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SPECIAL OFFERS WHAT’S NEW 5 THINGS NOT TO MISS FEATURE TOUR MAILBAG |
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Do you have a funny tale or photo of your travels in Vietnam, Cambodia or Laos? Send them to us!
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Hanoi:
94 Ma May
street, Tel: (84-4) 828 0702 |
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The Water Buffalo Fund by Kevin Len
The water buffalo forms an integral part of life in rural Vietnam. Sadly many buffalos succumb to disease, costing more than a year's income for an entire village. Therefore to assist farmers, Buffalo Tours have created the Water Buffalo Fund, which purchases and replaces buffalos that local farmers have been unfortunate enough to loose. Recent assistance has been provided in the regions of Mai Chau and Hoa Binh, North Vietnam. Just after the Vietnamese New Year, a group of Buffalo Tours’ staff went to Mai Chau to donate two water buffalos to two villages. This added to the two buffalos that we had previously donated. We set off at 6am from Hanoi for a three hour ride to Mai Chau to reach the village of Pomcoong. At the village, we very greeted by local villagers and we visited one of our home stays, owned by Mr. Hung. His brother, Mr. Hoat very kindly invited us in for some tea before setting out for our first destination, Bao La Village. The Village is 60km away and approximately a 60 minutes motorbike ride away on rocky and bumpy roads through the mountains. Arriving at Bao La Village, we were greeted by the officials of the village as well as some local villagers and children. We also met up with Mrs. Uat who will receive the water buffalo. Mrs. Uat is a mother of an eleven year old son, sadly her husband died one year ago. She lives in a very small cottage with only basic amenities and belongs to one of the poorest families in the village. When our tour guide, Mr Thang presented the water buffalo to Mrs. Uat, we could see the tears coming from her eyes and she was so overwhelmed with joy. She kept looking at the animal, feeding it grass and constantly patting it. We were then offered a delicious lunch consisting of fish, pork and sticky rice. Afterwards, we rode down to Xo Village, about 20 minutes from Bao La Village. We were also offered a sumptuous lunch of different dishes accompanied by local rice wine! We were told that the buffalo would be given to Mrs. Thai - a single parent left with two daughters. Her oldest son died 6 years ago with lung cancer and her husband passed away 4 years ago also with the same illness. After lunch we presented the water buffalo to the local officials and rode back for 45km to the Pomcoong Village where our awaiting vehicle brought us back to Hanoi. |
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Please contact us for more information. Or visit www.buffalotours.com |
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Southern Laos Southern Laos is largely undiscovered and is a great place to travel if you like stepping off the tourist trail. For the most part, southern Laos lacks some infrastructure which can make it an adventure getting from one place to another. However, there is a lot of natural beauty to explore and the local hospitality makes it well worth the effort. Here the Mekong is lazy, awash with islands and has a wonderful peace and idyllic charm of its own. The Mekong's width is almost nine miles here during the monsoon, its greatest breadth in its entire three thousand mile journey. It is known as Si Phan Don or the land of 'four thousand islands' for the countless islands and sandbars that lie submerged during the monsoon period, only to appear as the water subsides.
If you've not yet been
to southern Laos, it may be difficult to imagine - but there really
are islands in that impressive stream - the Mekong, called Si Phan
Don (4,000 Islands) - way, way down south where Laos and Cambodia
meet.
The capital of Khammuan,
Tha
Khaek, offers plentiful options for exploration from
funky caves and colonial swimming holes to aging French buildings
and the relaxed Mekong riverbank. The interior of Khammuan is
particularly rewarding for the determined traveller who is willing
to strike out into uncharted territory. For Laos tours click here – or to create your own tour email: info@buffalotours.com |
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“We have concluded three consecutive tours in the first trip to Saigon. All have far surpassed our expectations. Thank you so much for a most memorable holiday.” Mike Sargent and James Ford, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
“I would like to thank your staff for going out of their way to assist me. I was on the 1 night/2day Ha Long Bay tour and upon return to Hanoi, I realized that I had left my camera on the bus. Your staff were extremely helpful in getting my camera back to me. In fact, Trang delivered my camera to my hotel on his day off. I enjoyed both the Ha Long Bay tour and Bicycle tour with Buffalo. I would definitely use your services again and will refer friends traveling to Viet Nam.” Lee Ann Chow |
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