VIETNAM
Sapa
Sapa is an incredibly
picturesque town that lies in the Hoang Lien Son mountain range near the
Chinese border in northwestern Vietnam, known as "the Tonkinese
Alps". Located at 1650 m above sea level in Vietnam's remote northwest
mountains, Sapa is famous for both its fine, rugged scenery and also its rich cultural diversity. Sapa and its surrounding region is host to many hill tribes, as
well as rice terraces, lush vegetation, and Fansipan, the highest peak in
Vietnam. In winter (the 4 months November to February), the weather in Sapa is
invariably cold, wet and foggy. Many ethnic minorities live
in and around Sapa, including the H’mong and Dzao people, and it is popular to
sign-up for a trekking trip that enables you stay overnight at on the the
villages in a homestay.
Cat Cat
The ethnic village of Cat
Cat is a few kilometres walk from Sapa.
Love Market
Saturday night is always a big occasion for Black Hmong and Red Dao
teenagers in the Sapa area, as youngsters from miles around come to the
so-called 'Love Market' to find a partner.
El Delta del Mekong
Southern Vietnam covers the Mekong Delta and, as all deltas, it receives the bounty of the siltation from the upper
Mekong, and as such is a very rich and lush area, covered with rice fields. Life
in the Mekong Delta revolves much around the river, and all the villages are
often accessible by river as well as by road. The high times of life in the Mekong delta are the
lunar new year (Tet, or Tết), and the mid-autumn festival (Tết trung thu), where children will set
hundreds of candles on their way on the river on as many tiny skiffs.
Most of the interest of the place resides in
its floating markets, and the life around the rivers criss-crossing the area;
also the national parks and nature reserves. It is possible to take tours on
small boats around My Tho and the
islands north of Ben Tre; around Cai Be and the An Binh peninsula; and
around Can Tho. Both Cai Be and Can Tho feature
floating markets.
Sam Mountain, a few
kilometres from Chau Doc, is a regional Buddhist pilgrimage site and is a good
place for a hike
Phu Quoc Island is the
adventure center for the delta area. You can go scuba diving or snorkeling
here, though there aren't so many fish left nowadays.
El triángulo de Oro
The Golden Triangle is in the Chian Rai Province in
far north Thailand, and describes the nearby border tripoint of Thailand, Laos
and Myanmar. Historically
the Golden Triangle has been an area well-known for the growing of opium, and
the name comes from a US State Department memo on the practice. These days,
though, the place lives on the cultivation of tourists, and this is undoubtedly the largest tourist trap in
northern Thailand. Most people come here on guided bus tours, however boats can be hired to view scenery around the
golden triangle from Sop Ruak along the Mekong River to
Chiang Saen and Chiang
Khong.
Hall of Opium
Exhibits the history of
opium around the world and in the area, the process of production, the effects
of opium smoking and campaigns to eradicate and substitute the crop.
Visit tribes
Visit the Akha and Yao
hilltribe villages, at the foot of the 2200 meter high mountain Doi Toeng. Within it live six culturally
distinct peoples - the Karen, Hmong, Mien, Lahu, Akha and Lisu - struggling in
a hostile environment to maintain the integrity of their beliefs, customs and
way of life against all the pressures of the rapidly changing society around
them
MALASIA
Malaysia is a country located
partly on a peninsula of the Asian mainland and partly on the northern third of
the island of Borneo. Peninsular Malaysia occupies all of the Malay Peninsula between Thailand and Singapore, and is also known as West Malaysia. This
is where its capital and largest city
Kuala Lumpur is located. The climate in Malaysia is tropical, with
temperatures generally ranging from 26-32°C. The population is around 24.8 million and the currency is the
Malaysian ringgit.
Borneo
Borneo is the third largest non-continental island in the world and is
divided into three parts, administered by separate countries: Brunei, East
Malaysia and Kalimantan. The island is home to some of the world’s best diving
sites, along with a huge variety of plants, birds and mammals, some unique to
the country.
Sepilok Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre
The centre is
located about 25 kms west of Sandakan in the state of Sabah, East Malaysia, and
is one of only four orangutan sanctuaries in the world. The centre opened in
1964 as the first official orangutan rehabilitation
project for rescued orphaned baby orangutans from logging sites, plantations,
illegal hunting or kept as pets. The orphaned orangutans are trained
to survive again in the wild and are released as soon as they are ready. The
sanctuary is located within the Kabili-Sepilok Forest Reserve which covers an
area of 4,294 ha (10,610 acres), much of which is virgin rainforest. Today
around 60 to 80 orangutans are living free in the reserve. The reserve gives
tourists the opportunity to watch the orangutan up close in their natural
habit. Entry Costs for non-Malaysian nationals are RM30.
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