Wanderlust Tips Magazine | Tips for for driving when crossing the railroad

Tips for for driving when crossing the railroad

[Wanderlust Tips January issue 2018] The first thing you always need to keep in mind is to give right of way to the train, do not try to cross the railway when you see the train even if you think you have enough time.

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Wanderlust Tips Magazine | Tips for for driving when crossing the railroad

There have been many tragic accidents involving railroads, in which many cars have been crushed to scrap iron. The train is a special means of transportation; it not only operates on the main roads but also has an extremely large stopping distance. Therefore, the train cannot be stopped immediately when obstacles are detected. On average, the distance from the time when the train driver hits the emergency brake to a total stop can be nearly 1 kilometre, depending on the speed of the train. In cases where detected obstacles are too close, the train driver will not be able to hit the emergency brake as it may cause the train to overturn or derail, which could affect hundreds of passengers on board.

Therefore, driving across the railway where there are no safety barriers always carries underlying risks, which may result in extremely serious consequences far beyond a normal accident. Many experienced drivers still make mistakes, so it is essential to acquire the knowledge and skills to drive safely across the railroad.

The first thing you have to keep in mind is to always give right of way to the train, you cannot and absolutely should not try to cross the railway, even if the train is still in a far distance. It could lead to tragic outcomes and could even be the last time you drive. Always remember to give way to the train.

Wanderlust Tips has made a list of driving mistakes as well as the tips to to handle situations that may occur when driving across the railroad, with the expectation that you will always have safe journeys.

1. With stick shift cars, many people don’t bother to shift to a lower gear, resulting in the engine of the car dying while going over the tracks. At this point, drivers will easily be discomposed, and then change to the wrong gear or control the car clutch unreasonably so the car cannot cross the railway. Therefore, if you drive a manual car, you should shift to a lower gear when crossing the railway so the car can have enough traction as most railways are built on a slope.

Wanderlust Tips Magazine | Tips for for driving when crossing the railroad

2. How to handle the possibility of the car breaking down while crossing the railway: If you get stuck on the railway and try to restart the ignition of the car several times but still fail to cross the railroad, it is recommended to quickly get out of the car and help all passengers leave the car. If there is not any train coming, immediately report to the railway company, railroad staff, or the police so they can directly contact the train driver directly. In case there is a train approaching, do not try to save your luggage or any belongings when getting out of the car; try to run as far away from the track as possible. If the train is too close, you should run in the opposite direction to the approaching train because if you run in the same direction, the fragments of the car, from the impact of the train, may cause you injuries.

3. Do not try to cross the railroad when a train is approaching even if you think you have enoughtime to cross it. Many unexpected situations may occur when you try to cross the railway such as the car breaking down or being trapped on the railway, or wrong time calculation. When crossing the railway, always keep perpendicular to the direction of the railroad.

4. Do not cross the railway if the gap in the other side of the railroad is not large enough for your vehicle, even if you do not see any train approaching. In some cases, accidents were reported to happen because the car got stuck in a traffic jam and stopped on the railroad; the driver helplessly watched the train crashing into his car. Therefore, when the gap from railroad safety barriers to any obstacle is not big enough for your car, be patient to see if there is any traffic jam or obstacles on the other side of the railroad. Do not lose your patience if the cars behind honk to urge you.

Wanderlust Tips Magazine | Tips for for driving when crossing the railroad

5. Last but not least, always look both ways before crossing, and especially pay attention to the hidden corners by bush or houses. In addition, the lack of awareness seems to have been ingrained into the subconscious of many people when driving; it not only leads them to death but also causes injuries to others. In many cases, cars and motorbikes are hit by trains just because of the drivers’ disregard for life when crossing the railroad.

6. Five required steps to cross a railroad: Firstly, you need to slow down when approaching the railroad crossing. Then stop the car more than 5 metres away from the track if the vision is obscured on both sides of the railroad. Thirdly, take a close look in both directions, and it is recommended to get out of the car and look carefully if necessary. When the railroad signal lights are on, do not try to cross even if you do not see any train; you can also try to listen for the sound of the arriving train. Only passing through after looking carefully to ensure that everything is safe. Fourthly, when crossing the track, shift to a lower gear if you drive a manual car. Finally, drive carefully without any hesitation.

Tran Giap | Wanderlust Tips

Wanderlust Tips Magazine | Share the love - Explore the North Pole

Share the love: Explore the North Pole

[Wanderlust Tips January issue 2018] In the special issue about the North Pole, let’s explore this beautiful, snow-capped region of the world with brave young women who love to travel.

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LE THI ANH THU – 34, PRODUCT MANAGER OF VIETSENSE TRAVEL

Although I used to live and study in Russia for a long time, when coming to Muransk, I was still overwhelmed by this snow land; sometimes I could not distinguish between the earth and the horizon. Landing at the airport, at the moment when being faced with the blizzard winds, I immediately felt the extreme weather of the North Pole.

Wanderlust Tips Magazine | Share the love - Explore the North Pole

Everything here was new to me, from the specialized winter tires for travelling on ice, to the Snowmobile that we used to cross the snow desert to the Arctic Ocean. One side of it was the sea; the other side was the mountain, all of which were covered in a pure white color.

The most impressive thing of the trip was probably to admire the phenomenon of aurora dancing in the night sky. Bands of light constantly moved and appeared in different shapes.

To travel to the North Pole, the most important is to have good health, take enough clothes to keep your head, neck and feet warm. Furthermore, it is recommended to use fur-lined footwear that goes up to at least the calf. In order to have beautiful photos in the midst of the snow, you should wear clothes in bright colors.

NGUYEN THI HUYEN – 37, MANAGING DIRECTOR OF VIETRANTOUR

I have travelled through 38 countries, 266 cities, and took about 188 flights. During our two-or-three-night stay in Murmansk with favorable climate conditions, I saw with my naked eyes the “dancing lights of the sky”. These were colourful bands of light twisting in the sky in various shapes, changing and moving continuously.

Wanderlust Tips Magazine | Share the love - Explore the North Pole

About 120 kilometres from the center of Murmansk, we travelled on a snow-covered road to reach the Teriberka village. Despite having the opportunity to travel to many countries and experience a sandy desert, dry desert, death desert, this was my first time to cross the snow-covered desert.

With ice and snow as their “speciality”, people here know how to develop tourism with all kinds of games and services such as driving snowmobiles to the Barents coastline to watch non-freezing hot currents, playing on a snow slide, fishing on ice, riding a dogsled at Husky Farm, and listening about their racing achievements.

In order to have a good Arctic journey, you have to prepare suitable clothes. You need to wear a lot of coats with a waterproof outermost layer and a lot of thin layers inside. In addition to a pair of snow boots that are not slippery on ice, it is recommended to choose shoes that are one to two times larger than your normal size.

Wanderlust Tips

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Travel fashion collection: Tropical Blossoms

[Wanderlust Tips January issue 2018] Fashion King Michael Kors has said, “Clothes are like good meals, good movies, and great pieces of music”. The designs of Jovana Louis brand are not just casual outfits; they are vital sources of energy for women to be more radiant, confident and gorgeous.

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Wanderlust Tips Magazine | Fashion collection: Tropical Blossoms

In the modern space of JW Marriott Hotel Hanoi, the outfits of Jovana Louis seem to implement their elegance in the midst of green nature and the luxurious lobby.

Wanderlust Tips Magazine | Fashion collection: Tropical Blossoms

 

The designs in this fashion collection are made of silk and cotton, providing maximum comfort to the wearers. The Caribbean tropical floral printed details are specially designed to highlight the sweet yet energetic beauty of women. Especially, the combination of luxury jewelry from HAVNA brand makes the fashion collection more impressive.

Wanderlust Tips Magazine | Fashion collection: Tropical Blossoms

Jovana Benoit – the owner of these inspirational designs – is also the spouse of the Ambassador of Haiti to Vietnam. Her designs have a blend of Haitian, French and Asian cultures.

Wanderlust Tips Magazine | Fashion collection: Tropical Blossoms

And whether they are casual, business or party outfits, Jovana Louis’s designs ones always satisfy women with their elegant yet not monotonous, seductive yet modest, and modern yet traditional features, features, always attracting admiring glances.

Wanderlust Tips Magazine | Fashion collection: Tropical Blossoms

  • Producer: MINH HIEU, PHUONG CHI
  • Photographer: HOANG DANG
  • Make-up: MONICA THACH THAO
  • Model: JOVANA BENOIT
  • Costume: JOVANA LOUIS
  • Accessories: HAVNA
  • Stylist: TRAN TRUNG
  • Location: JW MARRIOTT HOTEL HANOI, VIETNAM

Wanderlust Tips

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The appropriate outfits for expedition to the North Pole

[Wanderlust Tips January issue 2018] Clothes are extremely important because the temperature here ranges from minus 10°C to minus 25°C, and you may stay outdoors 5-6 hours a day.

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Wanderlust Tips Magazine | The appropriate outfits for expedition to the North Pole

CLOTHING

Wearing a few thin layers of clothing to keep warm and to remove easily in case you feel hot. The most important is the innermost and outermost layers of clothing.

Innermost clothing

It is extremely important because if you dress properly, you will feel comfortable. You need to prepare heated clothes (long sleeves and long trousers are the best). Avoid wearing cotton clothing because it will absorb moisture and make you cold. It is recommended to wear wool socks, but not too many layers as it will be very uncomfortable.

Suggestion: heated clothes of Under Armour, Gunze, 32 Degrees, uYES.

– Middle layer

You can wear one or more layers to keep warm. Do not wear cotton, only polyester.

Suggestion: Wool sweater of Canifa, The Irish Store, Calvin Klein, Woolrich.

– Outermost clothing

The Arctic Winter is extremely cold so you need to prepare thoroughly. The outer layer needs to be windproof, moisture resistant, and most importantly needs to be able to keep the body heated.

Suggestion: Lightweight premium down jacket of Andrew Marc, Richmon; Snow pants of The North Face, Arctix.

Note: You should especially choose colorful outfits to stand out in the photos with the snow white background.

FOR HEAD, HANDS AND FEET

– Headwears and gloves

There is an Inuit Eskimo saying that “When your feet are cold, cover your head”, so it is a must to have warm headwear. Especially when you ride a snowmobile, reindeer sleigh or dogsleds with high speed, headwear become really useful. Gloves need to be thick and warm.
Suggestion: Woolly Hat of HM, Simplicity, Redess; fur hat of Kolodo Odema, Prooral; gloves of Zara, Dakine.

– Footwear

Use snow boots which have a heat-retaining layer and can withstand subzero temperatures. It is necessary to wear shoes with the minimum height to your calf; otherwise, the snow will easily enter your shoes. The ideal footwear has a leather outer layer to avoid moisture absorption, and the inner lined with fur. It is recommended to wear wool socks to keep your feet warm.

Suggestion: Snow boots of The North Face, Quechua, Crocs, Sorel, Ollas.

Hong Nhung | Wanderlust Tips

Wanderlust Tips Magazine | Essential items for the journey to the North Pole

Essential items for the journey to the North Pole

[Wanderlust Tips January issue 2018] We spend a lot of time on selecting and arranging belongings before departing. Here are 10 tips from Wanderlust Tips for the things you need for a trip to the North Pole.

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Wanderlust Tips Magazine | Essential items for the journey to the North Pole

Snow Goggle: The white color of snow everywhere will make you dazzle, especially on sunny days. If you travel during the Polar Night in the 40-day period from December to January next year, you won’t be disturbed by the brightness because there is no sun.

Sunscreen: In Polar Regions, the solar radiation is usually stronger than other places, so sunscreen is essential even if it is sunny or not.

Personal medicine: Bandages, antipyretic, oresol to compensate electrolytes; analgesics, nasal sprays are indispensable in every journey.

Moisturizer: The weather in Murmansk is cold and dry, so a moisturizer will help your skin feel more comfortable. You should moisturize the whole body instead of focusing only on the face or hands.

Phone strap: When you move, ride the sledges and use your mobile phone regularly, the strap will help you keep the phone not to be thrown away.

Bodywarmer patch: If you try all possible methods and still cannot adapt to the cold, or your warm clothes get wet, the body warmer patch will be the best solution for you. 4 patches per day and you can indulge in experiencing warmth without worrying about getting cold.

Camera, tripod, battery charger: There will be countless moments you would love to capture, such as taking photos in traditional Saami costumes or with reindeer when riding a dogsled, or hunting for aurora. You should bring a zip bag or a moisture-proof box to protect the camera.

Suitcase: You need a large waterproofing suitcase with four wheels that can move easily, because pulling a suitcase on the snow will be very difficult.

Hong Nhung | Wanderlust Tips

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Caviar: The black gold on the table

Caviar has long been considered the symbol of luxury, the “black pearl” that stands out on every party table. This top-notch dish will taste even better with Vodka Beluga.

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Wanderlust Tips Magazine | Caviar - The black gold on the table

On 22nd December, 2017, Vietnam’s first caviar brand – Caviar De Duc and Russia’s noble Vodka – Beluga held the event “Fragrance & Flavor night with Beluga”. This event offered its guests the most perfect and classy experience while enjoying dishes from Caviar with famous Beluga Vodka. In the framework of the event, they introduced the most luxurious products produced in a limited edition of Vodka Beluga, Beluga Epicure. This was also the spirit created by the collaboration between Beluga and the world’s most famous crystal brand Lalique.

Caviar is collected from Sturgeons, and is recognized as one of the 10 most luxurious food products in the world. This luxury dish has many nutritional benefits such as a support for a better sex life, heart disease prevention, health recovery, and a great choice for a hangover. This speciality is considered as “the black gold on the table”. Caviar is often served in small amounts as an appetizer, just enough to make diners feel attached to its unforgettable taste. The eggs are small and silvery-black, not as transparent as white caviar but in principle, the eggs have shells, liquid and embryo in different colours. The eggs are round and don’t stick together.

Traditionally, Caviar tastes best when it is served cold. Caviar is placed separately in crystal jars in large ice buckets. Use a set of pearl or nacre spoons and plates to compliment the delicate flavor. The food connoisseurs in Russia – the home country of Caviar – often order cold vodka to enjoy with Caviar, and for them, Beluga Vodka is regarded as a perfect drink.

Wanderlust Tips

Wanderlust Tips Magazine | 6-prominent-travel-trends-for-2018

6 prominent travel trends for 2018

[Wanderlust Tips January issue 2018] From a tailor-made cycling tour in Nepal to a wellness vacation in Bali or an extreme adventure in Lauterbrunnen, Wanderlust Tips has made a list of 6 most prominent trends in the 2018 New Year.

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1. WELLNESS TRAVEL

Rather than making difficult trips or following busy schedules with the main goal of discovering destinations, wellness travel directs you towards taking care of yourself, maintaining and renewing energy, as well as setting the balance both inside and outside. Besides for enjoying the scenery and exploring the culture, visitors can also consider wellness travel as a journey for the purification of body and soul.

Wanderlust Tips Magazine | 6-prominent-travel-trends-for-2018

If you are aiming for such trips but still have a passion for lands with unique cultural identity, you can consider the cycling tours promoted on the website of Intrepid Travel. “No big bus window, no iPhone screen, no maps, walls or guidebooks. Just the wind and open roads”. This trend has many similarities with the one predicted by Forbes, which is a type of travel to explore spiritual aspects including intrinsic exploration.

It is extremely great to visit a coconut shady resort in Tembok village in the north-east of Bali to enjoy rejuvenation and taste healthy food and healthy wholefoods. Or tourists can take a break at the Post Ranch Inn, a breathtaking resort on the coast of California. Besides taking yoga courses, watching the stars, travellers can experience the spa offering Shamanic rituals including experiences of edification, evocation, prophesies and spiritual rituals by the fire.

2. REMOTE LUXURY

In the traditional sense, when mentioning luxury places, people usually think of central areas, large urban areas, while remote areas are often associated with lack of facilities. However, nowadays when people are willing to spend a lot of time for travel, fully-equipped luxury resorts in isolated areas have become a trend. “Travellers are willing to travel to extreme distances to enjoy the feeling of having a small piece of this vast world to themselves” says pilotguides.com.

Wanderlust Tips Magazine | 6-prominent-travel-trends-for-2018

The glamping trend also originated as a result of this. Going to places outside of the popular travel map, you will enjoy your own moments, but be prepared to sacrifice some of the standards of luxury, or bear the inconvenience. For example, when you travel to the Annandale resort in New Zealand, with the slogan “Stay where the world cannot find you”, you can either rent a private chef or choose your own dishes, the resort will cook and preserve them in the refrigerator for you to reheat in the microwavefor whenever you are ready to eat (We Create, You Serve).

Furthermore, in Hoanib Skeleton Coast Camp in Namibia, you can only travel there by chartered flights because the resort is located deep in the desert. For a glamping experience, the Hoshinoya Fuji resort in Japan is also a good choice if you would like to admire the majestic scenery of Mount Fuji each morning, experience camp fire, sleep in hammocks in the pine forest, and row on the romantic Kawaguchi Lake.

Although it is a little inconvenient, enjoying the fresh air, wonderful nature and breathtaking scenery along with the feeling of getting away from the world will make you think that it is a worthy trade-off.

3. CUSTOM-DESIGNED TOURS

Being one of the trends expected to take the throne in 2018, custom-designed tours are based on the wishes and hobbies of visitors. Forbes has also predicted that visitors would even want to participate in the tour design process, for example choosing their favourite room space or toilet paper colour. People spend money in traveling to enjoy the fun, comfort and relaxation as much as possible. However, there are tours that make you feel stressed because of unsuitable journeys and unforeseen troubles.

Wanderlust Tips Magazine | 6-prominent-travel-trends-for-2018

To avoid this at all costs, wealthy tourists do not hesitate to spend a considerable amount of money to have a tour designed exactly like how they want it. All of your personal preferences will be considered. The type of accommodation you like, the transportation you want to take, the excursions you like to include, the kinds of food and tour guides you want, Tuncan Travel will consider all of these before recommending a suitable tour.

You will no longer go on a tour in which you have to follow the schedule of other people or pass through destinations that you might find amusing too fast and then later regretting not being able to have spent more time admiring these places. In addition to Tuncan Travel, you can also consult the great offers on On The Go Tours: “Travelling at your own pace, seeing exactly the places you would love, spending as much time at each site as you wish, and staying at a hand-picked selection of accommodation to suit your taste and budgets”. Is there anything better than when you become the centre of the journey?

4. EXTREME VACATIONS

As the magnificent landscape and exotic cultures have become increasingly familiar to travellers, extreme vacations are exactly what thrills them. There are countless choices to turn a journey into a thrilling game, and a trip into a challenging adventure.

Wanderlust Tips Magazine | 6-prominent-travel-trends-for-2018

On an 11 – day trekking tour following trails of gorillas in Kibale National Park in Uganda, you will see gibbons, gorillas, elephants, and lions in their wilderness. Extreme vacations can also involve diving with sharks. You will be in a cage while the beast of the sea can swim freely, sometimes only about 30 centimetres from you.

At a tourist office in Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland, a poster was written: “Respect your limits”. This is a reminder as well as a warning for lovers of base-jumping – parachuting not from planes, but from a building, bridge, or cliff. At Lauterbrunnen-the sanctuary of this extreme sport-you can jump from a 1,000 – metre high cliff. In this adventurous sport, anyone who jumps improperly or makes a wrong wind direction prediction will bump into the cliff, which leads to death. No words can describe the player s feeling when jumping from such high altitudes because even if hundreds of people have died, this number can not stop people flocking here to test their limits.

A new “ innovation” for visitors who want to take their experience to a new level is heli-skiing – skiing not from available slides with guaranteed safety levels but from higher altitudes which can only be reached by helicopters.
Or if you love water rafting but do not like peaceful and predictable rapids, you can go to Futaleufu, Chile, which is called “the destroyer”. Needless to say, your emotions will be pushed to the extreme when admiring the river lying in the heart of the valley surrounded by green mountains and roaring powerfully with white foam and countless rocks underneath.

5. SUSTAINABLE TOURISM

Sustainable tourism seems to increasingly attract the attention of the community, and in particular, is gradually moving from theory to practice. As there are more alarming overcrowded tourist hotspots, and the climate change is becoming more complex, sustainable tourism is increasingly becoming the focus of society.

Wanderlust Tips Magazine | 6-prominent-travel-trends-for-2018

Many vineyards use animals instead of machinery to eliminate pests and fertilize the land. In some places such as Kayotei in Japan, Emiliana in Chile or Vergenoegd in South Africa, people use ducks. At Vergenoegd Wine Estate, twice a day, ducks are driven into vineyards to get rid of pests and leave fertilizers to fertilize the fields. Matetic Vineyard in Chile uses llamas and chickens to do this task.

Many resorts creatively produced some methods to preserve the ecosystem. Baines Camp in Botswana, for example, is built from recycled plastic cans. The tour company Jacada Travel conducts many community projects to reduce carbon emissions. Their constructive activities have helped to offset 100 % of the carbon emissions from their tours.
Singita Kruger Park applied solar energy technology in 2017, while Kenya has completely forbidden plastic bags. On the last days of 2017, the Sun reported that the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) has announced seven overcrowded cities including Amsterdam (Netherlands), Dubrovnik (Croatia), Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Macau (China), Rome (Italy), Venice (Italy) and Warsaw (Poland). The report is based on local people’s unfriendliness, degraded travel experiences, overloaded infrastructure, environmental degradation, and threats to culture and heritage.

Many destinations such as the Balearics (Spain) even try to reduce the number of returning visitors by coming back by raising taxes. Meanwhile, Barcelona and Venice prohibit the construction of hotels and shops for tourists.

6. CULINARY TOURS

It is said that the best way to get to know a new place or a new culture is to eat local foods. A meal tells us manythings about the culture, climate, geography, products, lifestyle and eating preferences of the local people. New culinary trends have been predicted by Adventure Studen Travel and Cox & Kings, the world›s oldest travel company with 250 years of experience.

Wanderlust Tips Magazine | 6-prominent-travel-trends-for-2018

It is an amazing experience to admire the beautiful scenery and enjoy the delicious food at a new destination. According to the World Food Travel Association, up to 30 % of the 170 million people in the United States chose their tours based on food-related activities such as tasting the local food in different regions of China or taking a cooking class at the foot of the Atlas Mountains.

The Dolce Vita Tour in Dolomites mountains in northern Italy will give you the chance to savor delicious Shrimp Dumplings, famous Alto Adige wines, and the best fruitcake while exploring magnificent mountain ranges and picturesque valleys.

Vietnam is also a promising land for this type of tourism because of the richness of three regions’ cuisine and the balance between food flavours. There are various cuisine tours ranging from 1-4 days to 11-12 days. Visiting traditional markets, watching indigenous people preparing food, enjoying the dishes of each region, and attending cooking classes are some of many interesting experiences that you may have on a culinary tour. Travelling to remote areas to experience elaborate healthcare travel experiences will take a lot of time, while the culinary tour is very flexible. If you have only a few hours or half a day to spend, you can choose one of the options mentioned above. If you have more time, you can discover the culinary adventure in many different regions. And tour prices are also flexible because local food like street food is quite cheap.

Hong Nhung | Wanderlust Tips

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Laguna Lăng Cô hosts the 12th Faldo Series Asia Grand Final

Laguna Lăng Cô, the “Best Golf Resort in Vietnam 2017” by Golf Digest, will be hosting the 12th Faldo Series Asia Grand Final following the success of last year’s event. The five-day event will feature practice rounds, golf clinics hosted by Sir Nick Faldo and three competition rounds. 

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The winner will be presented with the Faldo Series Asia Grand Final trophy during the gala dinner, held next to the golf club at the Angsana Lang Co beach resort. The official tournament will start on the 1st of March with the final round on Saturday 3rd March 2018. The participation of more than 90 of Asia’s leading young golfers, in addition to winners from the 2017 Faldo Series Europe Grand Final will make for some truly exciting competition.

Wanderlust Tips Magazine | Laguna Lăng Cô hosts the 12th Faldo Series Asia Grand Final

This is the annual tournament hosted by golf legend Sir Nick Faldo and Laguna Lăng Cô, both sharing the same passion for nurturing young talents. The non-profit tournament is dedicated to golfers aged from 12 to 21. In terms of tournament format, golfers will be playing 54 holes (with no cut) on one of the masterpieces designed by Sir Nick Faldo, Laguna Golf Lăng Cô. Trophies will be awarded to the winner and runner-up in each of 5 following categories: Boys Under-21, Boys Under-18, Boys Under-16; Girls Under-21 and Girls Under-16. The Faldo Series Asia Trophy will be awarded to one overall champion, regardless of age or gender.

It is great for the Faldo Series Asia Grand Final to be returning to Laguna Lăng Cô, Vietnam once again”, commented six-time Major Champion Sir Nick Faldo. “We had a memorable finish last year with Napat Paramanchoeranchai taking the title and we are glad to have him back as our defending Champion. The hospitality shown by Laguna Lăng Cô and Banyan Tree Resorts made us feel very welcome, and I am looking forward to returning to a course that I visit often and I am most proud of designing. It promises to be another memorable week in our Faldo Series history”.

Wanderlust Tips Magazine | Laguna Lăng Cô hosts the 12th Faldo Series Asia Grand Final

Hosting the 12th Faldo Series Asia Grand Final is a true honor for all of us at Laguna Lăng Cô. The impact this event has on so many lives is tremendous and having the opportunity to support Sir Nick Faldo with his mission to develop tomorrow’s champions is truly rewarding. As part of the Laguna Lăng Cô international integrated resort, our Sir Nick Faldo designed championship golf course will provide the players with a true test of their skills.”, said Mr. Gavin Herholdt, Managing Director of Laguna Lăng Cô.

The secret to a great golf course is providing golfers with various landscapes, challenging shot selection and memorable golf holes, which Sir Nick Faldo has achieved throughout the design at Laguna Golf Lăng Cô. On the course, golfers will feel like they are walking in a national park with the Truong Son mountain range as the background with a 122-meter waterfall cascading down the mountain behind the 2nd green and spectacular views of the East Sea along the 9th hole. Recently, they have added 4 hectares of rice fields around 3rd and 4th holes and they adopted a special buffalo family now wading in the water and long grasses around the course. Their names are Tu Phat, Chi Chi and Bao. All improvements have been made to provide every golfer with a truly authentic Vietnamese golf experience. All their actions are an integral part of the continued commitment to protecting the environment they are entrusted with.

Wanderlust Tips Magazine | Laguna Lăng Cô hosts the 12th Faldo Series Asia Grand Final

LAGUNA GOLF LĂNG CÔ, CENTRAL VIETNAM

  • Address: Cu Du Village, Loc Vinh Commune, Phu Loc District, Thua Thien Hue Province, Vietnam.
  • Phone: +84 (0) 234 3695 881
  • Email: laguna@lagunalangco.com
  • Website: www.lagunalangco.com

Wanderlust Tips | Cinet

Wanderlust Tips Magazine | Marta Kulesza and her passion for travel and photography

Marta Kulesza and her passion for travel and photography

Travel blogger Marta Kulesza’s instagram infarawayland has an abundance of amazing pictures of many natural landscapes around the world. At present, Marta is working on In A Faraway Land – a travel website that provides useful information to ensure that keen adventurers make the most of their precious vacation time. An interview with Marte has revealed why she is so popular in travel community.

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What inspires you to travel? When did you start to travel regularly?

My biggest inspiration with regards to travel has to be photography, it gets me out of bed in the morning and has taken me to places that I never dreamt I would be able to visit in my lifetime. I started my world travels in 2005, when, as an 18 year old girl I moved to the USA by myself. My adventure with photography began with a trip to the Scottish Highlands back in 2009.

Wanderlust Tips Magazine | Marta Kulesza and her passion for travel and photography

In your journeys, you often travel solo or with others?

More often than not I am with other people. I find group travel much more relaxing, plus it has the benefit of cost reduction, the sharing of responsibilities, safety, and most importantly, friendship. For example, when I was backpacking in the Canadian Rockies, because of the potentially dangerous wildlife there, I wasn’t brave enough to adventure on my own. Since a few years now my fiancé accompanies me on my trips 90% of the time.

Until now, how many countries have you been to? What are they? Where do you love and want to return the most?

I think the official number now is 31, which in the travel blogging community isn’t all that much but personally I don’t find it appealing to travel quickly and only spend a few days in each country. I travel much slower and like to spend months, or even years, in a place. You get to know the country on a deeper, more personal level.
The last 14 months of my life I spent in the Canadian Rockies researching for my Canada Travel Guide. I also lived over a year in New Zealand, 6 months in Australia, close to 4 years in Germany and 2,5 years in the US, just to name a few.

Wanderlust Tips Magazine | Marta Kulesza and her passion for travel and photography

On your Instagram, you have shared a lot of beautiful natural images. Is this your favourite travel trend – exploring the nature? Would you mind sharing more about this?

I love nature, I mean, cities are great but being in the ‘real’ outdoors is something that really resonates with me. I come from a small village in Poland that’s surrounded by lakes and forests so I’ve had this connection my entire life. My Instagram feed certainly reflects that.

During your travel itineraries, you probably have many unforgettable memories. Could you share some of your memories with readers of Wanderlust Tips?

Naturally I’ve made loads of memories and I could probably write a book about them. One moment that has stayed with me vividly was the sunrise I saw after paddling to Spirit Island in Jasper National Park. What made it super special is that the cruise boats on the lake don’t operate at sunrise or sunset so we had the entire place to ourselves, watching the most spectacular sunrise I have seen in my life.

Wanderlust Tips Magazine | Marta Kulesza and her passion for travel and photography

With your experiences, could you suggest some interesting natural attractions that are less known?

The hikes in Kananaskis Country in Alberta have be to my answer. Kananaskis Country lives in the shadow of the much more popular Banff National Park, but in my eyes it’s even more beautiful! Moreover, there’s much fewer people there and I often found that our hiking group was the only one around for several kilometres in all directions. An incredible experience.

Could you share with Wanderlust Tips your upcoming travel plan?

Currently at the time of writing this I am in Poland visiting my family for the festive period, then early in 2018 I am going to New Zealand for several months, again back to Europe in June and then I plan to spend another summer in the Canadian Rocky Mountains!

Wanderlust Tips Magazine | Marta Kulesza and her passion for travel and photography

Thank you for the interesting sharing. Wish you luck and success for the journey ahead.

LH | Wanderlust Tips | Cinet

Wanderlust Tips Magazine | An interview with Nguyen Dieu Huong – The founder and CEO of An Bien restaurants

An interview with Nguyen Dieu Huong: The founder and CEO of An Bien restaurants

[Wanderlust Tips January issue 2018] Nguyen Dieu Huong was born in 1983 in Hanoi. She won a full scholarship and graduated in russia with a very good degree in her major of product design, and later worked at the worldfamous fashion group Louis Vuitton. However, Huong always felt a strong bond with the food industry and six years after starting in this completely new field, she is now the owner of 3 an bien restaurants in Hanoi.

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Wanderlust Tips Magazine | An interview with Nguyen Dieu Huong – The founder and CEO of An Bien restaurants

Hello Huong. I know that you were born in Hanoi. What inspired you to become the owner of An Bien restaurants with a focus on Hai Phong?

I grew up in a family with many members; my grandparents moved from Vietnam to many cities along the Mekong countries such as Thailand, Cambodia, and Myanmar so our meals are diverse and influenced by various local cuisines from all regions. My mother was the person who taught me the principles of spice mixture, as well as how to cook dishes to honor the flavours of different materials.

With my passion for cuisine, I have been attracted since I first explored and enjoyed the essence of Hai Phong’s street food. And the person who encouraged the idea of An Bien establishment as well as supported me with all his heart was my husband – who was born and raised in Hai Phong.

I began to search for information from friends and through social networks and realized that there were many people originally from Hai Phong who were settling down and living in Hanoi just like my husband; they would definitely feel excited and proud when seeing their childhood dishes in another city. So a few months later, in 2011, the first An Bien restaurant was opened in a small space at the end of Trieu Viet Vuong street, with just one dish being served, brown noodle soup with field crabs – a famous food which has become a feature of Hai Phong.

Was it a difficult decision for you to leave your job at Louis Vuitton and develop An Bien restaurant into a chain model?

At that time, I was filled with passion for exploring and experiencing. The bigger the challenge was, the more energetic I felt. Graduating from a university in Moscow, I returned to Vietnam with the only experience in product design and several years of experience in retail fashion management. I learned about the market and customer experience, communicated and took care of premium and middle-class customers.

More importantly, I understood how to operate a service business in Vietnam’s market. Working in a professional environment like Louis Vuitton, I learned a lot about concentration at work, systematic and inventive thinking, as well as the way to care for each product and service. The biggest difficulty for me was to decide to work in a new field, to face a real business environment where I was the only person to be in charge of the restaurant.

Wanderlust Tips Magazine | An interview with Nguyen Dieu Huong – The founder and CEO of An Bien restaurants

Whether it was a success or a failure, I had to accept to be more mature in my life. I decided to quit my job and tried to equip myself with the necessary knowledge for this next journey – to make An Bien, as well as Hai Phong’s cuisine, become more popular to people all over the places.

Hai Phong’s cuisine often includes street food. When bringing these dishes into the restaurant space, what difficulties and obstacles did you encounter?

The greatest difficulty lies in creativity. Besides creating new experiences, you have to preserve and develop the core values of gastronomy. Hai Phong is located near fertile plains and the sea with abundant seafood sources, so its cuisine is also a delicious combination of seafood and a variety of products and specialties made from rice such as Vietnamese rice pancake, rice vermicelli, and vermicelli served with water spinach and water celery.

Our challenge is not only to maintain the traditional recipes of famous dishes such as brown noodle soup with either field or sea crabs, fern-shaped cakes, spicy stick-bread, grilled fish vermicelli, but also to create new dishes based on traditional recipes, yet having individual taste, and present them in more modern cuisine that matches the modern lifestyle.

Wanderlust Tips Magazine | An interview with Nguyen Dieu Huong – The founder and CEO of An Bien restaurants

The creativity can be seen clearly in dishes such as fried sea crabs served with fragrant crispy sesame rice crackers, the sauces served with mixed brown rice noodle, water spinach salad with giant tiger prawns or bombay duck tempura – a kind of spineless fish in the traditional bombay duck soup of Hai Phong.

What factors did you consider in the running of the operation when you expanded into An Bien restaurant chain?

The development of An Bien from a restaurant into a chain of restaurants is quite complex, involving setting up concepts for space and products, opening new restaurants but still ensuring the consistent quality of products and services. In each space, I would like to tell a different story about the city and people of Hai Phong through not only the richness of cuisine but also the diversity in culture, architecture and daily life activities of Hai Phong’s people from ancient times to present. These offer a “travel” experience for customers when visiting each restaurant in An Bien system.

Could you share with our readers the upcoming plans of An Bien restaurants?

Vietnam in recent years has the advantage in updating advanced technology of the world. As a leader, I am aware of the importance of changes in management as well as the application of advanced technology in interacting and approaching customers to grasp the best business opportunity. An Bien has operated with very effective support from the whole system, including sales, warehouse management from workshop to restaurants, production and customer care to optimize the process of operation, improvement in the efficiency and qualification of employees. Customers will be offered not only the onsite service and dishes but also a menu of packaged pre-processed products for takeaway or delivery service; a list of Hai Phong’s featuring ingredients and processing formula will be introduced to each customer so that beyond street food, Hai Phong’s cuisine will be remembered as a characteristic to introduce the culture of the land like some Vietnamese food such as Pho Hanoi, Bun bo Hue (Hue-style beef vermicelli soup), Bun mam (fermented thick Vietnamese vermicelli soup).

Wanderlust Tips Magazine | An interview with Nguyen Dieu Huong – The founder and CEO of An Bien restaurants

In 2018, An Bien will introduce the threelayer brown noodle soup cooked in a clay pot stove – a dish that is gradually disappearing in Hai Phong. This type of noodles is thicker and tougher, so when dipped into water for a long time, it will not be limp and also taste better. In addition, the delivery of three-layer noodles is also guaranteed have up to 90% of the quality of when it is served in the restaurant.

Besides main dishes, Sủi dìn sweet soup – the famous Tangyuan of the winter, An Bien will introduce different light dishes. For example, there are dishes served in cold season like in New Year such as Xì Lồng Cấu – a cake made from rice flour mixed with glutinous rice and roasted peanuts and sugar, then being made into a fragrant sticky-rice cake which is indispensable on a tray of offerings on Tet holiday.

What has inspired you the most on your journey with An Bien?

I always believe that success is not just about the destination, but the value created on the way we go. I only have the chance to experience that when I do my favorite job, when I am in the position of a company leader, when I am accompanied by my dedicated colleagues. The firm belief of our partners, customers or the urge that we have to improve ourselves so that the people in An Bien that we often call “An Bien home” will be proud of.

The biggest value that makes me happy is to feel the joy when our products are well received, and feedback from customers has strengthened motivation and maturity to our team over the years. Besides the hard work, there are always tears, and at the end awaiting us is happiness.

Thank you for your sharing. We wish you and An Bien great success.

Hong Nhung | Wanderlust Tips