Vietnam Travel Guide

Shop for Ethnic Crafts in Vietnam
Browse for crafts created by a diverse group of
Vietnamese ethic minorities in a shop once visited
by former US President Bill Clinton.
The experience: Craft Link was established in
1996 as a non-profit organisation to provide ethnic
minorities and the disadvantaged with the chance
to earn a fair wage and keep their culture alive
through crafts.
Visitors to Craft Links Hanoi shops on Van Mieu
Street or in the Museum of Ethnology get much
more than a selection of crafts produced by dozens
of different ethnic minorities. Browsing through the
shop creates awareness in Vietnam’s multi-ethnic
fabric, as information on the handicrafts and their
producers reveals the origins of the designs and
patterns and the traditional skills used to make
them.
Craft Link offers shoppers a variety of high-quality
handicraft items with functional value as well as
cultural significance. The shop overflows with Ta Oi

baskets, Dao ornaments, Nung embroidered
cushion covers, Black Thai blankets and Hemp
purses with Hmong appliqués. The artisans also
use their traditional patterns, designs and skills to
produce modern products, so each retains a touch
of their culture. The Craft Link business team
manages the wholesale, retail and export of
handicrafts produced throughout Vietnam, and
practices fair trade, ensuring that the producers
earn fair wages. Craft Link also coordinates exhibitions
and bazaars to raise awareness of ethnic
minority crafts and culture.
How it helps: Craft Link supports poor ethnic
minority groups, disadvantaged people and
remote villages in reviving and maintaining their
traditions and culture while providing a reasonable
income through handicraft production. As a
member of the International Fair Trade Association,
Craft Link guarantees profits from sales go
directly to the artisans. The organisation provides
training in management practices, bookkeeping,
pricing, product development and marketing to
place more control of the entire commercial
process in the hands of the producers. The development
and design team further assists the artisans
by implementing income-generating projects.
Craft Link educates producers on how to protect
the environment in their daily lives as well as in
their production processes. The organisation
closely cooperates with NGOs and INGOs such as
CARE and the UN Drug Control Programme to
execute the handicraft components of their
poverty alleviation programmes.
Shop for Ethnic Crafts
Hmong Embroidery
Location and contact information
Craft Link
43 Van Mieu Street, Dong Da district, Hanoi
Tel: (+84) [0] 4733 6101
Fax: (+84) [0] 4843 7926
E-mail: craftlink@fpt.vn
Web: www.craftlink-vietnam.com
Open daily 0900-1800 (closed 1215-1315)
At the Museum of Ethnology: 0830-1730 (closed Mondays)

Pioneers of Low Impact in Vietnam
Award-winning Buffalo Tours pioneered low impact treks and cycle trips in Mai Chau. Volunteer projects and home stays build authentic cultural exchanges between visitors and villagers.
The experience: Buffalo Tours began taking tourists off the beaten track in the mid 1990s, providing those searching for an authentic experience with two-way cultural exchanges at local communities. Since then, Buffalo Tours has established a tight bond with grass-roots residents and ethnic minorities.
Buffalo Tours specialises in private and or small group nature tours to ensure a low-impact experience. Their trekking and cycling expeditions enable travellers to see Vietnam’s stunning scenery by day and immerse themselves in its culture with homestays at night.

As the frontrunners in responsible tourism to Mai Chau, Buffalo Tours offers exclusive expeditions to
this fascinating hilltribe region located in the northwest highlands just 135 kms from Hanoi.
Biking and trekking trips are available, and both present a balance between culture and adventure.
Buffalo Tours’ six-day hilltribe “Discovery Trek” roams the mountainside, stopping at six villages inhabited by ethnic minorities including the White Thai, Hmong, Muong and Zao. Trekkers experience local cuisine and spend their night in stilt houses in the isolated villages of Hang Kia, Van, Xo, Poong Cong and Nahn.
More strenuous, but a great way to absorb Vietnam’s northern mountains, is Buffalo Tours’ four-day cycling journey to Mai Chau. Tours kick off in Hanoi with an 80-km jaunt to Hoa Binh town.
The next day’s steep 65-km leg lands in Lac for the night’s stay. After visiting a handful of ethnic hamlets, day three’s ride heads downhill to Van for an overnight in a stilt house. The final stint is the toughest, but wraps up with a relaxing support vehicle cruise back to Hanoi.
Buffalo Tours was also the first travel company in Vietnam to offer volunteer travel programmes, combining a placement at a grassroots projects with excursions throughout the region. The company continues as a leader in volunteer projects in Vietnam.
In recognition of Buffalo Tour’s achievements, the Pacific Asia Travel Association presented company
CEO Tran Trong Kien with its 2007 “Face of the Future Award” for his positive contribution to local communities in promoting sustainable tourism practices.

How it helps: Since opening up Mai Chau to tourism, Buffalo Tours has been instrumental in conserving the local hilltribes’ cultures. Tourism has enabled villagers to remain in the land of their ancestors and continue age-old traditions such as weaving and farming while generating income through homestays. The alternative is moving to urban areas to work in factories and shops. Buffalo Tours homestay development in the Mai
Chau region has educated the locals on the concept of sustainable tourism and how it improves their local economy. Villagers are encouraged to charge on a per-night basis, sell their handicrafts to visitors, preserve their ethnic dress and take pride in their traditions. Buffalo Tours also explains Western culture to the villagers and why foreign travellers are interested in Vietnamese hilltribes.
Buffalo Tours educates clients prior to their trips with pre-departure fact sheets and responsible tourism guidelines that cover cultural, social and environmental issues. Further, 100% of Buffalo Tour guides are locals and trained on environmental protection in areas where they take tourists trekking. They also receive cultural training on the ethnic minority tribes they visit with their groups.

Food is purchased and produced for the treks by the local communities. Buffalo Tours has longstanding
relationships with these suppliers and ensures their hygiene and environmental practices meet sustainable standards. The company also assists Mai Chau communities with recycling efforts, and provides crops and water buffalos for farming, water wells and composts for waste.
Once a year, Buffalo Tours operates medical treks to the Mai Chau region to treat hilltribes. Both local
and international doctors embark on house calls and take local/traditional medicine and treatments
into consideration. Independent studies by NGOs have confirmed that in the Mai Chau region, local communities are satisfied with the contribution Buffalo Tours is making to their lives. The company’s efforts and donations (US$50,000 in 2006) have contributed to poverty reduction, better labour conditions and better farming techniques.
The contributions have also built schools (with World Expeditions) and have given hope to a region stricken by poverty.

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