Ao Dai
To the Vietnamese people, Hue is always synonymous
with romance and all that's beautiful. Hue is also famous
for the school girls in their white Áo Dài - Vietnamese
national dress, with their Tóc Thê - long flowing hair,
and their Nón Bài Tho - a conical straw hat with a poem
written inside that can only be read when held up to
the light. |
Phan Thiet
Located in Binh Thuan province, Phan Thiet is
200 km from Saigon and lies south of Cam Ranh bay on
the southernmost stretch of Central Vietnam. Binh Thuan
was once a part of the Cham kingdom. In 1692, Lord Nguyen
Phuc Chu captured the area and named it Binh Thuan Dinh.
Binh Thuan is quite important in Vietnam's history,
as it was because of this area that in 1306 King Tran
Nhan Tong agreed to the marriage of princess Huyen Chan
to King Jaya Sinhavarman III of the Cham Kingdom. During
the revolution against the French, it was in this area
that the two patriots Phan Chu Trinh and Tran Quy Cap
had their start. Furthermore, according to local lore,
the area around Phan Thiet is where Han Mac Tu, the
disfigured poet, spent his time forlornly as he waited
for Mong Cam, the lady of his dreams. |