Stay with the Tay

Stay with the Tay
Immerse yourself in the culture of an out-of-theway ethnic village that offers simple, but clean accommodation and guided treks in the surrounding hills and valleys.
The experience: Asian Encounters provides poor Asian communities with information and communication
technologies to help them promote local tourism to global travellers. In Vietnam, the organisation is establishing “e-Community Based
Tourism” in the northern rural village of Ta Van. Ta Van is being developed as a sustainable pro-poor tourism destination in the mountains of northeast Vietnam’s Sapa district in Lao Cai province. At 1,816 metres and only 30 km from the Red River and the Chinese border, Ta Van is home to the Tay, a rice-growing people who live in wooden or bamboo houses on stilts.A homestay in Ta Van provides a close-up insight into the colourfully dressed Tay and their lifestyle. Visitors spend most of their time socialising with the locals and chatting in English with youngsters.

The distant village also provides a good base for guided treks, led by locals, among tiered rice fields in the surrounding mountains and valleys. Ta Van operates a website linked to Asian Encounters’ home page that helps the village pinpoint visitors seeking a genuine cultural and environmental encounter. It presents travellers with an honest, informative picture of the community, its people, food and accommodation. Around 10 farming households offer basic but clean and comfortable lodging that can only be booked over the website.
How it helps: Asian Encounters’ IT efforts in Ta Van place the villagers in control of their tourism.
The community manages the website’s content, which they use to directly reach travellers worldwide and cut out the middleman. This cost effective marketing approach aims to place more of tourism income into Ta Van residents’ hands. Ta Van operates all its tourist enterprises – lodging, tours, dining and craft sales – and the website assists the community in connecting to tourists, who are seeking a truly authentic experience. At
the same time, Ta Van’s website avoids attracting crowds of mainstream tourists, which could damage the local environment and negatively impact their culture. Tech-savvy travellers searching for a responsible tourism destination will be drawn to Ta Van, while agents steer the others elsewhere.Asian Encounters’ website initiative in Ta Van is serving as a prototype for further local internet development in areas such as health, education, agriculture and enterprise development.

Contact and booking information
Asian Encounters
Roger Harris
5B Angel Court, Ville de Cascade, 2 Lai Wo Lane, Fo Tan,
Shatin, Hong Kong
Tel: (+852) 2698 6134
E-mail: harris38@netvigator.com
Web: www.asianencounters.org/community/tavan
(booking is done over the website only and not through
Dr Harris)


Dine for the Kids
While in Hoi An, enjoy a hearty Vietnamese meal in a restaurant staffed by ex-street kids. Part of the profits go to education, health and food for street kids and orphans.
The experience: Far from the run-of-the-mill eatery and a place to relax with a drink, the Blue Dragon restaurant’s friendly service and delicious meals are delivered by staff from disadvantaged backgrounds. Owner Mr Nam, who works with street kids, opened the restaurant in 2003 with funding from the Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation. In return, Mr Nam donates 5% of his profits to the small local NGO.
Located near the market with a view of the river, the Blue Dragon restaurant features a range of tasty dishes, including its signature, fried wonton. Steaming deep-fried spring rolls, spicy crab and spinach with shrimp are among other big hits. No trip to the Blue Dragon is complete without a sip of its popular coconut rum.

The restaurant displays products created by beneficiaries of the Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation. Their line up includes honey, sports  shirts, art work, greeting cards photos and jewellery. The young people involved in producing the merchandise earn money from their sales.
Private cooking classes can be arranged in which participants select menu items to learn to prepare.
Everyone has a youngster as an assistant, while going step by step through the recipes, from raw ingredients to a meal to enjoy after the class. How it helps: Aside from enjoying a great meal and service, the Blue Dragon restaurant’s patrons dine knowing they are contributing to charity without having it added to the bill. Part of the restaurant’s profits go into local projects, such as paying for teachers at a local pagoda and providing fruit to children in orphanages. Other funds are directed to the Blue Orphan’s Children’s
Foundation’s three official projects. The Hoi An Street Children’s Centre receives donations for school fees, food and health insurance for 60 students. The Step Ahead programme, based in Hanoi, supports 150 street
children or those with disabilities, and Stay in School helps rural youngsters continue their education in Bac Ninh province.
Kids who Mr Nam guided through training at the Blue Dragon have gone on to work as waiters and trainee chefs at The Vine, one of Hanoi’s finest dining establishments.
Dine for the Kids
Interior View

Location and contact information
Blue Dragon Restaurant
46 Bach Dang, Hoi An, Quang Nam, Viet Nam
(The restaurant is near the market facing the river)
Tel: (+845) [10] 910742
E-mail: bluedragon@bdcf.org
Web: www.bdcf.org/restaurant.html
Open 0900-1000 daily