Category Archives: Southeast Asia

Halong Bay in Vietnam is one of the most beautiful and breathtaking places on the planet

Halong Bay (or Ha Long Bay) in Vietnam is one of the most beautiful and breathtaking places on the planet. In 1994 it was added to the list of UNESCO Heritage Sites. In 2011 the magnificent landmark of Vietnam was declared one of the “New Seven Natural Wonders of The World” beating serious “competitors” like Vesuvius Volcano in Italy, Great Barrier Reef in Australia, and even Baikal, the deepest lake in the world. Welcome to China for Canton Fair 2014. We are pleased to offer cheap Guangzhou hotels booking in Cantontradefair.com, and we also provide great service in Indochina tour guide and perfect China tour packages for you.

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Created over millions of years, tectonic forces slowly thrust the limestone above the water-line. During this process waves lapping against the stone carved out a number of vast, striking caverns, as well as other geologically interesting formations, such as tunnel caves and uniquely shaped massifs.
Almost all islands of Halong Bay are rocky, and there is a countless number of caves and grottos of all sizes and shapes, filled with small waterfalls, stalactites and stalagmites. Some of the caves became a tourist attraction. Lit up with colorful lights, they look like fairy tale underground castles.
Ha Long Bay has an area of around 1,553 km2, including 1,960–2,000 islets, most of which are limestone. The core of the bay has an area of 334 km2 with a high density of 775 islets. The limestone in this bay has gone through 500 million years of formation in different conditions and environments. The evolution of the karst in this bay has taken 20 million years under the impact of the tropical wet climate. The geo-diversity of the environment in the area has created biodiversity, including a tropical evergreen biosystem, oceanic and sea shore biosystem. Ha Long Bay is home to 14 endemic floral species and 60 endemic faunal species.

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Local people have a very colorful story about creation of the bay. It is told that once upon a time, when ancestors fought with the Chinese, Gods sent dragons to help Vietnamese warriors.  Trying to make a barrier, these fearsome creatures spitted precious stones that turned into islands. These islands created a wall that protected Vietnamese people from their aggressors. Dragons liked the rocky islands and decided to leave them behind after the war.  Vietnamese named the place, where Mother Dragon landed, Ha-Long, which means “a place where the dragon descended into the sea”.
This unique UNESCO World Heritage Site is a popular place for tourists but it is good to know that large parts of Ha Long Bay are officially protected from development. The islands vary greatly in size and shape as well as structure.
Visitors should allow a few days to explore this magical bay as its attractions are extremely numerous. Cat Ba Island Cat Ba Island is the most popular destination in the bay and every tour company offers a trip to the island. Cat Ba is full of the usual tourist scenario; hotels, restaurants, and bars; still Cat Ba’s locals have carried on doing exactly what their ancestors did for generations before – fishing.

Banteay Srei is an exquisite miniature

Banteay Srei or Banteay Srey is a 10th century Cambodian temple dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva. Located in the area of Angkor in Cambodia. It lies near the hill of Phnom Dei, 25 km (16 mi) north-east of the main group of temples that once belonged to the medieval capitals of Yasodharapura and Angkor Thom. Banteay Srei is built largely of red sandstone, a medium that lends itself to the elaborate decorative wall carvings which are still observable today. The buildings themselves are miniature in scale, unusually so when measured by the standards of Angkorian construction. These factors have made the temple extremely popular with tourists, and have led to its being widely praised as a “precious gem”, or the “jewel of Khmer art. Interesting in Banteay Srei? HRC is pleased to offer great service to build a unique Cambodia tour for you.

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Banteay Srei is just only temple in the Angkor period that built of pink and yellow sandstone. The pink and yellow sandstone are highquality material more than the gray and green sandstone that used to build Angkor Wat and Bayon so on. As pink and yellow sandstone are so hard, that is why the carving of Banteay Srei are still good condition and very exquisite.
Banteay Srei sits alone in the countryside. It is small in scale and size, nestled against a forest backdrop. In its architecture it marks a transition from multi-level temples like Angkor Wat to a single-level design. The temple complex consists of an outer entry way, a long main causeway with parallel out-buildings, then an inner gateway with a moat and walls surrounding the temple buildings.
Architectural and decorative features are unique and fine. A tapestry like background of foliage covers the walls of the structures in the central group as if a deliberate attempt had been made to leave no space undecorated. The architecture is distinguished by superimposed pediments, motifs on the frames of the arches and standing figures in the niches. Panels are decorated with scenes inspired by Hindu epics.

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Every square inch of surface on the shrines and the libraries is intricately carved. Even the outer gateways feature fine carvings, especially on the lintels and pediments over the doorways. The refined touch of the carvings is particularly beautiful, reminders of the lovely decorative wood carvings found in Thailand, Burma, and elsewhere in Cambodia. Interwoven motifs of interlocked flowers and leaves, as well as complex geometric patterns, are everywhere, and set off the absolutely exquisite larger carved scenes from Hindu and Buddhist history and culture.
Banteay Srei is an exquisite miniature; a fairy palace in the heart of an immense and mysterious forest; the very thing that Grimm delighted to imagine, and that every child’s heart has yearned after, but which mature years has sadly proved too lovely to be true. And here it is, in the Cambodian forest at Banteay Srei, carved not out of the stuff that dreams are made of, but of solid sandstone.

Wat Phra that Doi Suthep is a sacred site for many Thai Buddhists

Wat Phra That Doi Suthep  is a Theravada Buddhist temple in Chiang Mai Province, Thailand. The temple is often referred to as “Doi Suthep” although this is actually the name of the mountain it is located on. The temple is located 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) from the city of Chiang Mai and is a sacred site to many Thai people. From the temple, impressive views of Chiang Mai can be seen and it remains a popular destination for tourists. Not only is it an impressive temple, but it’s also perched high on the side of a mountain — Doi Suthep, so it offers great views of the city of Chiang Mai below. HRC is pleased to offer great service China tour or Indochina tour for you.t28
Wat PhraThat Doi Suthep is probably Chiang Mai’s most important site for visitors, and certainly its most visible. Wat Phra Borommathat Doi Suthep nestles into the side of Doi Suthep some 3,000 feet above sea level amongst some of the most picturesque scenery you are likely to encounter. Built by King Gue-Na in 1383, the temple houses a large copper-plate Chedi (twenty-two meters high) that is covered in gold and contains holy relics of the Lord Buddha.

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With origins dating back to 1386, Wat Phra that Doi Suthep is a sacred site for many Thai Buddhists and is filled with ancient murals and sculptures. Some of these religious icons are captured in iReporter Marie Sager’s photos, featured in the gallery above. The temple is part of Doi Suthep National Park, a richly forested area supporting some 330 species of birds. The park also includes Phuping Palace and Mon Tha Than Falls, the later believed by some to contain evil spirits.
The temple is split into lower and upper terraces. To enter the upper terrace where a dazzling gold chedi is housed, you must remove your shoes and be modestly dressed, covering shoulders and knees, wraps are provided if needed.

Ta Prohm is one of Angkor’s most popular temples with visitors

Ta Prohm is the modern name of a temple at Angkor, Siem Reap Province, Cambodia, built in the Bayon style largely in the late 12th and early 13th centuries and originally called Rajavihara. Located approximately one kilometre east of Angkor Thom and on the southern edge of the East Baray, it was founded by the Khmer King Jayavarman VII as a Mahayana Buddhist monastery and university. Unlike most Angkorian temples, Ta Prohm has been left in much the same condition in which it was found: the photogenic and atmospheric combination of trees growing out of the ruins and the jungle surroundings have made it one of Angkor’s most popular temples with visitors. UNESCO inscribed Ta Prohm on the World Heritage List in 1992.


Ta Prohm was built by the Khmer King Jayavarman VII as a Mahayana Buddhist monastery and university. After the fall of the Khmer empire in the 15th century, the temple of Ta Prohm was abandoned and neglected for centuries. When the effort to conserve and restore the temples of Angkor began in the early 20th century, it was decided that Ta Prohm would be left largely as it had been found, as a “concession to the general taste for the picturesque.” Interesting in Ta Prohm? HRC is pleased to offer great service to build a unique Cambodia tour for you. Recommended Tours with Ta Prohm:  5 Days Angkor (Siem Reap) Discovery Tour;  7 Days Cambodia Highlights Tour;  10 Days Cambodia Experience Tour;  etc
The design of Ta Prohm is that of a typical “flat” Khmer temple (as opposed to a temple-pyramid or temple-mountain, the inner levels of which are higher than the outer). Five rectangular enclosing walls surround a central sanctuary. Like most Khmer temples, Ta Prohm is oriented to the east, so the temple proper is set back to the west along an elongated east-west axis. The outer wall of 1000 by 650 metres encloses an area of 650,000 square metres that at one time would have been the site of a substantial town, but that is now largely forested. There are entrance gopuras at each of the cardinal points, although access today is now only possible from the east and west. In the 13th century, face towers similar to those found at the Bayon were added to the gopuras. Some of the face towers have collapsed. At one time, moats could be found inside and outside the fourth enclosure.

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The temple of Ta Prohm was used as a location in the film Tomb Raider. Although the film took visual liberties with other Angkorian temples, its scenes of Ta Prohm were quite faithful to the temple’s actual appearance, and made use of its eerie qualities.
Any one has arrived in Ta Prohm will find out by themselves with a feeling of mysterious, amazed and romantic. Because Ta Prohm comprises the special characteristic of a nature take over the ancient temple by the giant trees, and have no any idea to restore too much, despite Indian government has a restoration and preservation project on the site.

Phong Nha-Ke Bang has a spectacular limestone karst topography

Phong Nha – Ke Bang is a national park and UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Bo Trach and Minh Hoa Areas of central Quang Binh Province, in North-central Vietnam, about 500 km south of the nation’s capital, Hanoi . It has been recognized as a world natural heritage site by the United Nations Academic, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) at its 27th general assembly session being held in Paris from June 30-July 5.

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Phong Nha – Ke Bang National Park has a spectacular limestone karst topography and extensive cave systems, which make it one of the most outstanding geological sites in the country. The centrepiece of the site is the Phong Nha cave, through which an Belowground river flows. The mouth of this cave is 30 m wide and 18 m high, and it is Feasible to Key in up to 1.5 km into the cave. In Add-on to the Phong Nha cave, 16 other caves have been surveyed to date at the site, with a total length of over 60 km.
The karst formation process has led to the creation of not only underground rivers but also a variety of cave types including; dry caves, terraced caves, suspended caves, dendritic caves and intersecting caves. With a length of over 44.5 km the Phong Nha cave is the most famous of the system with tour boats able to penetrate inside to a distance of 1,500 m.

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The collection of stunning dry caves, terraced caves, towering stalagmites and glistening crystal-edged stalactites represent nature on a Pretty grand scale indeed, and are beginning to create a real buzz in Vietnam, as more and more riches are discovered. Many people like it in Vietnam tour. You could visit it in 16 Days Vietnam Vacation Tour , 9 Days Vietnam Highlights Tour or 6 Days Hanoi – Halong Bay – Saigon Smiling Tour.
Besides the grotto and cave systems, Phong Nha has the longest underground river, the largest caverns and passageways. Phong Nha-Ke Bang also contains two dozen mountain peaks of over 1,000 metres in height. Noteworthy peaks are the Peak Co Rilata with a height of 1,128 m and Peak Co Preu with a height of 1,213 m.