Tiger Cages, Con Dao Islands, Vietnam. Picture source. Ngoisao

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt Visited Tiger Cages, Con Dao Islands, Vietnam

Located close to the equator (45 minute by air from Ho Chi Minh City), and described by The New York Times as ‘…one of Southeast Asias most untouched and breathtaking getaways‘, Con Dao archipelago enjoys a warm tropical climate.

Despite the ugly history, Con Dao now is the most favorite beach scene of international and adventurous Vietnamese travelers.  Deep blue water with best coral reefs, lush forest with typical sub-tropical wildlife, rolling hills and sharp cliffs, friendly people…mark the islands as pristine spot for ones who love beach, nature and slow life.

Being well protected by bodyguards, security staffs, and Six Senses resort staff, still  Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt ‘s pictures appeared on local news today as they visit the Tiger Cage, former prison in Con Dao.

With their surprise visit, Brangelina and their children had turned Con Dao Islands and its tourism hit on top of the local and the world news.

For Con Dao islands adventure and Vietnam holiday, contact our Travel Specialists

GRANDEUR JOURNEYS, VIETNAM
info@grandeurjourneys.com
+ [84] 977 19 11 19
Tiger Cages, Con Dao Islands Vietnam

Tiger Cages, Con Dao Islands, Vietnam

Con Dao Islands,Vietnam, Grandeur Journeys

JOLIE and PITT HOLIDAY IN CON DAO ISLANDS, VIETNAM

Great news for Con Dao Islands and the country’s tourism as Jolie and her kids hat off to Con Dao Islands. Would love to share the news for all ones who love beaches and nature. Next one who visits Con Dao may be you! For Con Dao Islands and luxury holidays in Vietnam, reach me at

hai@grandeurjourneys.com
GRANDEUR JOURNEYS, VIETNAM

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Jolie and her family are in Con Dao Islands, Vietnam

Jolie, Pitt back in Vietnam with adopted son

Last updated: 11/11/2011 13:00

Hollywood star Angelina Jolie is in Vietnam with husband Brad Pitt for her first known visit since adopting an orphan from the country four years ago, local media reports said Jolie and fellow film idol Brad Pitt landed in the southern metropolis of Ho Chi Minh City on Thursday night with their adopted son Pax Thien and five other children, VNExpress online newspaper reported, quoting an airport source. The Oscar-winning American, who starred in the “Lara Croft” films, adopted the boy as a three-year-old from a Ho Chi Minh City orphanage in 2007. She and Pitt have two other adopted children, from Cambodia and Ethiopia. VNExpress said the family would travel to Con Dao, a holiday destination off Vietnam’s southern coast. The airport refused to comment to AFP and the orphanage could not be reached. Pitt, Jolie and their six children were in Tokyo on Thursday, where Pitt held a news conference ahead of the Japan release of his new movie “Moneyball”.

Source.
Thanh Nien News, Vietnam

Saigon Meditation Night, Invitation

MEDITATION NIGHT, SAIGON
SHARING THE HAPPINESS

Date: Sat 12^th November, 2011
Time: 14.00 – 21.30
Venue: Long Thuan Garden, Ho Chi Minh

You are warmly welcomed to join us for the Full-moon Zen Meditation
to evoke self-happiness
to share love and sympathy
to gain and to give the meaning of life
SY HOANG Artist

For details info and reservation, please contact
Hai Van ( Mr.)
Grandeur Journeys, Vietnam
m. 0977 19 11 19
e. hai@grandeurjourneys.com

Central Higlands Young Gongs Team, Nguyen Binh

The Good News Gongs

Dinh Keo’s efforts in teaching youth in Gia Lai Province to play the gong is helping to preserve this unique aspect of Central Highlands’ culture

The sounds of a young cong chieng (gong) band in Kong Chro Commune have inspired amateur listeners and long-time lovers of the music alike.

The 30 children have blown new life into the nation’s antique art and drawn listeners to their small corner in Gia Lai Province.

Throughout the Central Highlands of Vietnam, gong ensembles have traditionally participated in ceremonies tied to the daily lives of the region’s diverse ethnic communities. The musical styles are, in no way, alike. Ritual functions, genres and techniques vary widely.

In most of these communities, however, these instruments (wrought from bronze and silver) are regarded as a divine medium—capable of bridging the gap between humanity and the supernatural world.

“The gong plays an integral role in the culture of the ethnic people of Gia Lai Province,” said Phan Xuan Vu, manager of Gia Lai Province’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism. “The instrument’s unique cultural legacy dates back hundreds of years but it has been strongly affected by modernization.”

According to Vu, the gongs traditionally played a central role in the indigenous religious ceremonies of various small rural communities. As those communities move further into mainstream Vietnamese society, their ancient beliefs, practices and instruments are often left behind.

Some, however, are holding out. In the remote and impoverished village of Kong Chro, Dinh Keo, an aging gong artisan, is doing his best to train a whole new generation of musicians.

In 2006, a five-year-old boy named Pram wandered into Keo’s workshop.

The boy seemed more interested in his instruments than playing out in the midday heat. So Keo began to teach him how to properly strike the instrument.

More children began showing up to his workshop, hoping to learn now to play the instruments. Keo said that the idea of gathering a gong class for children splashed through his mind when he noticed that the traditional, handmade instruments were being sold and stolen throughout the impoverished community.

With help of the village patriarchs, Keo began training these little students. Pram remains his youngest apprentice – to this day, he can only handle the smallest gong (around 25 centimeters).

“You must be patient and encourage them to understand and have a passion for the gongs,” Keo said. “It takes a lot of time and effort to work with the kids, aged five to six. Their mothers helped a lot when they spent nearly a month weaving beautiful costumes for their kids to wear in competition.”

More and more little students began flooding into the class. Soon enough, Keo formed a band.

In 2009, the tiny gong team arrived at the first-ever International Gong Festival in Pleiku dressed in matching multi-colored cuffs and red patches.

The team won praise from both local and foreign tourists for their soaring performances.

After just one year, Keo’s gong team, aged 10-14, could confidently participate in any cultural festival, throughout the country. What’s more, a group of female singers has been formed in the village to accompany the band.

Keo said he is satisfied with this new generation of traditional artists.

He worries, however, about the fate of the aging generation of gong makers. So far parents have relied solely on him for his expertise and advice.

“Now we must rely on the kids, for they are both the origin and the future,” Keo said. “Faced with the possibility of losing a cultural asset, the children will be great warriors – they have not been absorbed into foreign culture.”

Keo has worked hard to spread his mastery of the instrument.

After years of training Dinh Glich and Dinh Chrum in the art of gong making, the men frequently return from their neighboring communes to help teach his classes.

Keo says that his greatest wish is to found more and more young gong groups in the Central Highlands. He says he’s willing to go anywhere to help make it happen.

Tran Hieu
Source. Thanh Nien

Vietnam Coffee Tour. Passions and Culture Exchange

Vietnam Coffee Tour

Highlights: experience exotic wild nature and ethnic villages, learn about the making of rare and expansive Weasels Coffee, ride an elephant along Lak Lake, explore the forest, enjoy a gong show

This journey will bring you to Buon Ma Thuot, the largest city in Vietnam’s Central Highlands region, an unexplored area with great adventure and trekking potential. We can see wild nature, meet hospitable residents, visit villages of the M’Nong ethnic people, ride an elephant along Lak Lake, explore the forest, enjoy a gong show and drink wine through pipes together with other people. We also visit local farm to experience the making of rare and expensive Weasels Coffee, that we know as coffee ‘beans’, passed though the civet largely undigested and the resulting beans, when washed and sun-dried, had undergone a remarkable change to produce a uniquely smooth and delicious flavor. Perhaps this was because the civet would choose only the best and ripest beans to eat, but also because the beans had been modified by enzyme reactions on their journey.

Grandeur Journeys

Hoian Historic Flood, Sep 2009

Historic Flood in Hoian, Sept 30, 2009

Hoian , a former trading port dating from the 15th century, is a major tourist town in Vietnam suffered high flood during the end of Sep, 2009.

Rains came heavily over the Hoian and east mountains with strong winds from the ocean in several days before the flood came.

The water came quickly during the night eve till the next morning.  All the picturesque narrow streets of tightly-packed old temples, craft shops and restaurants were submerged in filthy brown water from the high mountain, mainly. Local residents said water had reached halfway to the ceiling on the ground floor of their homes. Almost people are trapped on their upper floors. The water matches that of 45 years ago, according to folk historic records.

In 1999, ancient Hoi An had suffered historic flood which marked the water at 7m high.

The whole town center  was cut off and accessible only by boat, with strict conditions. The major An Hoi Bridge which link the old quarter to An Hoi fishing village was cracked, forcing people to cross in single file.

Un- expecting and unpredictable flood hit the local economy deeply. Almost the shops clothes and fabric are soaked up with water. Some shops lost almost everything.

Estimated about 6,000 Vietnamese and foreign tourists remained in the town but they were all had been moved out of the flood zone safely.

The first flood in my life experience marked itself with sad memories of Hoian

Hai Van
Grandeur Journeys,

Nguyen Thai Hoc street, main business street in Hoian in the flood, Sep 2009

The results have been ann ounced for the 2011 Explore Tour Leader Awards, with Nepalese leader Sudarshan KC being voted the overall winner. The runners up were Jorge Mario Rodriguez, Tran Van Hoan and Louise Van Zwanenberg, with Wael Wanas receiving the prestigious Shirley Meacock Spirit of Explore Award.

Tour Leader of the Year 2011: Sudarshan KC

tlasudarshanSudarshan KC was chosen by a panel of judges after he was shortlisted following nominations received by Explore customers. When choosing him as their winner the judges praised the quality of the customer feedback that he received, the rare ability he has to create a real sense of family in his groups, as well as his ability to make tough decisions.

Sudarshan will receive a £1,000 prize, half of which he will donate to charity. He has chosen a school just outside Kathmandu to benefit from the donation. Sudarshan Says;

It is very hard to choose the place to help, but after going through couple of places, I think i will give the money to one of the schools  just outside Kathmandu .It is called Image Academy in Manamaiju Village Development Commitee. I wanted to help the poor children of this school by providing stationary and may be we will change the black board of some of the classes.

Explore received a staggering 848 nominations for 250 different tour leaders for the Tour Leader of the Year Award. Once both sets of nominations had been shortlisted, it was up to a panel of judges to choose the two winners. The judging panel met on 12th July and was made up of Ashley Toft, Managing Director and Carolina Gryngarten, Head of Operations at Explore; Amar Grover, travel journalist; Polly Davies, travel agent from Marco Polo; Sylvia Curry, loyal Explore customer, and Pam Meacock, Shirley Meacock’s daughter and loyal Explore customer.

The standard was incredibly high, and members of the judging panel commented how hard it was to decide the winner and three runners up, who were Jorge Mario Rodriguez, Tran Van Hoan and Louise Van Zwanenberg. Each receive a prize of £500, half of which will go to a charity of their choice.

Jorge Mario Rodriguez: Guatemala

What impressed the panel was the consistently amazing feedback Jorge gets from customers, with many stating that he is the best leader they’ve ever had. Jorge has taken to the role of tour leader fantastically well and the Explore Operations Managers have been impressed with his understanding of the Explore ethos and the way he spent time really getting to understand all the details of the role. Jorge tells us about his charity:

In regards to the organization which I would like to benefit, it is a very small institution called AMBI.  Amor y bienestar, by its acronym in Spanish, “love and wellbeing”. It is a small nursery home where parents can leave their children as they go to work. For many people of a low socio-economical level, especially in the poorest areas of the city, taking care of their children can be a problem when they need to go to work.  There are cases of single mothers that just have to leave their kids inside their homes (that most of the times are just a room) with the door locked meanwhile they go to work.  Of course they can´t afford not to go to work and what concerns the parents the most is that if the kids are left alone and able to go out into the streets they could become prey for gangs who will recruit them and insert them into a life of crime.  And because of this, the best choice is to leave them children behind locked doors with all the adyacent dangers that this represents for the kids in the event of an accident or any other kind of calamity. This is why I believe this small nursery institutions are of crucial help for the unprivileged. In the particular case of choosing AMBI as a beneficiary, the fact is that I do personally know some of the people who work there.

Tran Van Hoan: Vietnam

The judging panel noted the fact that Tran Van Hoan goes to such great lengths to help customers when things don’t go to plan or when they lose personal possessions. He also come across as a wonderful ambassador, not only for Vietnam, but also for Explore. The panel was also impressed with the fact that he has led tours in Cambodia, and seems to have the respect of the local people there, and gets great feedback from customers, even though it is not his home country. Tran tells us about his chosen charity:

I chose the Go Vap Center for Nursing Children Support. I choose this organization because they have a clear objective and are willing to receive and support children without any conditions. They are not really international or national (I mean international which is receiving many supports from other International Organizations around the world). However, they have many policies and methods of training but their budget is very limited, that’s why I support them.

Source. Explore UK

Tran Van Hoan ( Second from the left), Explore UK Tour Leader Awards 2011 and Vietnam Tour Leaders

Tran Van Hoan ( First one from the right), Explore UK Tour Leader Awards 2011 and Vietnam Tour Leaders

Vietnamese Traditional Medicine, Noni

The Future of Vietnamese Traditional Medicine

In the earlier articles, we have tried to chronicle the history of Traditional Vietnamese Medicine (TVM) and to note both some of the differences with its relative Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) which is a much larger and in most cases better known kin of Traditional Vietnamese Medicine.  We also have noted that Traditional Vietnamese Medicine is experiencing a rebirth as many healers like  Nguyen Van Be (usually called “Ong Ba Dat Phen”) have increasingly tried to better document it and to give it an increasing scientific basis.

In 2010, Traditional Vietnamese Medicine is at a crossroads and there is much change going on in many aspects of the industry.  Key in helping to lead and direct this change again is Nguyen Van Be and his joint stock company Mephydica.  This company was founded in 1983 as a research center “Center of Research, Conservation, Development the Material Medicine in Dong Thap Muoi” (Trung tam Nghien Cuu Bao Ton Phat Trien Duoc Lieu Dong Thap Muoi).

In November 2009, Ong Ba converted the center into Joint Stock Company to help it to continue to develop economically and to gain more revenue to protect the environment in his area and to promote economic development.  Currently Mephydica acts as steward and as ultimately the protector of 1,000 hectares of land, canals, swamp and forest.  The company currently has approximately 100 employees and annual sales of over  6 billion VN Dong or roughly about $300,000.  Thirty percent of this production is ultimately exported, mostly through partners. Sustainable development, environmental protection and increasing use of good science are hallmarks of Mephydica under the leadership of Ong Ba.

In 2010, Mephydica, formed a relationship with Delphi Health Services.  Delphi Health Service was started by Chris, Soraya and Charles Runckel in Thailand in 2006 to carry out research on plant, animal and human genetics and to develop various patented processes based on modern genetics in the testing for diabetes in SE Asians, for skin improvement and for other human genetics tests.  The company also carried out research on tests and methods to improve raising of healthy shrimp, algae as a agent for making bio-diesel and many other projects.  Delphi has similarly followed core tenets that encourage the use of sustainable agriculture and protection of the environment through well-conceived scientific and business planning.

Nguyen Van Be, Ong Ba Dat Phen

In 2010, a decision was made to collaborate with Bui Truong Minh and Mai T.N. Huong who had graduated with a Masters in Plant Biotechnology from Holland on a new venture in Vietnam focussed on entering Vietnam’s nascent biotech market and helping to bring the benefits of modern biotech and biochemical science to Vietnamese companies involved in health, food production, cosmetics and skincare and other industries. Vietnam was in the process of change at this point as the government sought to push many government institutes to privatize and to seek outside funding for more and more of their research.

Early on Mai and I met  Mr. Nguyen Van Be (Ong Ba) who shared our view that Vietnam needed to make increased usage of modern science in many fields.  We started collaborating with him in first the field of Vietnamese Traditional Medicine and development of medicinal herbs.  This collaboration soon spread to shared interest in development of bio-pesticides based on Neem which has been planted in Vietnam in order to inhibit soil erosion as a potential way to reduce the use of chemical pesticides in Vietnam and to reduce imports and also on a modern spa based on Vietnamese Traditional Medicine and Ong Ba’s observations over the importance of food, a peaceful setting, access to nature and other concepts; to bio-pesticides plus many other subjects.

Today, Delphi Health Service is established in Vietnam and is in the process of opening a modern biotech lab in Vietnam to better research and document the many current projects.  We are involved in projects in many locations in Vietnam and daily talk with businesses who are seeking the unique scientific approach we utilize and the modern skills of brand identification, marketing and innovative management we employ.

Our current focus concerns medicinal herbs.  Vietnam has had thousands of years of experience with medicinal herbs.  Traditional Vietnamese Medicine is largely unknown in comparison to its much better known Chinese cousin but is undergoing a rebirth in Vietnam.  Further the production of essential oils and other herbal compounds is gaining increased scientific attention as individuals and companies look for new ways to deal with infection, cancer, AIDS and many modern diseases.  One fairly unique focus that we bring to this portion is our work is our focus on increasing the sustainability of Vietnam’s efforts in terms of medicinal herbs.  We are currently working to improve the protection of scarce medicinal herbs and other plant products and to encourage others to act as better stewards of the country’s biological diversity before it is too late.  This work currently has much urgency as many medicinal compounds are becoming increasingly scarce in Vietnam as they have been harvested in an unsustainable and unprofessional manner and with no thought to the future or to future generations.

Each day is a new opportunity for Delphi Health Service staff in Vietnam to both help others and to learn.  We work in fields that are both ancient – Vietnamese Traditional Medicine – but also those that are among the most modern – human, animal and plant biotechnology and their relation to the above field and to many others.  We are leading efforts to protect Vietnam’s unique herbal and plant biodiversity.  Daily we bring new studies and new ways of looking to improve business and agricultural work in Vietnam.

Vietnam in the 21st Century is a challenging business and research environment but it is also an area where a relatively small number of people and a relatively modest investment can lead to new opportunities to improve conditions markedly in the the country.   Please contact us if we can help your operations in Vietnam or if you can use our access to essential oils, modern herbal medicine and medicinal herb abstracts.  We look forward to your call or visit.

Ong Ba Dat Phen and Vietnamese Traditional Medicine

Source: Business In Asia

About the Author: 

Christopher W. Runckel, a former senior US diplomat who served in many counties in Asia, is a graduate of the University of Oregon and Lewis and Clark Law School. He served as Deputy General Counsel of President Gerald Ford’s Presidential Clemency Board. Mr. Runckel is the principal and founder of Runckel & Associates, a Portland, Oregon based consulting company that assists businesses expand business opportunities in Asia. (www.business-in-asia.com)

Until April of 1999, Mr. Runckel was Minister-Counselor of the US Embassy in Beijing, China. Mr. Runckel lived and worked in Thailand for over six years. He was the first permanently assigned U.S. diplomat to return to Vietnam after the Vietnam War. In 1997, he was awarded the U.S. Department of States highest award for service, the Distinguished Honor Award, for his contribution to improving U.S.-Vietnam relations. Mr. Runckel is one of only two non-Ambassadors to receive this award in the 200-year history of the U.S. diplomatic service.

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For meeting Mr. Nguyen Van Be or Ong Ba Dat Phen and Khanh An Drugs and Pharmacy in person, contact us:  hai@grandeurjourneys.com
http://www.grandeurjourneys.com

Khanh An Drug and Pharmacy Co., Ltd was found with the goal of taking care of and protecting health right at the beginning together by natural products in daily life in order to enhance continuously the body resistance against diseases and prevention from the external factors which cause confusion of body functions. To patients, the company helps them fight against illness and recover health strongly. Let’s make life become more lovely and healthier.

KHANH AN CO., LTD is specialized in producing and trading: Drugs; Flavorings, completely natural essential oil; Materials extracted finely from herbal remedy; Functional foods

Vietnam Traiditional Medicinal Farm

Traditional Medicine With a More Scientific Basis Continues To Prosper in Vietnam

Traditional Medicine has a long and honored history in Vietnam (please see our earlier article on this subject).  This has long fascinated me since my service in Vietnam in the 1960s and my return to Vietnam in 1992 as US Special Negotiator to Vietnam.  Recently I returned to Vietnam to update my knowledge on this issue.  I found that Traditional Vietnamese Medicine (TVM) is still thriving.  Nowadays, many of the more exotic ingredients are no longer found or utilized, but the diagnosis and treatment is similar and in many cases has changed little. One change, however, is the cost of treatment is no longer cheap and as a consequence many of those seeking TVM treatment tend to be the middle and upper classes.  Whereas traditional medicine was once the medicine of the poor, it is now more likely to be the middle classes and foreigners who find their way to the traditional physician either because Western medicine is not working for them or because they are skeptical about the tainted medicines and outright fakes or adulterated medicine that abound in Vietnam.

Today poor people who can manage to afford to self-medicate use foreign or domestically produced drugs and antibiotics which they gain by relying upon the advice of their local pharmacist. The result of this is that local doctors and pharmacists with limited training and a culture of assuming that more medicine is better than less have combined to create a major problem of over-prescribing ‘Western’ drugs.

Those of more limited means who don’t have the money for western medicine, or an exemption card from their local authority, use folk remedies and make do the best they can.

Noni, Vietnamese traditional medicine

There is now increasing interest in using traditional medicine to supplement treatment of chronic illnesses, such as AIDS and cancer which seem to be increasing in Vietnam as people live longer. To see how this works, I visited the Traditional Medicine Institute in Ho Chi Minh City where I saw hundreds of patients waiting for treatment.  At the Institute, modern diagnostic tools like x-rays, scans, etc. are used in concert with herbal and more traditional cures.  Traditional treatments are benign, and seem to have therapeutic benefits in calming patients and restoring their confidence, perhaps because the methods and medicines are so deeply rooted in the Vietnamese culture.

Later I took a motorcycle with Bui Truong Minh and stopped by some traditional medicine stores in the central area of the city.  Here can still be found many, many stores specializing in herbs and medicinal treatments that are often times specialized into particular cures or treatments for common conditions in Vietnam.

Although Vietnam is modernizing quickly, traditional medicine in Vietnam has not disappeared and if anything is gaining something of a revitalization.  In Vietnam, undoubtedly one of the current healers who has been noted for his interest and professionalization of Traditional Vietnamese Medicine is Nguyen Van Be (usually called “Ong Ba Dat Phen” – which means the Man in the 2nd position in the family on the Acid Land).  Ong Ba was born in Ben Tre but has spent much of his life in Dong Thap Muoi.  I had heard of Ong Ba or Mr. Be as I called him and had arranged to meet him for lunch on a past visit to Ho Chi Minh City.  At this lunch, Mr. Be and I discovered that we both were born the same year – the year of the Buffalo or Ox and had both experienced the Vietnam War in 1969-70 in similar areas.  Mr. Be’s service was infinitely longer than my own as he volunteered at the age of 14 and fought for much of the war.

Ong Ba Dat Phen & and Liz, Tasmania Australia

During his service, he became interested in herbal medicine as both a source of medicine which was very limited in rural areas during the war and also through his observations of nature and the forest which were a part of daily life during these times.  Later, the government sent him North to study traditional medicine (Western medicine industry) in which he excelled.  However, after graduation, he returned to the South and to Saigon to study Western Medicine at the University of Medicine and Pharmacy where he later served as a lecturer. Then he started to do research on snake poison and saw in practice that the herbal plants can cure the snake poison. Since then, he started to become increasingly drawn to Vietnamese traditional medicine which he never trusted previously. He volunteered to come to Dong Thap Muoi, in particularly Moc Hoa District, which was called “dead land” following the reclamation campaign of the government to expand agricultural land.   Here in this land with acidic water and soil he proceeded to use his knowledge of herbal remedies and cures to not only benefit the people around him but to help build economic development, protect the environment and build a sustainable ecosystem that balanced the interests and demands of plants, birds, animals and man.

Today I would be visiting his company compound which is part of 1,000 hectares of sustainably managed and protected canals, land and swamps which employs a large number of local people and gives them jobs and a superior infrastructure.  To visit Mr. Be started with a two hour trip by road to Eastern Long An province near the Cambodian Border.  After 2 hours by car, we boarded a long boat similar to a Thai long tailed boat and headed for 30 minutes by water to the dock and more modern facility that is part of the Mephydica Company compound (also known in Vietnamese as Cong Ty CP Bao Ton PT Duoc Lieu DTM).  Ong Ba had been expecting the visit of “his old friend and Companion Buffalo” and met us at the dock.  From there we looked up to the tower which contains the statues of the founders of Traditional Vietnamese Medicine.  We paid our respects briefly but as we were a little late, lunch was being held for us and being hungry we hurried to follow Ong Ba into lunch.

Vietnamese food according to Ong Ba should be simple and based on what is in season.  Meat has its place in Vietnamese cooking but vegetables predominate and are often served freshly washed.  Medicinal herbs are served with vegetables not only for their taste but also for their restorative, purging and correcting action on the body.

Passifloraceae, violales - Vienamese Tradtional Medicine

Although these herbs are often common, well planned preparation and planning of meals as advocated by Mr. Be leads to improved food balance and health in a gradual restorative manner.  Further since Vietnamese Traditional Medicine focusses on treating the underlying conditions not the symptoms as is often the case in Western medicine the recovery ultimately is more firm.  I have lived in Vietnam too long not to realize the dangers of eating raw vegetables in rural locations but throughout my 3 day stay at Mr. Be’s retreat I ate everything and was never sick as everything is washed scrupulously, the water is all bottled or treated as is the ice and generally if you are observant you will have little problem.

Over lunch, Ong Ba talked about Traditional Vietnamese Medicine.  He noted that although Vietnamese and Chinese Traditional Medicine are often lumped together, there are in fact substantial differences.  TVM, unlike Chinese Traditional Medicine is more based on the use of fresh herbs.  Further, although many herbs, trees, etc. are similar to both countries, many are very different and only found in one or the other country.  Finally, many of the diseases in Vietnam are different and present differently when the patient is examined.  This Ong Ba noted made Traditional Vietnamese Medicine different from its Northern relative.

Vietnam Health Retreats Holidays

Later Ong Ba took us to Mephydica’s guest house which was newly built, air conditioned and with all modern amenities including a bathtub which was spa-like in its proportions.  Ong Ba noted that he is planning a spa that will help expose Vietnamese and foreign guests to the benefits of Vietnamese Traditional Medicine and that will utilize the principals he has learned in both the food served, the peaceful nature of the area, the restorative affects of nature with modern amenities and the experience of other spa industries such as Thailand to create a Vietnamese Spa that will be a first and soon the flagship of a new industry in Vietnam.

We took a nap in the afternoon and then later toured the large property that Mephydica owns where Mr. Be explained about Vietnamese herbs and introduced us to both their uses and how he processes and harvests them.

We observed the stainless steel stills in which the essential oils are extracted and observed workers placing the processed medicinal herb residue back on the land to serve as mulch for vegetables and other plants grown on the facility.

That night we had another excellent dinner in which Mr. Be served a wine he processes on the property.  The wine was strong and fruity and quite pleasant and was a nice partner to the fresh vegetables, fish, meat and fruit that covered the table.

Early the next morning we breakfasted on good Vietnamese coffee, bread, fruit and eggs and then watched some other guests haul big fish from the ponds around the compound.  Later we took a boat and went out to examine some of the trees and herbs grown on the compound.  Ong Ba explained the trees and herbs that we observed and we all marveled at the large number of birds and other animals we saw as we travelled about the property and saw first-hand how Ong Ba has protected and restored the land while also creating jobs and economic development.  Among the medicinal herbs that are now a firm fixture of this property are the following:

Muu (Calophyllum inophyllum)

Chuoi hot (banana containing seeds)

Tan day la (Plectranthus amboinicus) (Lour.)

Xa hoa hong (Palmarosa)

Ha Thu o (Polygonum multiflorum thunb)

Rau ma (Centella asiatica)

Rau ram (Persicaria odorata)

Rau om (Limnophila aromatica) (Lam)

Bach dan chanh (Eucalyptus citriodora)

Nhau (Noni)

Mr. Be's Traditional Medicine center

After another great lunch and a further tour of the facility, it was time for another nap in the heat of the day before a peaceful ride back along the canals to rejoin our vehicle and head back to Saigon.  We all went back feeling restored and impressed with Ong Ba who truly lives up to his name as a national treasure of Vietnam which he was named for his work in Traditional Vietnamese Medicine and for his protection of the environment, promotion of sustainability and contribution to local job creation and economic development.  I know I will return to Vietnam in the future many times and when I do, a visit to Ong Ba’s upcoming resort will be high on my list of priorities.

Source: www.business-in-asia.com

About the Author:

Christopher W. Runckel, a former senior US diplomat who served in many counties in Asia, is a graduate of the University of Oregon and Lewis and Clark Law School. He served as Deputy General Counsel of President Gerald Ford’s Presidential Clemency Board. Mr. Runckel is the principal and founder of Runckel & Associates, a Portland, Oregon based consulting company that assists businesses expand business opportunities in Asia. (www.business-in-asia.com)

Until April of 1999, Mr. Runckel was Minister-Counselor of the US Embassy in Beijing, China. Mr. Runckel lived and worked in Thailand for over six years. He was the first permanently assigned U.S. diplomat to return to Vietnam after the Vietnam War. In 1997, he was awarded the U.S. Department of States highest award for service, the Distinguished Honor Award, for his contribution to improving U.S.-Vietnam relations.

Lingzhi,crab mushroom

For  Vietnam Adventure, Nature Retreat

For meeting Mr. Be in person for wetland stories and Vietnamese Traditional medical treatments – insomnia, high blood, high cholesterol, hepatitis, gout…

For details info
www.grandeurjoureys.com.vn
hai@grandeurjourneys.com

Phuc Quoc Islands, Place with siren song

Island escape is Vietnam’s best-kept secret, Phu Quoc Islands

It may be on the doorstep of a heaving metropolis, but this island remains an undeveloped paradise.

In the milliseconds it takes to fall from a motor scooter at 50km/h onto a dusty, dirt road, time slows down – like you’re in The Matrix – until it clicks back into real time with a thud and a whimper as you hit the ground.

And while I did see this coming, that hardly dulls the shock. The road that runs alongside the entire length of Phu Quoc’s aptly named Long Beach is a never-ending, never-bending slippery slide of loose clay, deep ruts and falling coconuts. And scooters aren’t renowned for rough roading – probably why you don’t see them at motor cross events.

I dust myself off and check for damage: a bit of missing skin and a scratch or two on the bike’s chassis; nothing a lick of Betadine and a hasty exit from the shop I hired the moped from won’t fix.

Just as well too, for this is not an island to have a bad traffic accident on (unlike, you know, those islands made for them!). With over 70 per cent of Phu Quoc designated National Park – that’s about 31,500 hectares of dense jungle and empty coastline – it could’ve been some time before help came along. On Vietnam’s best-kept secret island, there’s a hell of a lot of nothing between anything resembling something.

Oh sure, the Vietnamese Government has been touting Phu Quoc as the next Phuket for years now as part of its plan to make Vietnam the number one tourist destination in Asia. But so far, thankfully, progress is still something only faintly detectable on the breeze. Mostly though the wind around here reeks of fish, squid and fish sauce – Phu Quoc’s economy is determined by humble fishermen, more so than tourism workers – and its landscape is dotted predominately with simple fishing villages. It’s also still best known to the Vietnamese as the island that produces the country’s finest fish sauce (or nuoc mam).

But perhaps the most incredible thing about Phu Quoc’s sleepy demeanour is just how close this place is to Vietnam’s largest city, Ho Chi Minh City. Just 50 minutes flying time away from one of South-East Asia’s most high-octane cities. There’s six daily services costing as little as $25AUD one way.

With a city of eight million on its doorstep, you’d think the island would be overrun with visitors. But outside of public holidays (and the Christmas/New Year period where accommodation often triples in price) the island remains blissfully empty of tourists.

Accommodation choices consist mostly of bungalows set on sleepy beaches, restaurants come with sandy floors and a barefoot dress code, with sunsets into the ocean the only floor show. Like Koh Samui 30 years ago, there’s an innocence to the place – no-one bothers you offering good-time girls or to selling merchandise from their store. For my entire stay here a temperamental lock won’t work on my bungalow door, but no-one steals any of my valuables.

Night-time options don’t stretch too far beyond markets of fresh seafood straight off the boats and cheap, ice-cold local beer at beachside bars while squid boats light up the horizon. Unlike the rest of Asia, there’s barely any music to be heard, while Phu Quoc has been embraced by the backpacker market, it somehow remains devoid of the stock-standard R’n'B roar of Thailand’s seaside bars. Music’s more a BYO affair on Phu Quoc, bring your own guitar and create your own dance club.

Most of Phu Quoc’s development so far has been confined to the northern end of Long Beach, a few kilometres from the island’s biggest centre, Duong Dong, and the airport. But apart from a few high-end villas that generally blend into the background, you’ll mostly find bungalows down hard-to-find laneways off the main road that encircles the island, creating enough distance to induce a feeling of isolation.

Outside of this accommodation ‘hot-spot’, Vietnam’s largest island feels like it’s hardly been discovered. It’s home to some of Vietnam’s most pristine beaches – wide sandy strips of white ringed by clear blue waters. Its coastline is rugged, and often hard to access.

The island’s best beach, Bai Thom, is on Phu Quoc’s remote north-east corner amongst dense jungle dissected by winding, dirt tracks, while the runner-up, Bai Sao, is closer to a main town, but still requires a topsy-turvy, dirt-road battle on a moped.

But therein lies Phu Quoc’s appeal, it’s not as easily accessible as other hot-spots in Vietnam, granting it off-the-beaten-track status. And like most places that require extra commitment to get there, the rewards are all the more satisfying (the beach at Bai Sao is wide and sandy, fringed by coconut trees and thick undulating jungle to the horizon, with laid-back beach bars metres from a warm, blue-green sea).

Phu Quoc offers up endless days of sunbaking and swimming on quiet beaches, but it also caters for the adventurous traveller. The An Thoi Islands – a group of 15 islands just off the south coast of Phu Quoc – are some of Asia’s most pristine, devoid mostly, for now, of any development at all. Operators offer kayaking, diving, snorkelling, fishing and day tours to the islands. Or if you prefer, hire your own boat from An Thoi Town, or Duong Dong.

There’s also plenty of hiking on offer in Phu Quoc’s hilly interior, which is almost entirely covered in thick jungle (Phu Quoc’s highest point, Mt Chua, is 603 metres high and is by far Phu Quoc’s most challenging walk). In fact, most of Phu Quoc north of Duong Dong is completely covered in forest, with only red dusty tracks providing a passage through.

If you motor along Phu Quoc’s empty roads for long enough, you’ll see a tiny hint of things to come; the smell of fresh bitumen covering red dust tracks and signs for new resorts creeping a little further south along Long Beach. Backpackers in Ho Chi Minh City may well be speaking of Phu Quoc in whispers, but an island like Phu Quoc can’t stay a secret forever.

FAST FACTS

Getting there

Vietnam Airlines flies daily to Ho Chi Minh City from Melbourne with six daily connections to Phu Quoc.

Staying there

If you’d like a little extra comfort, try La Veranda, which is set in colonial-era style on Long Beach, rooms start at about $160US, see laverandaresort.com, for something more rustic try the beach bungalows at Duong Dong Resort from $50US per night, see duongdongresorts.com

More Phu Quoc Islands information

GRANDEUR Journeys, Vietnam
www.grandeurjourneys.com

Source: Brisbane Times

Beach Retreat, Vietnam Beach Theme Holidays