Active Travel Asia (ATA) offers free Vietnam Tourist Visa services for travelers

Following the cheaper options campaign, Active Travel Asia supports free Vietnam Visa services on Active Travel Shop (www.activetravelshop.com) for travelers who plan to travel Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia and book hotels & excursions in Vietnam until September 30, 2009.

Active Travel Shop (ATS), one of Active Travel Asia (ATA) sister sites is a first class online travel shop for international independent travelers. ATS offers all travel related services including travel packages, flight, car rental, hotel reservations and tour operations to independent travelers to Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. ATS guarantees to offer travelers the competitive rates at the premium service quality level in the market.

Promotion at Activetravelshop

ATS offers free Vietnam tourist Visa services which travelers can choose to apply Visa on Arrival Vietnam, or just take the Visa Approval Letter sent by ATA and apply at Vietnamese Embassies and Consulates in traveler’s country. Please refer to Vietnam Embassies at
http://www.activetravelvietnam.com/traveltips/vietnam_embassies_consulates_ab...

To apply Vietnam tourist Visa, please download the guideline and follow step by step at http://www.activetravelshop.com/index.php?name=download&product=TouristVisaAp...

Travelers have more options to choose many hotels and excursions on Activetravelshop.com from budget to luxury accommodation as well as find the suitable excursions in Hanoi, Halong Bay, Sapa, Hoi An, Nha Trang or Mekong delta. More info at:

http://www.activetravelshop.com/index.php?name=product&op=listSubcategories&c...

Note:
- Active Travel Asia only offers free Vietnam tourist visa services for travelers book hotels and excursions on Active Travel Shop.
- This offer is exclusive of Visa Stamp fee at Vietnam Embassy or Vietnam International Airport.
- This offer is valid until September 30, 2009 and applied only to new bookings from Activetravelshop.com.
- This promotion is not combined with any other promotions from ATA

Other Special Promotions on ATA’s sister sites:

Active Travel Asia (ATA): http://activetravel.asia/special_offer/
Active Travel Vietnam (ATV): http://www.activetravelvietnam.com/tour.php
Active Travel Cambodia (ATC): http://www.activetravelcambodia.com/tour.php

An Exhilarating Day near Da Lat

(A French tourist told his wonderful trip in Da Lat and gave useful suggestion to others)

I climbed a mountain today. Probably the oldest, fattest American ever to climb it, and I can hardly believe I did, but I did. We have pictures to prove it.

We signed up for the "easy" trek with Groovy Gekko, an outdoor tour company right next to our hotel here in Da Lat. Mercy. We went straight up the side of a mountain. No steps, no walkway, just tree roots and dead pine needles to give you traction. Our ever cheerful and encouraging guide Thanh and my companion Joseph both supplied a helping hand or shoulder for balance at times, but I actually made it all the way up on my own legs.

Paradise Lake from mountain

On the way up, a local Vietnamese mountain climber passed us as if he did the climb every day (I suspect he just about does). Later he came back down holding a bright yellow yard-long poisonous snake over his head. He let us "pet it" all the while Thanh was explaining to us how deadly it was.

At the top we took in the view, had our picture taken by one of the Buddhist monks camping at the top of the mountain who graciously broke from his meditation to come take pictures of the three of us at the summit, and then we each ate a couple of bananas. Okay, time to go down the other side. I was hoping for a more leisurely way down. After all, this was the "easy" trek. But, alas, no. If anything, the way down was steeper than the way up. After timidly progressing 20 yards or so down, I was ready to accept that I may just hae to stay there, and depend on passing Vietnamese to give me something to eat and drink now and then, and perhaps bring me a change of clothes now and then.

Luckily, our guide had a better idea. He was carrying a plastic tarp for us to sit on for our lunch later in the day. Instead, I used the tarp as a sled, and SLID on my butt DOWN THE MOUNTAIN. Thanh said he thinks he may have hit on a new sport–butt mountain sledding–for his company to promote. Needless to say, once we hit on the trick, going down was much faster than going up, and my rear end is only a little sore from the couple of times I completely lost control and shot out into mid air for a few seconds before coming down to earth again.

A bit about our guide: Thanh is a recent college graduate. He's been leading these tours for about two years. He told me he's lived in Da Lat all his life, and went to college there, but that his parents are from the north. Other than English, he also speaks Russian, which he said he studied in college primarily because his grandfather, who studied in Moscow, told him not to take it because it was too hard. I suspect grandfather was perhaps applying a little reverse psychology there.

Fishing in Paradise Lake

The whole trip today was truly incredible. Before the real mountain began, we went through a small family-run pineapple and coffee farm where I had my first taste of berries from a coffee tree. And after our descent we had lunch next to Paradise Lake in a lovely park filled with an amazing collection of flowering trees and shrubs, and with hundreds of butterflies, with seemingly no two butterflies alike.

After lunch, we shared a boat with a passel of drunken fishermen to cross Paradise Lake. They kept trying to convince us to share their wine, and two of them couldn't resist the urge to rub the fat foreigner's belly. I told Joseph my tummy should be pretty shiny by the time we get back if people keep rubbing it at this rate. One drunken fishermen stumbled and almost overturned the boat at one point, my reaction to which they all found very amusing.

Once across the lake, I faced the last challenge of the day, a 222-step climb to the largest Buddhist temple in the southern part of Vietnam (another way of saying it's the second largest Buddhist temple in Vietnam). The place was just crawling with monks and nuns. If I remember right, about 250 live there. We got to listen in on a class taught by the head monk, an 84-year-old who lectured with a very VERY tranquil voice, which was nice to hear after our challenging day. It was only after our climb up the steps, and a tour of the place, that I discovered the aerial tram that takes most tourists from Da Lat on an easy ride right up to the temple - no steps required. Sigh.

The Crazy House in Da Lat

After the temple, we jumped in the tourist company van and headed back to the hotel for a shower and to drop off my dirty clothes at the front desk for the evening laundry service. Then a stop at the bakery, and then finally here for beverages and a little Internet time.

Today was a truly amazing day. The last time I did a rough mountain climbs like this was in northern China, again a long climb up a mountain to visit a temple. I have friends who actually do things like rock climbing on purpose, but for me, walking up a mountain is almost always something I find myself surprised to be doing, not something I do by choice.) For that mountain in China, I was much younger, lighter, and more vigorous then - maybe 18 years ago or so. I'm not sure how long it will be before I try this again. Right now, though, I feel GREAT. We'll see how I feel in the morning.

Tomorrow's outing is sightseeing - mostly by car. I understand that a couple of the stops feature a lot of steps, like the temple today, but after today's mountain, that will be like a cakewalk.

The Chicken Village

In general, I'd not recommend heading to Da Lat for these "sights." But the surrounding countryside is beautiful, and if you're into hiking, biking, or motorcycling, this is really a great place to visit, and the weather's a real break from the sweltering humidity of most of Vietnam. A number of outfits here will rent you motorcycles or bikes so you can go exploring the surrounding mountainous terrain or your own, or even cycle or motorbike all the way back to Saigon. I have searched on internet and found an attractive website about adventure www.activetravelvietnam.com. So cool! I like Kayaking tour, I should come to Ha Long bay soon, I can't wait anymore.

If we have time tomorrow, we'll head for a southern district of Saigon that's supposedly just crawling with monkeys. Who can pass up hanging out a few hours with a bunch of monkeys? Not me!

More information about Adventure tours, please view at:

www.activetravelvietnam.com
www.bikedalat.com

Travel Vietnam Tours Adventure Travel Vietnam Adventures Tour Viet Nam

Active Travel Vietnam (ATV) offers a wide selection of Vietnam adventure tours, including hiking and trekking, biking, kayaking, motorcycling, overland touring and family travel packages. Our packages and custom itineraries will take you through exotic destinations to really experience the culture, history and nature of Vietnam. Outdoor enthusiasts will enjoy an unforgettable active vacation. We run the most adventure tours available in Vietnam and Indochina. Our active trips are designed for all levels of outdoor enthusiasts, real people seeking real fun and adventure. Of course, a reasonable level of personal fitness, good health, and interest in outdoor activities is advisable, but you don't need to be a tri-athlete or be an expert in any of the activities you will undertake. Come along and even try something new if you wish. If you like to walk, run, trek, hike, paddle, bike, or go to the gym, you'll love our trips!

Monthly Adventures
Hiking Travel Guides - Tips and safety guides for hiking and trekking, hiking in Vietnam, basic hiking knowledge and specific trail experiences.
Biking Travel Guides - Discover the best rides and trails in Vietnam and Indochina with both our guided and independent packages. Learn biking techniques and specific tips for each ride route, path and trail.
Motorcycling Travel Guides - Tips on popular and custom motorcycling tours in Vietnam. Information and guidelines for Minsk cycles, the most dependable motorbikes to tour Vietnam.
Overland Travel Guides - Tips on overland travel to Vietnam from Laos, Cambodia and China. Border crossing and overland travel notes and guidelines.
The Leave No Trace Principles - Green guides for sustainable adventure travel, outdoor recreation and eco tourism.
more adventure guide...
Motorcycling the Ho Chi Minh Trail - A real exploration of Vietnam the ATV way, the trip of a lifetime.• Hanoi - Mai Chau - Vinh - Huong Khe - Phong Nha - Dong Hoi - Dong Ha - Khe Sanh - A Luoi - Hoi An - Da Nang• 11-day trip with 7-day motorcycling
Trekking in Pu Luong Nature Reserve - Experience the everyday life and culture of Thai and Muong ethnic minorities and spend nights with friendly locals.• Hanoi - Mai Chau - Pu Luong - Mai Chau - Hanoi• 6-day tour with 5-day trekking
Family Adventures in Vietnam - Great trip designed by our ATV family for your family with lots of outdoor activities and ...fun• Hanoi - Halong Bay - Hue - Hoi An - Saigon - Mekong Delta• 12-day tour with kayaking, biking and culture expedition
Vietnam-Laos Adventures• Hanoi - Halong - Mai Chau - Pu Luong - Sam Nua - Xieng Khoang - Luong Prabang - Vang Vieng - Vientiane• 17-day ATV tour with kayaking, trekking, biking, elephant riding and culture expedition

Kayaking Halong Bay - Fantastic kayaking and cruise in Halong Bay• Hanoi - Halong Bay - Hanoi• 4-day tour with 2.5-day kayaking and overnight on ATV Chinese junk
Northern Highlights - Experience all the bests that northern Vietnam has to offer• Hanoi - Halong Bay - Sapa - Hanoi• 10 day tour with cruise, kayak, trek and home stay
Conquer Mount FansipanOnce in your life to be on the “roof of Indochina”Hanoi - Sapa - Fansipan Mt. - Sapa - Hanoi6-day tour with 3-day climbing Mt. FansipanTrekking