10 coffee should be tasted in your life

This is the top 10 coffee from all over the world you should taste in your life including: Vietnam egg coffee, Finland Kaffeost, Japan Kan Kohi... 

1. Egg coffee, Vietnam

The Vietnam egg coffee is a famous drink in Hanoi, the capital city of Vietnam. At the first taste, tourist may be surprise about its strange flavor. However, after trying, especially in the winter, you will be addicted to this type of coffee due to its rich taste and seductive smell. To make an egg coffee cup, they blend egg yolk, milk, sugar, butter together, then mix with Vietnam hot black coffee. Another Vietnam coffee that are famous to travelers is ice black coffee with sugar or condense milk.

2. Kaffeost coffee, Finland 

According to the tradition in the Kainuum, Finland, people often drink coffee with a slice of cheese called Juustoleipa. After drinking the whole cup of coffee, you can eat this piece of cheese.

3. Kan Kohi coffee, Japan

Traveling to Japan, visitors can easily buy this coffee can because it is sold in almost all department stores, or vending machines. You will be served the hot and handy coffee cans in the winter, or cool cans in the summer.

4. Morocco coffee

Coming to Morocco, remember to visit the Café des Epices in Marrakech to enjoy an unique taste coffee including nuts such as sesame, black pepper, nutmeg which are well-kneaded grind.

5. Lagrima coffee, Argentina

When traveling to Argentina, you will have opportunity to enjoy breakfast with a cup of coffee called "tears of coffee"including sunshine milk foam mixed with coffee.

6. Turkey coffee

In 2013, Turkish coffee was honored as UNESCO intangible cultural heritage. This coffee is well-known by its rich and strong taste which make people drinking it stunned, even "drunk" after a small cup.

7. Traditional Mexican coffee

This is one of the tourists' favorite drinks which is served in a clay cup with cinnamon and brown sugar.

8. Milk coffee, France

Hot milk coffee in France is one of the popular drink, and many visitors are fond of this type of coffee in the romance France.

9. Bombon coffee, Spain

This land of gaurs attracts tourist with its famous sweetened espresso, with the same milk and coffee ratio.

10. Italian coffee

Italy is one of the countries owns the best coffee in the world. A cup of espresso is usually added a sliced lemon and bartenders will rub the lemon slice on the mouth of the cup to add the sour taste to the coffee.

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Norway - Heaven of dreams

Situated at Northern Europe, Norway is one of the most beautiful countries in the world with famous majestic mountains, bays, lakes, and lots of modern cities. 

Found in 997, Trondheim is the oldest city in Norway. This city is proud of a rich cultural herritage as well as major center of Norway. Although the city's area is modest, there are various cultural and artistic events taken place in Trondheim.

Lysefjord is one of the famous fjords of Norway. Every year, it has 300,000 visitors come to visit and discover the exceptional natural beauty.

Rago National Park, located in Sørfold - Nordland county, has an area of 171 kilometers square. This is also a place where there are so many beautiful natural scenery that makes all visitors astonished to admire.

Geirangerfjord is a fjord in the Sunnmore, in the southernmost part of More og Romsdal county. It is considered the most beautiful bay in the world and was recognized as UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2005.

Lofoten Islands is the place owning beautiful natural scenery which is attracted to tourists. Even though it is located in the Northern Hemisphere, the warm climate makes Lafoten difference in this icy land.

Bergen is a port city located in the southwest of Norway; it is considered the gate to the spectacular and majestic bays. Bergen is the second largest area in Norway after the capital - Oslo.

Coming to Berlevag, an urban county of Finnmark, visitors will have opportunity to admire the Northern Lights. This is an extremely interesting scientific phenomenon showing the full color of light in the night sky.

Gjende Lake in Jotunheimen is 18 miles long, with the blue color, and surrounded by towering mountains blue water color characteristics.

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From Tu Le to Sapa Vietnam

Admire the beauty of the way from Tu Le to Sapa Vietnam through these magnificent photos

Photographer: Xversion1 (Vietnam)

1. Near Tu Le

 2. Tu Le Terraces

3. After vegetable harvest

4. Afternoon at the Lim Mong

5. Afternoon at the Lim Mong

 6. Dawn at Tu Le village

 7. Dawn at Tu Le village

 8. Dawn at Tu Le village

9. Way to "O Quy Ho" Pass

10. On "O Quy Ho" Pass

11.  On "O Quy Ho" Pass

12.  On "O Quy Ho" Pass

13.  At "O Quy Ho" peak - Heaven gate

14. Cat cat village

15. Cat cat village

16. Cat cat village

17. Way from Tan Van to Sapa 

18. Smoke on Muong Hoa valley

19. Smoke on Muong Hoa valley



20. Rocky church

21. Sapa square

Photos by: Xversion 1 - Phuot.vn

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Europe a humorous perspective on the map

The entire Finland shaped like whales, while Italy territory is in the shape of a boot. You will easily recognize each European country from satellite map through these countries' funny shape.

Republic of Azerbaijan

The territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan look like a bird spanning its wings to fly in the vast sky. This country located in the middle of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. Some countries share the same borders with Azerbaijan are Russia (North), Iran (South), and Gruzia (Northwest)

In the administrative area, Azerbaijan is divided into 59 districts, 11 cities, and one autonomous country which is the Republic of Nakhchivan. The major religion here is Muslim.

Bulgaria

Bulgaria is located in the Southeast of Europe; it has a long-standing history and culture. The famous tourist destinations include the capital Sofia, coastal resorts like Albena, golden sands and sunny beaches. This country is attracted by many travelers because of its Rila Monastery and Euxinograd castle. On the map, Bulgaria looks like a shadow of a warm fuzzy kittens.

Finland

On the map, Finland is shaped like a whale. In reality, this country has the least population in Europe. When coming here, you can visit the capital Helsinki, where you can feel the fresh air under the trees' shadows and admire many unique architectural buildings.

In addition, Finland has some popular destination for tourists such as the ancient capital of Turku, which used to be Finland's capital city until 1812; or the tourism city of Poorvo and Lapland, which are the lands of Santa Claus.

France

The magnificent and majestic France has the shape of an intelligent Owl in Winnie the Pooh cartoon. In the world, this country is outstanding due to the diversity in ethnic, architecture, and landscapes. 

The French music is also loved because of its romance in each of the words and musical notes. Nowadays, travelers to France can visit the magnificent tourist attractions such as the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, the Louvre, Versailles castle, etc.

Moldova

For those who have a rich imagination, the shape of Moldova is like a ghost. This country is landlocked in Eastern Europe, and borders with Romania in the West and Ukraine in the other sides.

The largest part of Moldova is situated between the Dniester and Prut Rivers. This country is the homeland of some songwriters with lots of popular recognized songs such as Gavrii Musicescu, Stefan Neaga, and Eugen Doga.

Slovakia

Slovakia has the area of 49.000 kilometers square, and shares the border with the Czech Republic, Austria, Poland, Ukraine, and Hungary. Slovakia joined in the European Union in 2004, and be the member of Eurozone five years after. On the map, this territory looks like a tasty sandwiches.

Ireland

Ireland has the shape of a teddy bear for children. This country is located in the Northwest Europe with the capital city of Dublin. Today, Ireland is notable by tourists for its beautiful natural scenery and long-standing culture; it is also well-known as the birthplace of many famous people such as Mick Moloney - a folk musician, boy band Westlife, and poet James Joyce.

Spain

Spain is simply imagined by lots of people as a hand shape. This country is situated on the Iberian Pennisula in the Southwest Europe, and í famous for flamenco dance.

The country territory includes the Balearic Islands, Canry and two autonomous city in the North Africa which are Ceuta and Melilla. Coming to Spain, in addition to visiting many famous destinations, visitors can witness lots of dramatic and compelling bull-fighting. 

Italy

Famous for tourism and fashion, Italy is memorized in visitors's mind with boot shape. Located in the Southern Europe, this country is sharing the same border with France, Switzerland, and Austria. 

Italy is known as the paradise of art, cuisine, fashion and culture. Tourists can visit the heart of Rome, Genova port, the fashion capital of Milan, or enjoy eating famous pizza and pasta when coming to this boot-shape country.

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Hanoi, a peaceful-ancient-bazaar city.

Taking two days discovering the cuisine, culture, and people in Hanoi was the excellent travel experience. Hanoi is not as busy as Saigon, but if you like to explore the cultural city with impressive history and lots of delicious, this is the city you should not miss.

This was the second time I came back to Vietnam, after the trip to Ho Chi Minh city (a.k.a Sai Gon) last summer. As knowing a bit about Vietnamese culture before, I was very curious to know more about this country in “S” shape culture; thus, I chose Hanoi for my second visit, and the trip was really worth my choice. 

Not taking any tour, I wandering around Hanoi by walking for the first day and rented a bike for the second day as most of the tourist sightseeing and attractions were not very far from each other. 

Wandering around the Old Quarter on foot

When you love the very Asian culture, you will definitely not taking the tour because most of the time they are very rushing and what you only see is some information and the appearance of where they take you to. As my plan, I took a day wandering around the Old Quarter, which for me is a biggest retail market in old French architecture in Vietnam. It was my luck to be able to rent a room hotel inside the Old Quarter on the street next to the St Joseph’s Church; it is called Au Trieu St. The price for a superior double room is around 15 – 30USD / night, and of course it is 2 – 3 stars hotel only, and depend on which seasons you come here. Staying here help me have the best view of the people’s daily lives in the Old Quarter. 

A corner of the Old Quarter

As I may know, this area was built by the French and under Tran dynasty. People often known as the “36 streets”, and after that, when lots of tourists began to choose Hanoi, Vietnam as their vacation destination, they called this area the Old Quarter. The interesting thing is that this really a big retail and wholesale market, and each street sells different products but specific; and in the past, the street was named by what the major products were sold. For instance, Silver Street (Hang Bac) sold silver, Hang Mam (Fish Sauce Street) sold fish sauce, etc. However, nowadays, retailers and wholesalers sell variety of products that are not mentioned in the street name (i.e. Hang Vai – Fabric Street – has lots of sugarcane juice vendors, or Hang Hom – Casket Street – is the street of souvenir daily and “Pho” (beef / chicken rice noodle) paradise at night. Walking around the Old Quarter, you do not have to shop here (but you might be interested in shopping because the price is very cheap if you know the art of bargain), but you will have opportunity to know more about the culture and life of local people

Having a day discover the Old Quarter, I decided to visit Hoan Kiem Lake (Sword Lake) at night. I had a quick glance of Hoan Kiem Lake in the morning before I walked deep inside the old streets. Nevertheless, Hoan Kiem Lake in the evening is way more beautiful in my mind. Locating at the center of Hanoi, and being considered as capital symbol, Hoan Kiem Lake is the favorite place of Hanoians and tourists. Sitting on a bench at the lake shore, I was amazed by the sparkling and mysterious scenes of Hoan Kiem Lake. 

Hoan Kiem Lake at night

Ngoc Son Temple is located on a gibbou inside the lake; and it’s worth a visit here. To go inside the temple, visitors have to go on a red bridge which is called The Huc (means “catching the early sunshine”). As I went here at the full moon day of the month (or the 15th in lunar calendar), there were hundreds of people coming here praying for their family’s health, wealth, and luck; and the temple is full of incense smell. However, it brought me a real Asian culture feeling, and I felt absolutely relax after a day walking around the Old Quarter.

Taste a hot bowl of “Pho” (Beef/chicken rice noodle)

Have been traveling to many countries so far, Hanoi, in my eyes, is the biggest city of cuisines in the world, especially various delicious street foods. The most famous food in Hanoi is “Pho” – Rice noodle, which is rated as one of the best street food in the world that people should taste once in their life. I do agree with this point of view. There are many kind of “pho”: beef or chicken served with soup, rolled “pho” with stir-fried beef, fried “pho”, pho mixed with meet and eat with tamarind juice, etc. However, the most well-known type is “pho” eat with beef or chicken and served in a soup bowl. 

Beef / Chicken rice noodle eat with fried bread-sticks

There are some popular “pho” restaurant like Pho Thin, Pho 24; but if you have time, you can go inside some lanes or alley and you will find many small delicious “pho” restaurant but very cheap. For example, there are many “pho” stalls on Hang Hom street (from Hoan Kiem Lake, take Hang Gai street, and you will see Hang Hom on the right hand side); I ordered a big bowl of chicken drumstick “pho”, a plate of 4 fried bread-sticks, and a cup of ice green tea; the total price is 40.000 VND (USD 2) and I am happy with the full stomach.

Experience Hanoi by bike

On the second day, I decided to rent a bike as I want to travel to some other place a bit far from the Old Quarter. If you are the one who like to discover the city by your own like me, better ride a bike. The price for renting a bike is 80.000 – 100.000 VND per day (USD 4 – 5), or electric bike is 15.000 VND per hour (USD 0.7).

Phan Dinh Phung street

Riding under the shadows of old-year trees in both sides on Phan Dinh Phung, Tran Phu, Hoang Dieu, Thanh Nien streets – the most beautiful streets in Hanoi, I could feel the romance and peace of Hanoi in fall. In addition, I also had chance to admire lots of villa built under the French domination times, and many famous attractions such as North Gate church (Cua Bac church), Thang Long Imperial Citadel, Tran Quoc Pagoda, etc, on the way exploring Hanoi.

Fishing at West Lake

Another memorable experience is riding around West Lake and feeling a peaceful corner of Hanoi. West Lake have an around shore of total 17km, and it is really a good dating place for couples (as I saw lots of couples here). I do admit that the scenes are absolutely romance, especially at the sunrise or sunset – when you can admire the red round sun coming up or down. If you want to stay here longer, you can stop at some vendors or café shop; drink coffee, fresh coconut, green tea; or eat boiled snail (if you dare), shrimp pancake, and feel the cool wind coming from the lake.

Life under Long Bien bridge

Same as West Lake, Long Bien Bridge is another magnificent destination at sunrise and sunset. Riding bike on this hundred-year bridge, I was sometimes surprised and little scared when a train runs at the middle of the bridge, but it was really an exciting to experience. Do not forget to bring a camera, because as a tourist, you will definitely need it to capture amazing photos of the bridge architecture, or life of Hanoians under the bridge, or the corn and vegetable fields, or the scenes of students in traditional long dress (the Ao dai) walking on the bridge.

Drinking beer 

Like many other city in the world, they sell different types of beer in Hanoi. However, I was impressed by the fresh beer (or local people call “bia hoi”, “bia co”), a speciality of the North Vietnam, and the cheapest beer in the world. “Bia hoi” is sold in almost everywhere in Hanoi, and you can easily drink fresh beer at a street vendors. Just sit down on a small plastic chair and the servers will bring you cups of fresh beer and a plate of peanut. The best place to drink “bia hoi” in Hanoi is at the corner of Ta Hien street inside the Old Quarter, where you can enjoy drinking beer on the pavement, watching the Hanoi busy traffic, and sometimes bringing your beer and chair running away from the police. 

Drinking beer on Ta Hien street

Traveling Hanoi tips

- From Noi Bai airport to city center, you can take taxi (400.000 – 500.000 VNĐ / USD 20 – 25), or by Vietjet air or Vietnam airline shuttle bus (ticket: 40.000 VNĐ – 70.000 VNĐ / USD 2 – 4. Last station: Quang Trung st)

- Price: renting bike: 80.000 – 100.000 VNĐ /day (USD 4-5); electric bike: 15.000 VNĐ /hour (USD 0.5-1); motorbike: 100.000 – 200.000 VND/ day without gas (USD 5 – 10 depend on type of motor); cyclo: 40.000 – 60.000 VND / hour (USD 2-3) plus tips (depend on you) 

- When you visit Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and other temples and pagodas, you should wear politely, you should not wear skirts and shorts. Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum only open in the morning, and close on Monday and Friday.

- The roads in the Old Quarter are quite small and narrow, you should prepare a map.

- When going shopping in the market, you should bargain. The sellers in Hanoi are sometimes impolite; therefore, if you intend to see not to buy, you should go in the afternoon. When bargaining, do not bargain too hard, you should bargain once; even if you do not buy those things, you should go with a smile and say thank you to the sellers.

- After 11 PM, you should not walk around alone.

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