Vietnam Airlines discounts HCM City-Yangon flights

 

 

Vietnam Airlines made a February 28 announcement that they are upgrading their aircraft on the Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam)-Yangon (Myanmar) route to meet increasing travel demand between the two cities.

From March 31, Vietnam Airlines will employ Airbus A321 on the high traffic corridor, replacing Fokker 70s. The Airbus 321 is a more modern aircraft, providing services for business class customers.  The change also means a 75 percent increase in the number of Vietnam Airlines seats available between these cities. 

To mark the occasion, the national carrier will offer discounts on seats by up to 27 percent, starting from US$220 (around VND4,62 million) for a two-way economy class ticket.The sale will apply to tickets sold from now until March 30, 2013, as well as journeys departing from April 1 to September 30, 2013. Currently, Vietnam Airlines is the only national carrier to operate HCM City-Yangon direct route, with three flights per week, on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays.

Source: VOV

 

Hanoi’s tourism potential spotlighted in foreign media

 

The Hanoi Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism has planned to promote the capital city as a tourist destination in the foreign media.The promotion programme will be featured on several television channels in Russia and the Asia Travel Mart Online Magazine.Hanoi’s tourism potential will also be introduced in other foreign markets such as Canada, China and the Republic of Korea.Last year was the first time the city’s annual foreign tourist arrivals exceeded 2 million, and the city expects to welcome 2.25 million foreign visitors this year.In 2012, Hanoi was rated the best destination in Vietnam for city life by Lonely Planet Traveller, the world’s leading tourist magazine.

Together with Hoi An, the city made the 2012 top 10 attractive destinations in Asia, as chosen by Smart Travel Asia, a Hong Kong online tourist magazine.It came second in a list of 100 international cities with good hotel services, which was compiled by the well-known tourism website Trivago.

Source: VNA/VOV online 

 

Fresh charm, old world hospitality

Tay Giang District in the central province of Quang Nam can be said to be a new tourism find in Vietnam.

 

A village covered with fog in Tay Giang District, the central province of Quang Nam

But it has the added attraction of not being spoilt by tourism and we can only hope it stays that way.

Located on the west side of the Truong Son Range at a height of more than 1,300 meters, the district alluringly presents its vast terrace fields and green mountains draped in gently swaying fog.

One early morning, as we left Tay Giang Town for the district, the fog was more airy and the scene more ethereal than usual. The high and tricky slopes like Khom Lung (hunchback) that we had to navigate on the way kept our feet firmly on the ground, however.

On reaching Tay Giang, which borders Laos’ Sekong Province and Vietnam’s Thua Thien–Hue Province, we could see that the area, once clearly poverty-stricken, now hosted tidy, spacious houses, so much that several villages could lay claim to being dubbed “Singapore Villages,” a la Aur Village in the district’s Ch’om Commune.

This is a welcome lesson to all tourist spots in Vietnam. That it pays to pay attention to keeping the place clean and tidy.

Moreover, despite the changes and local authorities’ plans to promote community-based tourism, the district seems to have escaped commercial proliferation so far.

Maybe that is yet another tourism lesson to be learnt: Minimal interventions into ethnic minority residents’ lives for whatever reasons will keep areas clean and culturally and environmentally authentic, not to mention sustainable.

Let us keep our fingers tightly crossed.

The Co Tu people’s traditional long thatched-houses in Aur Village are built to host large families, and the number of rooms depends on the number of family members. Some houses can be several dozen meters long.

One of the more prominent annual festivals of the Co Tu include dam trau (buffalo sacrifice), held between December and March on the lunar calendar to show gratitude to gods for giving the people a good year. Another festival celebrates or prays for a good rice crop.

In keeping with the new tourism trends, visitors can observe the traditional events as outsiders or choose to live for a few days with the Co Tu people, enjoying specialties that are cooked in bamboo sections, like com lam (bamboo-cooked rice), thit lam (bamboo-cooked meat), and san lam (bamboo-cooked cassava).

Visitors should not pass up on the opportunity to try out famous local beverages like Ta Vac, which is fermented from the extract of a native fruit with the same name. Tasting somewhat like Western wine, Ta Vac is believed to enhance one’s health. It is a precious drink for locals, and with typical generosity and hospitality, they treat with their guests with it.

Not far from Aur is the Zo Ruot Village, which hosts a garden of 5,000 Ngoc Linh ginseng (Panax vietnamensis) roots, said to have life-saving properties.

The garden, estimated to be worth tens of billions dong, or hundreds of thousands dollars, was founded in 2004 when district authorities transplanted them from Nam Tra My District.

No visit to Tay Giang is complete without the obligatory photographs of the long, terraced fields that the farming genius of ethnic minority communities has gifted to the country, as also the world at large. If you do not want to take photographs, the time is well spent just gazing at an unforgettable scene.

Viet Nam listed in top long-haul destinations for UK holidaymakers in 2013

 

 

According to the British website www.easyvoyage.co.uk, the famous Hayes & Jarvis travel agency has announced a list of top ten long-haul destinations of UK tourists in 2013, of which Viet Nam rates the seventh. The result based on the bookings of UK tourists at Hayes & Jarvis from October 2012 to January 2013.

1. Mauritius (2012: 6)

2. Mexico (5)

3. Kenya (-)

4. New York (1)

5. Hawaii (-)

6. Egypt (-)

7. Viet Nam (-)

8. Tanzania (-)

9. Thailand (2)

10. Dominican Republic (-)

Last year, Hayes & Jarvis identified Viet Nam as a raising star in the international tourism market, and in recent months, Viet Nam has surpassed Thailand to rate 7th in the list, thanks to the opening of direct flights between Viet Nam and the UK end of 2011 and attractive tourism products especially tailor-made tours, exploring heritage and beach spots in Viet Nam.

New York remains one of the most attractive long-haul destinations, however the top positions belong to Mauritius and Mexico. The 4 and 5-star resorts of high quality and competitive prices have helped these two countries to be the first choice of UK tourists.

Kenya rates third on the list as a result of the effect of blockbuster of TV series about the continent of the famous British naturalist, Sir David Attenborough, luring TV audience flocking to East Africa.

The competitive-priced tours also promoted UK tourists to Egypt's Red Sea which increase by 31%, bringing this country back to the top after three years.

Dominican Republic is the only Caribbean entry in the list, while the demand for the three traditional destinations of Barbados, St. Lucia and Antigua has declined because the airport tax that customers must pay when flying to these countries increased.

Source: TITC

 

Temple of Literature receives special certificates

Van Mieu Quoc Tu Giam (Temple of Literature) held a ceremony in Hanoi on February 25 to receive the special national relic certificate and UNESCO’s Global Memory of the World Programme’s certificate for its 82 doctoral laureate steles.

In his speech Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan stressed this is the great honour and responsibility of citizens of the capital city and the whole country towards preserving the heritage for future generations.

Over the years, he said the temple has become a popular tourist destination for domestic and foreign visitors and leaders from many countries worldwide.

It helps promote the tradition of learning encouragement of Vietnamese people.

The Deputy PM praised Hanoi’s efforts in preserving and developing the special cultural value of the relic and hoped that the municipal leaders will undertake initiatives to raise the youth’s awareness of the temple and its value.

The highlights of the event were a documentary film on the history of the temple and a unique arts performance.

The Temple of Literature, the first of its kind in Vietnam, was built in 1070 in dedication to Confucius and served as an educational centre for feudal scholars.

It is now the most prominent Confucianism relic across Vietnam symbolizing its culture and intelligence.

Its 82 doctoral laureate steles under the early Le, Mac and late Le dynasties (1442-1779) were recognized by UNESCO as World Documentary Heritage in the Asia-Pacific region in March 2010 and on a global scale in July 2011.

Fish-releasing ritual on Saigon River gains attention

Huong Quang Pagoda, in HCM City, holds free boat trips for Buddhists on the Saigon River every Sunday and the 1st and the 15th day of the lunar month.

Over the past six years, the pagoda has organised two trips on each of these days, one from 6am to 8.30am and the second from 9am to to 11am.

Recently, the pagoda arranged a 500-tonne ship, bought with donations to Buddhist institutions, for around 200 Buddhists, who released over two tonnes of life fish back into the water.

Huong Quang Pagoda also provides free fish-release trips, free of charge for people aged 10 and 25 on the afternoon of the final day in the lunar month.

The tradition of releasing fish is meant to symbolise respect for life in all forms as well as to pay respect to ancestors and loving human beings.

 

 

Prayers

 

 

Preparing to release fish

 

Mrs. Chuc An, 81 years old, and her family prepare to release fish

 

Two tonnes of living fish released

 

Crabs and snails also set free

 

Expenses paid by Buddhist institutions

ACTIVETRAVEL ASIA (ATA) announces the prizes for the photo contest “Vietnam in your hear is...”!

First word ACTIVETRAVEL ASIA (ATA) would like to send to all participants joint our competition “Vietnamin your heart is” the most sincere thanks!

“Vietnam in your heart is...” contest lasted over 2 months (12 Nov 2012 to 31st Jan 2013). During the competition, Organizing Committee has received a lot of entries; each photo represents a separate corner of life, nature and people of Vietnam from international friends who love the beautiful Vietnam.

Now is the time to honor the winner. The first prize is the person who has the amount of LIKE ranked highest on our Facebook, congratulation to Isye Sibuea with the photo of Cao Dai Temple. Your prize is a 3 day 2 nights overnight on Oriental Sails Cruise at Halong Bay

The second prize for outstanding photo selected by the ATA experts is a Halong Bay cruise 3 days /2 nights for two on Halong Emotion cruise. Let's congratulate Susan Pidgeon with great photo of Halong Bay.

The third prize is a two day cycling tour of ACTIVE TRAVEL ASIA for photo that has the amount of LIKE ranked highest after the first, and this prize belong to Jonathan Tan and photo of the Old Quarter. 

All the prizes will be available in 2 years from the day of award announcement (Feb 25, 2013)

Once again, ACTIVETRAVEL ASIA thank all of your contest whether your felt and shared were not high rank but your sharing for ATA is the most precious. ATA wish all of you good luck, happiness, success and congratulations again!

Please refer any questions about the award to us at: event@activetravel.asia.

Pa Then fire dancing festival

A Pa Then fire dancing festival has just been held in the Culture-Tourism Village of Vietnamese Ethnic Groups in Hanoi. 

The event often takes place after the last harvest of the year to dispel evil spirits and diseases. 

It involves the brave men dancing barefoot on a fire.

Vietnam has about 3,700 Pa Then people, living mainly in Tuyen Quang and Ha Giang provinces.

 

A 90-minute ritual to offer boiled meat, rice and wine to gods

 

Pa Then girls dancing around the fire

Each man performing barefoot in 3-4 minutes  A 20-year-old man showing his hands and feet unscathed

Stone plateau to become national tourism complex

Dong Van Stone Plateau in the northern mountainous province of Ha Giang will be developed into a national tourism complex by 2020.

 Dong Van Stone Plateau

It was stated in a master plan on the preservation and upgrading of Dong Van Stone Plateau in 2012-2020 with a vision to 2030, recently approved by Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan.

Accordingly, four theme tourism centres will be established in the districts of Dong Van, Meo Vac, Yen Minh and Quan Ba, which cover a total land area of over 2,350 sq. km and see the involvement of local people.

Dong Van will focus on cultural and historical values and Meo Vac will serve scientific, adventurous and border-gate trade tours.

Eco-tours will be provided at Yen Minh and entertainment activities will be organised at Quan Ba.

Dong Van Stone Plateau was recognised as the first geopark in Vietnam and the second in Southeast Asia by the Global Network of National Geoparks (GGN) in October last year.

Limestone covers up to 80 percent of the plateau, where fossils of thousands of species of ancient creatures believed to live there 400-600 million years ago were uncovered.

The 574-sq.km plateau now is home to 250,000 people belonging to 17 ethnic groups with cultures that sprung up over the centuries.

“Coffee metropolis” to host biennial festival

 

 

Visitors to the fourth biennial Coffee Festival in Buon Ma Thuot City in the Dak Lak Province will have the chance to immerse themselves in the culture-soaked region while enjoying the delights of thousands of coffee brands. 

Scheduled to take place at the city's Biet Dien Museum from March 9-13, the festival is both a cultural event and a tribute to coffee - the area's speciality - hoping to promote its important role in the region’s socio-economic development.

A 30-minute art show entitled Dang Hien Ca Phe (Coffee Offering) and gong performances will be showcased at the festival.

Meanwhile, coffee growers in the province will gather to compete in a contest testing their knowledge of coffee.

Dubbed "Viet Nam's coffee metropolis", Dak Lak contributes 60 per cent of the national coffee production.

The festival will gather about 200 coffee enterprises across the country to demonstrate their latest products, as well as age-old favourites.

Nearly one million people visited the third coffee festival in 2011 and organisers are hoping for an even bigger turnout this time around.

Source: VNS

 

Yen Tu becomes special national relic

 

 

The event was coincided with the opening of Yen Tu festival, one of the biggest festivals in the north of Vietnam.

The sacred Buddhist land and historical site of Yen Tu in northeastern Quang Ninh province received the Special National Relic certificate on February 18 (the ninth day of the first lunar month). The event was coincided with the opening of Yen Tu festival, one of the biggest festivals in the north of Vietnam. 

Speaking at the certificate presentation ceremony, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan stressed the merit of King-Monk Tran Nhan Tong, who left his throne to serve Buddha in Yen Tu mountain and established the Truc Lam Yen Tu Zen sect which later laid a foundation for Vietnam Buddhism.

Yen Tu festival was opened with an incense offering ceremony which also saw the participation of Vice State President Nguyen Thi Doan, representatives of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha, monks, nuns, followers and visitors from different corners of the country.

A wide range of rituals and processions took place to pray for peace for the nation and prosperity for people.

Art performances including drum shows and lion dances also formed part of the opening of the festival.

The three-month festival is expected to see over 3 million pilgrims and visitors to the event, according to the organisers.

Yen Tu was listed as special national relic on September 27, 2012. In November, it was selected as one of the 10 most attractive spiritual destinations in Vietnam by the Vietnam Records Organisation.

Source: VNA

 

Visiting Phuoc Tich village

Phuoc Tich Village in Thua Thien-Hue Province has retained the features of a 500-year old Vietnamese village, being home to banyan trees, wells and temples.

The village is some 40km north of Hue City. Phuoc Tich was established in 1470 under King Le Thanh Tong. The village is located in the bend of the O Lau River, making the village resemble an island. The village has 12 river wharves symbolising the 12 animals of the lunar zodiac.

A centuries old tree marks the village gate along with a temple. The village is also home to several old houses. The houses are surrounded by large gardens fenced by Chinese tea tree plants.

The homes hold old wooden furniture, horizontal lacquered boards, altars and chests with sophisticated carvings. Phuoc Tich also has dozens of pagodas and temples.

Hanoian tourist Nguyen Thi Pham was surprised by the village’s natural scenery. “I and my friends have visited several old villages, such as Duong Lam in Hanoi and Tuy Loan in Danang, but, only Phuoc Tich retains so many wooden built houses,” she said.

Phuoc Tich is also well-known for its 500-year old pottery industry. The industry was revised in 2006 when Hue Festival was launched. Local residents built a temple to worship Confucius hundreds of years ago to honour their thirst for knowledge.

Phuoc Tich is currently home to 117 households and more than 30 wooden houses which are left in the hands of the older generation to maintain. Over the past 10 years, only 99-year old Luong Thi Hen has cared for her family’s ancient wooden house. She said , “My children are away earning a living. The 100-year old house has deteriorated, and I can’t preserve it alone.”

Truong Thi Thu, 84, now lives alone in a wooden house. Every day, she cleans the house to welcome tourists. She has asked her children to return the village to help preserve the house on many occasions, but they are afraid that they wouldn’t be able to find employment if they returned.

Phong Dien District officials said the local authorities had been promoting Phuoc Tich to both local residents and visitors. The district would focus on repairing some wooden houses and also call for investment in the local pottery industry.

Phuoc Tich was recognised as a national relic in 2009 by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, following Duong Lam.

Some photos of Phuoc Tich:

The ancient tree aged between 700 and 800 years

 

The Quang Te Temple displays remnants of the Cham culture

 

A pottery workshop

 

Pottery products

 

A temple

 

O Lau River

 

An old house

 

Hen’s wooden house

 

A screen before an old house

 

Horizontal lacquer board of Duy Tan King (1909-1916) at Ho Dinh Lan’s house

 

 

Sculpture patterns

 

A tour guide instructing visitors

 

All wooden houses in Phuoc Tich were made by artisans from My Xuyen carpentry village which is located south of Phuoc Tich

 

A river wharf

 

Most of wooden houses are taken care of by old people

Run down house