Promotions launched to resume Thailand tourism

LookAtVietnam - Vietnamese travel agencies have resumed tours to Thailand since the beginning of June 2010, offering many attractive promotion programs.

The Government of Thailand is making every effort to recover the tourism industry that suffered from the recent political uncertainties. In April and May, the number of tourists to Thailand every day decreased by 12,000-14,000 in comparison with last year.

Discounts galore

On June 2, 2010, Saigontourist joined forces with Thai Airways, Vietnam Airlines and Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) to launch a promotional program to tour Bangkok and Pattaya for six days, flying with Vietnam Airlines. Travelers pay only $175, not including $110 worth of taxes and airport fees. The tours depart from HCM City on June 9, 13, 15, 17 and 19. Other 5-day tours from Hanoi to Bangkok and Pattaya with Thai Airways have cost $319, departing on June 12, 16, 20 and 26.

Saigontourist also has 5-day tours to Supatra Land Orchard for $319, departing Hanoi on June 12, 16, 20 and 26 and 5-day tours of Thailand and Vimanmek Palace for $150, departing in HCM City on June 2, 4, 6, 8,10, 12, 12, 16 and 18.

Vietravel has offered to discount one million dong per traveler for those who go to Thailand in June. The 5-day Bangkok – Pattaya tour is 2.7-2.9 million dong per traveler, not including tax, departing every Friday, and a 6-day Bangkok – Pattays tour for 3-4 million dong without tax, departing daily.

TST Tourist and Thai Airways have organized tours on the occasion of 50^th birthday of the air carrier. The Bangkok – Pattaya tour departs on June 9, 10 and 17 for 2.9 million dong, while the tour on June 13 costs 3.6 million dong.

Ben Thanh Tourist will resume tours to Thailand this week. Ta Thi Cam Vinh, Head of the Outbound Tour Division of Ben Thanh Tourist, revealed that they will offer sales promotions to attract travelers. The Bangkok – Pattaya tour will last five days and four nights for $260 per traveler, a decrease of $50 from the previous rate.

From June 7, Fiditour offers a discount of $30 for the first 100 customers who register for tours to Thailand. Travelers will pay only $310 for the Bangkok – Pattaya six days/ five nights package, departing every Tuesday and Sunday.

Thanh Nien Travel Firm will maintain its tour prices at $318-328 per traveler, but has an itinerary with new excursion points.

Thailand still popular

Though tours to Thailand have just been resumed at the beginning of June, travel agents reported that a lot of clients have asked for information about Thailand and also booked tours.

Nguyen Minh Man, Acting Head of Vietravel Communication Division, revealed that, since June 2, when Vietravel officially resumedtours to Thailand, 300 clients have booked trips. Every day, Vietravel serves two groups of 25-40 travelers departing to Thailand.

TST Tourist, which has restarted tours to Thailand since May 29, reported that more than 500 customers have booked tours to Thailand. Saigontourist brought 30 travelers to Thailand on June 2 and will bring another 50 travelers on June 8.

A Saigontourist representative noted that the firm has brought 3000 travelers to Thailand so far this year.

Man of Vietravel observed that the number of travelers to Thailand has not decreased considerably in comparison with the same period of 2009, while the number of bookings increases day after day.

Huynh My Yen, Director of Thien Nhien Travel Firm, calculated that the firm will begin leading travelers to Thailand on June 11. Five groups of travelers, with 20-60 travelers each, have booked tours.

Phan Thanh Tam from Thanh Nien Travel Firm characterized the number of travelers to Thailand as very high. With a limited number of tickets, the firm must organize tours on additional days to serve clients.

Man affirmed that many Vietnamese people are interested in touring Thailand and believes that tourist numbers will increase sharply after the interruption.

Source: Thoi bao Kinh te Saigon

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Con Son - Kiep Bac complex, a sacred place to visit

VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnam is a country with many legendary places of built during its long 4,000 year history. Among them is Con Son - Kiep Bac. Countless pilgrims and tourists around the country have made the journey to the sacred region of Con Son - Kiep Bac. The gate of Kiep Bac Temple in the northern province of Hai Duong. Con Son consists of Ky Lan Mountain, Ngu Nhac Mountain and Con Son Lake. It is a gravel mountain of about 200 meters high, bearing a resemblance to a resting lion with a shrine on the top. Its 238-meter northern ridge adjoins Ngu Nhac Mountain and the three mountain peaks rising look like a unicorn kneeling, hence its nick-name Ky Lan (kylin). Con Son Pagoda, also known as Hun Pagoda or Thien Tu Phuc Monastery, is located in Cong Hoa Commune, Chi Linh District in the northern province of Hai Duong. It was built in the 13th century and repaired and expanded with more intricate features in the 17th and 18th centuries. The pagoda which has undergone several restorations during recent years, has 83 rooms with 385 statues; some of which are two to three meters tall. The first statue to come into sight is the 3 meters high Amida statue, on a large pedestal in the pagoda. Behind the pagoda and separated by a small yard in an ancestor house are statues of Truc Lam (Bamboo Forest) three ancestors (Tran Nhan Tong - Phap Lao - Huyen Quang) and Tran Nguyen Dan and his wife. In addition, other two statues have just been identified as the statues of the great national hero Nguyen Trai and his concubine Nguyen Thi Lo. The tower-grave is located behind the pagoda, by the path leading to the mountain and under the green canopy of large trees. The five meter high Dang Minh Bao Thap (Dang Minh Tower) was built with blue stones at the site of the grave Huyen Quang scholar. A statue of the scholar is inside the tower. The pagoda was ranked as a national relic for the first time in 1962 and then recorded as a very important relic to be preserved 32 years later, in 1994. Behind the tower-grave is a wide path with ancient pine trees growing on both sides and footsteps leading to the peak of the mountain. Censers spread their sweet fragrance and the clumps of peonies with dark blue leaves blossom into blazing red flowers at the formerly Buddhist hermitage. On the way up Ky Lan Mountain visitors can call at Gieng Ngoc (pearl well), known as the eye of the kylin, at the foot is Dang Minh Bao Thap. At the peak is Am Bach Van (White Cloud Temple) where the hero Nguyen Trai lived at the end of his life. Next to it is Ban Co Tien (fairy chessboard) and several other large flagstones called "immortal chessboards" by local residents. Legend has it that old men come down from the sky to play chess here. The stone path down to the base of the mountain leads to a huge smooth, flat rock beside the spring called Thach Ban. Some kilometers to the west is Kiep Bac Temple, the estate and garrisoning camp of Tran Hung Dao after the first victory over the Yuan invaders in 1258. Every year from the 15th to 20th days of the eighth lunar month, tens of thousands of people throughout the country come here to attend the Kiep Bac Temple Festival. The province of Hai Duong, being aware of the importance of the historical site, will spend VND1.27 trillion between now and 2025 to restore and expand the area to total area of 8,300 hectares to make it an attractive tourism and historic center, according to Vietnam News Agency. The management board has announced that Kiep Bac Temple Festival will be restored with all its traditional rituals during 2008-2009 to be ready for a national festival in 2010. (Source: SGT)

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Fish stories abound at Vietnam Seafood Festival

VietNamNet Bridge – A 34kg tra catfish, a 0.5kg shrimp, etc. are prizewinners displayed at the first Vietnam Seafood Festival in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho.

The 34kg tra catfish.

The 34kg tra catfish, owned by Mrs. Nguyen Thi Thu Cuc in Can Tho city, is recognized as the largest catfish in Vietnam.

Cuc bought this fish from a catfish farm in the southern province of An Giang. Initially the fish is only 14kg in weight but after 20 years, it weighs up to 34kg.

The giant shrimp.

The biggest basa catfish in Vietnam is 12kg in weight, 94cm in length, owned by the Can Tho-based Bien Dong Seafood Company. The firm caught this fish in the Mekong River and has bred it for over ten years.

A shrimp of 510gr, 35cm is recognized as the largest shrimp in Vietnam. This shrimp comes from a breeding shrimp farm in Can Tho.

Other special creatures are a 30kg fish and a giant crayfish.

PV

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Squatters threaten prize relics

LookAtVietnam - Many relics and other popular sites in the southern province of Kien Giang have been taken over by trespassers and squatters despite authorities efforts to protect them.

Tourists at Mui Nai Beach. Restaurants discharging untreated wastewater are polluting the beach while historical sites in the area are under threat from squatters and tresspassers.

The Mo So Mountain in Kien Luong District, for instance, was recognised as a national historical site in 1985 and its caves with beautiful stalactites are a popular destination for local and international tourists.

But the path to the mountain has dozens of shops selling food and souvenir. Around 50m from the foot, people have illegally built houses and there is a small canal full of sewage and rubbish.

According to national heritage laws, Zone 1, the main historical site, is afforded the highest protection, with Zone 2 being the places surrounding the main site.

Both areas should be preserved in their original states. Any construction to support or protect the sites should be approved by the authorities.

According to the province’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, there are 35 historical sites in the locality, including 22 that are recognised as national sites and 13 as provincial sites.

Nine of them have been abused for a long time. Zone I, which has the highest sanctity, has people living in the caves. During the war against the US, the caves were used for making weapons, but now Nguyen Van Tu and his family live in one of them.

“I have lived here since 2000. The cave is wide and spacious and I would love to open a restaurant here,” Tu said, adding that all his family’s activities take place in the cave.

His younger brother’s family lives in another cave. Tuoi Tre newspaper reported recently that the families had built toilets near the mountain, causing severe pollution.

According to the Kien Luong District historical relic and beautiful sites management board, 53 families live in the historical relic area, including seven that lived there before the sites were recognised asnational heritage.

Worse is around the corner where Holcim Cement has begun to mine rocks 100m from the site.

Nguyen Minh Ke, head of the management board, said: “In the near future, other limestone mountains near Mo So will be quarried and razed to the ground, leaving the historical site standing alone. A natural site is only beautiful if it is located in an appropriate setting.”

A recent inspection by the province’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism found many stalls selling souvenirs and food right in front of Thach Dong Cave, littering and polluting the site.

Mui Nai Landscape, one of the 10 most beautiful sites in the province’s Ha Tien city, is also being abused by restaurants that discharge untreated wastewater.

Nguyen Chi Nhan, the department’s deputy chief inspector, said inspectors from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism have instructed the restaurants several times to build waste-treatment systems to make sure no untreated waste water is released into the surroundings, but to no avail.

Source: Vietnam New

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Ancient crater still holds water

LookAtVietnam - Pleiku City in the central highlands province of Gia Lai is famous for its magnificent waterfalls, green forests, rugged mountains and charming lakes, of which Bien Ho is a must-see destination for tourists to the city.

A view of Bien Ho in Pleiku City. (Photo: SGT)

About six kilometers north of Pleiku City, Bien Ho, or Sea Lake, is a crater that has been dormant for millions of years. Its surface area is about 250 hectares and its average depth is from 20 to 40 meters.

A visit to Bien Ho and its surrounding mountains and pines is an escape from the chaos of the city. There is a watchtower affording spectacular mountain views and simple boats for hire to cruise around the giant lake for an amazing summer experience.

Bien Ho is an eco-tourist site for nature lovers, a romantic rendezvous for couples and a provider of water for hundreds of locals. This lake has never been known to dry up.

To reach Pleiku City, book with a travel agent on Pham Ngu Lao Street or catch a bus from Mien Dong Bus Station for around VND200,000.

VietNamNet/SGT

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