Rough Guide to Vietnam - Jan Dodd [377]
The international conservation body Flora and Fauna International (FFI; www.fauna-flora.org) is also active in Vietnam, helping develop community-based eco-tourism. In Pu Luong Nature Reserve, for example, FFI helped install toilets and washing facilities and supplied bedding and mosquito nets in minority villages wishing to set up home-stays. At the same time, it also provided training in home-stay management and service provision and helped promote the reserve as an eco-tourism destination.
On a personal level, individual action is equally important. Though domestic tourism has the greatest impact through sheer weight of numbers, international travellers can play a positive role by setting examples of responsible behaviour. Various NGOs and groups involved in the travel industry (See "Conservation and the national parks") have developed guidelines for tourists and travel companies. Some of the most important points are: to avoid buying souvenirs made from endangered species or which damage the environment – notably tortoiseshell, ivory and coral in Vietnam; as far as possible, to eat in local restaurants, buy local produce, employ local guides and stay in home-stays or locally owned hotels – not only is it usually a lot more fun, but also your money is more likely to benefit smaller communities; to be sensitive to the local culture, including appropriate standards of dress, as well as adopting a responsible attitude towards drugs, alcohol and prostitution. Finally, when booking tours, ask how much – if anything – the tour company contributes to conservation and community development at its chosen destinations. Tour agents in Vietnam with a reputation for their conscientious approach include Handspan, Exotissimo, Buffalo Tours, Footprint and Haivenu. Intrepid also has a long track-record of engaging in sustainable tourism.
Music and theatre
The binding element in all Vietnam’s traditional performing arts is music, and particularly singing (hat), which is a natural extension to an already musical language. The origins of Vietnamese music can be traced back as far as the bronze drums and flutes of Dong Son (See "The Museum of Vietnamese Revolution"), and further again to the lithophone (stone xylophone) called the dan da, the world’s oldest known instrument. The Chinese influence is evident in operatic theatre and stringed instruments, while India bestowed rhythms, modal improvisations and several types of drum. Much later, especially during the nineteenth century, elements of European theatre and music were co-opted, while during the twentieth century most Vietnamese musicians received a classical, Western training based on the works of Eastern bloc composers such as Prokofiev and Tchaikovsky.
From this multicultural melting pot Vietnamese artists have generated a variety of musical and theatrical forms over the centuries, though, surprisingly, dance is less developed than in neighbouring Thailand, Cambodia and Laos. One of the most famous home-grown performance arts is water-puppetry, Vietnam’s unique contribution to the world of marionettes, where puppeteers work their magic on a stage of water. The folk tradition is particularly rich, with its improvised courtship