The mouth of Dich Long (wind flute) Grotto, which hosts a Buddhist altar dating back to 1740Lauded as the most third beautiful grotto in the country by Nguyen Dynasty King Minh Mang (1791-1841), Dich Long in the northern province of Ninh Binh has fascinated visitors for more than two centuries.The story goes that a woodcutter stumbled upon the grotto in 1739 as he was climbing a mountain to look...

Using an artificial luminous shrimp to lure cuttlefishWhen night comes, silence descends on Phu Quoc Island in the Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang.But out on the water, hundreds of fishing boats turn on their lights to lure the fish and transform the sea into a bustling town.Being out there among them has become popular with tourists in recent years and marks a change from the pristine beaches...

Dollar loans rose 3.16 percent in Vietnam in MayThe State Bank of Vietnam has asked commercial banks to restrict lending to importers of luxury products in an attempt to narrow the country’s trade gap.Banks have to report on the amount of foreign money they sell and lend to importers every week, the central bank said.Lenders should only provide foreign currency loans to exporters who are capable of...

A customer tries an iPhone at an outlet of Viettel telecom company in Ho Chi Minh CityiPhone sales in Vietnam have been hit by the launch of the new iPhone 4 as local consumers have shifted their attention to the upcoming phone, local retailers say.Tran Ngoc Dinh, director of iShop, an Apple authorized retailer in Hanoi, said his store had to cut prices by around VND500,000 per phone immediately after...

Vietnamese Ngo Thanh Minh has won a “grand prize” in the amateur category in a global soccer-themed photography competition held by Sony Electronics Asia-Pacific.The Soccergraphy contest opened in April last year to mark the Japanese consumer electronics giant’s official partnership with the International Federation of Association Football for the 2010 World Cup that is now under way in South Africa.Minh’s...

Miss Vietnam 1994 Nguyen Thu Thuy said that she did not want to reveal her writing too soon.Former Miss Vietnam, Nguyen Thu Thuy, has started a writing career with a collection of stories titled Chuyen cai to kien (The story of the ant hive) or “My Obsessions.”Nguyen Thu Thuy was crowned Miss Vietnam 1994 at the age of 19, when she was a first year student at the Hanoi Institute for International...

Cha ca La Vong, a colorful Hanoi dish with a fascinating historyA simple fish recipe, created a century ago, is drawing people from all over the world to the Hanoi family home of the creator of the dish.Now a restaurant, Cha Ca La Vong (La Vong grilled fish) is run by the descendants of the dish’s creator.The fish dish and the restaurant are named for a statue that used to stand in front of the house....

As millions flow into FIFA's coffers from official World Cup sponsors, big name brands such as Nike have proven that an altogether better bet is to save the cash and simply "ambush" the event.File picture shows players in their national strips made by Nike ahead of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. (AFP/File/Ben Stansall)A week into the competition and Nike, who are not an official FIFA partner,...

For centuries, Tra Que village has made a name for itself through its greenery. Lan Hieu finds out more.A small lane leading to Tra QueChairs for visitors to relax with herb spa after a hard working time on the fieldFarmers fertilize soil with algae taken from a nearby lagoonForeign tourists at Tra QueThe sweet aroma of Tra Que vegetables and herbs has spiced up the everyday meals of people in Hoi...