Thac Bo Temple

Thac Bo Temple recognizes historic culture relic 

Hoa Binh’s People’s Committee has just issued the decision No.1858/QD-UBND that recognizes Thac Bo Temple as a provincial historic cultural relic. Thac Bo Temple is located in the Vay Nua Commune of Da Bac District in the northern province of Hoa Binh. Hoa Binh authorities expect to attract more visitors after this important announcement.

Every year, over 1 million visitors come to Thac Bo Temple. At present, the Department of Culture, Sport and Tourism of Hoa Binh is working on a campaign to develop tourism for Hoa Binh Lake. The authority is waiting for the decision from the Government to recognize Hoa Binh Lake as a national tourist area. 

Corn noodles of Phu Yen

Corn noodles are made from corn and is very delicious and sweet-tasting if noodle makers use the corn from the Tuy An and Dong Xuan areas of the central province of Phu Yen.

For a long time, corn noodles were a traditional product of the Tuy An people. Over 90 percent of the population of Tuy An made corn noodles however in modern times young people have not followed family traditions. At present, only a few families remain making crn noodles in this area.

Visitors will have a chance to taste corn noodles during festivals or Lunar New Year. Corn noodle soup is quite different from other soups as the soup is cooked with Giang leaf and goby fish which is caught at the O Loan lagoon. If one doesn’t have the time to follow the traditional recipe, mixing fish sauce with chili then adding the mixed fish sauce to the broth and the corn noodles will make a satisfactory variation.

Those who travel to Phu Yen shouldn’t miss the opportunity to taste the corn noodle soup at the Chi Thanh market in the An Dan commune.

US$100mil tourism complex to be built in Thua Thien-Hue

The Thua Thien-Hue Province administration has approved development of a giant tourism complex on Con Son Island that will have residential and amusement facilities.

To be built by the Vietnam Construction and Technology Development Joint Stock Company, the complex will have an urban zone, resort, five-star hotel, theater, exhibition and convention center, tennis courts, luxury villas, and water sport and aquatic entertainment facilities on a 200-hectare area in Thuan An town.

To cost VND1.6 trillion (nearly US$100 million), it will be developed in three stages from 2009 to 2015.

AirAsia launches 1 million free seats

AirAsia - the largest and leading low-cost carrier in Asia- will be giving away 1 million free seats for all its domestic and international destinations from all of its seven hubs primarily in Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur, Kota Kinabalu, Kuching, Johor), Thailand (Bangkok) and Indonesia (Jakarta and Bali).

This free seat campaign includes over 105 routes in Asean, and China network including AirAsia X’s long haul destinations. Some of the hottest international destinations included in this campaign and which only AirAsia flies directly from Kuala Lumpur are Makassar, Manado, Solo, Krabi, Chiang Mai, the newly launched Guilin, Shenzhen, Haikou, Bandung and Vientiane.

Other destinations include Bali, Jakarta, Bangkok, Phuket, Singapore, Macau, Siem Reap, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong and many others. And to make the deal sweeter, AirAsia’s new destinations like Perth and Melbourne (Australia) serviced by AirAsia X are also included in this free seat campaign.

The free seats are available for the following booking period from 26 – 31 August 2008 and travel period from 1 April to 31 July 2009

This 6 days offer is available exclusively online at www.airasia.com

Quang Ninh greets over 3.5 million tourists in first 8 months

Quang Ninh Province’s Culture, Sport and Tourism Department said that the province had attracted an additional 1.7 million tourists over the past eight months, contributing to increasing the number tourists visiting the province to 3.5 million for the period.

In August, Quang Ninh welcomed nearly 360,000 tourists. Total turnover from tourism reached an estimated nearly VND 1.7 trillion in the first eight months this year. Mr. Le Toan, the Director of the Quang Ninh Provincial Culture, Sport and Tourism Department said this is the largest-ever number in economic terms.

In spite of having only been in operation for a short time, the establishment of Quang Ninh Province’s Culture, Sport and Tourism Department has helped the province’s culture and sport sectors connect to tourism activities, and the province’s tourism is expected to continue to prosper in the future.

Movenpick Hotels & Resorts begins operations in Vietnam

Movenpick Hotels & Resorts’ first foray into Asia’s hottest hotel development market centres on the country’s very first upscale property.

Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts, a Swiss hotel chain with more than 90 hotels existing or under construction worldwide, made Ho Chi Minh City’s five-star accommodation scene this month by assuming management of the Omni Hotel Saigon, which opened in 1994 as the city’s inaugural international-standard hotel.

Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts’ arrival in Ho Chi Minh City is the first in a series of steps the group plans for a country that welcomed more than four million visitors in 2007—a 16 percent increase over the previous year. A similar overhaul-and-operate strategy has been scheduled for the former Guoman Hotel in Hanoi starting in January, as well as the development and handling of up to three more hotels in Vietnam by 2010.

Movenpick Hotels & Resorts was founded in Zurich, Switzerland in 1973 and moved into Germany in 1980. In 2003, it was recognised as the “fastest growing hotel chain in the Middle East” at the World Travel Market in London.

The business began its Asian expansion in 2006, when it signed a management agreement with a hotel in Bangalore, India, and assumed operations of a holiday resort in Phuket, Thailand. Movenpick Hotels & Resorts’ current plans for this region include adding three or more properties to its portfolio in Vietnam.

Vietnam-RoK charity golf tournament helps homeless people

A Vietnam-RoK charity golf tournament will be held in northern mountainous Phu Tho province to raise funds for homeless people, the Embassy of the Republic of Korea (RoK) in Vietnam announced on August 30.

The tournament, the first of its kind in Vietnam , will take place at the Tam Dao Golf Course on September 2 and is expected to draw the participation of RoK Ambassador Im Hong Jae and businesses from the two countries.

The organising board said it hopes the event will help attract more attention and support from businesses for charitable activities. The board has so far raised over 10,000 USD in support for the local homeless.

The tournament is organised by the RoK’s Pang Rim Neotex Co. Ltd, a fibre material company operating in Phu Tho province.

(Source: SGGP, ND, CPV, VNA)