Three cruise ships land at Ha Long Bay

Three five-star cruise ships arrived at Ha Long Bay, Quang Ninh province on February 28 and March 1. From the bay, thousands of international tourists will flock out to visit landscapes in Vietnam.

Arcadia, which departed from Britain and traveled through many countries before coming to Vietnam,

is the biggest among the three ships that landed at Ha Long Bay, with 1,600 visitors.

It moored at the Bai Chay Port on February 28 afternoon.

At 7 pm of February 28, 1,600 visitors were divided into two groups, 800 to Hanoi and 800 to HCM City.

At 8 am of March 1, another five-star ship named Seabourn Sojourne landed at the Cai Lan Port.

The ship carried more than 400 tourists to visit Ha Long Bay after a two-day journey from Hong Kong.

Earlier, this ship passed by many other countries.

The first visitors who stepped out from the Seabourn Sojourne were Maurice Karr and Bucakaton from Tennessee.

Silvia and Emilio from Puerto Rico.

On the morning of March 1, Ha Long Bay welcomed another ship named Coasta Classica with 1,500 visitors.

The local authorities will call for these visitors to vote for Ha Long Bay as one of the seven new world natural wonders.

Source: VNE

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Tourists complain about shortage of high-class services

More Russian tourists are coming to Vietnam and using luxurious services. Some complained that they didn’t find places to spend money in Vietnam.

Hoang Huu Loc, Deputy director of Saigontourist, said that many Russian tourists don’t travel a lot in Vietnam. They prefer to go to resorts and are willing to pay for high-class services.

According to Loc, Russian tourists often request high-class services, from accommodations to food, vehicles, etc. Their spending is always much higher than tourists from other countries.

Andrey Matveev, Director of Top Tour, one of the top ten travel firms in Russia, said that with high economic growth in Russia in recent years, many Russian people have extremely high income. The demand for overseas travel is abundant and they are willing to pay. Many Russian tourists came to Vietnam on leased flights and they hired helicopters to visit Ha Long Bay.

Khlyakhovoy Andrey, Chair of the Far East Bank, who led a group of 170 Russian tourists who came to Vietnam on a leased flight, said that if Vietnam boosts advertisement in Russia, he was sure that many Russia would go to Vietnam.

On a flight from Phu Quoc Island in Kien Giang province back to HCM City, Valentin Andreev, a businessman from Novosibirsk city, said that the one unsatisfactory thing of his family vacation in Phu Quoc was “There is nothing to spend money for” and his family planned to spend a lot of money in their tour.

In Mui Ne (Binh Thuan province), which annually attracts more than 50,000 Russian visitors, many resorts are built to serve Russian only. However, they lack staff who can speak Russian. There is only one licensed tour guide who speaks Russian in Binh Thuan.

Russia is among 15 key markets of the Vietnam tourism industry. The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) aims to attract 350,000 Russian visitors in 2015, equivalent to the market for French tourists.

Since late 2008, Russian visitors have been exempt from visas to Vietnam. Last year Vietnam welcomed 100,000 Russian tourists.

PV

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Learning Vietnamese... to be continued

I have friends who’ve lived here for much longer than me who cannot speak a word of Vietnamese. Really. If you’ve lived here for more than 5 years and cannot order a Sinh tố dừa, something’s wrong.

Brian Webb

Let me back up, in case I seem like a hypocrite. There is a Christian saying that goes something like, “People who live in a glass house should not throw stones.” I live in a glass house. My Vietnamese is terrible.

It is very easy to live in Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City, only speaking English. Whether you’re an English teacher or a lawyer, it is easy to isolate yourself in an English bubble, saying that Vietnamese is too difficult to learn. I would really like to avoid this.

Anyway, until i can write a column in Vietnamese, by myself, without the help of a translator, I will feel like a small child in Vietnam. No, worse than that. Small children can convey their basic needs, tell when they are happy or unhappy, and why. I cannot do this... yet.

But this desire for language is not about writing, specifically, or even speaking. The real reason is that so many things in this country remain a mystery to me.

These mysteries are small but numerous. For example, why is it okay for Vietnamese men to be so close physically; touching, holding hands, even sitting on each other’s laps and hugging? But, from conversations I’ve had, the issue of homosexuality is taboo.

(I hesitated to write that, because, after my first post, talking about how I would never be married, it might cast some doubt on my own sexuality. So, as an aside, I’ll share one more personal detail. I’ve had a relationship with a girl in America for more than 11 years. This, as all things, must come to an end, in one way or another. But I doubt that it will end in marriage.)

Another mystery, among so many, is religion. I’ve heard many Western people talk about this as well. Ostensibly, this is a Buddhist country. But it seems most people don’t adhere to strict Buddhism. Through foreign eyes, it seems that people go to pagodas when they want to pass an exam, have a baby, or on certain special days.

Maybe this is a misunderstanding on my part. Probably it is! But when I first came here I’d been a vegetarian for 17 years. I thought, since Vietnam is a Buddhist country, it would be easy for me to stick to my non-meat diet. Now I laugh at this, because I’ve started eating meat here out of necessity.

I only bring up these ‘mysteries’ to make a point. The key to unlocking them, and finding a deeper understanding of this culture is to learn the language.

I do have a bit more confidence than before. Last year, I went back to California for 6 months. When I left, I could not even speak to a shopkeeper, outside of numbers: 1,2, 30,000. 40,000, whatever.

When I returned from my trip, something had happened! Sometimes a person would ask me a question in Vietnamese and, to my surprise, a complete sentence would come out of my mouth, without thinking. Not a long or complex sentence. Not at all. But the person would understand me. It was almost as if a little bit of Vietnamese had sunk into my ears, and into my brain without my knowing.

I don’t want to mislead you, my Vietnamese still sucks. But these small steps are tremendously encouraging for a learner. They make me believe, at my best moments, that someday - dare I say it? - I may be able to speak Vietnamese as well as the famous Mr. Joe.

I’m getting ahead of myself.

But this will be the key to unlocking all the mystery, beauty and uniqueness of Vietnamese culture.

Believe me, I will keep you posted on my progress and difficulties in learning your ancient and subtle language. Also, it can go both ways. Many Vietnamese people want to learn English. They will face similar obstacles.

I hope that we could face and surmount these difficulties together, with good humor.

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One commune in Central Vietnam is “Cajuput kingdom”

For hundreds of years, Loc Thuy Commune, in the central province of Thua Thien- Hue, has been famous for producing cajuput oil.

The oil not only has an attractive fragrance, but is also very useful in easing aches and pains.

A cajuput oil bottle

Nguyen Van Hao, owner of a cajuput oil production facility, said, “In the past, the Loc Thuy region had forests of cajuput. When locals burned the wood, they noticed the pleasant smell. This is what incited the idea to produce the oil, and from then its medicinal qualities were discovered."

Another local, Truong Diep, who has done this job since he was small, shared some of his secrets. The cajuput leaves have to be cooked in a pot for for 5 hours. The ratio must be two parts leaves and one part water. It is also necessary to keep a steady burning flame, because if it gets too hot it could weaken the oil’s properties.

A 200ml bottle of oil, made from 150 kilogrammes of cajuput leaf, is sold at VND60,000 (USD2.94). Diep often prepares 2-3 batches of oil per day, when there are a lot of customers. But when customers are few, he reduces his output.

A truck driver, Hoang Van Toan, from Thai Nguyen Province, said whenever he travels through Phu Loc District, he buys the oil. “It makes me feel more comfortable when I get tired while driving.”

Loc Thuy Commune has 12 cajuput oil producers and hundreds of sales stalls along the National Highway 1A, even near the town of Lang Co, adjacent to Danang City.

The yellow bottles are a regular feature on the stretch of highway running through Loc Thuy

The cajuput trees in this region are of especially high quality. At one time people preferred imported medicinal oils such as Tiger Balms, but many investors have recognised the potential of this region of their native product. In the last 10 years, cajuput oil have become increasingly popular among local buyers.

Pure oil of cajuput sold beside National Highway 1A

Fresh cajuput branches

A cajuput oil pot being cooked

Leaves are put into a pot with water, the pot covered with a clay lid. Eventually the liquid overflows into a bottle

Afterwards, the bottle is submerged in cold water to make it solid and then the oil is decanted

There are two types of oil: white and yellow

Many products can be made from this oil, such as belts and backpads that help ease pains.

Many local children occupy themselves by collecting the leaves

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Vietnam tourism promoted in Dubai

A conference to promote Vietnamese tourism was jointly held by the Vietnamese Embassy in UAE, the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, the Vietnam Airlines and the Sharaf Travel in Dubai on February 23.

Speaking at the conference, the Vietnamese Ambassador, Nguyen Quang Khai, reviewed the industry’s achievements over the past years.

Despite the global financial crisis, the number of tourists coming to Vietnam reached 5.1 million in 2010, an increase of 20% over 2009, bringing US$ 4.5 billion of revenue to the country.

The ambassador encouraged UAE travel agencies to operate tours in Vietnam and pledged that the embassy will cooperate with Vietnamese travel companies to offer preferential conditions for UAE tourists.

Participants at the conference praised the country’s fast development in the industry and expressed their wishes to strengthen their cooperation with Vietnam.

(Source: VOV)

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