Archive for » July, 2011 «

Ba Kiet is Tien Giang treasure
Thursday, July 28th, 2011 / admin

In the Mekong Delta there are many old homes for tourists to visit but there is none quite like Tien Giang Province’s Ba Kiet Old House.

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External view of Ba Kiet Old House
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An ancient oil lamp in Ba Kiet Old House

Cai Be District is known for its winding canals, orchards and a floating market where tourists can buy local specialties from dried foods to fruit and seafood.

But that is merely scratching the surface as the real treasure is located in an orchard on an area of 1.8 hectares in Phu Hoa Hamlet, Dong Hoa Hiep Commune.

Ba Kiet Old House was built in 1924 and is a popular model for traditional houses in the South in Can Tho, Vinh Long or Tien Giang.

It has five areas and more than 100 wooden pillars and the house is in great condition thanks to a renovation in 1998 at a cost of VND1.8 billion (USD87,378) by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

It is famous for its meticulously-detailed and elegant carvings on the walls, pillars, doors and gate. There are also finely preserved antiques such as a set of settees, oil lamps and a balcony carved with patterns presenting landscapes and flowers of the four seasons.

Tran Van Binh inherited the house and it has been developed as tourist site for visitors to the province.

(Source: SGT)

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More hotel rooms available in HCM City
Tuesday, July 26th, 2011 / admin

The number of three- to five-star hotels in Ho Chi Minh City has nearly doubled in the last three years to 73 with a total of 9,700 rooms, the city Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism has said.

Anh khach san Park Hyatt TP HCM20110726082220 More hotel rooms available in HCM CityThe three-star category saw the strongest growth, increasing in the period to 47 hotel from 21, according to the department.

As of last month, there were 13 four-star and five-star hotels, an increase from eight and 11.

Hundreds more luxury hotel rooms are expected to open this year to meet increasing demand from foreign visitors.

The 335-room, five-star Nikko Sai Gon Hotel in District 1 is scheduled to be completed in October.

The four-star Grand Hotel will complete its upgrade into a 500-room, five-star hotel this year.

With a 15 percent increase in foreign visitors a year, the demand for high-end hotel rooms was huge, Tran Hung Viet, general director of the State-owned Saigontourist Holding Company, said.

Earlier this month his company broke ground for work to expand Majestic Hotel Saigon into a new complex with 538 rooms by 2014, including 353 newly built rooms.

It will open two other hotels in the downtown area, the four-star Novotel Sai Gon Centre with 250 rooms in 2012 and the five-star Pullman Sai Gon Centre with 300 rooms a year later.

Saigontourist targets adding 2,000 luxury rooms by 2015.

The city tourism industry forecasts that the existing and new hotels could serve around 4 million foreign visitors to the city next year.

(Source: VNA)

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Discovering Dinh An mat craft village
Tuesday, July 19th, 2011 / admin

Visitors to Sa Dec Town in the Mekong Delta province of Dong Thap can admire gardens full of colorful flowers in spring time or visit Huynh Thuy Le House where French hit movie L’amant (The Lover) was filmed.

33631 dsc0967520110719073757 Discovering Dinh An mat craft village

A winding road in Dinh An Village is covered with dyed mats – Photos: Lam Van Son

But there is another side to this area of the delta and tourists should take time to have a look at Dinh An sleeping mat craft village in Dinh Yen Commune, Lap Vo District.

Located around 33 kilometers from Sa Dec Town, the craft village lies along the bank of Hau River. Through the passage of time and industrial development, the village has stood strong for almost 100 years and it is a source of pride for locals and an attractive tourist site.

For a long time, sleeping mats were a way of life in Vietnam. People still use the mats to sleep or sit on and not only in homes as they are used in religious ceremonies or sacred places or festivals. In Vietnamese culture, a beautiful sleeping mat is very important for newly-weds and the mat is considered part of many love stories.

The main material to make sleeping mats is lat trees. Every household, in the village, has one or two weaving looms. The craft is handed down to younger generations in the craft village. It is a fascinating spectacle for visitors to see the whole family gather to make mats as they choose lat strings to dry, weave and decorate.

bdd76 dsc0966820110719073758 Discovering Dinh An mat craft village

A family in Dinh An Village in the process of weaving a sedge mat

(Source: SGT)

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Visiting Pongour Waterfall in the rain
Sunday, July 17th, 2011 / admin

Tourists heading for Lam Dong Province in central highlands Vietnam should not miss the Pongour Waterfall which has seven majestic levels and some of the spectacular views have to be seen to be believed.

0f959 pongourfall Visiting Pongour Waterfall in the rain

From a height of 30 metres the mass of water speeds and booms down seven floors into a big pool, creating sonorous thunder-like sounds, especially in the rainy season when it is more violent

Pongour is located in Duc Trong District of Lam Dong Province and is 50 kilometres from Dalat City.

Strolling on a red dust road to the west for about 5km, tourists will arrive at Pongour eco-area.

Pongour has a festival every year on the 15th of the first lunar month and this is a spring treat for Dalat and Lam Dong teenagers with many traditional games and cultural festivities of local people.

This beautiful area was captured by The Saigon Times Daily’s Kinh Luan.

cad88 pongourfall Visiting Pongour Waterfall in the rain

Tourists enjoy a stream under Pongour Waterfall, which means the landlord of a white-clay area.

(Source: SGT)

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Let’s Discover Vietnam – Summer Vacations For All
Friday, July 15th, 2011 / admin

Spending a few days at a coastal resort on hot, dry days or visiting pagodas during summer retreats are among many things for tourists to experience. Why not start your vacation today and discover Vietnam in all its glory beauty.

30c5d 48 200 Lets Discover Vietnam Summer Vacations For All

The mausoleum of King Khai Dinh, one of the famous historical and tourist sites in Hue City

Subsidiaries of Saigontourist Holding Company are launching summer tours of various itineraries and prices so that customers can easily choose one tailored to their interests.

First-class tours

As an annual tradition, Saigontourist Travel Service Company provides a variety of tours from HCM City for customers to enjoy a summer vacation.

These tours are chosen by many people thanks to their diverse itineraries, convenient starting dates and acceptable service quality. On these tours, customers will stay at luxury seaside resorts and hotels. These tours last two to three days and cost from VND3.9-8 million (US$185-381) a guest.

Apart from package tours, the company also has Free & Easy tours. People taking this service are not provided with a tour guide and do not have to follow fixed itineraries but can enjoy such services as room and air ticket booking, and airport pickup. Since early June, many people have enjoyed tours to Vinpearl Nha Trang, Vinpearl Danang and Hon Tam Resort. The Vinpearl Nha Trang tour includes two nights’ stay in villa rooms at the five-star Vinpearl Resort, visits to the theme park and the aquarium, and free use of across-the-sea cable cars or speedboats.

The Hon Tam Resort tour lets people spend two nights in a bungalow, enjoy two meals at the five-star resort and free massage service at its healthcare center. These tours take three days and are priced at VND13.6-17.6 million each.

This summer, Saigontourist Travel Service is also launching cost-saving IKO Travel tours. From Hanoi, on July 24 or July 27, people can take a tour of the southern region. They can choose a tour to visit Can Tho, Chau Doc and Ha Tien, or Can Tho and Con Dao. On these tours, when arriving in Can Tho, tourists can study the lifestyle of people in Can Tho as well as the Mekong Delta by visiting Cai Rang Floating Market, orchards and ancient houses, and enjoying a traditional southern music show. These tours last four days and cost each tourist about VND7.3-9.5 million. A tour of this kind helps each save VND2-2.4 million.

Saigontourist also has IKO Travel tours in the central region and the Central Highlands. These tours start on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday every week. The tour of Danang-Hoi An-Hue lasts four days and costs a customer roughly VND3.6 million, excluding the air ticket. Other tours include the two-day tour of Phan Thiet, the four-day tour of Dalat, or the three-day tour of Nha Trang. These tours cost a customer from at least VND1.8 million and can save more than VND500,000.

Discovering central, northern regions with Fiditour

Fiditour has launched summer tours of the central and northern regions. The tours start in HCM City every week. In addition, customers in Can Tho City can also take a tour but will have to transit in HCM City.

To visit the central region, people can take a tour of Danang-Ba Na-Hoi An, or a tour of Danang-Ba Na-Hoi An-Hue, or a tour of Danang-Hoi An-Ba Na-Hue-Phong Nha. These tours last three to five days and cost each customer from VND6-8.4 million.

For visiting the northern region, there are tours of Hanoi-Bac Ninh-Halong-Tuan Chau-Yen Tu, Hanoi-Bai Dinh-Trang An-Halong-Tuan Chau-Yen Tu, or Hanoi-Sapa-Bac Ninh-Yen Tu-Halong. These tours last three to six days and cost a customer about VND8.8-10.8 million.

Taking a central region tour, tourists will visit scenic spots and world heritage sites such as the ancient town of Hoi An, My Son Relic, the ancient capital of Hue and Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park. Arriving in Danang, tourists will discover Son Tra Peninsula, Da Spring and But Beach. In Hoi An, tourists will visit ancient houses and family temples and eat cao lu (rice noodle with pork and vegetables).

When in Hue, tourists will visit the ancient citadel with the royal court of the 13 kings of the Nguyen dynasty (1802-1945), enjoy a royal music show and take a scenic boat trip on theHuong River. They can also enjoy Hue folk music performed live on the boat by local artists and release lanterns on the river for good luck.

Crossing Latitude 17, which once divided Vietnam into two regions for two different political regimes, tourists will head for Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park, one of the world’s two biggest limestone mountains, where they can visit magnificent caves.

In the tour of the northern region, Hanoi is an attractive destination with Sword Lake, 35 ancient streets and Temple of Literature. From Hanoi, tourists will go east to visit Ha Long Bay, a world natural heritage site with thousands of islands and illets. Other well-known destinations are Yen Tu, where King Tran Nhan Ton (1258-1308) practiced Buddhism in his old age, and Sapa, a tourist town in the mist.

Pilgrimage tours with Lotus

Lotus Tours has launched pilgrimage tours from June onward to meet increasing demands of clients. There are two kinds of tours: the Long Thanh (Dong Nai)-Ba Ria (Ba Ria-Vung Tau) tour and the Long An-My Tho tour. These are daily tours.

Taking the Long Thanh-Ba Ria tour, tourists will have a vegetarian breakfast at Di Lac Pagoda, then visit Minh Duc Meditation Monastery, a famous tourist site at Dinh Mountain, Ngoc Son Dinh Pagoda and Ngoc Thanh Pagoda. They will take lunch at Van Phat Quang Dai Tong Lam, one of the biggest Buddhist monasteries in Vietnam, and continue visiting Thien Hoa, Pho Chieu and Hue Chieu monasteries.

On the Long An-My Tho tour, guests will have a vegetarian breakfast at Thien Khanh Pagoda, and then visit Vinh Trang and Pho Duc ancient pagodas, which give free medical exams and treatment to the poor. They will take a vegetarian lunch at Thien Phuoc Pagoda before visiting Ngoc Lam Monastery and Kim Cang Pagoda, where Buddhist scripts carved in wood and age-old statues are preserved.

The Long Thanh-Ba Ria tour costs one person VND369,000 and the Long An-My Tho tour costs VND339,000. They start on July 23, July 30 and August 13.

(Source: SGTO)

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Versatile Phu Ly pancakes
Thursday, July 14th, 2011 / admin

Steamed rolled rice pancake (banh cuon) is a popular dish in Vietnam, but it can be enjoyed in different ways in various locations.

7241a banh cuon Versatile Phu Ly pancakes

Phu Ly steamed rolled rice pancakes with grilled pork and raw vegetables - Photo: Thoa Nguyen

Unlike steamed rolled rice pancakes in Hanoi, which are stuffed with meat and served with sheets of orange hued, roasted cinnamon sausage (cha que) or classic silky Vietnamese sausages (cha lua), Phu Ly steamed rolled rice pancakes are white, soft yet flexible sheets of rice flour with fried shallots on top and are eaten with grilled pork, fish sauce and a variety of raw vegetables.

Not only satisfying diners in the Ha Nam countryside and commuters along National Highway 1A, Phu Ly steamed rolled rice pancake also pleases picky customers and is becoming a favorite dish in the capital.

In order to make delicious steamed rolled rice pancakes, one must go through several stages from selecting ingredients to making the rice pancakes and preparing the sauce.

To make steamed rolled rice pancakes, the rice must be soaked until soft and ground the night before, then filtered through a thin cloth. Some of this batter is spread with the back of a ladle into the steamer base to have the thin sheet of the pancake. After that, the pancakes are carefully plucked off the steamer base.

Sliced pork sides (thit ba chi) are spiced with fish sauce, dried onions, peppers, sugar and other spices and then roasted over hot charcoal. The fish sauce served with this dish, which is warmed before eaten, contains all flavors: salty, sweet, hot and sour.

Raw vegetables include coriander, purple perilla (tia to), Vietnamese balm (kinh gioi), and thinly sliced banana blossom (hoa chuoi thai roi).

With the softness of the rice pancakes, sweet fragance of cinnamon, the fat of grilled pork and the strong taste of warm fish sauce, steamed rolled rice pancakes in Phu Ly should be prepared and enjoyed no matter where you are based in the country.

(Source: SGTO)

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Famous mountain range in Lao Cai
Tuesday, July 12th, 2011 / admin

Hoang Lien Son is the most towering mountain range with its Fanxipang peak being 3,143 metres high above the sea level.

Lai Cai province is divided into low-lying and high-lying areas. The imposing mountains are mainly in the northern districts of Sa Pa, Bat Xat, Muong Khuong, Bac ha and Si Ma Cai and the lower mountains in the southern and south-western districts of Bao Yen, Nam Thang, and Van Ban.

Ngu Hanh Son Mountain in Ta Giang Phinh village, Sa Pa district is 3,090 metres high. It is the second highest mountain in Vietnam and the most beautiful one in the north-western region.

Hoang Lien Son range includes famous mountains such as Pu Luong (2,985 metres), Lung Cung (2,918 metres) and Sa Phinh (2,871 metres).

To the east, Tay Con Linh range runs from Ha Giang to Bac Ha-Si Ca Mai with high peaks like Ta Cu Ty (1,856 metres), Quan Than San (1,800 metres) and Lau Thi Ngai (1,638 metres).

Cao Son mountain in Muong Khuong and Con Voi mountain in Bao Yen along the Hong and Chay rivers are home to Tay, Nung, Dao and Mong ethnic minority groups.

Almost every locality has its own mountainous symbol with legendary stories such as Ham Rong in Muong Khuong town, Ba Me Con in Bac Ha town, Phu Gia Lan in Khanh Yen town, Nhiu Co San in Y Ty and Nhac Son in Lao Cai City.

Lao Cai mountains and forests look most beautiful and romantic at sunrise and sunset.

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Fanxipang peak

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Pu Luong mountain

Con voi bao yen20110712181137 Famous mountain range in Lao Cai

Con Voi mountain range

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Ham Rong mountain in Muong Khuong town

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Ba Me Con mountain in Bac Ha town

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Phu Gia Lan in Khanh Yen town

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Nhiu Co San mountain in Y Ty

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Co Tien mountain in Muong Khuong

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Cao Son mountain

(Source: VOV)

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A taste of France at TOTT bar and restaurant
Friday, July 01st, 2011 / admin

d7154 tott A taste of France at TOTT bar and restaurant

This month, diners do not need to leave the city to savor their favorite French delights thanks to the TOTT Bar and Restaurant of the Windsor Plaza Hotel in HCMC’s District 5 bringing classics like entrecote (steak) with pepper sauce and tarte tatin (fruit tart).

This and other French fare can be enjoyed with your loved ones with panoramic views of the city from level 25 of the Windsor Plaza Hotel. Dishes start from VND165,000++.

For further information and reservations, contact the Windsor Plaza Hotel at 18 An Duong Vuong Street, District 5, HCMC, tel: 3833 6688 ext. 2626, email: tott@windsorplazahotel.com.

(Source: SGTO)

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