Close-up of Da Lat’s Crazy House

VietNamNet Bridge – Crazy House in the resort city of Da Lat, Lam Dong Province, is one of the world’s ten oddest villas. Its owner is architect Dang Viet Nga, late Party General Secretary Truong Chinh.

Source: Zing

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Cuc Phuong Park offers wildlife adventures, prehistoric relics

VietNamNet Bridge – One of the nation’s largest rainforests in Cuc Phuong National Park in the northern province of Ninh Binh has become a hot destination for adventure and nature lovers, complete with wildlife treks and homestays in the communes of Thai and Muong ethnic groups.

Pedal pushers: Foreign tourists bike along a path through Cuc Phuong National Park. (Photos: VNS)

Located in the triangle formed by Hoa Binh, Ninh Binh and Thanh Hoa, 120km southwest of Ha Noi, the park is just three hours away from the capital.

The 22,200ha park – home to 2,000 primates, flora, fauna, a series of caves and several big lakes – was established in 1962 by the Government to preserve forest ecosystems in the northern part of the country.

Over 300 species of birds have been recorded at Cuc Phuong Park, including red-headed woodpeckers, silver pheasants and the pitta brachyura.

An Endangered Primate Rescue Centre was built to protect endangered animals, including Delacour’s Langur, the Gray-shanked Douc Langur and the Golden Headed Langur, all of which are endemic primates that exist only in Viet Nam.

In spring, between March and May, the park is aflutter with countless butterflies and covered in wild flowers.

"The park hosts around 100,000 tourists annually and the park’s accommodations can hold around 300 visitors a night," the park’s tour operator, Do Hong Hai, said.

Wildlife trekking

A special wildlife tour was first organised six years ago, but it still only draws a limited number of adventurers, as the number of wild animals in the park have dramatically decreased in recent years.

The park’s staff suggested that tourists should come during the dry season between September and December.

"Tourists will have more trouble during the rainy season, as leeches and mosquitoes are everywhere. However, in the dry season you won’t be as exhausted after your treks," Hai said.

He said that it’s very rare chance to see leopards, tigers or bears at night because the number of animals has been reduced due to climate change and illegal poaching.

However, he said that the owston civet, the giant black squirrel, the Indian flying squirrel and the loris could be seen between 7pm and 9pm most days.

"You can catch the glowing eyes of the civets, squirrels and loris very often these days. The two hours you will spend tracking them down at night will give you an unforgettable experience and a sleepless night!" Hai said.

Prehistoric cave

Protection seeking: Cuc Phuong Park is home to the Delacour’s langur, which is listed as one of the world’s 25 most endangered primates.

Cuc Phuong Park is also well-known for its prehistoric cave.

The limestone cave, which was excavated in 1966, was one of the earliest discoveries of human habitation in the country, with graves, stone axes, bone-made spears and tools dating back some 7,500 years.

During the excavation 44 years ago, archaeologists found skeletons in three tombs where they believed prehistoric people had lived in the forest 7,500 years ago.

In 2000 archaeologists discovered a fossilised sea reptile called placodontia, the first to have been found in Southeast Asia, dating back 200-300 million years.

Visitors can also trek through a primary forest of century-old trees to meet the giant cho tree (parashrea stellata), believed to be around 1,000 years old.

Living with the locals

Khanh Commune –home to 100 Muong people – is the one of six communes recognised as a place to make a homestay by the park administration.

The Muong ethnic commune is an ideal place to stop for the night after an entire day of walking around. Tourists can spend the night and see traditional folk dances around a camp fire at night.

"The travellers can dance along with the locals, and roast potatoes and cassava roots for dinner. A cheerful night in the stilt house will refresh you for your next day’s journey," said tour guide Le Vu Ha.

Ha said that rafting along the Buoi River was a favourite pastime for travellers.

"It’s very interesting. Local people use bamboo rafts to cross the river, and travellers can try their hands at rowing them," Pham Van Cuong, a guide from a Ha Noi-based travel agency, said.

"Travellers can row themselves along the river, which is surrounded by rice paddies and corn fields."

Tourists can also expect to pay US$211 a piece for a group tour for two for a two-day, one-night trip.

Travellers can also get a bus from the Ha Noi-based Giap Bat station to Cuc Phuong at 3pm each day, for a price of VND65,000.

Another bus leaves the station for Nho Quan District, but it needs another 25km drive on a xe om (motorbike taxi) to reach the park.

Tour arrangements can be made through Luxurytravel, Handspan Adventure Travel, Exotissimo Travel and Buffalo Tours in Ha Noi.

To learn more or to book a package, visit www.cucphuong-tourism.com.vn.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News

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Traders in city lukewarm to grand sale program

VietNamNet Bridge – As the clock is ticking to the launch of the Impressive Vietnam Grand Sale 2010 meant to woo travelers, traders in HCMC are still not ready to join the list of shopping venues to benefit from the program, a tourism official said.

The two-month program due to kick off in early August and last through September will offer both locals and foreigners discounts of 10 to 40% at shopping centers, supermarkets, and retail outlets among others in the major cities of Hanoi, HCMC, and Danang. Dozens of venues in Danang and Hanoi as of on Tuesday were available via the website of the Vietnam – Your Destination program at http://www.impressivevietnam.vn, while a list from HCMC was still not present.

The Impressive Vietnam Grand Sale 2010 is part of the national tourism marketing campaign called Vietnam – Your Destination launched by the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT), with other stakeholders to include air carriers and tour operators and hoteliers as well. Under the guidance of VNAT, the departments of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the departments of Industry and Trade of the three cities will team up to carry out the program.

While Hanoi and Danang have made the first move, a tourism official in HCMC simply said the list was not completed.

“We have yet to bring out a list because it’s not completed,” said the source from the Travel Division of HCMC’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

He explained that the city met difficulty when calling traders to join the program as they are still confused whether to join it given several similar activities taking place in the city each year.

“VNAT has just launched a program this March while HCMC is having the yearly promotion program of its own in September so traders are still considering whether to join in,” he said.

The city’s Department of Industry and Trade in collaboration with the department of Culture, Sports and Tourism every year runs a promotion program, using the State budget to organize this year’s event scheduled for this September.

Preparation like marketing activities and budget for the program had been fixed before VNAT announced the Impressive Vietnam Grand Sale 2010, the official said.

According the Travel Department under the national tourism authority VNAT, the department needs some days for preparation before officially promoting the program to customers. That means time has virtually run out for the three cities to submit their lists of shopping venues.

VNAT has said that it will petition the Prime Minister to give visa fee exemption to international travelers during the two months as well as refund the value added tax (VAT) to such visitors.

However, the incentive policies along with detailed contents of the Impressive Vietnam Grand Sale 2010 until now are not available and disseminated to both local and foreign tourists although the kickoff has four days to go.

VietNamNet/SGT

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Travel firms asking for closer cooperation from airlines

VietNamNet Bridge – Travel firms said that in order to attract more tourists, they need close cooperation from air carriers.

At the workshop on calling for investment in the airports of Phu Quoc, Can Tho and Lien Khuong held on July 27 in HCM City

The cooperation not effective yet

Nguyen Van Tuan, General Director of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT), said at the workshop on calling for investment in the airports of Phu Quoc, Can Tho and Lien Khuong held on July 27 in HCM City that cooperation between airlines and travel firms is very important, because both airlines and travel firms have the same purpose and the subjects of clients to serve.

At the workshop, Tuan asked airlines to improve their fleets and have enough aircrafts in order to meet the demand of tourists, because the number of tourists will increase very rapidly in the time to come.

Phan Dinh Hue, Director of Vong Tron Viet (Viet Circle) Travel firm, said the cooperation between airlines and travel firms last time was not close enough, because travel firms always find it difficult to arrange enough air tickets for their clients to fly to Vietnam’s famous tourist sites, including Phu Quoc Island.

Hue told Thoi bao Kinh te Saigon that a group of Vong Tron Viet’s clients once had to shift from Vietnam Airlines to fly with Jetstar Pacific, because Vietnam Airlines could not provide enough air tickets, though the travel firm booked tickets in advance under the cooperation program between Vietnam Airlines and travel firms.

As the result, Vong Tron Viet had to compensate 300,000 dong to every client, because the clients could not fly with Vietnam Airlines as the travel firm promised.

Nguyen Quoc Ky, General Director of Vietravel, also said his travel firms is meeting similar difficulties.

“It is very difficult to book enough air tickets for the same flights on some air routes, especially on some days of week,” he said.

Ky added that many MICE (meeting, incentive, convention, exhibition) groups of tourists consist of 200-400 members. Meanwhile, on some air routes, Vietnamese air carriers only serve with 70-seat aircrafts. As a result, groups of tourists cannot fly on the same aircrafts, which always takes time.

Regarding the flights to Phu Quoc island, Ky said that it is very difficult to arrange enough seats for big groups of tourists, and it will be too tiring for them to go there by road.

Currently, only the national flag air carrier Vietnam Airlines and the Vietnam Air Service Company (VASCO) are providing flights to some tourist sites like Phu Quoc and Da Lat. Previously, Jetstar Pacific provided flights between Hanoi and Can Tho, but it has given up the air route because it could not compete with Vietnam Airlines.

What to do to attract more tourists?

Clodelsa Ty, General Director of United Airlines in Vietnam, said in order to attract airlines, especially international ones, to Vietnam’s airports, the first thing that Vietnam needs to do is to create demand and attract tourists.

“When there is demand, air carriers will come to meet the demand. It is necessary to give clients and investors reasons to come to Vietnam,” Ty said.

Ky of Vietravel said together with developing international airports, local authorities need to develop tourist products in order to attract clients. Travel firms really want to have more tourist products to sell.

VNAT’s General Director Nguyen Van Tuan asked airlines to reserve preferences for travel firms and strategic partners to help them get more favorable conditions to explore the market. Airlines should also listen more to the opinions from travel firms in order to make the cooperation between travel firms and airlines closer

In 2010, both the aviation and tourism industries expect to see high growth rates. In the first seven months of the year, Vietnam attracted 2.91 million foreign tourists and served 19 million domestic tourists, increasing by 35 and 20 percent, respectively, in comparison with the same period of 2009. VNAT hopes to attract 4.2 million foreign tourists and 27-28 million domestic travelers in 2010. Over the last decade, Vietnam’s aviation market grew by 14-15 percent per annum. Approximately 15.1 million people and 273,000 tons of cargo went through airports in the first six months of the year.

Source: Thoi bao Kinh te Saigon

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Ha Long Bay listed among the world’s most surreal landscapes

VietNamNet Bridge - The Telegraph has recently selected the world's most surreal landscapes, including Vietnam's Ha Long Bay, a world natural heritage recognised by the UNESCO.

Halong Bay, Vietnam: This stunning landscape features some 3,000 limestone pillars rising out of the emerald waters on the northwest coast of the Gulf of Tonkin. Local legend has it that the islands were created by giant dragons, summoned by the gods to fight Chinese invaders.

Valley of Desolation, Dominica: This valley was a lush rainforest until a volcano erupted in 1880. Fauna is now reduced to lizards, ants and cockroaches while boiling mud and fumaroles dot the landscape.

Painted Desert, Arizona, USA: Vibrant reds, oranges, blues, greys and pinks decorate the sun-baked Painted Desert on a high plateau in Arizona. Home of the Hopi and the Navajo peoples, the latter known for their ceremonial sand paintings, it's an utterly unique part of the planet.

Purnululu National Park, Australia: Until the release of aerial photos in the early 1980s, this remote area in Western Australia was all but unknown to the outside world. Traditionally used by Kija Aborigines during the wet season, the rugged web of gullies, cliffs, gorges, domes and ridges hold aboriginal works of art and burial sites.

Petrified Forest, Argentina: This flat arid land in Patagonia's Santa Cruz province is strewn with the stumps of fossilised trees. Some 130 million years ago, during the Jurassic period, wet forests of giant araucaria trees covered the area. During the formation of the Andes, large-scale volcanic activity buried Patagonia in ash and these forests turned to stone.

Wadi Rum, Jordan: The forbidding beauty of Wadi Rum was the perfect backdrop for the 1962 epic Lawrence of Arabia. This desert wilderness is certainly cinematic - sand valleys and dunes punctuated by a maze of monolithic rock, natural arches, slender canyons and fissures, beautifully moody colours at dawn and dusk, and night skies sprinkled with a multitude of stars.

Lake Myvatn, Iceland: The Apollo 11 crew were sent here to train for their moon walks. It is lined with craters, lava pillars and mud pits, while volcanic islets are scattered across the water. If not for all the ducks roaming the sandbars, it could well be on another planet.

Cappadocia, Turkey: So inhospitable is the landscape here in the heart of Turkey that early dwellers went underground, building churches and houses into the soft cliffs. Above ground, honeycomb cliffs and volcanic cones - known as 'fairy chimneys' create dramatic landscapes.

Lake Bogoria, Kenya: So shallow is the earth's crust in this sinister landscape that the surface looks like a giant witch's cauldron, with scorching springs and geysers. Rich in sodium salts and minerals, the lake has no life bar the blue-green algae, eagles flying overhead and the incredible number of flamingos that feed here.

Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia: Blindingly white and dizzyingly high, this vast salt flat near the crest of the Andes could easily be mistaken for a Salvador Dali painting. Eerie and otherworldly, Salar de Uyuni holds intensely blue skies, red and green lagoons, pink flamingos, smoking volcanoes, giant cacti, hot springs and spitting geysers.

Source: Telegraph

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Hundred of twins get together in HCM City

VietNamNet Bridge – Nearly 100 twins joined the Festival for Twins at HCM City’s Dam Sen Cultural Park on July 18.

Rising at 4am to travel from Long An province to HCM City for the festival, twin brothers Tuan Khanh-Tuan Khang, 12, were very surprised to see so many people like them.

Mrs. Anh brought twin sisters Truc Linh and Yen Linh and prepared similar clothes and accessories for the sisters.

The festival began with games for kids and then competitions for twins and finally a twin fashion show.

This is the fourth festival for twins organized at Dam Sen park so far.

Some twins at the festival:

Source: VNE

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Tourist tramcars glide through Hanoi streets

VietNamNet Bridge – Tramcars have been operating for a week now, serving visitors who want to tour the Old Quarter and Hoan Kiem Lake. The fare is reasonable, 15,000 dong for a 30-minute tour.

This new service is supplied by Dong Xuan Joint Stock Company, with 12 electric tramcars with 8 seats.

With 15,000 dong, visitors can sit on a tramcar to tour ancient streets like Hang Khoai, Hang Chieu, Hang Non, Ma May, Luong Van Can, Le Thai To to Hoan Kiem Lake. They run silently at average speeds of 12 kilometer per hour.

As a new service, the tramcars have not attracted many visitors yet. However, many people are anxious to test this new vehicle.

A tour on tramcar:

Source: VNE

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Ba Vi day trip offers respite from scorching city summer

VietNamNet Bridge – When a small group of my friends decided to head out of the city one summer day to try to escape the scorching heat, we didn’t have a destination, just an idea. So I suggested we go to Suoi Hai Lake, just 70km northwest of Ha Noi.

Day tripper: Small boats for groups of six are available around-the-clock to take you to the islands of your choice.

After an easy one-hour road trip, the loud noise and heat of city life seemed to have subsided.

Suoi Hai Lake, at the foot of Ba Vi Mountain, is a reservoir that was built in December 1958. It has a 4km-long system of main and supporting dams to reserve water from the Yen Cu and Cau Rong springs, giving the lake its name of Suoi Hai (Two Springs). The water from the lake irrigates 7,000ha of farmland.

When we arrived at the lake, we decided to take a motorbike tour around it. The road was smooth and surrounded by eucalyptus forests. We were refreshed by the cool breezes and, along the way, saw many people fishing on the bank.

There are a number of islands in the lake, and we even saw a boat full of tourists on the lake. After asking around, we came to the Suoi Hai Service Centre, which we had previously passed on our way. A woman in the centre told us that there were boats available around-the-clock to take tourists to the islands or cruise around the lake. The fares are reasonable. To get to the largest island, it only cost each of us VND30,000 (US$1.5), while hiring a private boat to go around the 90ha reservoir costs VND300,000 ($15), and you can stop at any island of your choice.

Keeping it straight: Surrounded by eucalyptus forests, the stone-paved trail leads you around the island.

The four of us decided to get a boat and take a tour around the lake. We were not disappointed by the decision. As we glided on the water, stunning scenes opened up before our eyes. The islands, the clear water, the trees and the meadows of grazing cattle had the look of a fairy wonderland. Wild birds, such as teals, coots and cranes, swam around the boat, imparting an even more romantic air to the scene.

"Each season brings with it a different colour to the lake, but it is beautiful all year round," said boat captain Vo Van Tan, as we set foot on an island. We were welcomed by the sweet smell of litchi and green grass. Local farmers have planted fruit trees on every island and tourists are allowed to pick and enjoy the fruits.

"The lake is a perfect weekend spot to spend time with your family," said Nguyen Thi Loan, owner of a coffee shop on the island. "We mostly get visits from groups of students who came here for one-day picnics".

Besides hiring a boat, you can rent a canoe at a very affordable VND15,000 per hour ($0.75) and row yourself around the lake. You can also go horseback riding around the lake or into the eucalyptus forests, or take a dip in the cool water of the lake.

Tranquil: Two streams meet to form Suoi Hai Lake.

If you want to stay for more than a day, accommodation is available at VND60,000 ($3) to VND120,000 ($6) per night. You can choose rooms at a conventional guesthouse or stay in one of the stilt-houses.

Last year, a $200 million resort was planned at the lake by PetroVietnam Premier Recreation, but environmental activists and local residents raised concerns with the plan, which was revised and is now in its first stage of construction.

"The first phase will be completed in 2012," said the deputy head of Ba Vi’s culture department, Nguyen Viet Giao. It will change the face of Suoi Hai Lake, as most of the 14 islands will be taken over by resorts, golf courses, hotels and restaurants.

"The current plan has received agreeable nods from residents," said Giao. "In two years, tourism will give Ba Vi’s economy a considerable boost, and people’s living standards will therefore be improved."

In other words, in just two more years, weekends at Suoi Hai Lake won’t be the same. Come now and enjoy the serenity while it lasts.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News

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