Posted by admin on June 28, 2011 under Vietnam Food and Drink, Vietnam travel News | 
Lau tha, a seafood hot pot, is a very popular dish in the central coast city of Phan Thiet City which is a must for visitors to the area.
And there is no place better to try it out than the Sea Horse Resort and Spa, 16 Nguyen Dinh Chieu Street, Ham Tien Ward, Phan Thiet City.
The delicacy is based on typical materials and flavors of the coastal area. Lau tha is made of fish, shrimp, pork, vegetables, green mango,
banana flowers, rice paper cake, rice noodles and fried eggs. The fish is mixed with lemon, shrimp and pork which are all sliced into small pieces and put into the soup. The fish sauce is flavored with fried peanut and chili, which gives the dish that snappy taste.
At the resort the meal is prepared wonderfully – like a beautiful flower with ten petals. The banana flower petals are filled with vegetables, green mango, cucumbers, fried eggs and sliced steamed pork. The base of the plate is the fish and the dish is completed with a bowl of soup, rice pan cake, noodles and fish sauce.
The finished article can be enjoyed with or without water. After putting all your ingredients in a bowl you can put in water to make it a soup or just have it dry. Either way it is delicious. The attractive dish has the savory flavor of fish, fat of peanut, crisp of paper cake, sweet of pork and aroma of vegetables.
Posted by admin on June 23, 2011 under Attractions, Vietnam Travel in the Central, Vietnam travel News, vietnam beauty |
Phong Nha Ke Bang National Park has come to be well-known for the Phong Nha Cave and its natural beauty. Starting in June, the park’s management board launched a tour from the Chay River to Hang Toi (Dark Cave).
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Boat trips along Chay River
The tour is environmentally friendly, and offers visitors a chance to try out the local cuisine of Quang Binh Province.
The Chay River begins at the limestone plateau of Ka Bang, with the clear and blue waters of the Son River’s tributary.
The stone peaks provide a lovely foil to the surrounding corn fields, making unique and picturesque scenery.
Hang Toi or “The Dark Cave” is 5,258 metres in long, and 80 metres in high. It is also the home of a number of animals, from bats to swallows.
Hang Toi
Underwater lime stone caves of Hang Toi
Grandiosity puts human life in perspective
Soure: Dtinews
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Posted by admin on May 18, 2011 under Vietnam tour, Vietnam travel News |
‘Free & Easy’ tour service which arranges air travel tickets and hotel bookings without tour itineraries and tour guides is gaining popularity in Vietnam due to escalating prices in domestic travel.
Local tour operators offer cheap deals in a bid to maintain domestic customers, though the popularity of the ‘Free & Easy’ service has made many tourism agencies unhappy in recent time.
The number of people registering for ‘Free & Easy’ tours increased sharply this year. By choosing ‘Free & Easy’ tours people can meet their tightened budget but tour companies have seen a reduction on package tours this year.
Pham Duc Hoa, deputy head of the Domestic Travel Department of Saigon Tourist, said that the number of people registering for package tours has dropped considerably; hence, the company has been compelled to promote ‘Free & Easy’ tours.
During the recent four-day long holiday, the number of people registering for ‘Free & Easy’ tours was about 25-30%.
Now not just tourist agencies but also airlines seem to exploit this service for domestic and foreign destination travellers.
Hoa believes that the widespread popularity of this service will surely affect businesses and sales in tourist agencies.
Package tours were always the best choice for the elderly, but ‘Free & Easy’ tours are very popular with the young who need not depend on tour schedules and can afford a reasonable rate.
Hoa thinks that single tourists or those wanting to travel in small groups are more interested in this service because they can arrange more personalized tours. Customers can call the company to ask for ‘Free & Easy’ service and book air tickets or hotel rooms and plan their vacation as per these bookings.
Source: SGGP
Collected by Vietnam hotels
Posted by admin on May 16, 2011 under Attractions, Vietnam Travel in the South, Vietnam travel News |
Thirty to forty percent of foreign tourists to the southern province of Binh Thuan are Russian, and 95 percent of them go to Ham Tien – Mui Ne water area.
In recent years, people always use the nick name “Russian village”, instead of “resort capital” when talking about Ham Tien – Mui Ne in Phan Thiet City of Binh Thuan province, a famous tourism destination of Vietnam. If someone goes to resorts, guest houses, bars, restaurants, shops drug stores in Ham Tien and Mui Ne, he would hear Russian words among visitors.
Russian travelers – who are they?
First arrived in Ham Tien – Mui Ne three years ago, Polina from Saint-Petersburg loves the sea there and decided to work as a sailing coach, the job which allows her to stay there for nine months a year.
She said Russians like traveling to the places where there are beautiful, sunny, windy and quiet beaches. Therefore, Ham Tien – Mui Ne is the ideal destination for Russian travelers with mild weather, sunny but not too hot, with much wind and long seashores suitable to play windsurfing and parasailing – the hobbies of many Russians. Local residents are peaceful and friendly, streets are not noisy, while security is good.
According to the Binh Thuan provincial authorities, in the last three years, every day, Ham Tien – Mui Ne receives 400-500 new Russian travelers. Suggested that every Russian traveler stays there for 15 days; then, there are at least 5000-6000 Russian people every day at the sea village.
A lot of Russian travelers stay there for a long time, from one to three months. Some others stay for six months. While local newspapers complain that many foreign tourists do not return to Vietnam for the second time, many Russian travelers return to Ham Tien many times.
The owner of the Chau Linh Guest House said that he knows a Russian family with six people, who come to Vietnam in the last four consecutive years and stay there for 3-6 months each time. The family has introduced Ham Tien – Mui Ne to other Russian families, who also travel to Vietnam and stay for long periods.
“Staying for long time and spending much money” is the comment by local residents about Russian travelers. The hotel room occupancy level is always stable at 80-100 percent. A man, the owner of pearl shop, said that Russian travelers spend 2-3 times more than European travelers on shopping. Restaurants also like to serve Russian travelers because the guests always order delicious meals and they are ready to pay for expensive seafood.
Golden opportunities for local businessmen
A lot of shops and restaurants can be seen on the long 10 kilometer road of Nguyen Dinh Chieu – Huynh Thuc Khang. Especially, the words in the signboards hung over the shops and restaurants, are written in Russian. Menus at restaurants, service fee quotations and advertisement leaflets all provide information in Russian. Even vendors, who cannot speak Russian, also have introduction papers in Russian to give to travelers.
Nearly 40 resorts in the region have opened windsurfing, parasailing clubs to serve the demand of Russian travelers. To date, ½ of the Mui ne resort provide the training for the kinds of sports.
Having realized the high demand, local residents have decided to upgrade small guest houses to receive Russian travelers who stay for long time. Chau Linh guest house, for example, which has eight rooms equipped with modern facilities and mini playing field, is the choice of Russian families. Duy An guest house has a large garden, where Russian travelers can pick up fruits, and sleep on hammocks.
The owner of Thanh Oanh restaurant related that Russians began traveling to Mui Ne – Ham Thuan in 2006, and the locality has become a Russian village. Even the drug stores, which once only served local residents, now also serve Russian travelers, who like the herbs that help beautify skin, functional foods, cordials, or massage drug extracted from snake venom.
Source: SGTT
Posted by admin on May 13, 2011 under Vietnam travel News |
With a 2,500-year Buddhist history and over 10 million Buddhist followers at present and a hundred of pagodas, Vietnam can become an attractive destination for Zen tourism.
Zen is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism. Zen emphasizes experiential Wisdom in the attainment of enlightenment. As such, it de-emphasizes theoretical knowledge in favor of direct self-realization through meditation and dharma practice. The teachings of Zen include various sources of Mahāyāna thought, including the Prajñāpāramitā literature and the teachings of the Yogācāra and Tathāgatagarbha schools.
The emergence of Zen as a distinct school of Buddhism was first documented in China in the 7th century CE. From China, Zen spread south to Vietnam very early, around 580. It developed strongly under the Ly – Tran and Trinh – Nguyen dynasties. As a result, Vietnamese culture and lifestyle has been influenced by Zen philosophy.
Zen tourism has been developed in Vietnam with tours to pagodas and pagoda festivals, which enable tourists to visit Buddhist architectural works, observe and participate in activities of Buddhist priests, enjoy and admire characteristics of Zen arts like flower arrangement, tea ceremony, bonsai and vegetarian food.
There are around 120 pagodas available for Zentourism in Vietnam, including popular names such as Dau in northern Bac Ninh Province; Ba Da and Tran Quoc in Hanoi; Truc Lam Tay Thien in northern Vinh Phuc Province; Tu Dam, Thien Mu and Tu Hieu in central Thua Thien-Hue Province; and Tu An, Giac Lam and Giac Vien in Ho Chi Minh City.
Source: Vietnamnet
Collected by Vietnam hotels
Posted by admin on May 9, 2011 under Vietnam Travel in the North, Vietnam festival, Vietnam travel News |
The famous love market of ethnic couples of the northern Vietnamese mountains was recognized to be provincial cultural and historical relic of Ha Giang province.
Nguyen Trung Thuong, director of the Ha Giang Department of Cultural, Sport and Tourism, told Tuoi Tre that the recognition will lead to the improvement of the aged relic targeted to be ranked in the list of national cultural and historical relics.
The plan of restoration is also sketched out in order to turn Khau Vai love market into Ha Giang province’s tourist hot spot.
“We will soon start restoring the Ong and Ba temples as well as the more than 90-year-old Khau Vai Market. Building more tourist hostels is also in the to-do-list. The entire project is expected to be completed by 2015,” Thuong said.
The Khau Vai market, taken place in Meo Vac district’s Khau Vai commune on annual lunar March 26 and 27, attracts large number of locals including Giay, Nung and Muong ethnic people and tourists.
It offers ex-lovers, who could not marry, a chance each year to meet each other before returning to their daily routine and families.
The market also provides entertainment to tourists who can enjoy the humorous side of the market’s legend. Tourists can watch performances, learn about various ethnic groups, get unique ethic items and clothing, as well as take part in traditional games.
Source: Tuoi Tre
Collected by Vietnam hotels
Posted by admin on May 7, 2011 under Vietnam travel News, vietnam hotel |
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 Global hotel management group Accor on Wednesday announced its partnership with the local trade and real estate services firm Savico to manage and develop Mercure Son Tra Resort in the central coastal city of Danang.
Scheduled to be up and running in 2013, the 120-room hotel is expected to help attract more guests to Danang and its Son Tra Peninsula, a national park full of greenery and preservation of wild life and natural beauties.
Patrick Basset, Accor vice president of operations for Vietnam, the Philippines, Japan and South Korea, pinned high hopes for the success of the hotel on Son Tra Peninsula 12 kilometers from the heart of Danang City and a 20-minute drive from Danang International Airport.
“Central Vietnam is full of potential and still in demand for an international quality accommodation with personality and style to accommodate both domestic and international travelers,” Basset said in a statement obtained by the Daily.
Nguyen Vinh Tho, chairman and chief executive officer of Savico, said in the statement that the company had invested in Danang as it saw this city as a destination of many natural attractions and significant tourism potentials.
“This city is home to many famous attractions such as Ba Na Hills, Ngu Hanh Son Mountain, Hai Van Pass, and especially, Son Tra Peninsula,” Tho said, adding that Accor and Savico have agreed in developing Mercure Son Tra Resort in anticipating the peninsula as an upcoming tourist destination.
Basset said the Mercure brand translated well in Vietnam as it was a non-standardized brand designed to provide international-designed contemporary rooms of comfort and relaxation within local environment and surroundings.
Accor has its Mercure brand present in more than 50 markets. The group now operates 11 hotels through vietnam under the Sofitel, MGallery, Novotel, and Mercure hotel brands. These properties have more than 2,000 rooms.
Accor is consolidating its position as the largest international operator of hotel in Vietnam with additional hotels committed to development, including three Pullman, one MGallery, three Novotel, three Mercure and two ibis hotels. It is planning to open Hotel de l’Opera Hanoi later this year as the first MGallery-brand property in the capital city and the second of its kind in Vietnam after Veranda Resort Phu Quoc off mainland Kien Giang Province. |
| Source: The Saigon Times Daily |
Tags: danang hotel, danang hotels, hotel danang vietnam, hotel in vietnam, hotels in da nang vietnam, la veranda phu quoc, mecure hotel in danang, resort da nang, veranda resort phu quoc, vietnam hotels 5 star, vietnam hotels danang, vietnam resorts
Posted by admin on May 6, 2011 under Vietnam travel News |
More than 460,000 international visitors traveled to Vietnam in April, a 6.3 per cent rise against the same month last year, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).
This brought the total number of foreign arrivals during the first four months of the year to more than 1.9 million, a year-on-year increase of 10.5 per cent.
Despite the recent earthquake and tsunami, Japanese visitors to Vietnam still numbered 177,000, surging 21 per cent against the previous year’s same period.
Vietnam also saw remarkable increases in the numbers of tourists from China, up 20 per cent, US arrivals rising by 6.8 per cent, South Koreans by 6.6 per cent, French tourists by 6.3 per cent and Australian visitors 5.7 per cent.
A strong brand name would be established for tourism in Vietnam during the next four years to promote the country’s attractions, said director of the Vietnam Administration of Tourism (VNAT) Nguyen Van Tuan.
The administration planned to hire a consultancy firm to carry out the strategy, he said, adding that this was the first time promotion would be conducted by a professional agency.
Chairman of the Vietnam Society of Travel Agents (VISTA) Vu The Binh said efforts to create a Vietnamese brand should focus on what was unique about the country. He said he believed one thing Viet Nam could be proud of was its spectacular landscape.
Binh said it was also important to identify potential markets. To date, Vietnam’s traditional markets were people from Northeast Asia and Western Europe, but another promising market was the country’s own region of Southeast Asia.
In countries such as Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore, people from within the region accounted for 70 per cent of visitors while in Viet Nam, the figure was not even close to 20 per cent, he said.
“A strong and effective brand name requires close co-operation between authorities and hotels, airlines and tourist companies,” said Saigontourist Marketing Manager Doan Thi Thanh Tra.
“Such co-ordination can help create attractive tourism services and products, a key factor for the success of our hospitality industry.
“A brand name will not work if foreign tourists cannot book air tickets or hotel rooms are not easily available,” she added.
Tourist companies were attempting to build their-own brands to attract more international tourists, she said.
The tourism industry aims to welcome 5.3 million foreigners and serve 30 million local tourists, earning VND110 trillion (over US$5 billion) from tourism revenue this year.
Source: vietnamnet
Collected by Vietnam hotels
Posted by admin on May 4, 2011 under Vietnam travel News, vietnam hotel |
The number of one- to four-star ho chi minh hotels, the country’s biggest tourism base, increased by more than 1,300 in the first quarter.
Nearly half the number, or 628 rooms, are one-star-standard rooms, the Hotel Division of the city’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism reported. According to a report by the division, the one-star hotels now make up a huge part of the city’s hotels.
The city has 836 hotels with 25,360 rooms. Of these hotels, 596 are of one-star standard with 9,676 rooms, almost equal to the total number of three- to five-star rooms. There are 167 two-star hotels with more than 6,000 rooms, 13 four-star hotels of 1,760 rooms and 13 five-star hotels with over 4,222 rooms.
However, the five-star hotels will overtake their low budget rivals with many projects in the offing to expand and build luxury facilities.
In District 1 alone, several four- to five-star hotels penciled in for a facelift in the immediate future include Majestic, Kim Do royal hotel, Grand hotel saigon and Continental.
The forthcoming project to build a new office building and a five-star hotel complex on Le Loi Boulevard is also on course.
The Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism has reported the city has received around 900,000 international visitors in the first quarter of this year, up 6% year-on-year.
Source: SGT
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Posted by admin on April 27, 2011 under Vietnam Travel in the North, Vietnam festival, Vietnam travel News, Vietnam's World Heritage |
A laser, sound and water performance lasting up to 90 minutes will be at the heart of the annual Ha Long Carnival held in the northern province of Quang Ninh from April 29 to May 5.
The provincial authorities have invested a record sum of more than VND138 billion (US$6.57 million) in preparation for the performance, titled Mysterious Ha Long By Night, to be held on Bai Chay Beach on May 2.
The Ha Long Sparkling with Colours street festival will hit the town on May 1, along with a series of cultural events including a poetry – music show, a competition for MCs, a culinary festival, a tennis tournament, a bonsai exhibition and a cock fighting festival.
“The carnival is even more important than usual, with the vote for Halong bay as one of the New7Wonders of Nature at its peak,” said Ha Quang Long, director of the Quang Ninh Culture, Sports and Tourism Department.
The local authorities have prepared facilities for tourists to vote for Ha Long during the week by telephone. Tourists can dial +2 392 201 055; +1 869 760 5990; +1 649 339 8080 and +44 758 900 1290. After hearing the introduction, tourists can press 7712 to vote for Ha Long Bay.
The bay is currently second in the polling behind South Korea’s Jeju Island. In total, there are 28 finalists on the New7Wonders list.
The New Open World Corporation will end voting and announce the seven new wonders on November 11 this year.
The tourism week is expected to attract around 500,000 tourists to the bay, accounting for eight to ten per cent of the average annual visitors to the province.
Source: VNS
