Travel News

Con Dao is an island of Vung Tau province which is still untouched and natural. The island is endowed with favorable climate and beautiful scenery. It is also a famous historical site dating since French colonial period. Photos: Pham Quoc Vinh.

Prisoners’ statutes (more…)

Vietnam will host the World Food Festival for the first time in the southern coastal city of Vung Tau in July, providing a great opportunity for the country to promote its traditional cuisine.

The festival, co-organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the People’s Committee of Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province, are expecting more than 80 countries and territories to attend the festival which will feature cuisine, culture, festival, shopping and entertainment.

Vietnam will spotlight a range of special dishes from all three regions. Being a nation with many diverse cultural identities, Vietnam is known as an “eating and drinking heaven”. Philip Kotler, the father of modern marketing, said that food may be Vietnam’s national trademark after he visited the country and enjoyed numerous traditional dishes.

(more…)

The Thang Long-Hanoi International Tourism Festival will run from October 2-5 at the Bao Son Paradise Theme Park.

At a meeting with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on June 10, Vice Chair of the Hanoi People’s Committee Ngo Thi Thanh Hang said that the event is not only part of National Tourism Year but will also celebrate the 1,000 th anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi.
(more…)

Hanoi ’s Department of Industry and Trade is putting together five tours of the city’s traditional craft villages to mark the 1,000 th anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi.

The tours, which are scheduled to start this month, include a one-day tour to the Chuon Ngo pearl inlay village, Thang Loi embroidery village, Ha Thai lacquer village, Phu Vinh bamboo and rattan village and an extended tour to Van Phuc silk and Son Dong sculpture villages.

A tour of Bat Trang ceramic and Kieu Ky gold-leaf villages is also planned. The department has also selected a number of typical workshops and old houses of architectural interest to be visited during the tours.

A six-day gastronomy festival will be held at the Ho Tay (West Lake) Water Park in Hanoi from October 5 to celebrate the 1,000th founding anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi.

Do Dinh Hong, Head of the Hanoi People’s Committee Office said that under a plan on the festival organisation, the event will include the presentation of traditional gastronomy, art performances and folk games.

The festival area will accommodate 130 booths, including 60 ones with images of Hanoi now and then, 50 of other regions in the country and 10 of foreign countries.

They mainly came from China, Australia, the Republic of Korea, Thailand, Taiwan, France, Malaysia and the US. Chinese tourists raced ahead took the lead with a surge of 111 percent, according to figures released by the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

Ho Chi Minh City was a major destination, drawing 1.3 million overseas tourists, accounting for more than half of the total figure in the last five months.

The holidays on April 30-May 1 also led to a sharp rise in domestic holidays makers. The numbers even doubled at popular sites such as the mountain resort of Sa Pa in the northern province of Lao Cai, Nha Trang Bay in the central coastal province of Khanh Hoa and the old French mountain resort Da Lat in the Central Highland province of Lam Dong.

(more…)

The Binh Thuan Province Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism says the local tourism sector will take part in a Vietnamese culture and tourism festival in Japan and Korea from June 22 to 27.

Apart from promoting the 1,000th anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi and the destination of Mui Ne, Binh Thuan will introduce its sea sports, golf, health treatment and potential in tourism real estate investment that has attracted both travelers and investors from both countries.

This is also a chance for Binh Thuan to popularize its beautiful landscapes, annual festivals and seafood based cuisine.

(more…)

Vietnamese folk singing or “Quan Ho Bac Ninh” has been included in the list of “Best in Asia 2010” published by the US magazine The Times. In an article entitled “Dial-a-Lovely-Old-Song” by Martha Ann Overland on May 13, the magazine categorized Vietnamese folk singing in the “The Best of Soul” section.

The article stated: “For years, fans of “Quan Ho” – centuries-old Vietnamese love duets – have been struggling to keep the music alive. In the face of pop music, karaoke and traditional ballads about young love and homesick soldiers, it had almost seemed like a lost art. But that fact, coupled with a sense that the national culture needed to be preserved in modern times has given a fresh impetus to the campaign to revive this centuries old art.

(more…)

Pu Luong proposed nature reserve is located in Quan Hoa and Ba Thuoc districts, in north-western Thanh Hoa province. To the north-east, the nature reserve is bordered by Mai Chau, Tan Lac and Lac Son districts, Hoa Binh province. Peaceful scenery, houses on stilt and terrace fields are the highlights of Pu Luong Natural Reserve that taken by Nguyen Thanh Giang:

(more…)

Government has approved a petition which allows Hue to set off a 15-minute firework performance at the opening and closing ceremonies of Hue Festival 2010.

Hue Festival 2010 will take place from June 5-13 in the ancient imperial city of Hue, with the expected participation of over 40 artists and art troupes from 31 countries worldwide, said the organisation board.

For the first time, Hue Festival will welcome the representatives of ancient capital cities and provinces housing world cultural heritages whose activities include special cultural performances relating to music, circus, theatrics, street art, puppetry and cinema, said Nguyen Duy Hien, the organisation board’s deputy director.

(more…)