Posted by admin on January 18, 2011 under Vietnam festival, Vietnam tour, Vietnam travel News | 
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An increasing number of well-off Vietnamese have chosen to celebrate Tet abroad. That trend is expected to continue this Lunar New Year.
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Viet Nam’s first eight day Tet ( Lunar New Year) holiday has created favourable conditions for local and overseas Vietnamese to enjoy the longest Tet, starting on February 3.
Popular destinations abroad at this time of year when the weather is cool or cold in much of the country are Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea and Hong Kong – where the weather is more inviting. Meanwhile, those with relations abroad often take the opportunity afforded by the long annual holiday to visit family and friends in the US, Australia and Europe.
Hon Thom on Phu Quoc Island in the southern province of Kien Giang attracts thousands of tourists a year.
My Hanh, who works for a foreign firm in Viet Nam, said her four-member family plans to enjoy Tet in Thailand.
“My two daughters and I are shopping addicts so we are very much looking forward to going to Thailand. We plan to spend all day and night shopping during our four days in the country,” Hanh said, adding that celebrating Tet abroad offers a welcome escape from domestic chores.
Hanh said that when she celebrates Tet here in Ha Noi she has to spend days shopping for food in overcrowded markets.
“I have to work very hard and it’s exhausting. This Tet will be different. Apart from being able to shop for clothes, I will have time to relax and read books, which I adore doing,” she said.
She said “I’ve already asked my mother-in-law to help me prepare traditional dishes to worship our ancestors for the last evening of the old lunar year and the first day of the new year,” Hanh said.
Meanwhile, Hoang Quan, who lives in Ha Noi’s Tu Liem District, has booked a holiday in Japan where his daughter is studying.
Visitors enjoy colourful flowers on a bank of Xuan Huong Lake in the Central Highlands city of Da Lat.
“I had to book a five-day tour to Tokyo at the start of this month to be sure of being able to get tickets in the run-up to Tet,” Quan said.
“My wife is a pagoda goer so it’s a good chance for her to explore and see how things differ in Japan,” Quan said.
Despite being relatively well off, he still worries about hefty shopping bills.
“It doesn’t matter. We will spend our time shopping at the Japanese yen 100-per-item shops.”
Duong Quang Phong and his family from Los Angeles plan to return to Viet Nam for Tet.
Phong said he had already booked a seven-day tour to Phu Quoc Island beginning on the second day of the Lunar New Year.
“Our six-member family will celebrate Tet on the island by ordering banh chung (square sticky rice cake) and many other traditional specialities such as nem ran (fried meat roll), dua hanh (pickled welsh onion) and canh mang (bamboo shoots cooked with pig’s trotters). We’ve rarely tasted these dishes since we settled in the US in the 80s.
“Spring tours over Tet will be more comfortable and interesting because tourism sites will not be as crowded as during the peak season in summer. The cool weather in the south will make our tour more enjoyable. We are looking forward to exploring the island’s natural beauty, as well as relaxing,” Phong said.
Like Phong, other overseas Vietnamese plan to return to Viet Nam for the holiday. Most have booked tours to popular destinations such as Ha Long Bay, Sa Pa, Ninh Binh, Da Nang, Nha Trang, Da Lat, Hue, and Hoi An, said Nguyen Cong Hoan, deputy director of Ha Noi Redtour.
“Despite the fact that prices are 5-10 per cent more this Tet compared with last year, almost of our tours have been fully booked,” he said.
To meet increasing Tet demand, Viettravel, Fiditour and Ben Thanh Tourist have put on extra tours from the 28th and 29th of the 12th lunar month until the 4th of Lunar New Year.
Saigontourist is expecting 15,000 visitors, an increase of 15 per cent compared with last year, a company manager said.
But Hoan warned that holiday-makers should be wary of unlicensed tour operators. He said they were typically 20-25 per cent cheaper than those offered by mainstream operators, but that standards were suspect.
“Some of them have even tried to ‘resell’ their customers to other tour operators for a profit,” Hoan said.
Last year, the country’s tourism sector welcomed 5 million foreign travellers and 28 million local guests.
Source: VNS
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Posted by admin on January 17, 2011 under Vietnam tour, Vietnam travel News |
As many people are preparing to travel for Tet, many travel firms complain that they are missing big business opportunities because they are unable to satisfy the demand.
The 2011 New Year holiday will be a long eight days which promises big business opportunities for travel agencies because people are likely to take full advantage of the long holiday to travel far away from home. A lot of people have been trying to contact travel firms to book tours, but they have been told that travel firms cannot accept any more bookings. The problem lies in the fact that travel firms were not previously aware of the scheduled Tet holiday, and were not prepared for serving such a high number of travellers.
Under the current Labor Code, employees can have four days off for Tet, December 30th of the old lunar year (the day just before the New Year), and the first three days of the new year. However, in many years, the four days off are followed by Saturday and Sunday, therefore, Tet seems to last longer. Moreover, the government has decided that employees will have two more days off for Tet, provided that they work on the Saturday and Sunday the week before Tet. As such, people will have eight consecutive days off.
However, the Tet holiday schedule was only recently announced by the government and travel firms are unable to react quickly to the announcement. They were not prepared to serve many clients this year because they thought the holiday would be not long enough for far trips.
Nguyen The Khai, Director of Hoan My Travel Firm, said that his firm has stopped accepting new bookings since January 1, 2011, but a lot of people still have contacted him over the last week to book tour for Tet. Khai said that he has to refuse the clients, because the company has also prepared air tickets, hotel rooms, restaurants and other services for about 2500 travellers this Tet.
“Every day, about 20-30 clients come to ask for booking tours, but we do not have more tours to sell. It is a real pity but we have no other choice. If we had known the Tet holiday schedule earlier, we would have been prepared more business opportunities,” Khai told Thoi bao Kinh te Saigon on January 12.
At Fiditourist, the preparation for serving 20,000 travellers on Tet holiday (an increase of 20 percent in comparison with the previous year) was kicked off several months ago. A representative of Fiditour also said that many clients come to book tours these days, but the firm does not dare to accept deposit money from clients. “We just promise to contact the clients later, while we try to look for services,” he said.
“We did not anticipate that the number of tourists would increase so sharply, so were not prepared to serve them,” said Dang Trung Nghia, Deputy Director of Fiditour.
“In general, we have to prepare to serve travellers for several months in advance. Therefore, the tardy announcement about the Tet holiday schedule makes us unable to contrive,” he explained.
According to him, it is impossible to look for air tickets for flights abroad. Meanwhile, as for domestic tours, it will be difficult to find both flights and hotel rooms. In fact, there are still seats available for tours to the north. However, local residents in the south who have heard about the chilling cold weather in Hanoi, hesitate to go to Hanoi.
As for the tours on Tet, very few travellers depart before Tet. In general, they spend the first two days at home with family members and only depart on the third day of the lunar new year. However, there are many people, who want to go travelling before Tet and return home on the new year. It is regrettable that travel firms do not have the chance to serve the clients.
“If only the government had announced the Tet holiday schedule six months ago, travel firms would have more business opportunities. We could have designed some tours for the travellers who wanted to depart before Tet,” said Luu Dinh Phuc, Director of Viettour. “Now we don’t have no other choice than sitting and watching the opportunities pass by”.
Like other travel firms, Saigontourist also regrets knowing the Tet holiday schedule too late. On the day when the schedule was announced, Saigontourist launched 50 tours with the departure time before Tet. To date, the firm has received the booking from eight groups of tourists with 30-65 travellers for each group. 15,000 travellers have bought tours for Tet at Saigontourist. This only includes the clients who have paid, and if counting the clients who have reserved seats, the number would be higher.
Currently the firm reportedly only has some seats available for tours to Phan Thiet, Nha Trang, Da Lat (by land) and some tours to the north – Hanoi, Ha Long, Ninh Binh and Sa pa (by air). The seats for outbound tours are rare. Only some 10 seats are unoccupied for the tours to the Philippines which will depart on the first day of the New Year, seven seats for the tour to Singapore which will depart on the new year’s eve and 15 seats for the tour to Singapore-Malaysia which will depart on the fifth day of the new year.
Source: Thoi bao Kinh te Saigon
(Collected by Vietnam hotel)
Posted by admin on January 3, 2011 under Attractions, Vietnam Travel in the South, Vietnam tour, Vietnam travel News |
The day trip to Cloud Lake Cultural and Ecotourism on Big Mountain in Vung Tau City left us enjoyably confused and a bit dizzy from all the carousel rides. It is one of those places that makes you wonder? How did the South African ostriches and Caribbean Pine trees end up there? What role did the radar play in the war? All the questions have answers in the brochure about Nui Lon, Nui Nho (Big and Small Mountain) in Vung Tau.
As you approach Vung Tau via hydrofoil (VND200,000 one way) or mini bus (VND60,000 with TV entertainment) from Saigon you will notice the cable car ride up Big Mountain. The European designed cable cars offer a smooth ride and their colorful lights can be seen at night from all over Vung Tau. It is the most convenient way to access one of Vung Tau’s main attractions for VND100,000 return including a car tour around the mountain and a brief introduction.
It is difficult to categorize Cloud Lake because it has a bit of everything but not much of anything. It is not a theme park because there are only a few rides including a Rocking Boat and a traditional merry-go-around for VND10,000 a ticket. It is not a zoo because it’s only got ostriches and monkeys. Neither is it a natural reserve as the forest is small and the lake and waterfall are artificial. But it does have a few coffee places, outdoor festival area and bar and restaurant.
Cloud Lake is suitable for a half-day trip in the morning or the evening to avoid the hot sun. The staff are friendly, and the car cable ride was brief but enjoyable as we got a great view of the coastal city. The only disappointment was the coffee places that looked more like canteens than to the amazing cafes that Vietnam usually offers.
You can walk up the mountain by road. It’s a 1.5 hour climb and you will meet many locals on their daily exercise routine. There is a resting place halfway for a healthy fruit juice or lunch before carrying on to the top. From the top there’s an amazing view of Vung Tau including Cloud Lake. However, Cloud Lake is only accessible by the cable car.
Cloud Lake:
Car cable return ticket: VND100,000.
Source: SaigonTimes Online
Posted by admin on December 30, 2010 under Attractions, Vietnam Travel in the South, Vietnam tour, Vietnam travel News |
By Michael Smith in Mui Ne
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| A longboarder surfs at Mui Ne’s Malibu Beach also known by Vietnam locals as Ghan Beach – Photo: Chiga Balazsd |
I had two of my best surfs so far in Vietnam over Christmas on the back beach at Mui Ne also known as Malibu Beach.
The surf on Christmas Day and Christmas Eve had three foot sets with some good rides, both lefts and rights. It was slightly bigger down the south end of Malibu Beach near the No Mad kitesurfing camp, but it was glassier down further near the resorts, which was particularly good. Boxing Day was reportedly excellent as well.
December has swung the wind from the South to the North bringing the wind-swell onto the east-facing Malibu beach. The front beach at Mui Ne has very little surf this time of year. The website, forecasts.swellwatch.com, demonstrates really well where the wind and swell are coming from. For another tip to find secret spots to surf in Vietnam look at Google Earth.
It’s best to go around sunrise before the wind picks up at 10am when it starts to get blown out.
I got my hands on a motorbike with a board rack, which was a great score, so I could cruise along the beach and choose the best peak. Otherwise I recommend you get a taxi or a xe om (motorbike taxi) and hold your board under your arm. If you get in and out of Malibu Beach before 10 in the morning the wind is not going to be too much of a problem for carrying the board on the bike.
To get to Malibu Beach from the main resort strip, just head up to the fishing port and turn left at the roundabout at Mui Ne Town, then follow your nose.
I took my own board (borrowed actually) from Saigon on a Phuong Trang bus from De Tham Street. It’s an eight footer and truly if it was another inch longer it wouldn’t have fitted in the luggage compartment, so be mindful of that if you’ve got a longer board – you might need a bus with roof racks on top. It can be handy to have some octopus straps as well.
Surfing at Malibu Beach is nothing like Uluwatu in Bali or Nias in Sumatra or other legendary surf spots. It’s just a beach break but it’s much better than Vung Tau and I suspect more consistent this time of year. But it hasn’t been a good season for wind so far – leaving all the kite surfing schools in Mui Ne feeling a bit down.
It may not be Uluwatu but it’s definitely frontier Asia surfing with waves, coconut palm trees and fishermen in basket boats just beyond the break, which makes for an epic adventure.
Chiga takes half day surfing safaris around Mui Ne for US$95.
Posted by admin on December 14, 2010 under Attractions, Vietnam Travel in the Central, Vietnam tour |
Community based tourism is seen as a gateway to economic improvement and tourism opportunity in Vietnam.
An artisan of Sinh Village draws pictures on a wooden frame
A seminar was held to promote community based tourism services in central Thua Thien-Hue Province on December 7.
The event was aimed to review the two-year implementation of this type of tourism under the cooperation among farmers, the Responsible Tourism Group and SNV Netherlands Development Organisation.
To date, four community tourism sites have been set up in the province, attracting thousands of visitors, including tours to the ancient village of Phuoc Tich, the Thanh Toan tiled bridge, the Tam Giang Lagoon and the mountainous district of Nam Dong.
Tourists are given the opportunity to see special products made by local farmers, featuring Thua Thien-Hue’s identities such as a handmade-wooden models of Thanh Toan tiled bridge, folk paintings of Sinh Village and paper-made lotus flowers of Thanh Tien Village.
One such place is Ruong House, which is hundreds of years old (a type of panel home typical to Hue) in Phuoc Tich Village, eat cakes and rice with the house owners and then relax in fruit gardens.
If you wish to explore the traditional beauty of Cho House (houses less than 5 square metres set up by fishermen) on Tam Giang-Cau Hai, the widest lagoon in Southeast Asia, this is the place. Here, you can see tools and traditions of local fishermen and enjoy fresh seafood products.
The model of community tourism will help travel firms to bring more tourists to rural areas in Thua Thien-Hue and increase revenue for farmers as well as diversify tourism products in Thua Thien-Hue, according to Pham Thi Duyen Anh, SNV Tourism Advisor.
The following are photos of community tourism in Thua Thien-Hue and farmer’s unique tourism products.
Japanese visitors are learning dances of an ethnic minority group in Nam Dong District
Model of Thanh Toan tiled bridge
Fisherman
Paper paintings describe wrestling of Sinh Village
Phuoc Tich Ceramics
Posted by admin on December 13, 2010 under Attractions, Vietnam Travel Guide, Vietnam Travel in the North, Vietnam tour |
Local residents call Van Long “Halong Bay on land;” visitors refer to it as “the waveless bay.”
Whatever the name, the Van Long Lagoon offers the perfect northern getaway for those suffering from urban fatigue.
The lagoon makes up more than 3,500 hectares of Ninh Binh Province, not far from Hanoi.
Our tour around the northern delta region’s largest aquatic nature reserve began at a bamboo pier.
In a shallow bamboo boat, we set off lazily rowing to the center lagoon. The water reflected the surrounding mountains and the open sky, as clearly as a mirror.
Willow trees and rush climbed high along the waterline and cast shadows on tangled of cypress vine and coontail.
Thousands of plants and animals live around the lagoon including the giant water bug (known locally as toe-biters), which are on Vietnam Red List. The douc langur, which is facing extinction, also lives here.
As our boat glided quietly into the Hang Bong (Shadow Cave), some primordial jitters began to set in. The cave, which goes on for more than 100 meters, is comprised of thousand year old stalactites, which hang down into the water like ancient fangs.
Clapping sets off a bizarre echo that sounds like the twang of some ancient string instrument.
Only half of the cave is above water; the other half lies below, waiting to be explored.
After thousands of years, winds and waves have carved many caves and caverns along the edge of the lagoon. As the sun began to set behind the sharp mountain pass, the bay took on the pinks and purples of the sky-a feast for the eye.
The final destination on the lagoon is the Kem Tram Bay. Two steep mountain ranges flank the open water here like two darts connecting heaven and earth.
A boat tour costs VND45,000 (US$2.25) per person, including visits to Hang Bong, Hang Rua (Turtle Cave), Hang Ca (Fish Cave) and the surrounding mountains.
Around 300 bamboo boats are docked around in the lagoon; each can accommodate around three people a time.
GETTING THERE
Van Long Lagoon is around 80 kilometers, or two hours by bus from Hanoi. Take National Highway 1A, pass Phu Ly and enter Ninh Binh. At Gian Khau T-junction, turn left to wards Nho Quan. The lagoon is around 8 kilometers further in Gia Van Commune, Gia Vien District.
Recommended Van Long, Ninh Binh tours:
Step into the peaceful beauty of Van Long, Kenh Ga
Source: TN
Posted by admin on December 11, 2010 under Vietnam Food and Drink, Vietnam Travel Guide, Vietnam Travel in the Central, Vietnam tour, vietnam beauty, vietnam hotel |
American pottery artisan Lee Middleman and his wife Donnie decided to spice up their holiday to Viet Nam by joining a cooking class at La Residence Hotel & Spa in the former royal capital city of Hue. It proved to be an unforgettable experience.
“Offering cookery classes to foreign visitors is an excellent idea,” Middleman told Viet Nam News via email.
“We really appreciated the dishes they introduced us to. It was a joy watching the way the food was prepared, and then later tasting it.”
Lee and his wife were taught how to make Hue-style spring rolls. Part of the delight was visiting the local food market to buy vegetables, fruits and fish prior to the cooking class, he said.
The hotel’s chef Nguyen Dong Hai said tourists were encouraged to visit the local market, which he said added to the fun.
“We encourage tourists to go to Dong Ba Market to buy ingredients with us,” Hai said. “There they get the chance to rub shoulders with the locals, even haggle.”
If however they haven’t time, they can just take part in the cooking class at Le Parfum Restaurant, which looks over the romantic Huong River.
Hai said students were typically taught how to make nem trang (local spring rolls), com sen (steamed rice with lotus seeds), ca kho to (southern-style fish stew) and che (sweetened porridge).
Hai said the hotel’s cookery classes were most popular with Australian tourists, who were fascinated by the way the dishes were decorated and by the strong flavours of Hue-style food.
Cookery classes are popular up and down the country. Shiokawa Makoto, 25, is among thousands of young Japanese tourists who have visited Viet Nam aboard the Peace Ship. As soon as he landed in Da Nang’s Tien Sa Port, he and some friends registered to join a cookery class.
“I like cooking delicacies at home,” he said. “Vietnamese food is both strange and delicious. I will be very popular at home when I cook Vietnamese food there.” Makoto and his friends were taken to a house in Hoang Dieu Street, where they were taught to make dishes such as cha gio (local spring rolls) and banh xeo (fried pancake with pork, shrimp and bean sprouts).
His notebook rapidly filled up with recipes.
Like Makoto, Akiko Natsuko was determined to learn how to make spring rolls.
“I often eat Vietnamese spring rolls at restaurants in Japan but don’t know how to make them,” she said. “After learning how to, I see that the food is very simple. But making banh xeo is fairly challenging. I don’t know how to make the pancake both thin and filled evenly with pork, shrimp and bean sprouts.”
Their teacher Ngo Thi Xuan Dieu, who regularly caters to large wedding parties in the city, enthuses about the eagerness of Japanese visitors to learn how to make local Vietnamese food.
“Japanese students are so polite. They bow their heads to welcome me when we are introduced,” she said, adding that she was impressed by how hygienic they were. “They queue up in a row to wash their hands before preparing dishes. They even manage to make neater spring rolls than me.”
Dieu said she had taught more Japanese students than she could remember. Often she said they gave her small tokens of appreciation. “The gifts may be a handkerchief, a hair clip or a pair of cooking chopsticks,” she said. “These simple gifts remind me of how eager to learn Japanese students are.”
She said some of her former students were even hoping to open a Vietnamese restaurant in Japan.
Do Thu Trang, from Ha Noi-based Buffalo Tours, said “home cooking” had become increasingly popular with visitors travel to Vietnam over the last few years.
“We introduce tourists to local households, where they can stay, preparing food together with the hosts and experiencing the warmth of family life,” she said.
Karen Belcher from Denmark said she particularly enjoyed shopping at the local fishing village in Hoi An.
With a fresh squid in her hand, she could barely contain her excitement. “I feel as if I have lived here for years rather than just a few days.”
Huynh Thanh Phuoc, 78, who often hosts foreign cookery students at his home near Cua Dai Beach, said it made him feel younger being surrounded by eager tourists.
“From the time we have spent together I have learnt interesting things about life in their home countries,” he said. “For example, Chinese people prefer oily food, French people eat slowly and chew carefully and tend to chat a lot during meals, while Thais and Malaysians prefer spicier food.”
Nguyen Son Thuy, deputy director of Hoi An Travel Company, said most Vietnamese women knew how to cook and were therefore not interested in cookery classes.
However, he said learning how to cook Vietnamese food can be a memorable and rewarding experience for foreign tourists.
He said a lot of restaurants even claimed a short cookery course would equip a visitor with the skills needed to open his own Vietnamese restaurant.
It’s a bold claim, but few doubt that learning how to cook Vietnamese food enhances and enlivens a visitor’s trip to Viet Nam.
Source: VNS
Posted by admin on December 2, 2010 under Vietnam tour, Vietnam travel News |
“We aim to make it quicker and more convenient for tourists to book air tickets to visit these islands,” Nguyen Minh Man of Vietravel said.
Con Dao and Phu Quoc tours cost between VND4.4 million to VND4.5 million. In the near future, Vietravel will develop tours to the northern and the central regions in Vietnam to meet the existing demand, Man said.
Tours to Con Dao depart every Friday and Saturday while those to Phu Quoc leave every Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Flights are less than an hour.
Along with furthering tours to Phu Quoc, Con Dao, Nha Trang and Phan Thiet plus pilgrimage and cultural festival tours to northern, central and southern Vietnam, the tour operator will extend rail tours from HCMC to Quy Nhon and Phu Yen and tours by road and air to Can Tho and other destinations.
Source: The Saigon Times
