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Oxalis, the only firm to offer Son Doong expeditions, said 900 visitors have booked for the tours, with 40% of them or 360, being Vietnamese. Among foreign nationals, Americans topped the list with 330 bookings, followed by Australians and Singaporeans with 45 each. This year, 1,000 joined the Son Doong tours, including 91 foreigners. Son Doong, part of Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park in the central province of Quang Binh, has catapulted to global fame since it opened to tourists in 2013. Provincial authorities only allow tours to the cave between January and August, with the cave closed during other months to allow its ecosystem to recover. Visitor numbers are also limited to 1,000 per year. A four-day-three-night expedition of Son Doong Cave cost around US$3,000 before the pandemic, which will be the same price for 2023. The post Americans, Vietnamese book most Son Doong tours for 2023 appeared first on Vietexplorer.com . View more fr...

The boring goalless showdown extended Vietnam’s unbeaten streak at the tournament to five consecutive games, but also marked the 2008 and 2018 winners’ second blank game, after a similar 0-0 draw against Singapore in the group phase. Vietnam had a tough game while Indonesia could not utilize their home advantage. After the first ten tepid minutes when the ball was mainly kept in the midfield, Indonesia had more attacks than Vietnam and put the visitors under immense pressure through to the half-time mark. Had it not been for Vietnamese goalkeeper Dang Van Lam’s excellence, Indonesia might have got the opening goal. However, the hosts failed to convert their relevant chances. Vietnam’s possession of 56 percent resulted in nothing but four goalless finishes. The inclusion of Nguyen Hoang Duc, Nguyen Quang Hai, and Nguyen Tien Linh also turned out to be ineffective as all of these goal hopefuls made various mistakes. While a more compelling second half was highly anticipated, bot...

He recommended the centre continue documenting the study and excavation of the site, located in Vinh Loc district, and apply non-invasive scanning technique to improve excavation effectiveness. Manhart said the Citadel of the Ho Dynasty (1400 – 1407) holds architectural and landscape values that were the greatest and most unique of its kind in East Asia and Southeast Asia in the late 14th and early 15th centuries. Assoc. Prof. and Dr Tong Trung Tin, Chairman of the Vietnam Archaeology Association, said since 2020, archaeologists and scientists have conducted relatively large excavations of the citadel. Notably, a dig on 25,000 sq.m. in the inner part of the citadel discovered four clusters of vestiges dating back to the Tran (1225 – 1400) – Ho dynasties, two to the Le So Dynasty (1428 – 1527), and one to the Le Trung Hung Dynasty (1533 – 1789). These are important evidences of the integrity, authenticity, and globally outstanding values of the citadel, he noted, adding th...

‘Dong,’ or arrowroot (Phrynium placentarium), leaves are often used for wrapping various Vietnamese dishes, most popularly ‘banh chung’ – a square, glutinous rice cake filled with mung beans and pork which is considered an indispensable part of the Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday. Trang Cat Village is famous in the northern region for its 600-year history of growing and harvesting ‘dong’ leaves. Each and every ‘dong’ plant in Trang Cat is carefully grown to ensure quality and color, according to Chu Thi Thanh, a ‘dong’ leaf farmer in the village. Harvesting ‘dong’ leaves is difficult work that often requires entire households to chip in, especially on large farms like Thanh’s 720 square-meter plantation. Nguyen Van Tu arranges ‘dong’ leaves after harvesting in Trang Cat Village, Thanh Oai District, Hanoi. Photo: Nguyen Hien / Tuoi Tre After being harvested, ‘dong’ leaves are sorted by size, soaked in water, and neatly stacked, according to Thanh. The leaves a...

Ronaldo, who was a free agent following his acrimonious split with Manchester United in November, joined Al Nassr last week on a 2-1/2 year deal estimated by media to be worth more than 200 million euros ($210.94 million). He was greeted by a sea of yellow and blue at Al Nassr’s home ground Mrsool Park, where thousands of fans turned up to witness his unveiling. After addressing a news conference, Ronaldo was seen meeting with his new team mates in the dressing room. He then made his way onto the pitch, fully kitted out in the club’s colours. The gathered fans loudly chanted his name as he walked around the 25,000-seater stadium signing footballs and firing them into the stands, before he was joined by his family. “Me and my family, we want to say thank you to all of you for this support and your welcome,” an emotional Ronaldo said after being handed a microphone. “We’re going to give our best. Thank you everybody.” Ronaldo arrives in Saudi Arabia with a vast collection of club h...