Cruise, cuisine and culture on Saigon River

Authentic cuisine, dancing, music and many more typical Vietnamese traits are available for visitors to experience on board the three-deck wooden boat Vietcruiser that travels along the Saigon River every Saturday, with chartered voyages six days a week.

 

The dancing show on Vietcruiser

The journey to experience Vietnamese specialties begins when guests step aboard Vietcruiser, as local girls in traditional attire, including ao dai, treat you with cakes and fruit of different regions and seasons.

On the bamboo trays are banh tet (cylindrical glutinous rice cake filled with green bean paste and pork), banh pia (flour cake with salty yolk, durian, green bean paste and taro), and many other sweet and salty cakes made from rice powder and other ingredients. Litchi, chom chom (rambutan), Vietnamese tea and other seasonal fruit on offer will add some flavor before the trip starts

A buffet dinner begins once the 39-meter-long, 8.5-meter-wide Vietcruiser departs Nha Rong Wharf in downtown HCMC at around 7:15 p.m. During the cruise on the Saigon River at night to Thanh Da in Binh Thanh District and back to base, guests can walk around the serving counters on the ground floors to select goi (mixed salad), goi cuon (spring roll), grilled squid and shrimp, and other dishes featuring flavors of different localities in Vietnam.

Music and dances depicting cultural and historical glimpses of Vietnam are on show throughout the voyage that ends around 9:30 p.m. The melodious sounds of dan tranh and dan bau and other Vietnamese musical instruments will relax guests on board. Craftsmen are also a fixture on the Vietcruiser to make to he (toy figurine), which is made into toys for children to play at traditional festivals in the country from a mixture of glutinous and ordinary rice powder. With this material, the craftsman can shape animals, flowers or characters from folk stories and also do requests for guests. When dinner is over, a good idea for passengers is to sit and relax at their seats or go to the upper deck to view HCMC at night

Tickets are priced from VND390,000 and allow guests to enjoy a wide selection of Vietnamese food specialties as well as music and dancing shows during the weekend voyage on the 256-seat boat. For the ticket price you also get some free drinks.

Note this is a special promotion price until the end of October.

 

The craftsman shapes to he on the boat
 

Vietnam’s image promoted in Cuba

 The Vietnamese Embassy in Cuba in conjunction with the Asia House Museum held a ceremony on September 5 to introduce a publication of the Vietnam News Agency – the Vietnam Pictorial.

Addressing the event, Vietnamese Ambassador to Cuba Vu Chi Cong underscored the socio-political significance of the issuance Spanish version of the Vietnam Pictorial in Cuba , which is expected to help people in Cuba and other America Latin countries have more understanding of foreign policies of the Vietnamese Party and Government. 
The publication, which will be release every two months, will feature the tradition and custom of Vietnamese ethnic groups, as well as the process of socio-economic development of Vietnam, Cong said. 

Prensa Latina News Agency Vice President Felix Albisu stressed that the Vietnam Pictorial will help strengthen the traditional relationships and solidarity between the two nations. 

The event was followed by an exhibition entitled “ Vietnam- the Country and the People”. 

Source: Vietnamtourism News

 

TITLE “100 SUSTAINABLE VIETNAMESE BRANDS” FOR VIETNAMTOURISM-HANOI

On Sunday 12th August, 2012 a ceremony to honor the enterprises which receive the title “100 SUSTAINABLE VIETNAMESE BRANDS 2012” is organized at Hanoi Opera House. Mr. Luu Nhan Vinh – the General Director of Vietnamtourism-Hanoi JSC, attends the ceremony to receive the cup of “100 SUSTAINABLE VIETNAMESE BRANDS” on behalf of the company. This program is implemented in the cooperation between Vietnam Union of Science and Technology Association (VUSTA) with related departments. This is the award to encourage Vietnamese enterprises to apply achievements of technology and science in production and honor those which make great effort in building sustainably developing brands. In order to receive this honorable title, the enterprises must meet many criteria such as being the brand whose 5-10 year development, earning high revenue, having large market, being aware of by the public, being awarded such titles: Vietnamese brands, Vietnamese quality, Vietnamese Star, Vietnamese high-quality product; being excellent brand, applying international standardized science and technology to improve local economy…..With over 50 year development, always being one of the leading tour operators in Vietnam, Vietnamtourism-Hanoi which keeps attempting to serve clients and contribute to national economy and brand is worthy of this honorable award.