Another Vietnam - excursion to Dak Lak province. On elephants in the Stone Age Where to ride elephants in Vietnam

A 15-minute bike ride from Phan Thiet is the small settlement of Mui Ne. Here you can see authentic homes and understand how life goes for the Vietnamese population. This is a completely different universe, different from tourist cities.

Catch the magic at the Fairy Stream.

Surrounded by colorful tropical trees and red sand dunes, Fei Stream flows near the village of Mui Ne.

The landscapes of this place are unearthly and somewhat reminiscent of Mars. This is an incredibly photogenic place that ends in a small waterfall. It must be said about Fei Stream that this is the very place for which it is worth coming to Phan Thiet.

Treat yourself to a massage given by a blind person.

In one of the salons in Mui Ne, a completely blind person will give you a massage for just $4. This massage is still considered exotic for tourists. It is not expensive, non-standard and a little extreme. What's extreme? Not everyone is ready to entrust their body to a blind person. But, nevertheless, massage therapists of this type are very good at kneading bones, and visitors go to sessions throughout their vacation.

Admire the Lotus Valley.

It is located not far from Mui Ne and you can get there in half an hour by renting a bike ($20 a day, no one checks whether you have a license). Along the way you come across pleasant quarries with red sand, and when you arrive at the place you realize that you are surrounded sand dunes, armfuls of twigs and lakes with blooming lotuses.

Get closer to nature in the Crazy House.

Madhouse is located in resort town Dalat, 160 kilometers from Phan Thiet. This quaint house was created by an architect named Dang Viet Nga, the daughter of a party leader who lived in Moscow for 14 years. The house is as close to nature as possible - branches, stumps, stones, flowers and trees make their way through the windows. With her building, the architect tried to call people into the bosom of nature and stand up for its defense. You can stay in such a house-hotel for $80 per day.

Visit the Fisherman's Harbor in Mui Ne.

The fishing harbor in Mui Ne is a wildly photogenic place where you can take gorgeous pictures of the Vietnamese people with fishing boats in the background.

You can get to the harbor on your own by renting a bicycle. From Mui Ne it takes about 15 minutes.

Go to the Concha fish market.

The fish market with the unusual name Con Cha is considered the largest in Phan Thiet. If you come here, you can see how the process of cutting fish takes place.

It is worth arriving at the market as early as possible, since it is in the very early hours that ships with freshly caught portions of fish arrive at the port of Phan Thiet. You can try fish in Boka, small restaurants on the city’s embankments.

Ride elephants in an elephant nursery.

If you have long wanted to ride an elephant, then your dreams can come true in one of the elephant farms in Vietnam. Many nurseries are charitable foundations and reserves whose staff take care of animals and help them survive in captivity.

Such reserves are located in tropical forests and offer ideal conditions for the life and development of elephants.

Climb Mount Taku to the reclining Buddha.

Mount Taku is located 30 kilometers from Phan Thiet and is considered sacred here. Mount Taku is a whole collection of temples, pagodas and statues that are still being built to this day.

You can climb the mountain by cable car, paying $7 for a ticket. The ticket will include the ascent and entrance to the complex itself. You can also climb the mountain on foot, but this activity will take you at least two hours.

At the top of the mountain is where all the fun is. At an altitude of more than 700 meters, the largest Buddha in the country lies. Its length is about 50 meters. The most convenient way to get to Taku from Phan Thiet is by renting a bike.

Go to Nha Trang.

Nha Trang is considered the beach capital of Vietnam, and it’s worth coming here for more than one day. It's crazy here beautiful nature And interesting story, here you can see catacombs left over from war times and the amazing Cham Towers of Po Nagar.

A sea of ​​pagodas, temples and statues are visible from many points in the city. While relaxing here, do not forget to visit the water park, Vietnamese Disneyland Vinpearl Land, the aquarium and the circus. In the evening there is a singing fountain show.

The city itself is surrounded by mountains and a picturesque bay, which is included in the list of the most beautiful bays in the world. The huge beach of Nha Trang stretches for seven kilometers along the sea. This municipal beach and you don't have to pay to enter. Travelers will always have something to do here: windsurfing, canoeing, parasailing, parachuting - everything is at their disposal.

Get to Monkey Island in Nha Trang.

Hon Lao Island is the most ordinary island, if you do not take into account the more than one thousand primates. Monkey Island is located 20 kilometers from Nha Trang, and was once a large monkey nursery that raised monkeys for the sake of science.

The poor animals were exploited for laboratory experiments. When the shop was closed, some of the monkeys were taken out, and the rest scattered around tropical forests. And those that remained have adapted over time and feel like masters of the island. To see the animals you will have to pay only 3.5 dollars.

Immerse yourself in the natural world of the Prenn National Park.

Prenn National Park is located near Dalat. Its territory is picturesque and well-groomed. In the park, a waterfall descends from the mountains, which forms an amazing lake. Here travelers ride boats, ostriches, horses and elephants. People come here to relax and immerse themselves in their thoughts.

See how coffee grows.

While vacationing in Vietnam, do not forget to stop by the coffee and black pepper plantations. Such plantations stretched along the entire route from Phan Thiet to Dalat. They covered the hills in green rows and surrounded them with their low trees.

For coffee fans, the plantations will be a pleasant memory. Firstly, you will finally learn how the beans of your favorite drink grow, and secondly, you will see how Vietnamese coffee is brewed and learn about the origin of the Luwak variety, the most expensive coffee in the world.

Admire the Cham towers near Mui Ne.

The Cham Towers of Thap Po Sanu are considered the most interesting historical landmark in Phan Thiet. It cannot be said that this place is very remarkable, but it is impossible not to visit it. The towers were once part of one large temple built in honor of Shiva. But several centuries ago the temple was badly damaged, and only these 3 towers survived. Local fishermen rush here to ask for successful fishing, and they fly across the ceiling the bats. Inside there is an altar with a pair of lingas and a monument to the Vietnam War.

Get to the Ke Ga lighthouse.

The Ke Ga lighthouse is considered the largest in Vietnam, its height is more than 60 meters. The lighthouse is a structure made of granite imported from France, and with observation deck a beautiful panoramic view will open. Admission is only $1.

Wander through the Red Canyon.

The Red Canyon is located near Mui Ne, on the road towards the white dunes. This place is easy to drive through as it is a small crack in the earth's crust. But if you go down, its scale will impress any eye.

Take a look at the Forgotten Land sand sculpture park.

If all this is not enough for you, then take a look at the Forgotten Land sculpture park. This is a completely new attraction in Phan Thiet. Painters and sculptors from different countries created real magic from red sandstone. The sculptures reflect famous fairy tales, myths and legends.

Outside the resort of Nha Trang lies the amazing and original Vietnam. While admiring the beauty of a rice field, many have no idea of ​​the hard manual labor that goes into it. Vietnam is like that in many ways: incredibly beautiful and attractive; and only after looking at this beauty, you begin to realize and appreciate it even more.

Dak Lak Province in Vietnam

Dak Lak Province is located in South Vietnam and is located on the Taing Guen Plateau. Coffee, tea and fruits are grown here. Main administrative city is Buon Ma Thuot. Dak Lak province is famous for its picturesque landscapes, then endless rice fields, then rubber forests that know no horizon, then flowering coffee plantations, or even real green jungles. The province is home to both the Viet and representatives of other minorities such as the Tho, Ede and Mnong. In their household, local residents do not use many achievements of technological progress (but everyone has a TV, a plate and karaoke!). And here another attractive side of Daklak opens up, especially for tourists. Dak Lak Province is a small elephant country in Vietnam. A tamed elephant is an excellent helper around the house: it will help plow the field, and will carry heavy loads, and will give tourists rides, although it eats a lot, elephants are often malnourished.

We go on an excursion to Dak Lak province

To get to know this amazing area, we took a tour. There are many excursion companies in Nha Trang, having studied all the offers and reviews far and wide, we chose the best for us. We had two busy days of excursions around the province of Dak Lak and an overnight stay in a small hotel in a village on the shores of Lake Lak. In this article we will tell you about the first day:

1. Meet the Mnong tribe.
2. Elephant rides around the village and Lake Lac.
3. A walk through the real Mnong village, where tourists are as much a curiosity to the locals as they are to us.
4. Evening Mnong tribe show with songs and dances and tasting of local rice wine and Amakong rum.

On the way to Dak Lak

We left Nha Trang at 8 am in a small group of 14 people. We already knew some of the passengers from our previous trip to Yang Bay Falls. The road was supposed to be 5 hours long, but it passed quite quickly and unnoticed. Two factors played here: the first is the picturesque views outside the window, and the second is our guide, a storehouse of useful and interesting information. For those who want to get from Nha Trang by bike to Dak Lak province on their own, calculate your energy and time correctly. On the way we managed to admire the main administrative city of Buon Ma Thuot. Our trip fell on the days of Tet (Vietnamese) celebration New Year). On the one hand, this was to our advantage. The city was decorated with bright colors: red lanterns, colorful flower beds, yellow chrysanthemums on every corner and cheerful fire monkey symbols. On the other hand, there are a lot of people, especially tourists from China. In some places it was very disturbing.

Meet the Mnong tribe

The Mnongs are a mountain people; their name translates as “Elephant Catcher,” which is not surprising. They are still domesticating wild elephants and using these animals for economic purposes. Outwardly, they differ from the Vietnamese (ordinary Vietnamese), they have darker skin, they are larger, the shape of their lips and eyes is different. In general, this tribe has changed little in their way of life over the past hundreds of years; they live almost the same way as the grandfathers of their great-great-grandfathers lived. Yes, a few years ago, walk-behind tractors appeared on the farm, making work a little easier, but the main role was given to man and elephant.

Mnongs live in long houses on stilts (they protect houses from flooding and “uninvited guests” among living creatures). When the weather is dry, the house is used as a shelter from the sun, where livestock graze, and the owners themselves can relax in the shade. By the length of the house you can tell approximately how many families live in it. Houses are built lengthwise, and usually several families and their generations live under one roof. Among the Mnongs, matriarchy reigns in the family. There are usually 2 staircases leading to the house, one for men, the second for women and guests, including male guests. The women's staircase is decorated with protrusions symbolizing breasts, and the men's staircase is decorated with a turtle.






Ordinary residents have wooden houses. And those who are richer have a more solid house, a concrete foundation, for example, a strong roof, although the interior decoration is almost the same. They live very poorly sleeping area surrounded by a curtain, and the bed is an ordinary mat. They take a shower by dousing themselves with water from a well. Small children are carried in self-woven slings: both hands are free and the child is under supervision. Mnong adherents of animism (spirit worship)

Buy an elephant! Oh please!

Let's return to the elephants, the main assistants of the mnongs. IN this moment About two dozen of these animals have been tamed in the village. The thing is that elephants almost never reproduce in captivity, so they are caught as adults in the forests, giving them the opportunity to “take a walk.” Domestication takes on average from 4 months to six months, using the standard “carrot and stick” method.

Elephants live on average 80-100 years, in captivity, of course, a little less. Given the animal's lifespan, two mahouts are assigned to each elephant, in case one mahout dies, so that the second can replace him. After death, elephants are buried with all honors, they are treated with great respect, they are not butchered for sale, but rather they are buried.

The elephants of Dak Lak province attract foreign tourists and residents of Vietnam itself, giving the many people the opportunity to earn extra cash. After all, here you can not only ride around the village on an elephant, but also swim across Lake Lak. This attraction is especially exciting during the period of high water on the lake, approximately from October to January. On average, the depth of the lake is up to 3.5 meters deep.

Lake Lak can be crossed not only by elephants, but also by boats, as the Mnongs do every day. The boats are not simple, they are carved from a single tree trunk, long and narrow. The movement is carried out using a stick, which is simply pushed off the bottom. All the boats we took a ride on were built more than a hundred years ago, but still serve faithfully.

Visiting the Mnongs, evening gong show

When it got dark and the Mongongs finished their hard day of work, they changed into festive clothes and were waiting for us to introduce us to their culture and customs more closely. Dancing, singing, playing homemade musical instruments and drinking rice wine. The wine is made from rice husks, which are filled with water and left to steep for several weeks. Before use, dilute again with water and serve in a large jug and straws. We didn’t like the taste; the mash was both sour and bitter. Although they still took part in the competition. The point is who will outdrink whom, our boys against local girls, and our girls against local men. There is an impression that the locals not only give in, but also do nothing.

At the end of the show, we all danced together and tried to play local instruments ourselves. It was very interesting to get acquainted with the traditions of the Mnong people; the majority of people are very open and friendly. Although sometimes a shadow of fatigue flashed across their faces. Returning to our small hotel on the shores of Lac Lake, we were treated to local Amakong rum. It is infused in huge clay jugs and tastes like herbal moonshine.

The day was incredibly interesting and eventful, we received a lot of impressions and a great desire to return for a deeper tour of the Dak Lak province. The second day lay ahead of us with tasting real elephant coffee, visiting the villa of the last emperor of Vietnam, Bao Dai, and a trip to the Dry Nur waterfall.

The trip to Dak Lak, the second excursion from Leto that we took, was the most crowded: as many as 13 people gathered. At the same time, everyone was relaxed in communication, so the overall atmosphere of the trip was calm. The guide this time is Denis, a young guy with a well-spoken tongue, but a somewhat weak command of texture. For example, on the way there I asked about the height of Lake Lac above the sea. Denis replied that it was about 50 meters. I was very surprised that with such a low altitude, the area remote from the sea is surrounded on almost all sides by mountains. In reality, the height turned out to be 415 meters. But on the whole, such flaws did not detract from the overall charm of the trip.

Although, if by the word trip we mean the road, then it cannot be called charming. Firstly, the declared comfortable minibus cannot be called such: even on a charter there was much more legroom. For several hours, while my knees rested on the row in front, my legs became very numb. As Denis explained, all minibuses in Vietnam are like this because they are designed for short Asians. Secondly, on the way there and back there was an 800-meter pass, undeclared in the program, with a bunch of serpentines on the approaches. And the driving style of Vietnamese drivers is very peculiar: when entering a turn, they accelerate. As a result, approximately half of the tourists became seasick. It would be a good idea to warn about this in advance, so that you can prepare by taking an anti-sickness pill (since there were no such problems during our travels in the area of ​​Hue and the caves, it never occurred to us that they might be needed later).

Map of our route to Dak Lak on April 3. Red circles – Nha Trang and Lac Lake. The red line is our route by minibus.

Map of our skiing on April 3. The red circle is our Van Long Hotel. The red line is our route by minibus. The green line is our path on the elephant. Blue line- our way by boat.

But enough about the sad stuff! By noon we arrived in a village located on the shore of a lake and checked into almost the only hotel there. There was an elephant right under our window, and behind it there was a view of muddy waters Lake Lac. A pleasant surprise was that Katya and I got the best room with panoramic windows, for which they usually require an extra $10. We also laughed that this was compensation for Konstantin’s visit yesterday with suspicions of working as spies. We shouldn't have laughed! Upon returning to Nha Trang, the director of Leto contacted us and said that this room was a gift from him to “make up for the inconvenience caused by his visit.”

The staircase to the second floor, along which we climbed, instead of railings, was surrounded by authentic staircases of the Mnong - local people, which I will talk about in more detail in the next part. The left one with the image of a turtle is intended for men, the right one, with a woman’s breast, is intended for women. While it was not difficult to climb the authentic stairs, going down caused some concerns, so we still used the more standard option.

After lunch, we began the procedure of feeding the elephants with bananas and sugar cane, during which we had the opportunity to pet the largest land animal of our time. It's funny that elephants often put a piece of reed behind their tusk, eating it later.

An elephant eats sugar cane.

Then our group was divided in half: one part went boating, while we went elephant riding; later we switched places. The elephant is boarded from a special platform about two meters high. The driver is placed on the neck, and 2 passengers are placed on the bench on the back.

The process of moving an elephant from the passenger seat.

First, we drove for half a kilometer along an asphalt road, then the elephant got off it and, mixing the coastal mud, entered the waters of Lake Lak.

Our elephant walked along the bottom like this all the way, but the smaller one moved further away from the shore and swam with its riders. At the lake I temporarily swapped places with the driver. I liked riding on an elephant’s neck much more: you don’t get tossed from side to side, but the main thing is that you feel giant muscles moving under you. And the elephant itself is pleasantly warm and rough to the touch. My childhood dream of riding this beast has come true! But it was sad to realize that there are almost no wild elephants left in Vietnam, they do not breed in captivity, and in a few decades such an opportunity will no longer exist.

After riding the elephants, we went to the boats. I had never ridden a dugout before. Well, he rocks such boats! Any movement immediately causes chatter. It is interesting that the boatmen used poles near the shore, and already at depth they began to use oars - one per boat.

Hill with the former country residence of the emperor.

Having ridden around, we went to the Mnong village, which I will tell you about in the next part, as well as about the ethnic show. I didn’t want to spread the pictures of the lake and elephants across the posts.

After visiting the village, we had time until dinner, and in addition to the program, we drove along a winding spiral road to a nearby hill, where the emperor once built his country residence. Now the building, abandoned for a long time, has been restored and is partly used as a hotel (there are few rooms in it, and the rating on Booking is only 6.6), and partly as a museum.

On the second day, in the morning everything was filled with smoke, and I decided that there was a strong fire somewhere. But after a couple of hours, the smoke cleared, and Denis explained that the cause of the smoke was the morning burning of garbage grass in the surrounding settlements. By the way, this morning was the coldest time of the entire trip - I was frankly frozen in my jacket, even walking at a brisk pace. But just a couple of hours after sunrise it quickly became warmer.

Bunches of bananas outside the hotel restaurant. You can feed the elephants and chew them yourself.

Even the previous evening, we bought fresh black peppercorns from a store behind the hotel. Yes, we can’t find one like this anywhere. Previously, I did not even know that a significant part of the pepper sold here is fake. Dried papaya grains flavored with cayenne pepper are often passed off as peppercorns, and under the guise of ground pepper, anything can be. Some kind of test for whether a pepper is real or not is water: real peppers sink, but papaya berries and various debris float, as it should be with any such substance. By the way, Vietnam produces 45% of the world's black pepper.

And on the morning of the second day we had a tasting of coffee and cocoa. There were two varieties of coffee: Arabica and elephant. Elephant coffee is similar to Luwak, but instead of marten, the beans are passed through the digestive tract of an elephant, where they lose their bitterness, undergo fermentation, after which they are harvested, washed and sold. Unlike Nha Trang, where there are a lot of fakes, and coffee is often heavily flavored with flavorings and poured with oil to make the beans shine, here the goods were real. Arabica, of course, was much cheaper: 250 thousand dong per kilogram versus 1 million for elephant coffee (625 and 2,500 rubles, respectively). But already in Hanoi, the price of elephant coffee will reach up to 250 dollars (15,000 rubles) per kilogram. By the way, Vietnam is either still in second place in coffee exports, or, having overtaken Brazil, has come to first.

IN traditional cuisine Vietnam mixes the traditions of other countries, but this does not in any way affect its uniqueness and originality. From our article you will learnthe best way to eat in Vietnam.

Specifics of Vietnamese cuisine

The choice of dishes is wide, prices in restaurants and cafes are quite loyal and affordable. It is generally accepted that Vietnamese cuisine is the most budget-friendly, but not because of its simplicity, but because of the cheapness of the ingredients. In addition to traditional food, local chefs serve Asian and European cuisine.

Seafood is very popular, but finding dishes with the types of meat we are familiar with is not at all problematic. Locals They love to eat delicious food and do not welcome restrictions and prohibitions. Real delicacies are dishes with snake, turtle, rat meat and game. At some resorts they prepare ostrich, crocodile, snake, frog and dog meat - a real paradise for lovers of extreme exotics. There is an opinion that the Vietnamese love to eat insects, but this is not true. If you want to eat bugs and larvae, go to Thailand and Cambodia.

The Vietnamese are used to eating in groups, so the tables are set with large plates with several dishes in each. They take out food with chopsticks. This rule does not apply to tourists, so food is served in the usual way for us.

Vietnamese food is not spicy, which is why many tourists like it. Once in this country, you don’t need to immediately dive into local dishes, since they are not familiar to the European body. In order not to harm the gastrointestinal tract, you need to accustom it to new foods gradually. Almost all establishments offer dishes that are familiar to us. Due to the large influx of Russian tourists, catering establishments serving Russian cuisine began to open.

The main ingredient of Vietnamese dishes is rice. There are several dozen types of it in the country, from “classic” (in our understanding) to sticky, black and red. In principle, this is a completely normal phenomenon, since Vietnam is the second country in the world specializing in the cultivation and export of rice. It is logical that local residents constantly use this product for cooking.

The second popular dish is rice flour noodles. There is also an egg one, but it is not so in demand. It can be thin or thick. It is the main ingredient in Pho soup, fried with meat and vegetables.

Fermented milk products are not popular among the Vietnamese, but they are still sold. The cost is about the same as ours. Local residents prefer tofu, which is why it can often be found in the dishes of local chefs.

Vegetables and herbs are obligatory “participants” of any feast. They are used as components of a cooked dish or as a side dish for meat, fish or rice. Specific aromas are achieved with the help of lemongrass and mint, onion-garlic mixture, fresh ginger bark and soy sauce. Traditional fish sauce is served with almost all dishes/

What to try

Some tourists claim that in comparison with the cuisine of other Asian countries, Vietnamese is quite boring. Her dishes have a sweetish aftertaste, so you have to add salt. There is no “pure” salt; instead, you can “salt” the dish with soy or fish sauces. Even if you are knowledgeable about Asian cuisine, in Vietnam you should definitely try:

Rice with chicken, pork, egg and vegetable additives. This dish is the most affordable and popular and perfectly satisfies hunger. It is rice with additives that you determine yourself. Some cooks fry the rice in a wok.

Pho. Favorite dish local residents. This is the name for a soup with pieces of meat, rice noodles, herbs and sprouted sprouts. It is usually consumed in the morning. There is no single way to prepare this soup, but it always amazes with its pleasant smell and amazing taste. It is extremely rare for tourists to be dissatisfied with this delicacy.

Spring rolls/German This delicious dish was invented in China, but has been considered traditional Vietnamese for several centuries. Is a wrapped rice pancake with fried vegetables and glass vermicelli. At the client's request, seafood and finely chopped meat can be added. The stuffed roll is deep fried until crispy. If you are a vegetarian, the roll will not be fried. Rolls are traditionally eaten with spicy, sweet or sour fish sauce. When ordering spring rolls, check with the waiter what exactly this will be, since some establishments under this name offer fried homemade sausage.

Chao/Tiao. It is a thick rice porridge with finely chopped chicken or beef. Rice is boiled in water until it softens and becomes mushy (chao). Then fish sauce and lemongrass are added to it. Chao should be eaten hot. It helps relieve indigestion.

Boone. They are rice vermicelli in the form of tiny rolls. Each chef can prepare it according to his own recipe, but the taste is always amazing. For example, some add fried pork, others add river snails, and still others add beef.

Banh com. This is the name of a popular Vietnamese dessert in the form of cakes wrapped in banana leaves. To prepare them, sticky rice, coconut and peas are used.

What else to eat and where

If you have money, you will never go hungry. Numerous street eateries, cafes and restaurants offer food to suit every budget. The minimum cost of a dish for one is only 84 rubles. In large Vietnamese cities you can dine at the usual establishments of KFC, Burgerking and McDonalds. A meal of several dishes and a drink will cost at least 280 rubles. The cost of food and drinks depends on the class of the establishment where you eat. In popular resorts, food is much more expensive. Remember, a dish with high-quality seafood is an expensive pleasure, so if you find it at a low price, don’t rush to rejoice. Most likely, there will be nothing from seafood there.

Drinks in restaurants and cafes are sold at a small premium. For example, in a store a bottle of beer costs 10 thousand dong, in a cafe – 12 thousand. Agree, quite acceptable.

Since locals do not like to cook at home, there are many different eateries available for them. Here you can eat tasty and inexpensive food. The serving size is simply huge, so it’s better to take one for two. The only negative is the small selection of dishes. Of course, this snack is not for everyone. Few people agree to eat food from not very clean plates, the preparation of which was unlikely to comply with hygienic standards. The Vietnamese are not very squeamish, so it is not scary for them to eat from a bowl that has recently been run over by a rat.

In certain establishments they will cook a snake in front of your eyes. Moreover, the whole process will be accompanied by a fascinating performance. Finding such eateries is difficult because they are “hidden” in remote areas. You'll have to pay a lot for a snake dish, but it's worth it.

In certain Vietnamese areas, rat meat is considered a great delicacy. Therefore, if you want to taste such exotic things, visit the city of Chau Doc. Don't think that locals constantly eat frogs, rats and snakes. The meat of these individuals is very expensive, so few Vietnamese can afford it even in honor of the holiday.

Eating store-bought products is expensive and pointless. As a rule, in small shops the prices for our usual products are very high. But if you find yourself near large chain supermarkets, you can buy everything you need at affordable prices.

If you need an urgent snack, you can buy a crispy baguette stuffed with cheese, vegetables and meat. Baguettes are sold from trays, the price of one is 23 rubles.

What can you drink

In Vietnam you can enjoy not only delicious cuisine, but also drinks.

Coffee

The most popular drink is coffee. It, like the baguette, has remained in Vietnamese cuisine since the time when the country was a French colony. In some years, Vietnam overtook Brazil in supplying coffee to other countries. Here you can taste the already familiar Arabica, mocha, Luwak and Robusta. Often establishments offer to taste coffee made from several varieties.

Vietnamese coffee has an amazing aroma. After the first sip you will feel a pleasant chill and freshness. The drink is prepared directly in the cup using a special metal filter. It is placed on a cup, filled with coffee, pressed down and hot water is poured on top. The coffee gradually seeps into the cup. You need to wait 5 minutes for the drink to brew a little and cool down, and you can already drink it. Here it is customary to add ice, condensed milk and even an egg to coffee.

The drink with the latter addition turns out to be very smooth. It is mainly served in the northern part of the country. The coffee just melts in your mouth. First you will feel the sweetish taste of beaten egg yolks with sugar, and only then the strong, pleasantly bitter taste of the coffee itself. The drink can be consumed cold or hot.

Green tea

Vietnamese people love OLONG tea. It is a little expensive, but the price is fully compensated by the amazing taste, aroma and beneficial features. Artichoke tea is worth trying. It is available in two forms: resin for dissolving in boiling water and ordinary dried leaves.

Sugarcane juice

Popular national drink. Mixed with lime, kumkuwat and tangerine juices. To slightly dilute the thickness of the drink, add ice. The drink must be drunk very quickly. The cane juice itself is also delicious and perfectly quenches thirst. The price of “liquid pleasure” is 7,000 dong. Cane juice is squeezed out using a special machine right in front of you.

Rice vodka

Once in Vietnam, you should definitely try rice vodka. The best one is called Hanoi, after the capital. The strength of the drink varies between 30-40 degrees. It is not recommended to drink rice moonshine on your own, as there is a huge risk of poisoning.

Without fruit you can't go anywhere

Thanks to its unique climate, Vietnam is full of different fruits. We will list only the most exotic ones.

Mango

Vietnamese mangoes are completely different from those sold in our stores. You will feel it after the first bite. The fact is that ripe fruits immediately appear on the shelves of stores and markets. Mangoes ripen in March-July. There are several varieties of this fruit and each of them is delicious in its own way. We recommend trying seedless varieties. Their price is a little higher than others.

Durian

This “royal fruit” is famous for its unusual smell, which not everyone can stand. It is prohibited to eat it in public places, bring it onto the hotel premises and take it on the plane. But if you are resistant to odors, then as a reward you will receive a delicate creamy filling with a pleasant fruity taste.

Jackfruit

Breadfruit. It smells as rich as durian. It is better to buy it already cut, since the whole fruit is sticky and large. It has an original taste. Locals prefer to use it as a side dish for hot dishes.

Sapodilla

It bears fruit constantly, so it is available for sale at any time. Externally similar to kiwi, only brown. The taste is reminiscent of persimmon; there is a hard seed inside. Overripe fruit is very sweet and leaves behind a honey aftertaste.

Now you know what you can pamper yourself with in Vietnam. To avoid spending your entire vacation in your room suffering from gastrointestinal upset, try to consume everything in moderation. Any delicacy is always in abundance here, so there is no need to rush to try everything on the first day. Try to eat a maximum of 2 fruits and 1 exotic dish per day, and then you will have only positive emotions from your vacation.

You can book an excursion to the island at any travel agency in Nha Trang, fortunately, there are many of them here. Its cost is about 18 - 25 dollars: this is a trip to two islands at once (monkeys and orchids).

A ticket for a boat taking tourists to Orchid Island is 150,000 VND for adults and 75,000 for children. Boats depart only in the morning: approximately at 8:30 and 9:30. Boats leave every half hour.

Photos with animals - 20,000 VND. Elephant ride - 300,000 VND. Add costs for food, drinks, animal feed, souvenirs.

How long will it take to get acquainted with the beauty of the island?

To leisurely see all the sights of Orchid Island, swim and sunbathe on the local beach, as well as travel to and from the island, you will need at least half a day. If you take children on a trip, the voyage will last the whole day.

Getting to know Orchid Island

While traveling by water to the attraction, you will see floating crab farms where lobsters and shrimp are grown, and crabs are also harvested. Arriving on the island, you find yourself in a colorful world of flowers of various colors and shapes. And these flowers are orchids.

Orchid Island is nature reserve. In its natural environment live ostriches, elephants, monkeys, deer, parrots, Himalayan bears and other representatives of fauna. The animals living on the island are not timid and are not at all shy about people. They approach tourists and tearfully “beg” for food.

For excursion groups, local trainers demonstrate circus performances with the participation of bears and elephants. Ostrich rides are also available. The local “star” - the elephant Lena, is not averse (although no one really asks her) to give you a ride on her trunk. You can take pictures with the animals.

There is a children's playground for little tourists: colorful attractions are made from ordinary tires. This is creative and budget-friendly. Entertainment includes playing paintball. Fans of snorkeling near the coral reefs, which are not far from the beach, have the opportunity to explore undersea world islands.

The Vietnamese also added their own decoration to this corner of Vietnam: stone stairs on the rises, bridges over streams, beautiful fountains, wooden and stone sculptures. Flower beds with green sculptures of animals and cartoon characters look original.

And, of course, orchids are the colorful “pearls” of the island. The varieties are planted in such a way that their flowering can be observed all year round. Tourists can observe blossoming orchids in different time of the year.

You can see beautiful little fluttering creatures of nature in the butterfly park, opened here.