HOI AN ON BIKE

Once known as Faifo, Hoi An was one of the orient's major trading ports in the 16th and 17th centuries.

Hoi An City Tours

Take a step back in time on a walking city tour of Hoi An -a well-known ancient town in Vietnam and a UNESCO World heritage site. A private guide leads you through the well-kept historic district of this once-prosperous seaport city.

Nha Trang Boat trip

Overview Transferring to Da Chong Whalf, about 18 km away from the city center for embarking on boat, cruising on Nha Phu bay.

Ha Long bay

Recognized by Unesco as a World Heritage Site since 1994 for it thousands of natural islands, Ha Long Bay is a legendary world, and one of the most magnificent scenic spots in Vietnam as well.

Discover Stunning Terraced fields in Northwest Vietnam

The terraced fields in the mountain district of Mu Cang Chai in Yen Bai, Vietnam are associated with the developmental history of the Mong ethnic minority group.

Can Tho’s craftsmen busy for Tet

Craftsmen in Can Tho had been busy making their meticulous handcrafts at a fair to welcome the Tet festival.

The “Orchard Colours” trade fair took place in the Mekong Delta from January 22-26. It was a chance to see with thatched houses and all the normal daily activities of life there.

Two pavilions in particular were of special interest to visitors. Each one resembles household items, a knitted mat and basket.

Visitors could also try out traditional specialties from the southwestern region, including banh xeo (cake made from rice, shrimp, meat and sprouts), banh in (cake made from green beans and sugar), and banh tet (cake made from sticky rice, green beans and meat). Han scripts and abundant fruits add more colours to the festival.

Plaiting artificial flowers

Making toys from coconut leaves

The making of banh in

Waiting for banh trang

Knitted mats for Tet

Knitted baskets

Han scripts make good gifts

Nha Trang: Beginning to look a lot like Tet

Even though Tet will not be here for another week, every street in Nha Trang is decorated in striking colours.

More and more impromptu markets for flowers and ornamental trees are set up along the side of the road.

The evenings are just as spectacular, with the streets bedecked in a decorative lights.

The atmosphere of Tet has certainly arrived in the beautiful coastal city, which also boasts of its fine beaches.

Nha Trang shows its colours this time of year:

Flowers line many streets

Peach and kumquat trees have arrived

Apricot blossoms find it’s still too cold

Flower shopping

Seasonal trees are everywhere

Planting poinsettias

Other Tet decorations

Nha Trang sparkles at night

The Year of the Cat is coming

Happy New Year

Sapa’s peach tree market flourishes in the cold

People of the picturesque mountain village of Sapa gathered to sell their beautiful and ubiquitous peach blossoms for Tet.

The market is set up every year in the northern province of Lao Cai on National Highway No. 70, which runs between the Mong Sen bridge and Sapa.

This year’s prolonged cold has meant that many of the trees that produce the tiny and colorful flowers are more expensive. The price for a branch is hovering between VND300,000 and VND500,000 (USD15-USD25). For an entire tree, you could pay as much as VND10 million (USD500).

Buyers include wholesalers from the city of Lao Cai, in Vinh Phuc province, as well as Hai Phong. They come to select the choicest branches and trees to resell them in the low-lying cities.

“This year’s scarcity means higher prices. I’ve had to put down deposits to make sure to receive trees,” said Dao Tien Hai, a wholesaler. He told about one peach tree his company ordered for Tet, which costs around USD1,000.

Some people are even selling their old peach trees in hopes of earning some extra cash.

A local official in Sapa sympathises with the villagers, and said that the local government encourages the growing and trade of peach trees.

The district authorities are drawing up plans to restore the development of areas that have traditionally been used for growing the trees, he said. These areas are concentrated along National Highway70, the road linking Sapa to Lao Cai and Lai Chau Province.

DTiNews snapped some photos of the market on January 23:

Branches for sale along the highway

This year even old trees are being sold

Dao Tien Hai displaying an older tree

Many branches have not bloomed

Day off school, day at the market

Loading up for transport

Off to the market

The market attracts many tourists

When to travel Sapa, Vietnam

Travelers to Sapa in summer can feel the climate of four seasons in one day. In the morning and afternoon, it is cool like the weather of spring and autumn. At noon, it is as sunny and cloudless as the weather of summer. And it is cold in the evening.

With no advance warning of a thunderstorm short and heavy rains may come at noon on any summer day. Subsequently, a rainbow appears, transforming Sapa into a magic land, which for years has been a constant source of poetic inspiration, lights up the whole region.

The terraced fields in Sa Pa, VietnamThe terraced fields in Sa Pa, Vietnam

The best time to witness the scenic beauty of Sapa is in April and May. Before that period, the weather might be cold and foggy; after that period is the rainy season. In April and May, Sapa is blooming with flowers and green pastures. The clouds that settle in the valley in early morning quickly disappear into thin air.

Sapa has many natural sites such as Ham Rong Mountain, Silver Waterfall, Rattan Bridge, Bamboo Forest and Ta Phin Cave. Sapa is also the starting point for many climbers and scientists who want to reach the top of Fansipan Mountain, the highest mountain in Vietnam at 3,143m. Hoang Lien Mountain Range is also called the Alps of the North Sea area since Fansipan Mountain is not only the highest peak in Vietnam, but also in the Indochina Peninsula. The pyramid-shaped mountain is covered with clouds all year round and temperatures often drop below zero, especially at high elevations.

The first thing you notice when approaching the resort town are some detached wooden mansions and villas perched on a hill top or hillside, behind thick pine forests and almost invisible on this foggy morning. Old and new villas with red roofs now appear and now disappear in the green rows of pomu trees, bringing the town the beauty of European towns.

Fresh and cool air in Sapa is an idea climate condition for growing temperate vegetables such as cabbage, chayote, precious medicinal herbs, and fruit trees such as plum, pear…

Sapa is home to various families of flowers of captivating colours, which can be found nowhere else in the country. When Tet, the Lunar New Year Festival, comes, the whole township of Sapa is filled with the pink colour of peach blossom brought from the vast forests of peach just outside the town. Sapa is regarded as the kingdom of orchids. Here, orchid lovers are even amazed by the choice, when trekking in the forest filled with several hundred kinds of orchids of brilliant colours and fantastic shapes, such as Orchid Princess, Orchid of My Fair Lady’s Shoe. Some orchids are named after lovely singing birds such as the canary, salangane’s nest, and more.

Cherries blossom in Sapa, VietnamCherries blossom in Sapa, Vietnam

Sapa is most beautiful in spring. Apricot, plum and cherry flowers are splendidly beautiful. Markets are crowded and merry, and are especially attractive to visitors. Minority groups come here to exchange and trade goods and products. Market sessions are also a chance for locals to promenade and young men and women in colorful costumes to meet, date or seek sweethearts.

Travelers to Sapa will have opportunities to discover the unique customs of the local residents.

Fun with banh chung at Sea Horse Resort

Hundreds of holidayers in Phan Thiet cheered on their favorite team at a banh chung wrapping contest at a festival at Sea Horse Resort on Tuesday night.

The contest to make the square glutinous rice cake filled with green bean paste and pork fat was part of a banh chung festival held by the resort. Twenty three teams, many of them tourists from Russia, Germany, Estonia and Rumania, competed.

In 15 minutes, the teams had to wrap all the ingredients of a banh chung in banana leaves and tie it with string under guidance of the resort staff.

All the teams finished the cake on time but the most beautiful banh chung belonged to three teams from Russia.

A Vietnamese overseas lady, Le Thu Nguyet, said, “I am Vietnamese but this is the first time I have made a banh chung. It is a joyful experience after 23 years away from my country.”

All the cakes were boiled to serve guests. “Touring Vietnam, I can

discover many landscapes and learn interesting things interesting about culture, food and history,” said Billy Karksson,a tourist from Sweden.

The festival is held at the resort every year so visitors can know about the traditional Vietnamese Tet festival.

*Binh Thuan Province will hold its Spring Fair at Nguyen Tat Thanh Square in Phan Thiet City from January 22 to 27 with about 150 booths.

Organizers hope the fair will add extra color to the province’s Tet celebrations and bring luck to

enterprises to promote their businesses and find partners.

The fair will feature food, cosmetics, household utensils, souvenirs, fine arts products and home decorations.

Nightly music shows, children’s games, promotions and discount programs promise to make it a fun event.

Source: SGT

Travel to Vietnam & Discover traditional Tet Holiday

The lunar calendar shows that Tet is coming, and from now until then, all things are Tet. The streets are Tet, the talk is Tet, the thoughts are Tet, the shopping is Tet, it's a Tet world in Vietnam right now and everybody knows it.

Tet is the most cherished time of the year in Vietnam. It is when the cities empty out and thousands go back to the countryside where they were born. City dwellers often choose to spend time at home. The streets empty out. The horns quiet, the traffic no longer congests and the hustle and bustle of city life, for a few days every year, comes to a halt.

New year's Eve in VietnamNew year's Eve in Vietnam

As Vietnam develops and its expat population grows, the holiday has also come to hold a special meaning with foreigners as well.

"For me, Christmas was always the big holiday but now, Christmas is just a sign that Tet is approaching," shared Karen Merlin who has lived in Hanoi for over 4 years now. "It's hands down the best time of year, it is a time to catch your breath, relax and reflect on the last year."

Hitting the streets, Tet for foreigners residing in Vietnam means various things. For Stephen McGrath, living in Ho Chi Minh City, "Tet is a cultural event that perplexes and entertains me, but no-one ever knows when it is until a week beforehand," he said jokingly.

Paula, a long-time ESL teacher in Vietnam said for her, "Tet is the one true break I get all year. I cherish every moment and usually spend half in the city with my Vietnamese friends and half traveling somewhere outside of Hanoi."

As vendors try to stock up and sell as much as they can, many foreigners make plans to travel and get as far away as they can.

"I get as far out of the city as possible. It's the one time every year that I don't want to be in the city, I want to be out and traveling. It's so quiet it is lonely so I always grab a bag and hit the road. For me, Tet is my only chance for a big trip every year, so I take it," shared NGO worker Jason.

Adam, who is married to a Vietnamese woman said, "Tet is obviously a very important holiday. It's family time. We do all the traditional activities and it has been a remarkable cultural experience for me. Local food, local people, local everything. We go out to the countryside and celebrate with a huge and loving family."

Foreign friends enjoying a traditional Tet meal with a Vietnamese familyForeign friends enjoying a traditional Tet meal with a Vietnamese family

One resident of Hanoi for over 15 years griped, "As much as I love Tet, it is also the time of year where for two months, the price of anything and everything goes up. From a business standpoint, Tet is terrible but once the day arrives, and my wife's family gathers, I realize that I love it. It's really my Christmas now."

For the plethora of teachers living and working in Vietnam, many refer to it simply as, "Tet is for travel."

Tet's meaning can also change drastically as it did for Eric Burdette, "My first four Tet's used to mean time off for continuous partying... However, over the past two years I have courted (and recently married) a Vietnamese woman. Now that I have a family in Vietnam, Tet has a completely different meaning. After over five years of living in Vietnam, being accepted into a family and having a real home during Tet makes me feel like I truly belong here."

Eric’s Family in Vietnam during Tet holidayEric’s Family in Vietnam during Tet holiday

Tet is a time for family and friends and has different meaning for different people. It is a holiday that like Christmas, both Vietnamese and foreigners have come to embrace and celebrate. It is East meets West. It is a time of joy for all. One embassy worker I spoke with simply said, "It's Tetmas." And this is Tet through the eyes of some foreigners.

Source: dtinews

Travel to Vietnam & Discover traditional Tet Holiday

The lunar calendar shows that Tet is coming, and from now until then, all things are Tet. The streets are Tet, the talk is Tet, the thoughts are Tet, the shopping is Tet, it's a Tet world in Vietnam right now and everybody knows it.

Tet is the most cherished time of the year in Vietnam. It is when the cities empty out and thousands go back to the countryside where they were born. City dwellers often choose to spend time at home. The streets empty out. The horns quiet, the traffic no longer congests and the hustle and bustle of city life, for a few days every year, comes to a halt.

New year's Eve in VietnamNew year's Eve in Vietnam

As Vietnam develops and its expat population grows, the holiday has also come to hold a special meaning with foreigners as well.

"For me, Christmas was always the big holiday but now, Christmas is just a sign that Tet is approaching," shared Karen Merlin who has lived in Hanoi for over 4 years now. "It's hands down the best time of year, it is a time to catch your breath, relax and reflect on the last year."

Hitting the streets, Tet for foreigners residing in Vietnam means various things. For Stephen McGrath, living in Ho Chi Minh City, "Tet is a cultural event that perplexes and entertains me, but no-one ever knows when it is until a week beforehand," he said jokingly.

Paula, a long-time ESL teacher in Vietnam said for her, "Tet is the one true break I get all year. I cherish every moment and usually spend half in the city with my Vietnamese friends and half traveling somewhere outside of Hanoi."

As vendors try to stock up and sell as much as they can, many foreigners make plans to travel and get as far away as they can.

"I get as far out of the city as possible. It's the one time every year that I don't want to be in the city, I want to be out and traveling. It's so quiet it is lonely so I always grab a bag and hit the road. For me, Tet is my only chance for a big trip every year, so I take it," shared NGO worker Jason.

Adam, who is married to a Vietnamese woman said, "Tet is obviously a very important holiday. It's family time. We do all the traditional activities and it has been a remarkable cultural experience for me. Local food, local people, local everything. We go out to the countryside and celebrate with a huge and loving family."

Foreign friends enjoying a traditional Tet meal with a Vietnamese familyForeign friends enjoying a traditional Tet meal with a Vietnamese family

One resident of Hanoi for over 15 years griped, "As much as I love Tet, it is also the time of year where for two months, the price of anything and everything goes up. From a business standpoint, Tet is terrible but once the day arrives, and my wife's family gathers, I realize that I love it. It's really my Christmas now."

For the plethora of teachers living and working in Vietnam, many refer to it simply as, "Tet is for travel."

Tet's meaning can also change drastically as it did for Eric Burdette, "My first four Tet's used to mean time off for continuous partying... However, over the past two years I have courted (and recently married) a Vietnamese woman. Now that I have a family in Vietnam, Tet has a completely different meaning. After over five years of living in Vietnam, being accepted into a family and having a real home during Tet makes me feel like I truly belong here."

Eric’s Family in Vietnam during Tet holidayEric’s Family in Vietnam during Tet holiday

Tet is a time for family and friends and has different meaning for different people. It is a holiday that like Christmas, both Vietnamese and foreigners have come to embrace and celebrate. It is East meets West. It is a time of joy for all. One embassy worker I spoke with simply said, "It's Tetmas." And this is Tet through the eyes of some foreigners.

Source: dtinews

Travel firms say regret late Tet holiday announcement

Tour operators in HCMC have said they have missed a great business chance for launching more tours for the Lunar New Year (Tet) as the long holiday schedule was announced a little bit so late.

The Government has formally announced that the Tet holiday will last from January 31 to February 7, meaning all civil servants and State workers will have eight days off. That prompts people to rush to buy tours, but many travel firms have closed their programs and they could not arrange air tickets, visas, accommodation and related services for more guests.

Companies like Fiditourist, Perfect Tour Travel Co., Viettours Trading and Services Co., Saigontourist Travel Service Co., and some others have reported an increasing number of enquiries for outbound and domestic tours these days.

Nguyen The Khai, director of Perfect Tour Travel Co., told the Daily on Wednesday that the company had stopped selling Tet tours on January 1 but many customers have been asking for the tours after that day because of the long holiday. However, the company cannot sell more tours due to the lack of services like air tickets, hotels, and restaurants, all of which need some months for arrangement.

Perfect Tour has prepared services for just 2,500 travelers on Tet, doubling the number compared to last Tet.

“Around 20 to 30 people are asking for Tet tours everyday but our hands are tied. We would have done better business if the Government had announced the holiday schedule earlier,” he said.

At Fiditourist, the company has prepared services for around 20,000 outbound and domestic travelers on Tet, up 20% compared to last year. Many customers have been asking for Tet tours in recent days but the company has not received deposits because it needs more time to arrange services for the new customers.

“The number of visitors is increasing beyond expectation. We are asking for more air tickets but it is very difficult. We cannot manage this because of the limited time,” said Dang Trung Nghia, deputy general director of Fiditourist.

Currently, the company cannot buy air tickets for outbound tourists while both air tickets and hotels for domestic tours are also very scarce, he explained. Fiditourist said only overland tours to Nha Trang and the North are still available but travelers do not want to go the region due to the cold weather there.

Luu Dinh Phuc, director of Viettours Trading and Services Company, said tour operators could have sold more tours if the Government had announced the Tet holiday schedule six months in advance.

“We see the good business chance this Tet but cannot do anything,” he said.

Saigontourist Travel Service Co. also regrets the tardy announcement but the company has added 50 tours for Tet and sold tours to eight more groups to date.

As of Wednesday, Saigontourist had 15,000 tourists who had placed deposits for outbound and domestic tours during Tet, excluding those who have made registrations only.

Source: SGT

Motorcycle travel in Vietnam

A motorcycle represents freedom: the freedom of the open road, the freedom of speed, the freedom to go. Bikers are cowboys reinvented. They aren't content to go the way of the package tourist. They see things for themselves and they form their own judgments. It's an attitude as much as a mode of travel.
Few people stop to consider the advantages of motorcycle travel in foreign countries. In most places you can rent a scooter without a motorcycle license. They're easy to operate, fast and efficient, and more than enough for the roads you'll find. In Vietnam you can also rent a Russian Minsk, the 125cc workhorse of the former Communist world. It's a noisy, gas-guzzling beast of a machine that farts clouds of blue oil smoke thick enough to befuddle any pursuer: something to keep in mind if you tend to hang out in a lot of military dictatorships. In a land of scooters, it's also generally the biggest bike on the road.

Midsummer Hanoi smothers beneath a throbbing heat haze. Beads of moisture condense and trickle down a glass of syrupy iced coffee just as the sweat rolls down your back. The narrow streets of the old town are choked with scooters and bikes, and baggy-trousered old ladies in conical hats balancing a pole dangling two pots over a shoulder. The noise - shouts and honks and roaring exhaust - creates an aural blanket that hems you in like the heat. It's oppressive. It's stifling. And it made me long for wide open spaces.

Motorbiking in Hanoi isn't for the faint of heart. The streets are a solid mass of humanity whose movements are seemingly linked like those of a school of fish. It's a chaos of moving metal with no apparent rules, save for some bizarre form of telepathy. I learned how to navigate it the first time I tried to cross the road. I waited timidly for nearly ten minutes, hoping for a break in the flow, until I finally ran out of patience and just stepped out into it and began to walk. The trick is to stare straight ahead and keep a steady pace. The traffic will flow around you like a stream around a rock. If you slow down, however, or try to dodge it in a panic, they'll get confused - and you'll get flattened.

The same thing happens when you decide to hop on your own heap of mechanized mayhem and join that flow. I'd only ever driven a motorbike a handful of times, and of course I didn't have a license for one. But hey, how hard could it be? I found a reputable bike shop, slipped the proprietor some cash, and I was off with a roar and no questions asked.

I have to admit it was a little unnerving at first. Every time I stopped at an intersection, I was handlebar-to-handlebar with someone else, totally surrounded on all sides by revving engines two inches away. To even shift in my seat meant brushing up against someone. And then the light would change, and we'd be racing like mad in one vast polluting pack.

Navigation brought its own unique set of challenges. A left turn down a side street meant gradually edging head-on into the onrushing stream. Unbelievably, the traffic always parted Red Sea-magically and made way before me. Within half an hour I was racing through the city streets like Luke Skywalker on an Imperial Speeder Bike.

It takes a while to get beyond the urban sprawl, but once out of the city you can open the throttle and feel the breeze in your helmet-less hair. This rural Vietnam is a world away from the scams of Hanoi capital. Pale green rice paddies wilt limp in the heat, backed by steaming jungle hills and jagged karst. You have no place to go, no agenda, and nothing but time. The people you'll meet on route are just as un-rushed. A roadside group of uniformed schoolchildren stop to point at you, jaws agape. When you pause at a roadside stall for "pho" (rice noodle soup) or iced coffee, you'll be greeted by shy surprise, followed by curiosity and giggles. You'll even be waved off with a laugh and a joke when your friend tries to photograph a military helicopter base. That would never happen in the city!

Minsk - an old Russian motorbike. It really does set you free. You can daytrip lightly and reach untouched places just outside even the largest "tourist" destination, or you can strap on the saddlebags and wander the map wherever the Road Gods take you.
Do not miss your chance to see real Vietnam on motorbike!

Vietnam’s tourism industry growing, but slowly

Though obtaining a satisfactory growth rate in 2010 with five million foreign tourists, experts say there are still a lot of things that need to be done to develop tourism industry.

Vietnam slow in develop tourism products


Like other countries in Asia Pacific that benefited from the higher number of inner-bloc tourists in 2010, Vietnam’s tourism industry had a prosperous year in 2010 with five million foreign tourists. However, the figure is nothing if compared with 15.7 million foreign tourists to Thailand, 12 million tourists to Singapore, 24 million to Malaysia and 7 million to Indonesia

Statistics show that the number of Asian people traveling to regional countries increases by 10 percent every year. Meanwhile, a recent survey released by Market Probe Asia Pacific showed that 71 percent of more than one million Chinese people who regularly travel abroad plan to go to countries in the Asia-Pacific region in the next year.

The trend can also be seen in India and countries in the Middle East.

Therefore, Asian countries well understand that now is the right time for them to attract the wealthy regular travelers. Hong Kong and Singapore, for example, have recently poured money to develop high grade shopping centers and modern entertainment complexes, organize special art performance shows and the exhibitions of international stature. Meanwhile, Malaysia has been taking full advantage of its natural landscapes and cultural values to develop resort and homestay tourism. It has been trying to design specific tours targeting Muslim clients, the tourists from the Middle East and India.

Meanwhile, Vietnam still has not conducted thorough market surveys and has not made appropriate investments to develop new tourism products. That explains why the duration tourists stay in Vietnam and the money they spend when traveling Vietnam has not increased considerably over the past many years. In 2010, in an effort to develop tourism, Vietnam saw hotel room and air ticket supplies increasing considerably. However, it still could not do much to diversify entertainment products.

Analysts say Vietnam still cannot take full advantage of its potentials to develop tourism. For example, though Vietnam has been well known for its beautiful beaches, the beach cities do not attract many tourists. The beautiful destinations of Nha Trang, Mui Ne, Phu Quoc island or Vung Tau City still attract domestic travelers, because they still do not have specific tourism products.

The analysts said that in Thailand, every sea tourism destinations target a specific class of tourists. For example, Pattaya, Patong in Phuket are places which serve middle class earners, while Huabin, 200 kilometers far from Bangkok, which is a quiet area with many luxurious resorts, specializes in serving high income earners. Koh Samui island and Andaman beach in the south are the destinations of tourists who like sea sports and wild landscapes.

…and passive in advertising

In 2010, Indonesia suffered from natural calamities, while Thailand suffered from political uncertainties. However, both the countries still fulfilled their plans to attract tourists thanks to their dynamism and flexibility. Meanwhile, Singapore and Malaysia, thanks to their methodical advertisement plans, successfully attracted more tourists and persuaded them to spend more money.

Meanwhile, Vietnam reportedly failed to fulfill many plans to advertise Vietnam’s tourism. The plan to open representative offices at key markets has not been implemented. To date, the Vietnam Tourism Administration of Tourism (VNAT) does not have any representative office in other countries in the world. Meanwhile, Thailand has 20 offices worldwide, and Malaysia has two offices in both HCM City and Hanoi.

The annual budget Vietnam spends annually to develop tourism is about 40-50 billion dong, or $2-2.5 million, which is very low if compared with the budget of Indonesia ($6 million), Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore which spends $65 million. It is understandable that with such a modest budget, Vietnam cannot hire professional marketing and advertisement services which can help effectively advertise Vietnam’s tourism.

Source: Thoi bao Kinh te Saigon

Discovering Vietnam by train

Vietnam is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Asia. It offers so much to do in so little time. Besides being steeped in rich history and culture, Vietnam is also beautiful and relaxing all over the country. Of course, there is a decision to be made about how to get from land to land in this gorgeous area. The best suggestion would be to travel Vietnam by train. There is no other way to see so much and relax in amazing comfort at the same time.
To travel in Vietnam by train you will need to obtain train tickets for each route. This is a bit difficult in the least and is far more cost effective than air travel. The best way to get train tickets is to go through a travel agent or book tickets online at www.vietnamcheaptours.net. You will need to find out how many destinations that you intend to visit while you travel in Vietnam. The travel agent will be able to work out a great package deal for you that will get all you want to see into the amount of days that you have available. There are also several preset travel Vietnam by train deals that give you only the best of what the land has to offer. Check with your travel agent to determine what the best package is for you and the pricing that is available.
When you travel up and down the country, there are many destinations that you will surely want to visit to make the vacation unforgettable to say the least. Sapa is one such destination. To travel Vietnam by train and not stop in Sapa is a big mistake. Besides being one of the most beautiful tourist attractions in Vietnam, it has a rich nightlife and pictures for everyone. Stop in for some of the best cuisine that the reagion has to offer.
Hue is another must see destination when you travel in Vietnam by train. Hue is well-known for its charming and peaceful city in the central of Vietnam. This is no surprise considering the overall appeal of the city and its historical richness. Be sure to visit one of the wonderful cafés that line most of the central streets.
Finally you will want to stop in at Saigon - the largest city in Vietnam. Saigon provides something for everyone. The night is always alive in Saigon with nightclubs and jazz centers as well as great theater and film houses. Do not leave until you have visited some of the fine restaurants in the area as well. You will not regret it for sure.
Next time you take a vacation be sure to check into a package that will allow you to travel Vietnam by train. Not only will you travel to some of the finest locations across the continent, you will do so in high style and comfort, not having to worry about long lines to get through an airport terminal.
Happy Travels!

Tourism industry urged to keep pushing

More than five million international tourists travelled to Viet Nam in 2010 – the highest number for 20 years. Last year, the domestic tourism industry also posted significant growth of 35 per cent.


Viet Nam News spoke to Vu The Binh, chairman of the Viet Nam Travel Association and former head of the Viet Nam National Administration of Tourism's Travel Department, on the industry's development plans for this year.

What can you say about the tourism industry's achievements last year?

Welcoming the five-millionth tourist was an historical landmark and a new page in the sector's development. We have waited a long time for this moment.

It was the result of ongoing efforts by tourism companies and provincial authorities' promotional campaigns, most notably the "Viet Nam Impression" programme and the Government's incentive policies. Things don't happen overnight. It takes time for these promotional campaigns to reach holiday-makers.

There's a widely held belief that tourism numbers don't mean anything. That is simply not true. By attracting so many visitors, we have affirmed our presence in the regional and world tourism markets. I really hope this achievement will provide the impetus for even more development this year. We have achieved a positive result compared with other regional countries and should strive to do more this year.

The five millionth visitor was from China. Can you read anything into this?

China is an important tourism market. Out of a population of more than one billion, 50 million travel overseas each year. It is therefore understandable that we pay appropriate attention to this market. It is not just Viet Nam but many other Asian countries that strive to attract visitors from China. It was formally believed that most of the Chinese visitors that came to Viet Nam came through the border gates. This situation changed in 2010. There was a two-fold increase in the number of Chinese tourists travelling by air.

What should the sector do this year to further boost visitor-numbers?

There are many things to do this year. Top priority should be given to creating new tourism products that focus on adventure, marine and cultural tourism. In my opinion, product diversification is the key to attracting more visitors.

Improving the training of tourism staff is also vital to the industry's development. Currently, it lags behind the tourism services offered by other regional countries. The industry needs to co-ordinate more closely with universities to boost standards.

In addition, there need to be more tax incentives and further investment by the Government to upgrade infrastructure facilities.

Last but not least, the industry should continue to invest in tourism promotion with a focus on traditional markets such as Japan, South Korea, Southeast Asia and Western Europe, while continuing to implement the "Viet Nam-Your Destination" campaign to attract high-end spenders.

Source: VNS

Khanh Hoa welcomes great number of tourists

Photo: VOV
Over 25,000 tourists flocked to the central province of Khanh Hoa during the first three days of 2011, up more than 20 percent over the same period last year.


According to the provincial Culture, Sports and Tourism Department report, of the total, foreign visitors rose by almost 80 percent. The province’s tourism sector earned VND22 billion in revenues.


On January 4, the Ocean Princess cruise liner from Hong Kong including 750 tourists aboard arrived in Nha Trang Port, marking the start of a high-class international seaway tourism in Khanh Hoa Province this year.

Last year, Khanh Hoa Province welcomed 15 cruise ships with 16,000 foreign tourists.

According to the Culture, Sports and Tourism Department of Khanh Hoa Province, 2010 is the year that Khanh Hoa Province attracted the greatest number of foreign tourists, which reached 390,000, up 30 percent over 2009.


VNN/VOV/VNA

On golden pond

A group of my friends from the US recently travelled to the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta, home to Tra Vinh's legendary Ba Om Pond. While there, they visited Ang Pagoda which people claim is the best vantage point from which to enjoy the beautiful scenery of the pond.


Tree-lined drive: The Ba Om Pond complex in the Mekong Delta province of Tra Vinh. — File Photos
Located on the outskirts of Tra Vinh Town, the pagoda complex is a fortress that offers travellers an escape from the heat and dust of Road 52.


One of the group, Duong Quang Chan, an overseas Vietnamese businessman, who has lived in the US for years, was returning on this occasion to seek out business opportunities and said he was considering a tourism project in Tra Vinh, which also happened to be his grandmother's birthplace.


"As we arrived at the complex, we were amazed by the century-old trees. From a distance, their strange stumps looked like giant snakes heading for the sky," said Chan.


The soft whispering of the trees combined with the low murmur of Buddhist monks reciting the scriptures from a distant pagoda to create a blissful atmosphere for those wanting to meditate, he said.


A local photographer Huynh Van Hung said that a great flood may have swept through the area long time ago, shaping it and marking the old trees.


Sitting on a hammock strung between two old stumps, Hung said visitors often come here to enjoy the view of peaceful Ba Om Pond, famed for its pure water.


Hung said although visitors have their own camera they still ask him to photograph the view.


Ba Om Pond is called a square pond, but is actually 300m wide and 500m long. The pond is carpeted with water lilies and lotus flowers which bloom white and purple every summer.


The legendary pond was formed as a result of a bet between young ethnic Khmer men and women. The exact date is unknown but according to the elderly monks known by the Tra Vinh Khmer as Luc Masters, the pond was formed about 500 to 600 years ago.


Nguyen Thu Anh, a guide at the Tra Vinh Khmer Museum, said that long ago Khmer society was matriarchal. Young women had to find partners and present betrothal gifts to the bridegroom's family. This habit made the young men selfish and they asked for gifts of ever increasing value.


Fairyland: Ang Pagoda, a marvellous Khmer pagoda, welcomes a million visitors a year.
Tiring of this, leader of a women's group, a lady called Om, sought approval from officials in the region for men to do what women had been doing for centuries. The clever official asked the two groups to dig one pond each. They were to be a kilometre apart. Whoever finished first would be the winner and could ask the other group to do their bidding.


This decision would benefit the entire region, as two big ponds contained a great deal of water, which was much needed in the dry season.


In a story that mirrors the fable of the turtle and the rabbit, the group led by Om pretended that they was not up to the task and tried to shelter from the sunshine. Om responded by asking some of these lazy women to lure the men by holding a party to last all day and night.


While half of her group were busy with the men, the others lit torches and dig all night. Their pond was finished by the next morning and took her name. The unfinished men's pond can still be seen at the site of Pras Tropeang Pagoda.


There is another legend which states that the two are natural ponds and that both were there before the Khmer settled in Tra Vinh. Indeed, many Khmer people still use the name Srar Cu (twin ponds) when talking about the ponds. The name Ba Om (Lady Om) is also one way of pronouncing the name of the vegetable which grows naturally around the pond. The cows in the region love this vegetable, and their flesh is very tasty as a result. Visitors can try this special beef in food stores in the region.


The Ba Om Pond complex was recognised as a national historical-cultural relic in 1996. It is popular site for Khmer festivals, especially the Ok Om Bok, which takes place in the middle of the tenth lunar month. At that time, the Khmer of the entire Mekong Delta gather there to host traditional customs and games.


Dang Phuoc Tho, director of the Provincial Cultural Centre, said the festival was held for people to express thanks to the moon for good weather and a good harvest.


Last lunar month nearly 30,000 local and foreign visitors watched a boat race on the Ba Om Pond as part of this festival. The event attracted 500 boatmen from the province and eight boats competed over 700m and 1,500m.


The boats, called ghe ngo, are pirogues crafted from tree trunks. They have a curved head and tail and are managed by skilful boatmen.


On the night of the festival, family members gather before the communal pagoda or in their houses, preparing a feast with farm produce like green rice flakes which are the speciality of the Khmer people, ripe bananas, fresh coconuts and mangoes. These are all offered to the moon.


As the moon rises, the ceremony begins. Family members sit on the ground, hands clasped. An elderly man expresses the village's gratitude and recites prayers for continued good crops and good health.


After the ceremony, everyone joins hands and looks at the moon. They receive green rice flakes from the elderly man and make a wish. People then release paper lanterns into the sky and banana-tree rafts decorated with colourful lights and loaded with offerings are set adrift on the river.


Tran Hoang Be, director of the Tra Vinh Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said the province plans to invest billions of dong to expand the Ba Om Pond culture-tourism complex to 84ha. It will include a Khmer museum, a sports centre, a service-trade and a tourism centre.


The aim is to attract more visitors to the area by preserving and improving the site's original landscape, said Be.

The site welcomes millions of visitors every year.


VietNamNet/Viet Nam News

Vietnam welcomes first foreign visitors for 2011

Hundreds of visitors from many countries were warmly welcomed at the Noi Bai and Tan Son Nhat International Airports in the morning of January 1 2011.

From the early morning, officials of the HCM City Department of Tourism were at the Tan Son Nhat Airport to welcome 160 visitors from Taiwan on a flight of Vietnam Airlines, who arrived at the airport at 9.30am.

Not so long after that, 300 visitors from the US, Britain, France and the Netherlands arrived at the airport from a flight from Hong Kong.

Welcomed by flowers, gifts and congratulations from tourism officials as well as traditional dances and songs, many tourists were very surprised.

“Friendly and thoughtfully welcoming is the way we impress international visitors and improve the images of HCM City and Vietnamese people in the eyes of international friends,” said HCM City Department of Tourism’s deputy director La Quoc Khanh.

The same day, Vietnamese airlines and travel firms welcomed their first foreign visitors.

Saigontourist welcomed a group of eight Australian visitors at the Noi Bai airport. They came to Vietnam for a 17-day tour. On December 31, Saigontourist also greeted 750 visitors in a cruise ship named Europa in Ha Long.

Vietravel also welcomed its first 27 foreign visitors of 2011 from Italy, who will travel Saigon – Phu Quoc – Hoi An – Hue – Hanoi – Ha Long – Sapa within 13 days. Vietravel organized a special New year party on Phu Quoc Island for them.

Welcoming the first foreign visitors was the first event of many in the tourism sector to advertise the image of Vietnam in 2011.

PV

 

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