Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Bus Danang to Vientiane

On a Friday morning at about 7:00am headed to Danang new bus terminal at the far end of Dien Bien Phu Road.

Took a xe om for 40,000VND,hopefully to catch the 8:30am direct bus to Vientiane in Laos.

 As seen here is the VIP sleeping bus that was already at the parking bay.Only a handful of passengers were around possibly due to weekday.




There weren't any ticketing counters as this signboard was displayed in front of a snack stall facing the Danang - Vien Chan bus lane.

Looked like bus departure of Nguyen Phuoc Bus Company from Danang three times a week on odd days while the reverse from Vien Chan is on even days.

The bus conductor will be sitting on a stool beside the coffee table and  travelers have to buy bus ticket from him .The fare was 520,000VND with lunch and dinner break included.

Gia Lai is located in central Tay Nguyen Highlands and shares a common border with Cambodia.
The provincial capital is Pleiku.

Buses available:

Sleeper bus Hanoi Ben Xe Giap Bat <=> Ben Xe Gia Lai costVND 420,000 time 28 hours

Bus(2x2) Hanoi Ben Xe Giap Bat <=> Ben Xe Gia Lai route via - Ninh Binh - Thanh Hoa - Vinh - Dong Hoi - Dong Ha - Hue - Da Nang - Tam Ky - Quang Ngai - Pleiku (Gia Lai) Local cost VND 280,000 time 28 hours.

Bus(2x2) Ben Xe Trung Tam Da Nang <=> Ben Xe Gia Lai cost VND 130,000 time10 hours.
Sleeper bus Ben Xe Trung Tam Da Nang <=> Ben Xe Gia Lai cost VND 160,000 time10 hours.



Van Ben Xe Khach Trung Tam Qui Nhon <=> Ben Xe Gia Lai Non stop cost VND 70,000 time 4 hours.

Minibus Ben Xe Khach Trung Tam Qui Nhon <=> Ben Xe Gia Lai cost VND 65,000 time 4 hours.

 Van Kom Tum <=> Ben Xe Gia Lai Local cost VND 15,000 time1 hour.

Van Ben Xe Gia Lai <=> Ben Xe Phia Nam Nha Trang cost VND 120,000 time 9 hours.

 Van Ben Xe Gia Lai <=> Ben Xe Khach Daklak Non stop cost VND 75,000 time 4 hours.

 Bus(2x2) Ben Xe Gia Lai <=> HCM Ben Xe Mien Dong VIP cost VND 150,000 time12 hours.

 Minibus Sekong <=> Ben Xe Gia Lai route from Sekong  via Attapeu - Pleiku (Gia Lai)


Futa Buslines  fares


 Minibus Da Nang <=> Ben Xe Gia Lai route via Vinh Dien - Tam Ky - Quang Ngai - Pleiku (Gia Lai) Local cost VND 110,000 time 10 hours.

Travelers wishing to head for Savannakhet in Laos can use this minibus non aircond available  09:00am one trip per day only to Lao Bao immigration point.








Local buses  and minibus to Lao Bao near Savannakhet is available  parked behind the red color bus.







A half empty sleeper bus  departing 15 minutes late after loading tons of goods and merchandise on the bus roof top.










The first sight after about 10 km journey was this rolling rugged mountains beside  Bau Tram Lake.
This  lake is north of the  Hoa Khanh Industrial Park in Lien Chieu District.
Hoa Khanh area houses many garment factories such as the South Korean Daewon company and also Dacotex Group providing employment to thousands of local girls and boys.







Danang is classified as an industrial zone with port facilities to handle container traffic and a number of supporting light industries.












Passing through the narrow road in Hoa Hiep Bac hilly zone enroute via the Hai Van Pass Tunnel.











Extracting river sand for construction purpose.














Clusters of small commune along the Hai Van Pass.





Hai Van Tunnel ( Hầm Hải Vân) is the longest tunnel in Southeast Asia , across the Hai Van Pass , connecting the province of Thua Thien-Hue Province to the city of Da Nang in central Vietnam .

Opened way back in year 2005 and has a length  of 6.5km.

Hai Van Tunnel is located on the National Highway 1 starting from km 984  near the town of Lang Co, which runs on a peak at km 904  which is 475m higher than sea level and ends at Km 914 north  of Da Nang about 20.45 km  from the city.






Scenic Hai Van Pass. near the Lang Co Bay.









 Accomodations available in Lang Co town.

1) Khách sạn Mai Nga  

2) Khach san Phu Quy

3) Lang Co Beach Resort





A cottage style Catholic church in the Hai van commune.

Friday, March 22, 2013

Buddhist sangha Danang



Giáo hội Phật giáo Việt Nam,a Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam  established in January 1964 , is one of the Buddhist organizations operating in Vietnam and the Vietnamese community abroad.

The struggle for religious equality in 1963 under the Third Republic in South Vietnam against preferential policies for Catholic government of Ngo Dinh Diem , where Buddhist South Vietnam took to the streets in the Buddhist majority support in Hue , Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City .

 On Wesak  Day 1963 when Buddhists in Hue hanged the Buddhist flag  which was banned,the conflict between the government and the Buddhist associations exploded.

Monks were being persecuted and  Venerable Thich Quang Duc burned himself in Saigon to protest government policies of inequality.
The Ngo Dinh Diem government has lost its credibility and five months after the military coup,President Ngo Dinh Diem was killed.

The only nationwide organization before 1964 is of the Vietnamese Buddhist Association founded in 1951 composed of Mahayana Buddhism throughout South, Central, North, but the administration General Assembly remains weak. Buddhism Theravada is a private organization with the name Theravada Buddhist Church, based in Ky Vien Pagoda, Saigon.

Both of the Buddhist organizations in the South and Central regions of Mahayana Buddhism (Mahayana) and primitive Buddhism (Theravada)  united under a charter into a Catholic church named Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam.

 







 Locations of Buddhist temples in Danang MAP

Monday, March 4, 2013

What's in Danang

Danang's main public recreation park, Cong Vien 29 Thang 3 is off Duong Nguyen Tri Phuong Street which is also near the airport.
The park is beside the Ho 29/3 lake and also act as a amusement park for children.

The dragon roller coaster(Vietnamese: Rồng Cao Tốc) is one such attraction in the park.

During public holidays,it will be crowded with families bringing along their children to have a great time here.




 Duy Tan University (Đại Học Duy Tân, Đà Nẵng, Việt Nam) (DTU) near the southeast corner of Lake 29/3.
Address:209 Phan Thanh Street, Thanh Khê District

A private university established on November 11 th, 1994,the first and largest in Central Vietnam.

A new 3+1 program collaboration between DTU and Coventry University in the UK, in affiliation with the Auston Institute of Management in Singapore took place at DTU on June 14,2012.
 
Duong Nguyen Tri Phuong Road  along  Lake Ho 29/3 connects from the airport meeting at the main arterial road junction of Danang,Duong Dien Bien Phu.
From this point to walk towards the main new bus terminal takes about 35 minutes.
The nearest walking route to riverside and  old section of the town from airport is via Nguyen Van Linh.
The two buildings were new shopping plaza across the Lake 29/3.
Danang is the 3rd largest city in Vietnam and many shopping complexes are sprouting in this vibrant city.



There were many low budget hotels along Dien Bien Phu Road
such as
No:73  Hoang Thuy Sinh Hotel  Tel:0913 488 667
No:259 Gold Star Hotel
No:289 Phuoc Long Hotel
No:291 Son Long Hotel
No:1245 Hoa My Hotel
No:5019 Anh Doang Hotel

Room rates from 200,000 VND

 Thanh  Long Hotel (distance to Danang main bus terminal 3km)
Address: 130 Dien Bien Phu - Da Nang
Tel: 0511.3649941 - 3649101
Fax: 0511.371211
Email: thanhlonghotel@dng.vnn.vn


 Co-op Mart located at Dien Bien Phu Road.
A leading local retailer supermart chain with wide range of local produce.













Statue at traffic circle pointing towards Le Duan Road which is also the direction of Danang Railway Station at Hai Phong Street.











Local bus stop,no shelter show your hand signal and the bus will stop.

Bus 1 Danang to Hoi An (20,000 VND)
Bus 2 Hoa Khanh to Cho Han
Bus 3 Danang to At Nghia
Bus 6 Danang to My Son.











The University of Danang along Le Duan Road.
There's a bus stop here to catch any of the inter district buses.








The yellow bus,no aircond for an hours drive to Hoi An.

Non express,will stop along the way to pick up passengers as well as letting off passengers who were on short trip.



Lotteria Vietnam,a Korean fast food restaurant chain located at the corner of  Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Street and Le Duan Road,Hai Chau District.

Owned by the Lotte Group of South Korea,it started operation on October 1979 in Korea  and then expanded into Vietnam in 1998 with its house specialty the sogong-dong cheese hamburger.

There's also another outlet at Vinh Trung Plaza,Hung Vuong Street (Ong Ich Khiem Street) where the Big C Supermarket is located.




 Nha Nghi Ha Chau,a guesthouse off the main road at the Le Duan and Dien Bien Phu Road intersection.
Room rates 150,000 VND fan only with attached bathroom.