-- As summertime draws to a close and families begin to switch out suitcases and sand toys for school lunch boxes, people in the travel business take the temperature on how the industry and consumers are faring.

(CNN) -- As summertime draws to a close and families begin to switch out suitcases and sand toys for school lunch boxes, people in the travel business take the temperature on how the industry and consumers are faring.

The recession has, no doubt, taken a toll on certain sectors and destinations, not to mention the folks who"ve been unable to pay for leisure.

But for those who"ve not given up on getaways, the options and bargains were -- and continue to be -- plenty.

One new initiative this summer came from the National Park Service, which publicized three fee-free weekends to would-be visitors. Granted, a $25 park entry fee wasn"t likely to make or break vacation plans, but putting a new spotlight on parks made sense, especially now, said spokeswoman Kathy Kupper.

"National parks are a low-cost alternative to the family vacation," she said. This program "was a way to open the doors and invite people in" at a time when "there"s a growing movement to reconnect children with nature and the outdoor experience."

Whether the effort made the difference is hard to tell, but the numbers show that park visitation, and tent-pitching, experienced an upswing. Kupper said that this year, through July, park visitors increased nearly 5 million, or more than 3 percent, from 2008. And camping in July alone, she added, went up about 9.6 percent, compared with last July"s figure.

Not everyone, however, wants to get grungy or be at one with nature.

Another vacation model that"s gotten additional traction is the vacation rental home. HomeAway.com, which lists properties for owners and offers easy shopping for vacationers, has seen demand grow, an increase in available properties and people booking closer to their vacation dates, said Justin Halloran, a vice president with the company.

Though there are over-the-top luxury properties available, the average booking is for a three-bedroom home at $1,500 a week, he said. The option, he continued, works well for families or groups that want to stay together, cook at home and spend less overall.

"I have three children 5 and younger, and another on the way," Halloran said. "It"s not fun when you have to go out to breakfast, and I don"t want to sleep in the same hotel room as them. I love them dearly, but that"s not a good vacation."

For those who still prefer jetting off, say to a faraway land, and checking into hotels, the tourism industry has laid out the bait.

"The last-minute deals keep coming in," for flights and packages in general, said Rich Beattie, executive editor of TravelandLeisure.com. "London, Paris, Rome, there are still great deals for travelers -- anyplace where the dollar is still strong."

And here in the U.S., he pointed out that just this week, JetBlue announced its All-You-Can-Jet Pass. Through August 21, a person can pay $599 for unlimited travel on the airline for an entire month, starting September 8.

"Airlines are not doing well because business travel is so off," Beattie said. "That"s their bread and butter, and that"s why they"re able to offer these leisure fares. But as fuel prices creep up, airlines are going to have to raise fares."

Because companies continue to pull back the reins on business travel, hotels are also feeling the pain.

The occupancy numbers have nose-dived by 11 percent just as overall rates have been slashed 10 percent (and oftentimes more) to lure customers, said Jan Freitag, a vice president of Smith Travel Research, which monitors the hotel industry. Making matters even worse is that new hotels, on track to open before the economy tanked, could bring as many as 70,000 more rooms into the already flooded market, he said.

About the only "silver lining" he could point to -- and he"ll take what he can get -- was an uptick in weekend stays, which matches the growing trend of people taking quick getaways as opposed to weeklong vacations.

"We"re looking for signs of less worse," Freitag said. "We"re not looking for great."

To keep customers coming, hotels, resorts and even vacation rentals have offered freebies, in addition to discounts. From spa services, free meals, gift certificates and an additional night at no cost, the consumer is getting accustomed to having more for less.

Enter greed and the expectation that it"ll always be this way. It won"t be, industry insiders promised. It can"t be, they said.

At a recent roundtable meeting of European tourism officials in New York, gatherers swapped stories of wealthy frequent travelers who are demanding perks they never dreamed of asking for before, said Ruthanne Terrero, a vice president at The Travel Group, which puts out publications and Web sites for travel professionals and hosted the roundtable.

"They"re drunk on deals now and totally assuming the world is theirs. It might be, but not the entire

Vietnam is among the four countries with the highest growth rates in tourism in the first five months this year, a senior industry official has announced.

The tourism sector posted a growth of more than 30 percent in the period, and is aiming at a full-year revenue target of US$4 billion, said Nguyen Manh Cuong, deputy head of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, said at a press conference on Friday to announce the 2010 Vietnam Tourism Awards.

Cuong said the country expects to receive 4.2 million foreign visitors this year.

The 2010 Vietnam Tourism Awards ceremony will be held in Hanoi on June 29.Sixty five awards will be given this year to hotels, tour operators and service providers.

Ninh Hoa pork roll: Nha Trang’s beach front delicacy

Nem nuong (grilled pork roll) is always a popular choice

Nha Trang boasts stunning beaches, soft white sands, and spectacular bays. While ambling along the town’s lively beach front promenades, tourists will no doubt revel in the abundance of local seafood specialties. You can’t go wrong with old standbys like bun sua (jellyfish noodle soup) or bun cha ca (rice vermicelli broth spiked with fried fish paste).

But if you find yourself tiring of fish flavors, give the town’s nem Ninh Hoa (Ninh Hoa pork rolls) a go.

The charcuterie-like dish originated in Ninh Hoa, a district of Khanh Hoa Province, not far from Nha Trang. They are traditionally served around Tet (Lunar New Year). But, in Nha Trang, they can be eaten and enjoyed all year round.

Champions of the rolls are split into two camps: those who go for the funky tang of nem chua (fermented pork roll) and those who favor the classic salty-sweet nem nuong (grilled pork roll).

The process of making the fermented roll is simple, but somewhat labor intensive.

First you have to get your hands on a choice piece or pork (thigh or cutlet).

Boil the meat, briefly, to separate the skin - if there is any. Set the skin aside to dry.

Then, remove the fat, and grind the meat.

Ninh Hoa pork rolls can be enjoyed outside Nha Trang at the following restaurants:

NEM NUONG NHA TRANG
2nd floor, 202 Hang Bong St., Hoan Kiem Dist., Hanoi

GANH 1
58/4 Pham Ngoc Thach St., Dist. 3, HCMC

GANH 2 (opening later this month)
28 Le Thi Rieng St., Dist. 1, HCMC

NEM NHA TRANG
9A Ky Dong St., Dist. 3, HCMC
97 Bau Cat St., Ward 13, Tan Binh Dist., HCMC

NGOC TAN
124 To Hien Thanh St., Ward 15, Dist. 10, HCMC

If the meat is ground by machine, it tends to lack an essential springiness. A little extra work with a mortar and pestle goes a long way. Season with salt and sugar, to taste, as you grind. Apply constant even pressure to the meat as it turns into a smooth, springy paste. Once the desired texture is achieved, add a few whole peppercorns.

Shred the skin (once dry) into small threads and combine with the ground pork.

To prepare nem chua (fermented pork roll) take a small piece (two fingers’ length) and wrap it with chum ruot (otaheite gooseberry) leaves.

Wrap the mixture a second time in banana leaves. To make large rolls, you only need concern yourself with the banana leaves, rolling them into a cone and pinching down both ends. As an alternative, you can mold the meat mixture, sausage-style, in plastic wrap.

Leave out for three or four days for prime fermented funk. For a subtler flavor, ferment the wraps in the fridge. You’ll know they’re finished when the fermented pork is somewhat dry (e.g. not sticking to the leaves). The meat should retain a fresh, pink color. They should smell and taste sour and vaguely sweet.

Garnish with chopped onion, cucumber, and carrot. Discard leaves before eating.

To make nem nuong (grilled pork roll) separate the fat from the meat. Cut the meat into one-inch cubes. Skewer the pork between bits of fat and grill over hot coals. Roll the grilled pork roll with a mix of basil, ice berg lettuce, cucumber, green banana, sour star fruit, and julienned green mango. Wrap it all up burrito-style in a piece of banh trang (rice paper) then dip in the sauce of your choice.

If stakeholders prevent the promotion of craft villages from descending into crass commercialization 

One of the most alluring, enduing aspects of Hanoi, for both visitor and resident, is the Old Quarter – a network of 36 guild streets that flourished centuries ago, and are flourishing today, retaining a lot of their original charm.

Now plans are afoot to highlight the attractiveness of guild villages, which are a traditional feature of Vietnam, particularly concentrated in and around Hanoi.

As the capital city prepares to celebrate its 1,000th anniversary, five traditional craft villages within the municipality are being surveyed to be built up as tourist destinations for a “Hanoi Traditional Craft Villages Tour.”

By reputation, these villages practically select themselves.

Bat Trang ceramics, Van Phuc silk, Phu Vinh rattan and bamboo, Ha Thai lacquer and Chuon Ngo Mother of Pearl are all famous products of the capital city, which have made these villages’ names well known for hundreds of years.

The reputation has, of course, been economically beneficial for residents and craftsmen and craftswomen of the village.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of most of the 256 craft villages in the capital city that are mired in all sorts of difficulties and need serious support in order to preserve and develop their traditional crafts.

The Hanoi Craft Villages Tour program is expected to address their problems.

The tour is part of the second “Hanoi Craft Week, held from August 4 to 9 by the city’s Department of Industry and Trade.

According to information carried on its website (www.hanoicrafiweek.com) the tour will be designed and organized by experienced travel experts and famous craftsmen, and will offer practical experience with the crafts apart from sightseeing beautiful, historical sites in the vicinity.

Luu Tien Long, director of Hanoi Department of Industry and Trade and also director of the exhibition organizing board, said the five villages chosen met all the criteria including history, location, occupation of residents and expressing the “quintessence of Hanoi”.

Hub of traditional crafts

After the erstwhile Ha Tay Province was merged into Hanoi, the capital city has become “the land of a hundred traditional crafts” about one fourth of which are more than 100 years old.

In fact, work to exploit the potential for tourism development in the traditional craft villages began almost 10 years ago, but has not made much headway.

Apart from the big names like Bat Trang and Van Phuc, many villages still remain unknown.

Local authorities have identified different problems and acted on them, but to no avail. They have blamed the situation on inconvenient location or poor infrastructure and invested more in upgrading roads, building exhibition houses and setting up shops.

At the Phu Nghia Rattan and Bamboo Village in Chuong My District, money was invested in an exhibition center, but only 30 foreign visitors have been to it over the last eight years. Many other villages are conveniently located on the way to famous spots like the Huong Pagoda, Duong Lam Ancient Village and the Ba Vi National Park, but there are still very few visitors.

Bui Thi Linh, owner of a workshop producing hats in Chuong Hat Village, Thanh Oai District, says improper investment is an obstacle to tourism development. “It usually takes too much time to carry out a project,” said Linh. “For example, the trade center in our village has not been completed after almost ten years, and no one knows when it will be finished. Besides, we are not instructed on how to provide tourism services properly.”

Sarah, a tourist from Australia, had just returned from the Ha Thai Lacquer Village in Thuong Tin District.

“After reading an article about Ha Thai, two of my friends and I decided to discover it on our own on motorbikes. The artisans in this beautiful village were doing great work but to our disappointment, there was nobody who could help us understand more about their products.

“They live very close to the capital and there is great potential for developing tourism but there was no local guide and it was difficult to find anybody who could speak English,” she said.

Marianne from England followed a tour to the Quat Dong Embroidery Village last month and did not have a better experience. She was rather annoyed when asked to buy an embroidered handkerchief at the village at a very high price.

Luong Thu Hoai, a tour guide with the NTT Travel Company, said many local artisans charge very high prices for their products from foreign visitors.

“They do not deal with foreign tourists frequently, so they do not understand these customers,” Hoai said. “I usually advice the local villagers not to do it but many of them just want to fish in troubled waters.”

However, Hoai reserved praise for the Bat Trang and Van Phuc villages for their “sharp mind” in dealing with the modern tourism market. “The artisans in Bat Trang Village have introduced many new products to attract visitors like the buffalo cart ride or the “Play with Clay” service which has visitors make their own products under instructions from artisans.”

Nguyen Van Hung, chairman of Van Phuc Silk Collective, said the village receives some 100,000 visitors every year. “Visitors make up 30 percent of our customers,” he said, adding cooperation between travel companies and artisans made this success possible.

Travel agents should also share some responsibility for the lack of tourism development in Hanoi’s craft villages. Many visitors have criticized local travel companies for their repetitive itineraries and poor products.

Bare necessities

The experiences of tourists in Hanoi and elsewhere in the country make clear some of the basic necessities to make tourism succeed and be sustainable, experts say.

There is a clear need for good guides who are fluent in English and also well informed about the history and cultural traditions of a place. Tourism must be perceived as a long-term benefit, and the temptation to sell substandard products at high prices should be resisted firmly as the villages’ reputation is at stake.

The tendency to set up similar “modern” facilities everywhere, like exhibition centers, or hotels, end up destroying the traditional, unique charm of a village. This should be a avoided at all costs, because visitors have already complained about the excessive commercialization and monotony of many tourist spots in the country.

If they do not find genuinely unspoilt places, visitors will stop treating Vietnam as a serious destination. And Hanoi’s craft villages will cease to be a tradition that the capital city can take pride in.

-- Cindy Goodman was having dinner with a group of girlfriends one night when the conversation took a surprising turn.

(CNN) -- Cindy Goodman was having dinner with a group of girlfriends one night when the conversation took a surprising turn.

Goodman asked her friends where they planned to go this year for their summer vacation. Nowhere, they answered. They were afraid to take time off because they didn"t want to risk losing their jobs, she says.

"It"s going to be an interesting summer," says Goodman, a Miami Herald business columnist. "The people who still have a job are really feeling overwhelmed and overworked. They"re afraid to take vacations, but at the same time, they need them more than ever."

The bad economy isn"t just depleting bank accounts. It"s cutting into people"s vacation time. Americans typically take time off and kick back during the summer. This year may be different.

People are worried that a temporary vacation could lead to permanent time off, Goodman says.

"I don"t think anyone is going to be fired for taking two weeks off, but they might think that they"ll think of another way of doing my job without me," says Goodman, who wrote about people"s vacation fears for her blog at http://worklifebalancingact.blogspot.com.

How to take time off without guilt

Americans had a difficult time taking vacations even before the economy slumped. Numerous articles and studies draw the same conclusions: Americans don"t know how to pry themselves away from the workplace.

This year, Expedia.com, the travel reservation company, conducted a survey that compared Americans" vacation habits with their counterparts in other countries.

The survey said about 34 percent of Americans don"t take all the vacation time they earn each year. In contrast, 22 percent of French citizens and 24 percent of Germans don"t take all the vacation allotted to them.

Japanese workers are the least interested in using all of their vacation days, according to the Expedia survey. About 92 percent of Japanese workers do not take all of their vacation days.

Christine Louise Hohlbaum, author of "The Power of Slow: 101 Ways to Save Time in Our 24/7 World," says even when Americans manage to take vacations, they still don"t completely leave their office, because of technology.

"You can take a BlackBerry on vacation and still have a conversation with clients anywhere else in the world," Hohlbaum says. "It"s wonderful for innovation, but not so great for leisure."

But workers who don"t take vacation hurt themselves and their companies, Hohlbaum says. Overworked employees get sick more often and place themselves at risk for long-term illnesses such as heart disease. Companies suffer because their employees are too tired or ill to be productive, she said.

Workplaces are full of exhausted employees who have already checked out in their cubicles, Hohlbaum says.

"If people are overworked, they"re surfing the Internet," she says. "They"re not contributing to the bottom line."

Hohlbaum says she talked to a computer technician who found a way to take more time off but be more productive. He started a walking group for his colleagues during lunch hour.

He and his colleagues were transformed.

"It was an amazing experience," Hohlbaum says. "They bonded. It helped people relax and when they got back to work, they were much more productive."

She suggests that other workers follow his example. Explain the upside of the idea to the boss: The company benefits from well-rested workers because they"re more productive. Set performance goals with your boss to prove taking time off will allow you to thrive and will result in greater productivity, she says.

Some workers, however, find that their biggest skeptic may be internal; they don"t know how to take it easy anymore, Hohlbaum says.

"If you"re so used to being purposeful, make leisure time your purpose," Hohlbaum says.

Alternative ideas

Goodman, the Miami Herald columnist, offers some of her own tips for taking time off. If you"re too afraid to ask for an extended vacation, plan four-day weekends or time off around holidays.

Goodman says she"s going to take a four-day vacation around the Fourth of July. But there was a time when she traditionally took two-week vacations during the summer.

LONDON, England -- As the northern hemisphere slides inexorably towards autumn, Europeans, with their fading sun tans, are getting back to work or school suffering the "post holiday blues."

LONDON, England (CNN) -- As the northern hemisphere slides inexorably towards autumn, Europeans, with their fading sun tans, are getting back to work or school suffering the "post holiday blues."

This year, for the first time since I was a teenager, I vacationed in the UK. I was not alone. Faced with tighter household budgets, soaring travel costs and a strong euro thousands of my cash-strapped fellow Brits decided to stay at home too. Decaying British resorts like Blackpool, Bournemouth and Torquay have enjoyed a bumper summer as a result.

I"m lucky. My "staycation" wasn"t forced upon me entirely by economic factors. A new addition to the Finighan family, Charlie the 12-week-old cocker spaniel puppy is just too young to be left in kennels. And so we decided to take a vacation that we could all enjoy, puppy and all.

We booked a seven-night stay in a caravan with Haven Holidays, part of the Bourne Leisure Group which also owns the uniquely British Butlins holiday camps. We chose the "flagship" Hopton Holiday Park near the resort town of Great Yarmouth on the East Coast.

The Haven Web site talks of "beautifully landscaped parkland... a gorgeous outdoor pool... a superb range of activities for all the family..." It all looked very attractive and while I freely admit it wasn"t my idea of the perfect vacation I was quite looking forward to it.

However, the reality didn"t quite match the glossy brochure description. Things went wrong from the moment we arrived, late, a few minutes before the site office was due to close at 6 p.m. "We"re closed!" a fierce receptionist barked through locked doors. Oh, the British do service so well.

Eventually we got to our accommodation. Because we were vacationing with our pet we could only hire a "Standard" caravan. At more than $1,000 for seven nights it was no bargain but it felt distinctly sub-standard.

It smelled of fried food and stale cigarette smoke. It was situated in a cramped part of the park that felt rundown and was closer to a busy main road than the sea. And an "open all hours" fish and chip shop, complete with blaring music and cooking smells was just yards away.

The center of the holiday park consists of the "Funworks" complex, containing the "Splashzone" swimming pools and the "Showbar" family entertainment centre -- a vast room with a bar at one end, a stage at the other and hundreds of tables in between. To get to the complex happy campers have to walk through a room full of gambling and video arcade machines! The whole place had a dispiriting feel.

Whenever the miserable British weather allowed we escaped for walks along the fine, sandy beach and for day trips to local attractions. In late August, Great Yarmouth was enjoying the kind of bustle it used to experience in the days before cheap flights to the continent. The place was packed and was festooned with discarded fish and chip wrappers and plastic beer glasses.

A couple of hours at the "PleasureBeach" theme park (though it hardly merits that description by American standards) cost an eye watering $100 -- and only the kids went on the rides!

I stuck it out for six days. While the kids and the dog were having a great vacation my wife and I could take it no longer. In the dead of night we packed everything and everyone into the car and headed for home.

As I look back on our "adventure" I"m left wondering why I hated it when so many of my fellow countrymen were obviously enjoying themselves. What do you think of Adrian"s vacation? Send us your comments below

In a statement to CNN, a spokeswoman for Haven Holidays said: "I am very sorry and disappointed Adrian and his family found their vacation less than memorable.

"It is undoubtedly true that first impressions are important, and in Adrian"s case, his greeting on arrival was truly bizarre and totally out of keeping with the usual high standards set by our reception team. Judging by the rest of his comments, these first few minutes colored his views of this highly popular resort.

"It"s a shame that he did not report the smells in the van from the previous guests as this is something we could have helped with.

"We imagine that as a journalist Adrian is likely to have visited many of the world"s most glamorous and exotic locations.Hopton Holiday Village is proud of what it offers -- a traditionally British seaside holiday for all the family in safe and secure surroundings and offering traditional good value for money."

I"m no snob; but I do expect to get good value for money and acceptable standards of service. But most of my fellow countrymen seemed happy to settle for mediocrity. Why is that? Why do Brits put up with their second rate roads, railways, and public-services? Why do we accept shoddy service and rip-off prices with nothing more than a shrug?

Even Britain"s tourism minister, Margaret Hodge, in an interview published this week by Holiday Which? Magazine, admitted that she preferred vacationing in Italy and said hotels in the UK were often expensive and of a "worrying" standard.

We"re due to host the Olympics in 2012. Our elected leaders like to talk of Britain as a world leader and a major player when we"re obviously not. We are very second division.

-- Vacation season is nearly over, and kids are returning to school with the telltale tans and smiles that mean they had a wonderful and relaxing holiday.

(CNN) -- Vacation season is nearly over, and kids are returning to school with the telltale tans and smiles that mean they had a wonderful and relaxing holiday.

Some of our iReporters weren"t so lucky.

We asked CNN.com readers to send us stories of their worst vacation nightmares, and rain at the beach seems ideal compared with the tales we received. Here"s a sampling of the worst of the worst -- but don"t worry, most of our iReporters can look back on their vacation horrors and laugh. Well ... almost.

Bruce Bush"s vacation in Hawaii started off perfectly. His family loved the "sandy beaches, hot weather and a tropical paradise I had never seen," he wrote in his iReport. But Bush, who had been sick for much of the vacation, was diagnosed with cancer in a Waikiki hospital three days before his family was scheduled to fly home.

"The doctors wanted to admit me right away and start treating me," he said.

But something didn"t feel right about the situation. So Bush"s parents (he was 17 at the time) declined treatment and decided to wait out the rest of the vacation and ask his regular physician about it when the family arrived home in Indiana.

"By the time we went home, I"d already started feeling better," Bush said.

The cancer diagnosis? A terrifying mistake. Bush had thought his illness was mononucleosis the entire time, and his doctor at home confirmed the diagnosis. iReport.com: Mistaken cancer diagnosis in Hawaii

"My doctor was looking at the report all confused, and he said of course your white blood cell count was up -- that"s what happens when you get sick!" Bush said.

Bush"s parents didn"t tell him about the cancer diagnosis until the family had returned home and his own doctor had refuted it. "It was a crappy vacation for me just because I was sick," he said. "But for my parents, to know that your child has been diagnosed by doctors, and you"re supposed to trust what these people have to say, I"m pretty sure they didn"t enjoy the vacation. They were so relieved and happy that they stuck to their guns."

Donna Rogers and her family never even made it to the tropics. They took a cruise bound for the Bahamas and ended up spending their vacation on a ship with a broken propulsion system.

"It was Thanksgiving week, and my birthday fell on Thanksgiving, too," she said. "I thought I"d be on the beach in the Bahamas with a margarita in my hand for my birthday."

Instead, Rogers" cruise ship was stranded in Norfolk, Virginia, for the entire week. Passengers could go to a mall in Norfolk and to bars and restaurants on the ship, she said, but not much else. And when passengers began to get angry and restless, Rogers said the captain gave a mutiny warning and local law enforcement boarded the ship.

"You knew you were still in the U.S., but you felt like you were in another dimension," she said. "He said we were under maritime law, and any aggression toward the staff would be mutiny and would be dealt with accordingly." iReport.com: The cruise to nowhere

Rogers and her family were eventually able to leave the ship, and they spent the rest of their vacation with relatives in Virginia. The cruise line offered passengers a refund and a discount on another cruise, but Rogers says she would have to think seriously before getting on a cruise ship again.

"When cruises go bad, they go bad exponentially," she said.

The cruise line in question declined to comment.

Thanksgiving and birthdays aren"t the only special occasions that can be spoiled by less-than-perfect vacations. Kelly Flores and her husband found themselves in the middle of a hurricane on their honeymoon. The couple was supposed to fly to St. Lucia, stopping briefly in Puerto Rico to change planes.

"Upon arriving in Puerto Rico, we discovered why our plane was not full and why our flight [to St. Lucia] had been cancelled," Flores wrote in her iReport. "Hurricane Georges, category four, was heading directly for Puerto Rico and would be there by nightfall."

Despite trying immediately to leave -- "get us on the next flight anywhere," Flores remembers telling the airline staff -- the newlyweds were stuck. Flores, a Virginia Beach, Virginia, native, says even though she was used to hurricanes, this one was the worst. iReport.com: Hurricane on a honeymoon

"When you"re not home, everything"s different, and it was much scarier," she said. "The hotel asked everyone to go to the ballroom. ... We could hear the steel shutters banging and hear the storm, and when we heard glass breaking, they got everybody into the older section of the building that was all concrete blocks."

After the storm passed, Flores and her husband made it to St. Lucia, where they stayed a few extra days. But the "coup de grace," as she put it, was on their flight home.

"We met a couple who flew out the same day we did and we asked if they got hit by the hurricane, and they said no. They were supposed to go through Puerto Rico, too, but their airline put them through Miami instead because of the storm," she said. "It"s very frustrating."

And frustrating doesn"t even begin to describe the feelings of many other iReporters who wrote in to tell us about their worst vacations ever. Mark O"Connor and his family suffered through airplane delays that made their trip to Dublin, Ireland, take two days. Once they arrived, they survived flooding and respiratory infections. iReport.com: The worst Christmas ever

Kristy McCloskey and her husband had to wear face masks during their entire trip to Ecuador. Ash from a recent volcanic eruption, which "looked very much like snow," destroyed the air quality and caused many businesses and the airport to close, delaying their return by three days. iReport.com: Volcanic eruption in Ecuador

Vietnam is not a country short of spectacular landscapes and history. But, while the country and its people strive to become more modern and developed, many have started to forget Vietnam’s true beauty and past.

The Hai Van Pass is one site drenched in history and beauty that remains. Even with the introduction of the Hai Van Tunnel in 2005 that makes the journey from Da Nang to Hue much shorter, many bus drivers and motorists choose to travel along the picturesque mountain road steeped in history and with panoramic views of Da Nang.

Hai Van (sea clouds) Pass is located on National Highway 1A at the border of Thua Thien-Hue Province and Da Nang City and is part of the Truong Son Range. Its history begins in 1306, before which, it belonged to the Champa Kingdom.

In the summer of that year, the beautiful Princess Huyen Tran, daughter of King Tran Nhan Tong, agreed to marry King Che Man of Champa, at the request of her father. In return, King Che Man, also known as Jaya Sinhavarman III, gave Vietnam the Ulik area (the current provinces of Quang Tri and Thua Thien-Hue), including the pass, as a betrothal gift.

Hai Van Pass stands 500 meters above sea level and is the highest pass in Vietnam. It stands with its feet in the sea and its summit is covered with clouds. The drive over the pass sees visitors tearing through the clouds along a winding road.

At the summit, you feel on top of the world as the wind swirls around you. On a clear day, you can see Da Nang, Tien Sa Port, Son Tra Peninsula, Cu Lao Cham Island and a stretch of palm-shaded sand, known as Lang Co, with a crystal-clear lagoon.

Also at the top of the pass is a vestige from long ago that takes the form of a brick gate covered with moss. It was built in 1826 under the rule of King Minh Mang, the second emperor of the Nguyen Dynasty.

The gate itself is 10 meters high with walls that are five meters thick. It faces Thua Thien-Hue Province, and is inscribed with three words “Hai Van Gate” in Han script. On the other side, the gate is engraved with: “The most grandiose gateway in the world”, also in Han script. These words were said by King Le Thanh Ton (1442-1497) when he visited the site.

During the Nguyen Dynasty (1802-1945), Hai Van Pass was an important military site and a shield that protected the Hue Royal Citadel. People had to submit the necessary papers to be allowed to pass through the guarded gate.

In 1826, French troops also built a blockhouse, named Don Nhat, to protect the Hai Van Pass.

For years, Hai Van Pass, with its ancient gate covered in moss set against a backdrop of greenery, has evoked old memories and feelings from the past. It is one of the places in Vietnam where you can gasp at breathtaking scenery as well as take in the history of the site.

A legend that was born a thousand years ago is alive and swimming in the northern province of Bac Ninh.

Well known as the home of the unique quan ho songs that have received world heritage status, the province also hosts a well dug more than a thousand years ago with sweet water and three legendary fish.

Covering an area of around 20 square meters in Cung Temple relic area in Diem Village, Hoa Long Commune, Bac Ninh Town, the Ngoc (Gem) Well has 11 brick steps, four stone steps and the final step made of wood.

The well’s water, coming from springs in the Kim Son and Kim Linh mountains and absorbing a 10- meter deep layer of natural laterites in the underground, is sweet, clear and cool. Residents use the water to make tea or alcohol.

Many tourists are keen to have a sip of water from the Ngoc Well to understand why locals praise it so much.

Residents say a special feature of the well is its water level, which stands virtually unchanged at six meters, irrespective of the seasons.

Like the tortoise in Hanoi’s Hoan Kiem Lake which has legendary origins, the Ngoc Well is home to three fish that look like carp but are longer and have no scales. Two of them are black with scattered red spots, while the other one is red with some black spots.

The legend, known to every Diem villager, goes that the three fish are incarnations of princesses Tien Dung and Thuy Tien, daughters of King Ly Thanh Tong (1023 – 1072), and their servant.

One night, Queen Thuong Duong was woken up by a halo as she slept at her palace in the capital, Thang Long. Two carps then appeared and said they wished to be reincarnated as her daughters.

Not long after, the queen was pregnant and had two girls. The princesses were beautiful and intelligent. When they were older, they asked the King’s permission to let them go to the Kim Linh Mountain in Diem Village, 40 kilometers from Thang Long, to kill some dangerous animals and protect the villagers.

The King agreed. The two princesses not only killed the animals but also managed a granary that the King built in a cave at the foot of Kim Linh Mountain.

At the Thanh Minh Festival one year, the princesses knelt towards Thang Long and said, “We want to stay here [Diem Village] forever to help locals” before turning into carps and making the Ngoc Well their home

The Cung Temple was built by Diem villagers to worship the two daughters of King Ly Thanh Tong (1023-1072) – Tien Dung and Thuy Tien, who turned into carps and made the Ngoc Well their home

The Thanh Minh Festival, known as Qingming Festival in China, marks a time for tending to ancestors’ graves and enjoying spring time with near and dear.

These days, in Vietnam, the Thanh Minh Festival is celebrated from the 5th to the 10th day of the third lunar month.

After Tien Dung and Thuy Tien turned into carps, the Diem villagers built the Cung temple at the foot of Kim Linh Mountain to worship them.

Every year, on the third day of the third lunar month, villagers hold a ceremony to bail out water from the well and clean it. Befittingly, young men and women sing quan ho songs as they draw water out of the well.

When the well is empty, the three fish are taken out and put into a stone mortar, before being released into the well again.

Apart from being a temporary house for the three fishes, the mortar has another special mission.

In a Diem Village tradition that is still observed, young men have to bring xoi, a Vietnamese dish made from glutinous rice, cooked by themselves to their engagement ceremonies. To make xoi for the ceremony, they have to take water from Ngoc Well to wash the glutinous rice in the mortar before cooking it.

Nguyen Van Thi, who passed away last year at the age of 103, told villagers when he was alive that he did not know the exact age of the three fish, but he had seen them since he was very young.

Other village elders also say they have also seen the fish since their childhood.

Apart from the Cung Temple and Ngoc Well, attractions in the Diem Village include the Diem communal house and Vua Ba (Female King) Temple that worships the creator of quan ho folk songs.

The most impressive aspect of the Diem communal house, built in 1692, is its big gilded wooden door with images of girls riding dragons, a very different image from the usual animals and flowers carved on doors elsewhere.

Inside the house stand the doi phong, two wooden statues of guards seen in Vietnamese temples and communal houses. The Diem communal house’s doi phong wear skirts without a top. They have convex bellies, flat chests, and long faces.

 A view of the Kinh Chu Grotto from An Phu Mountain

It takes some getting to, but both the destination and the path offer unforgettable vistas and a unique opportunity to connect with various moments in the nation’s history.

First, we had to get to An Phu Mountain, 246 meters high, in the northern province of Hai Duong. From there, we climbed further to reach the Duong Nham mountain range and explore Kinh Chu, one of the nation’s most beautiful grottos.

From the peak of An Phu Mountain, the mountain range, Duong Nham, also known as Thach Mon, lies before you and resembles a giant dragon lying on an immense bed of paddy fields.

To the north of Duong Nham, the Kinh Thay River winds around the foot of the mountain range. And to the southwest is the peaceful, picturesque Kinh Chu Village.

The high terrain and thick greenery keep Duong Nham cool in the summer and warm in the winter.

HOW TO GET THERE

Kinh Chu Grotto is situated in Duong Nham Hamlet, Pham Menh Commune, Kinh Mon District, Hai Duong Province, 57 kilometers east of Hanoi.

From the capital city, tourists can take bus No. 202 along National Highway 5 to the Phia Tay Bus Station in Hai Duong Town, and another bus to Kinh Mon Town. From there, it is a xe om (motorbike taxi) ride or a bus or taxi drive of around five kilometers to reach the Kinh Chu Grotto.

The mouth of Kinh Chu Grotto. Each of caves inside the grotto has its own distinctive features.

We climbed stone steps along the mountainside to the Kinh Chu Grotto, accompanied by the songs of cicadas.

The mouth of the Kinh Chu is about three meters wide. We stepped into what seemed like a maze of many caves, each with its distinct personality and challenge

The Mau Cave is marked by giant moss-covered stones and a hole in its dome. Directly opposite is the Vang Cave with stalactites resembling an elephant, a turtle, a diamond and many other animals and objects. The Luon Cave has a stream with clear, cool water.

Kinh Chu also has 53 stone steles dating back to the Tran, Le, Mac, and Nguyen dynasties, each engraved with the sayings of kings and mandarins who visited the grotto.

The most famous stele is the one that is inscribed with a poem by King Tran Thanh Tong (1240-1290) - the second emperor of the Tran Dynasty (1225-1400), who reigned over Dai Viet from 1258 to 1278, in Han script.

Kinh Chu also has a pagoda with many stone sculptures of Bodhisattvas and Buddhist monks.

During the fight against Mongol invaders, King Tran Nhan Tong (1258–1308), the Tran Dynasty’s third emperor who reigned over Dai Viet from 1278 to 1293, and his troops were stationed at Kinh Chu Grotto.

At the top of the Duong Nham mountain range are two blockhouses built by French troops in 1950.

The magnificent landscape and fresh atmosphere of the place generate a feeling of peace deepened by the sounds of the Kinh Chu Pagoda’s bell.

In fact, even before discovering the Kinh Chu Grotto and the Duong Nham mountain range, the Cao Temple at the top of An Phu

A stalactite resembling an elephant in Kinh Chu Grotto’s Vang Cave

Mountain offers a valuable glimpse into the nation’s past. The temple is dedicated to An Sinh Vuong Tran Lieu (1211-1251), the elder brother of King Tran Thai Tong - the second emperor of the Tran Dynasty, and father of Tran Quoc Tuan or Tran Hung Dao - one of Vietnam’s greatest generals.

Down 50 meters from the Cao Temple stands the 12.7-meter high Tran Hung Dao statue made of green stones. Tran Hung Dao, was instrumental in defeating Mongol invasions and was posthumously bestowed Hung Dao Dai Vuong (Grand Lord Hung Dao) for his military contributions. In the yard where the statue is located is a long terracotta relief depicting the wars against the Mongol forces.

Halfway down the mountain are the Tuong Van Pagoda and the Thanh Mau Temple, further adding to the serenity of the place.

(Tribune Media Services) -- There"s probably no better way of pinching your vacation pennies than sleeping on a friend"s sofa or camping out. But you don"t have to rough it to afford your next getaway.

(Tribune Media Services) -- There"s probably no better way of pinching your vacation pennies than sleeping on a friend"s sofa or camping out. But you don"t have to rough it to afford your next getaway.

More travelers are bunking down in nontraditional accommodations, including timeshares, condos and vacation rentals, and the trend seems to be accelerating.

The vacation rental industry grew by 17 percent last year, according to the Vacation Rental Management Association. Timeshare sales climbed 6 percent during the same period, says an Ernst & Young study.

By comparison, the hotel industry posted a 7 percent increase in profits in 2007, but is only expected to eke out a 3 percent rise in profits for this year, according to PKF Hospitality Research.

How do you swap out a hotel room for a condo or rental without paying too much or staying on the wrong side of the railroad tracks? After receiving scores of inquiries from readers, I decided to check out some of these lodging alternatives. I also spoke with many travelers who had swapped their hotel key card for a real key.

Here are five tips for making the most of a hotel alternative:

The best deals are online

The Internet is by far the most efficient way to find the right rental. That"s not only been my experience (more on that in a second) but that of other travelers, too.

Chuck Cole, a college professor from Thetford, Vermont, uses a site called Vacation Rentals By Owner to find vacation homes. "We rented a lovely home in Kauai for a week, and a small house with a wonderful stone-lined Jacuzzi right near the boundary of Joshua Tree National Park, for three nights," he says. "In places where hotels are very costly, or where you need more than one room, you can save a great deal by doing it this way."

That"s true, but be careful of the information you find on these sites. VRBO has an unusual disclaimer that"s worth reviewing, that basically says it"s not responsible for most of the information on the site. And some of the vacation rental services only allow comments to be posted that the property owner approves. In other words, you may never find out about the vacation home"s shortcomings on the site.

Look for a site with standards

Vacation rentals aren"t cookie-cutter properties that are standardized according to some corporate dictum. But you can hedge your bets. For example, I just rented a duplex in San Diego through a site called Zonder.com. It had a sleek gourmet kitchen, a plasma TV and a rooftop barbecue with a stunning view of Mission Beach.

Zonder"s properties are professionally managed, which allows you to avoid some of the problems you might encounter through an open rental site, such as the home not existing at all.

That"s what happened to Sue Barnett, an editor from San Francisco, when she tried to rent an apartment in New York through Craigslist recently. "The apartment numbers did not exist, and the phone number we had was no longer accepting incoming calls," she remembers.

Remember, it"s somebody else"s house

Condos and vacation rentals aren"t sterile hotel buildings with daily maid service. They"re real homes owned by real people. The charming cabin in Lake Arrowhead, California, that I recently reserved through HomeAway certainly belonged to someone -- a fact I was reminded of when I was asked to sign a multi-page rental agreement and sent a checklist of things to do when I arrived and departed.

These rental contracts contain a lot of fine print you won"t find in a hotel, including limits on the number of guests and a "no parties" clause. Which is completely understandable. Wouldn"t you do the same if it were your place? But still, renting someone"s home isn"t for the faint-of-heart. It"s a lot of responsibility, more responsibility than staying at a hotel.

Since the lodging is non-traditional ...

One of the things that surprised me the most when I researched this column was that there"s no one right way to find a vacation rental.

Chris Hosford found a lovely rental cottage in Hawaii by running a simple online search for Molokai rentals. "It wasn"t much more expensive than a nice hotel room and far more pleasant," remembers the vice president for a car company based in Fountain Valley, California. "I had a private pool for my fiancee and I to lounge around, a full kitchen, which we used on several occasions, great living room to relax in and it was only a short drive to several beautiful beaches."

Other travelers have used a more personal touch. When Karen Kinnane meets someone new while she"s traveling, she invites them to stay in her home when they come to the States. The hospitality is reciprocated.

"I"ve stayed twice in a palace in India with complete household staff, and a daily ride on a polo pony, attended all functions of an Indian wedding and a funeral, just like a member of the family," she told me. "I"ve stayed half a dozen times in a cottage on a multi-thousand acre estate outside of Dover, England." Now that"s my kind of vacation home.

Don"t rule out the alternative

Sometimes the best vacation rental is a hotel. On a recent trip to California, I had the opportunity to experience two vacation rentals followed immediately by a traditional hotel. I thought the first two homes in San Diego and Lake Arrowhead were terrific, and since I had members of the extended family staying with me, it was extremely practical and cost-efficient.

But once they all left, we downsized to a room at an Aloft hotel. There were certain advantages to staying at the property, including daily maid service, amenities like a gym and pool, and not having to worry about turning the water off when I checked out.

Then again, I had no kitchen to prepare any meals in, so we were forced to sustain our family on deep-dish pizzas from BJ"s Restaurant & Brewhouse and In-N-Out burgers. Still, it"s important to keep an open mind about your accommodations. Sometimes, the tried-and-true is what will work for you.

Finding the perfect vacation rental doesn"t have to be difficult. By conducting a search online and offline, knowing some of the paperwork pitfalls, and keeping an open mind, you can narrow your choices to the perfect property.

(Christopher Elliott is the ombudsman for National Geographic Traveler magazine. You can read more travel tips on his blog, elliott.org or e-mail him at celliott@ngs.org).

© 2008 CHRISTOPHER ELLIOTT DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC.