SOME ENTERTAINMENT & RELAXATION CENTERS IN HALONG CITY
- The international tourist resort in TuanChau Island, Tel: 033.842115
- The International Royal Park: Halong Street, Baichay, Halong City,
Tel: 033.846658
- Quangninh Provincial Museum:
165 Nguyen Van Cu Street, Halong City, Tel: 033.825031.
- Viet Nam - Japan Cultural Center:
Le Thanh Tong Street, Halong City
Tel: 84.33.825431
- Halong Cinema: Le Thanh Tong Street, Halong City
Tel: 84.33.825383
- Quangninh Provincial Library:
174 Le Thanh Tong Street, Halong City
Tel: 84.33.825384
- Sports Center:
Nguyen Van Cu Street, Halong City
Tel: 84.33.823249
- Tennis courts: at the Children's Center, Le Thanh Tong Street,
Halong Hotel 1 and 2, Baichay, also next to the Halong Cinema.
- The Electronic Games Machine Club:
Halong Street, Baichay
Tel: 033.844878, Fax: 033.844879
- Dancing:
+ Heritage Hotel, 8 Halong Road, Baichay Tel: 033.845020
+Top Disco, Halong Road, Baichay Tel: 033.846000
+ Queen Vosa, 70 Le Thanh Tong Street, Halong Tel: 033. 826193
There are many discotheques in the hotels and restaurants.
SOUVENIRS IN HALONG
In Halong there are souvenirs of a diverse variety: local arts and crafts from coal, wood, horn items, brocade and embroidered items, glassware, porcelain and sea products (pearls, sea shells etc.) as well as electrical and photographic accessories, and post cards. Traditional souvenirs of Quangninh are porcelain, ceramics, embroidery and arts and crafts from coal, wood and other natural products.
Souvenir shops on the Bay:
Kiosks, shops, drinks and other services are available at the visitor sites, such as: at the entry of Thiencung Grotto, Daugo Cave, Titov Beach, Soisim Island and Sungsot Cave. Similar services may be available on tourist boats.
There are also shops in Baichay, such as:
- Thanh Nien Mart, by the three-way crossroads near Baichay Post Office:
- Vuondao Commercial Center in Vuondao Street, Bai Chay.
- Halong Supermarket in Le Thanh Tong Street (Hongai – Halong.)
- Halong Market in Bachdang ward, Hongai. The market is open everyday, including Saturday and Sunday, until 22.00hrs.
- Baichay Night Market opens every night from 18.00hrs till 23.00hrs in the Thanhnien Tourism Company area.
- Fair Market is open on Tuesdays every week from 6.00hrs till 14.00hrs in the Halong Hotel area (mainly to serve package tours from tourist ships.)
Apart from the above shops, there are kiosks and souvenir shops available, along Baichay Street, Vuondao Street and in hotels.
SEAFOOD SPECIALTIES IN HALONG
Like other coastal areas of North Vietnam, Halong has a wide variety of seafood specialties. The most popular are:
- Arca: Lives under mud and has two shells, it is as big as a cup and it can be steamed, grilled or made into soup. "Ruou ngan" (arca wine) is a specialty of Halong, which is highly nutritious and simple to process.
- Sopuncuchlac (sa sung): are varieties of sea worm that live in the sand and are about 4 cm in long, with tiny veins running lengthwise. This species is peculiar to Halong. After processing the fresh sopuncuchlac it should be stir-fried with celery and leeks or grilled. It goes well with beer drinking, especially as a noodle consommé.
- Holothuriodiac: is referred to as sea ginseng. There are two kinds, black and white. It looks like a cucumber with a soft body. It is prepared with pork, chicken, and bamboo shoots and dried pigskin as a dinner dish.
- Sepia esculenta: is a kind of large cuttlefish weighing up to 2kg., which can be prepared with leeks, garlic leaves or boiled. The fresh Sepia esculenta can be dried, grilled or fried with sweet and sour source. It goes well with beer and is makes a good present for friends after a trip.
- "Blood" shellfish: has been a famous seafood specialty in Indochina for some years. It can be steamed with beer, fried or boiled and eaten with pepper-salt.
- Teredo: lives in the aegiceras and mangroves, mostly at the foot of the mountains. Opening two hard and sharp shells reveals the teredo's meat. It is prepared with egg and flour or used for soup and is a popular dish.
Besides these sea products, there are the usual seafood specialties such as: shrimp, crab, garruppa fish, pomfret fish, threadfin fish etc.
CAFES IN HALONG
Apart from bars and cafes in the larger hotels, there are many other cafes:
- Trung Nguyen Café No 1, Nguyen Van Cu Street, Halong City.
- Trung Nguyen café No 2, Cong Doan Hotel, Halong Street, Baichay.
- Thang Long Hotel: House on Stilts café, "ruou can" (rice wine drunk out of a jar through pipes).
Tel: 033.847276
- Noinho Café, 10 Tran Hung Dao Road, Halong City
Tel: 033.628027, 033.629128.
There are numerous cafés and refreshment locations in Halong Street (Baichay) and Le Thanh Tong Street (Hongai).<-->
