the United States, Brazil also extracted Bixin pigment in the curry seeds to create a safe color for products. 

In addition to taking seeds to color foods, plant parts have many therapeutic effects such as seeds as dewormers. 

© Explore Vietnam by motorbike tours – VIETNAMRIDER® – since 1999

Folk experience in Colombia, people pound curry seeds to treat snakebites and eliminate phlegm. Leaves are used to treat dysentery, fever, malaria, and some other parts of the plant as medicine against heatstroke, tonsillitis, burns, pleurisy, diarrhea, and dysentery. 

In Vietnam, the curry seeds are reduced by housewives in hot peanut oil, coconut oil or lard, filtered to get a mixture of colors to cook foods such as curry, rice noodles, stir-fry.

© Explore Vietnam by motorbike tours – VIETNAMRIDER® – since 1999

9 DAY HANOI HA GIANG TRIP

This 9 DAY HANOI HA GIANG TRIP to one of the most fascinating places in Vietnam. It boasts of the most majestic and impressive natural landscapes in Southeast Asia, yet so many travelers overlook it. Ha Giang is a fascinating place where apart from an inspiring scenery, you have easy access to the most rural and authentic side Vietnam. Don’t miss it…

Day 1: Hanoi – Nghia Lo

Nghia Lo is good for a night before going off to discover Mu Cang Chai. There are quite a number of ethnic villages that offer homestay service in Nghia Lo, one of them is the Black Thai minority village which is praised for its authenticity of a Thai community. Do homestay at this village, travelers will enjoy the experiences of living, eating, working and living in a cultural space with local people.

Distance: 230km. Normal road. Homestay.

   9 DAY HANOI HA GIANG TRIP - VIETNAMRIDER®

Day 2: Nghia Lo – Sa Pa

O Quy Ho Pass has long been a legendary destination for travelers, it would make a wonderful stop for your motorbike trip. The pass is hailed as the king of passes in northwest Vietnam, being extreme in both road’s difficulty and natural scenery. The road leading up the pass’s top is winding, supple as the silk. Come when the sun is setting, visitors will be moved by the beautiful landscape just like a watercolor painting before the eyes. 

Literally called “the sky’s horn” - Khau Pha Pass is one of the most beautiful and dangerous passes in north Vietnam, it is more than 30 kilometers long.

Distance: 240km. Normal road. 1000m – 2000m high mountains. Hotel / Homestay.

9 DAY HANOI HA GIANG TRIP - VIETNAMRIDER®

Day 3: Sapa

Sa Pa is a small hill station town in Northern Vietnam close to the border of China. It’s best known for the terraced rice fields, colorful minority people, trekking, homestay, and Fansipan - the tallest peak in Vietnam and S.E.A. The town is gorgeously picturesque with buildings inspired by French architecture, local tribes selling handmade goods on the streets, and delicious local cuisine.

Trekking. 1000m – 2000m high mountains. Hotel / Homestay.

   9 DAY HANOI HA GIANG TRIP - VIETNAMRIDER®

Day 4: Sapa – Bac Ha

Bac Ha Market is a chance to get an intimate look at the culture and commerce of Northern Vietnam’s highlands. Visiting is definitely an exciting and interesting experience. The energy and color of the Flower Hmong People give the area a unique vibrancy. The local minority tribes bring their livestock, wares and rice wine to sell every week. Many different ethnic groups such as Flower Hmong, Black Hmong, Black Dao, Tay and Nung minorities gather to buy and sell local products that cannot be found elsewhere.

Distance: 120km. Normal road / off-road. 1000m – 2000m high mountains. Homestay.

   9 DAY HANOI HA GIANG TRIP - VIETNAMRIDER®

Day 5: Bac Ha – Ha Giang

If you come to Hoang Su Phi during the harvest season, you will have chance to see the golden terraces covered in the white clouds. The terraced fields have long been considered as the artworks of the locals' hard work and no longer just agricultural cultivation. Hoang Su Phi offers breathtaking views of layers and layers of rice fields on mountain after mountain.

The ethnic people, including Hmong, Tay, Nung and Hoa ethnic minorities stay true to their identity and tradition by dressing with their finest costumes to attend the weekly fair market. The event is a chance for local people to purchase their tribal goods, self-grown li, socialize, and eat good foods. It’s a very local, friendly atmosphere and you’ll find yourself enjoying the market in no time.

Distance: 180km. Normal road / off-road. 1000m high mountains. Hotel.

   9 DAY HANOI HA GIANG TRIP - VIETNAMRIDER®

Day 6: Ha Giang – Dong Van

The Heaven Gate which is on a height of 1500m above sea level, offering breathtaking views of the valley below. It’s such a wonderful experience to take in such scenery during your trip. From the Heaven Gate to look over the Quan Ba Mountains, a lovely sight to behold from the road. The two round-shaped green hills lying side by side on the middle of the rice field will sure will catch your eyes because of its charming appearance.

The Happiness Road (185 km long, made from 1958 - 1965) to Ma Pi Leng - the King of all the passes in Vietnam, has a long and heroic history of itself starting from the days even before its birth.

Many volunteers, workers from several ethnic groups had joined hands to open the toughest mountain road in Vietnam, very first road in Ha Giang. Some of them sacrificed their lives on the span of 7 years of making this road. The name of the road is also the wish for happiness that the local people here sent to the future.

Distance: 150km. Normal road. 1000m – 2000m high mountains. Hotel / Homestay.

   9 DAY HANOI HA GIANG TRIP - VIETNAMRIDER®

Day 7: Dong Van – Bao Lac

Lung Cu is a great place to take panoramic photos of Dong Van, Ha Giang, especially the winding Happiness Road. The 100-year-old Dong Van Old Quarter is the highest old quarter in Vietnam with the typical Chinese architecture on the dramatic backdrop of sheer mountains and green rice fields. Most of the houses in the Old Quarter are Trinh Tuong Houses, lived in by Hmong, Tay, Kinh, Zao, Hoa ethnic people.

Distance: 100km. Normal road. 1000m – 2000m high mountains. Hotel.

   9 DAY HANOI HA GIANG TRIP - VIETNAMRIDER®

Day 8: Bao Lac – Ba Be

Ba Be National Park has featured in hundreds of newspapers, magazines, forums and blogs, but nothing can prepare you for experiencing its intoxicating landscapes and clear waters first hand. The lakes have a lot to offer, including waterfalls, rivers, valleys, lakes, and caves all set amidst picturesque landscapes.

It was recently recognized by UNESCO as the third Ramsar site in Vietnam - an important wetland of the world. With further exploration of Ba Be National Park, you will also begin to discover some of the minority villages in the region.

Distance: 160km. Normal road / off-road. 1000m high mountains. Homestay.

   9 DAY HANOI HA GIANG TRIP - VIETNAMRIDER®

Day 9: Ba Be – Hanoi

One of the best ways to experience the incredible beauty of Ba Be is doing the boat trip, you can explore the rivers, lakes and caves that make up this area of stunning beauty.

Return and finish at Hanoi.

Distance: 250km. Normal road. 500m high mountains.

© Explore Vietnam by motorbike tours - VIETNAMRIDER® - since 1999

DISCOVERY LAM DONG PROVINCE

Referring to the highland flowers and sunshine tourism, people often refer to Lam Vien plateau, the highlight is Da Lat. And Di Linh plateau seems to be forgotten. In my heart, we think Di Linh is just a stop or a pass. Until one day, reluctant to stop, startled, Di Linh is so beautiful!

Di Linh plateau starts from the foot of Bao Loc Pass to Prenn Pass, D'ran Pass including the vast land of B'Lao tea origin of Bao Loc, to Duc Trong and then into Cau Dat area tea Don Duong ..., not only encapsulated in Di Linh area. But just stopping in Di Linh district today is enough to imagine this large area. From the district center, it is possible to walk in four directions along Highway 20 and Highway 28, many people will be overwhelmed by the beautiful and wild nature of the plateau.


DISCOVERY LAM DONG PROVINCE

The terrain of Di Linh is a rolling hills and mountains, each with four directions lying next to Brah-Yang high mountains (1,874 meters), Mount Yang Doan (1,812 meters) and Pantar mountains (1,654 meters). Wandering into tea hills, coffee fields or villages, visitors will hear real-life stories of legendary colors. The Di Linh Plateau was the wet forest full of elephants, deer, buckets and rhinos all the day before. Although often encroached to gain the right to dominate the country, enjoy the products of precious tribute from the old forest, but the indigenous people remain indomitable against. As a result, they still retain their land and culture to this day. The anti-enemy stories and the abundance of the wild life of the past made the journey not only to be a glimpse or to take simple photos but tourists have to swim, sit back with the people in the villages to hear about Di Linh land of centuries ago.

Leaving the town, with just a few minutes by motorbike, visitors can start exploring the beauty of the plateau. There, not only tea hills, coffee fields, but also terraced fields similar to the Northwest. Along Highway 28, it is easy to see people using crane machines, plowing fields to prepare for the golden season. This season pouring rain, terraced fields such as adding vitality, resurgence with glistening water surface. Wild hills seem to wake up after a long sleep. Trees, grass and green picturesque grass and young leaves full of vitality. The plots are located on flat areas of narrow valleys between mountains, hills or terraced fields stretching on the hillside, enough to "hold" visitors for hours. The adventurers take pictures day and night to "catch" the best moments of nature and the highland people are green.


DISCOVERY LAM DONG PROVINCE

In the south, it is about six kilometers, located on the side of National Highway 20 Dau Giay to Da Lat is the majestic waterfall Bobla. Only about 300 meters away from the residential area, the waterfall lies in the middle of the mountain, surrounded by an old forest. The water that came here suddenly fell from a height of about 30 meters, creating a virtual curtain of smoke covering the aggressive water as if to swallow everything. The flow of water through the smoke becomes soft and then turns through the stone holes that flow gently towards the downstream. The path to the waterfall is a moss-covered stairway about a kilometer long, covered with cool forest. It is a wild enough place for tourists to immerse themselves in nature, dispelling their worries and worries.

In the center of the district, along National Highway 28, going eastward, beautiful passes wind like soft silk wool between the old forests. It is also a road built by the French more than a century ago based on the trails of indigenous people. More than a hundred years ago, this trail printed the footsteps of the Montanans carrying the mountain forest products from the Di Linh plateau to the sea in exchange for food and salt. Barefoot kicked ice for many days for the journey of "salty salt road" - exchanging ivory, beeswax, honey, sometimes rhino horns only for salt, which they loved most, tell both exchanged their lives for the jungle. The road is more winding than the Omega Pass connecting the land of thousands of flowers with the coastal city of Nha Trang, a spectacular challenge for the rider. In return, nature here is extremely beautiful. There are steep sections, one side of the road is the valley but far away is the blue mountain range of Di Linh plateau. The color of the mountain seduced "Mr. Nam" Yersin from a physician on board to become an explorer, expanding this wild plateau.


DISCOVERY LAM DONG PROVINCE

Along the Highway 20 in the North are majestic waterfalls, associated with the last king of the Nguyen Dynasty. "Westernized", King Bao Dai became a king of "very Western" enjoyment - prefer to hunt and enjoy the wild nature. Both Pongour and Jráiblian waterfalls in Duc Trong are associated with his name. And there are also two majestic but equally poignant waterfalls of the plateau.


DISCOVERY LAM DONG PROVINCE

© Explore Vietnam by motorbike tours - VIETNAMRIDER® - since 1999