Photo: Internet

Located in the southern province of Tay Ninh, Ba Den Mountain is always crowded by Vietnamese people and tourists coming from across the country during the Year-end Thanksgiving season. This event is a sacred moment of each person making pilgrimages to the spiritual legends, returning offerings, and thanks to what they asked for at the beginning of the new year.

The stunning beauty of a complex of famous spiritual works here includes the Ba Pagoda system (Linh Son Tien Thach Tu), where Linh Son Thanh Mau (Linh Son Holy Mother Bodhisattva) is situated and worshiped. In the religious life of Southern people, Linh Son Thanh Mau is the highest spiritual symbol that guides and nurtures them with compassion and mercy for sentient beings. The Ba Pagoda complex also encompasses Hang Pagoda, Trung Pagoda, Quan Am Pagoda, and others, all of which have a history of nearly 300 years, drawing millions of tourists annually for worship and prayers for peace.

On every Saturday night in the last month of the year, thousands of Sun World Ba Den Mountain cable cars carry people to the top of the sacred mountain to attend the most magical spiritual ceremony of flower garlands and lanterns offerings. To fill the night sky with illuminating lights, locals and tourists assemble and inscribe their wishes on the lanterns themselves, contributing to a distinctive and sacred experience on the highest mountain in the South.

Source: Collected

The consecration ritual for the magnificent statue of Maitreya Buddha on Ba Den Mountain will take place on January 28, 2024. In the opening ceremony, an unparalleled event will take place on top of Ba Den mountain, where more than 2024 lanterns will be offered by Buddhists and tourists from different places. It will see the presence of more than 500 Buddhist monks and nuns from the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha.

Photo: Collected

As special interest tourism such as sports tourism or wellness tourism has become a booming market across the globe, NovaWorld Phan Thiet in Vietnam with its international facilities and top-notch services will definitely bring comprehensive rexperience to foreign sports tours.

NovaWorld Phan Thiet is hoped to help boost Vietnam’s sports tourism and luxury tourism segment due to several factors:

First, NovaWorld Phan Thiet has an overall area of 1.000 hectares, with NovaWorld Sport Complex accounting for 38,7 hectares. For sports tours, international customers can get access to more than 20 different sports facilities including Nova Football - an international football academy with a leading professional coaching team, a Olympic-standard swimming pool, basketball courts, tennis fields, 36-hole PGA golf course and and utility infrastructure to meet all needs of accommodation, dining and entertainment after training sections. In addition, the weather in Vietnam is warm and bright, which is perfect for playing sports all around the year.

According to NovaWorld Phan Thiet, they had welcomed a group of 500 young Korean football players coming to Vietnam for 2 months to attend the 2023 Korean Youth Football Congress, together with training and relaxing when South Korea was in a winter season.  

Second, sports tourism is undoubtedly a potential market, especially in correlation with wellness tourism, which are the two main focuses of NovaWorld Phan Thiet. 

This 1.000-hectare area is a hotspot including a variety of accommodations such as separate resort villas and 4 to 5-star hotels. There are also stylish bungalow resort clusters with influences from Korean and European designs. In addition to the Sport Complex, international sportsmen can enjoy other attractions there such as Circus Land Amusement Park, Festival Street which offers over 50 different brands for shopping and dining, Bikini Beach Marine Park, and Wonderland Water Park.

Third, NovaWorld Phan Thiet is also a tourism-friendly hub catering to open the easiest routes to get there. Either traveling by air or by car, visitors can be amazed by the stream-lined connection between major entry ports and NovaWorld Phan Thiet, which is located in Binh Thuan province. 

With the Dau Giay - Phan Thiet Expressway came into force in 2023, it only takes around 1 hour and 40 minutes car drive from Ho Chi Minh City to Phan Thiet. If you enter Vietnam through Long Thanh International Airport, NovaWorld Phan Thiet is only 55 minutes away from you. Then, let’s relax after a tough training session and hop in a car to Phan Thiet City which is famous for its crystal-clear beaches and endless sand dunes, 15 minutes for a remarkable experience!

Photo: Collected

Food/Cuisine is considered as one of the most distinctive parts of any culture, and Vietnam is no exception. Keep reading this article, as a typical Tet holiday meal with 10 traditional dishes in this Southeast Asia country, which holds Vietnamese lifelong history values in high regard can immediately blow your mind away! 

1. Banh chung, Banh tet

It is safe to say that Tet will never be complete without the appearance of Banh chung, Banh Tet in Vietnamese households’ altars and traditional meals. Legend has it that Banh chung (Savory sticky rice square cake) was created to represent the earth, which plays an important role in Vietnamese culinary culture dated thousand years ago. On the other hand, Banh tet (Savory sticky rice cylinder cake) with the same ingredients and flavor is more prominent in Southern Vietnam.

Source: Collected

Banh chung and Banh tet have the main ingredients which are fatty pork, mung beans, and sticky rice. As for Banh chung, Dong leaves are washed thoroughly and placed into a square mold, then families pour in sticky rice covered around the filling of mung beans and meat. Banh tet is packed in a cylinder shape without any molds, therefore people often find it difficult to make them compared to Banh chung. An experienced wrapper makes sure to tight Banh chung and Banh tet by hand and tie them firmly with resilient wooden cubes.

Thankfully, many generations of Vietnamese people have still preserved this distinct traditional beauty by joining the process, happily looking at the flickering firelight under the iconic boiling pot. 

2. Thit kho tau (Braised pork and eggs)

If you have a chance to visit the Southern part of Vietnam during the Tet holiday, you are likely to see a bowl of Thit kho tau (Braised pork and eggs) appearing in its families’ meals every time. 

In the hope for a year “regular square and round, everything is fine”, pork belly is cut into moderate and square blocks, and duck eggs are round, everything is caramelized in a pot of flavors: the sweetness of sugar, the spiciness of peppers and chilies, the saltiness of fish sauce the bitterness of caramel, and the creaminess of coconut milk. This dish only requires a few ingredients yet brings out a crazy-good flavor, perfect for family gatherings to enjoy when markets and other businesses are still closed. 

Source: Collected

3. Ga luoc (Boiled chicken)

Based on history, Ga luoc or Boiled chicken is a symbol of fullness and prosperity, this traditional dish is not only an indispensable part of the Tet year-round plates but also features in a lot of Vietnamese families’ anniversaries, parties, or weddings. 

Although it sounds incredibly simple, Ga luoc is still a difficulty for many Vietnamese home cooks as you want to control the temperature and the amount of water perfectly so then the meat is not too dry or wrinkled, as well as the inside is cooked and juicy.   

When ga luoc is served, it has to be clear-cut by a sharp knife into moderate blocks, without ragged presentation. In many families, chat ga (cutting boiled chicken) is a fun challenge set by the bride's side for a man who wants to marry their daughter.

Source: Collected

4. Thit dong (Jellied meat)

We have learned about Thit kho tau in Southern Vietnam, and its respective dish in Northern and Northern Central Vietnam is Thit dong (Jellied meat). Thit dong literally means meat and aspic are set into “jelly” due to the cold weather during the Tet holiday in these regions. In the past, when the living standard was relatively low, Thit dong was considered a treat that could only be eaten on Lunar New Year.

Source: Bep Xua

The primary components of this recipe consist of pork or chicken (specifically ham hock, pork rind or ears, as well as dense skin of chicken), wood-ear mushrooms, and shiitake mushrooms. The presence of collagen in the skin is what enables the aspic to set and maintain its form. The taste of this meal is uncomplicated yet delectable. It pairs perfectly with hot grains, put the aspic on top of a bowl of steaming hot rice until it melts, and you will be tasting an enjoyable mix of consistencies: the smooth broth, tender meat, chewy strips of pork skin, and crispy wood-ear mushrooms.

5. Kho qua nhoi thit (Stuffed bitter melon soup)

For Southerners, Kho qua nhoi thit (Stuffed bitter melon soup) is a must-have dish in family gatherings during the Tet holiday. Kho qua in Vietnamese means sadness and misfortunes (“kho”) will disappear (“qua”). This dish is deemed to bring them an extraordinary sense of peace of mind as if every misery would pass and positive things would come.

Source: Collected

The recipe is simple and you can easily find ingredients everywhere. First, cut open across a fresh bitter melon and remove the seeds, then stuff it tightly with a combination of minced pork, wooden mushrooms, scallions, and flavorful seasonings including salt, peppers, fish sauce, and a bit of sugar. With a broth, make sure to keep it mild to balance with the marinated meat, slowly add in the stuffed bitter melons, and wait until they are fully cooked. You can enjoy this hearty dish with rice or just by itself!

6. Nem chua (Vietnamese fermented pork roll)

To foreigners traveling to Vietnam, Nem chua is an interesting dish to enjoy with raw garlic and guava leaves, but did you know that Nem chua is also featured in many meals of the Vietnamese year-end occasion? 

As people often visit their relatives and friends on those first days of the lunar calendar, there are always some snacks on the coffee table in each family to welcome their guests. Therefore, Nem chua which is not cooking-required and delicious is perfect for this choice. 

Source: Collected

Nem chua is made by combining fresh pork and a variety of spices, which are then wrapped in banana leaves. True to its name, the pork will be fermented under the leaf covering, resulting in a unique blend of flavors including sweet, tangy, and spicy.

7. Xoi gac (Gac sticky rice)

In Vietnamese culture, the red color is believed to bring luck and wellness, therefore Gac, or spiny bitter cucumber in English, which has a very pigmented red color when it is due, is widely used on the rice tray for ancestral offerings during the beginning of the new year. 

Source: VnExpress

This special type of sticky rice is made from high-quality glutinous rice and combined with spiny bitter cucumber before being steamed. The end result is a visually stunning and enticing bright red color. Consuming chicken and sticky rice with Gac is a desire for a prosperous, harmonious, and fortunate year for Vietnamese households.

8. Cu kieu (Pickled small leeks)

“Fat meat, pickled onions, red parallel sentences.

New Year pole, strings of firecrackers, green banh Chung”

Every Vietnamese people think about this "six-eight" verse form in their hearts when the Lunar New Year rolls around. Vietnamese cuisine values harmony and balance in flavor, so coming with the richness and greasiness of fatty meat, jellied meat, banh chung, etc is always pickled small leeks. Moreover, these fermented vegetables also help to promote food digestion.

The small leeks are pickled in a flavorful sauce for about 2 weeks and are often accompanied by Tom kho (dehydrated shrimp). This side dish provides a crispy texture and a blend of sweet and tangy flavors, making it a perfect accompaniment to other dishes.

Source: Collected

9. Mut and cac loai hat (Candied fruits, seeds, and nuts)

Adults in Vietnam often jokingly say that Tet is an excuse for children to indulge themselves with sweets as every house puts out a charming box full of candied fruits and nuts to serve their guests.

Source: Collected

Foreigners are probably familiar with some kinds of popular fruits to make Mut such as coconuts, gingers, squashes, tamarinds, turmerics, and carrots. The natural sweetness from fruits and floury dried sugar will make you keep eating! As for seeds and nuts such as roasted watermelons, sunflower seeds, cashews, and many others, what’s better to pair with than a wholesome conversation and a cup of tea? Moreover, these treats also benefit your health as a source of protein and organic acids, vitamins and minerals, etc.      

10. Mam ngu qua (Five-fruit tray)

During the Vietnamese New Year, it is traditional to have a five-fruit tray on the ancestral altar. Some believe that the five fruits represent ngũ hành (the five elements of nature) - metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. Others view the tray as a representation of the fruits of a family's labor throughout the previous year, which are offered to heaven, earth, and ancestors as a gesture of respect and thankfulness.

Source: Collected

In the Southern region of Vietnam, the tradition of assembling a five-fruit tray is based on “cầu sung vừa đủ xài” (wish for enough prosperity). The pronunciation is interestingly matched with the sounds of five fruits: soursop, fig, coconut, papaya, and mango.

Photo: MiStay

A trip to a foreign country definitely requires you to bring along some certain documents such as your passport, identity card, drivers’ license, visa or visa exemption certificate, etc. In most countries like Vietnam, you even have to present to local police any form of identification regularly while walking around. 

Therefore, no one ever wants to lose these lifeline papers and figure out unfamiliar consular procedures by themselves. Here are a few tips on keeping your travel documents safe and secure when traveling to Vietnam.

Tip 1: Make hard copies and soft copies of your travel documents

With the prevalence of the Internet and technology, it is easier and easier for us to make some extra copies of our important documents, maybe they cannot replace the original versions entirely but in case of losing, then the process of re-issuance at authorities will be more simple and quicker.

You only need to scan those papers and make sure to store them on secure online document storage servers such as Google Drive or even Facebook Messenger! Besides, some establishments in Vietnam can allow you to use digital documents to register, which is pretty convenient and accessible.

As for physical copies, it is best to keep one in your suitcase and leave one back in your home country. When transiting to Vietnam, close or lock your suitcase tightly to avoid losing or getting robbed.

Source: Collected

Tip 2: Separate documents in different storages

Here’s an old saying “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket”, which means you want to have another back-up when one document is lost. 

It is advised that you distribute interchangeable papers into separate luggage. For example, you can keep the passport in your backpack and the ID card in your wallet since passports and ID cards can partially replace each other in Vietnam.

Tip 3: Store documents in plastic bags/file folders/clear sheets

Believe it or not, sometimes you think one document goes missing simply because it is under piles and piles of messy papers, or you accidentally drop it when going through your exploded packback. Then, keeping them organized with plastic bags/file folders/clear sheets is a perfect solution for you. 

Walking in an unexpected rain or being careless to spill coffee onto your documents will no longer bother you since your travel vitality is well preserved by plastic bags. 

Source: Collected

Tip 4: Use tracking devices to secure your documents 

A little tracker can bring peace of mind to you by tracking and giving the exact location where your belongings are present 24/7. All you need to do is attach the device to your luggage and install an application to ensure its safety during the trip. 

Certain GPS trackers offer an additional feature of displaying travel history, allowing users to view the routes and past locations the tracker has visited. 

Source: Collected

Tip 5: Be mindful in crowded places

It is known that petty crimes such as pickpocketing or snatching do happen in Vietnam, especially at crowded tourist attractions, markets and public transportation, therefore visitors should be aware of this hazard and keep their bags close to them at any moment. 

Foreigners can also invest in a pouch to wear under their clothing. It can securely hold their passport, extra cash, and cards, reducing the risk of theft.

Tip 6: Keep emergency contacts available

What would you do if your travel documents were lost or stolen in Vietnam? Don’t panic! It is important to report the problem to the person in charge, and in this case, you should have the addresses and numbers of your home country’s embassy or consulate ready. They will guide you step by step how to handle and proceed your trip in Vietnam without travel papers. 

You can also share your travel itinerary to your Vietnamese trusted friends and store their contacts. Since they are locals, they can provide assistance in case of an emergency.

That’s it! We hope you can take away something useful from this article. Next time, make sure to apply these practical tips when you travel to Vietnam or any foreign country for a hassle-free trip.