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More than just a Kong set: Vietnamese province named among top places to go in 2018

More than just a Kong set: Vietnamese province named among top places to go in 2018
U.S. travel site Insider has named Ninh Binh Province in northern Vietnam one of the 50 best spots to visit in the coming year.
The province came out on top of the list as a place that “boasts impressive topography”, thanks to its mesmerizing mix of rivers, limestone cliffs and paddy fields
Sitting 60 miles to the south of Hanoi, Ninh Binh is often overlooked by tourists.
It is also treated as an underdog to the UNESCO-recognized Ha Long Bay around five hours away. It is sometimes referred to as the “Ha Long Bay on land”, given the green mountains that rise out of its paddy fields.
Ninh Binh was one of the three filming locations for “Kong: Skull Island”, one of the biggest Hollywood blockbusters of 2017.
Insider suggests visitors try the full experience by gliding along the river that runs between paddy fields in a traditional boat, exploring caves in Cuc Phuong National Park and visiting the ancient temples and palaces in the area.
Its 2018 bucket list spans across Europe and includes some of the world’s biggest cities such as Buenos Aires, Chicago, London, Mexico, New Orleans and New York. In Asia, it recommends Singapore, Sichuan in China, Indonesia’s Raja Ampat Islands and Taipei.
 
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More than just a Kong set: Vietnamese province named among top places to go in 2018

More than just a Kong set: Vietnamese province named among top places to go in 2018 U.S. travel site Insider has named Ninh Binh Province i...

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Wild sunflower festival on way in Gia Lai

Wild sunflower festival on way in Gia Lai
A wild sunflower festival will be held at the Chu Dang Ya extinct volcano in the central highlands province of Gia Lai from December 1 to 3.
The festival aims to honor the land, the people, and the cultural values of the ethnic groups in Chu Pah district and help introduce and promote the attractions and the potential development of the district’s tourism sector among tour operators and other provinces.
Along with the beautiful roads, valleys, mountains, and the volcano covered by wild yellow sunflowers, visitors can also enjoy various activities reflecting the typical culture of local ethnic minorities, such as a gong performance, calligraphy, brocade weaving, statue sculpturing, the making of ethnic musical instruments, and a series of festivals.
There is also a display of beautiful pictures on the festivals, beliefs, natural landscapes, people, and tourist spots in the area. Sports and games include crossbow shooting, walking on stilts, and tug of war, etc.
Souvenir and food shops will offer handmade products and local specialties such as brocade, flutes, papoose and dried bamboo shoots, honey wild banana, Lingzhi mushrooms, grilled chicken with E, a special sauce of the area, a typical local dish called bo mot nang-muoi ot kien vang (dried beef mixed with weaver ants and salt and chili), a BBQ market for meat, sweet potato, and corn.
The Chu Dang Ya extinct volcano is around 30 km from Pleiku and 20 km from the famous Bien Ho tourism site. The funnel-shaped crater and volcanic ash mixed with red basalt soil are still evident today. 
Chu Dang Ya was voted by the Vietnam Records Association, Vietkings, as No.1 in the Top 10 most attractive destinations in Gia Lai in 2017. It is more fascinating at the time when wild sunflowers start to bloom, from November to December.
VN Economic Times
 
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Wild sunflower festival on way in Gia Lai

Wild sunflower festival on way in Gia Lai A wild sunflower festival will be held at the Chu Dang Ya extinct volcano in the central highlands...

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Korean tourism is particularly interested in Vietnamese market

Korean tourism is particularly interested in Vietnamese market

Korean tourism is particularly interested in Vietnamese market In 2017, KTO also organized many programs to build the theme products such as...

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Detailed tourism reform needed: Deputy PM Dam

Detailed tourism reform needed: Deputy PM Dam
NDO/VNA – A very detailed restructuring plan is needed to resolve prominent problems in the tourism sector, says Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam.
In a meeting with Nguyen Van Tuan, General Director of the National Administration of Tourism and other stakeholders on November 30, Dam also said that the plan should focus on measures to develop commercial and agricultural products as tourist souvenirs.
Vietstar Airlines Deputy General Director Luong Hoai Nam agreed that tourism products, not just souvenirs, will have to play a key role in restructuring the tourism industry.
Apart from souvenirs, Vietnam was seriously short of tourist attractions like interesting museums or amusement parks, he said, stressing the need to expand and improve the quality of existing tourism products.
Tuan noted at the meeting that the growth in the inbound tourist market was not balanced, with neighbouring countries and regions accounting for a disproportionate number of visitors. Tourists from Northeast Asia account for about 55% of total inbound visitors and those from Southeast Asia make up 16%.
Tourists from markets farther away remain minimal so far, Tuan said, adding that apart from underdeveloped transport infrastructure, the quality of tourism workers was another issue with nearly half of the workers in the industry do not receive any training. Those who have college degrees account for just 7.4%, Tuan said.
Deputy PM Dam agreed that the tourism industry was facing a lot of challenges now and needed a restructuring boost to develop sustainably. The restructuring should first begin with tourism products, then move to inbound markets, labour quality, and investment in infrastructure, he said.
He asked the National Administration of Tourism to map out a detailed timeline and development plan for key tourist destinations, as well as a transparent plan on spending of the State budget’s allocation for the sector that shows who will be in charge of what.
 
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Detailed tourism reform needed: Deputy PM Dam

Detailed tourism reform needed: Deputy PM Dam NDO/VNA – A very detailed restructuring plan is needed to resolve prominent problems in the to...

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Detailed tourism reform needed

Detailed tourism reform needed
HÀ NỘI — A “very detailed” restructuring plan is needed to resolve prominent problems in the tourism sector, says Deputy Prime Minister Vũ Đức Đam.
In a Thursday meeting with Nguyễn Văn Tuấn, General Director, National Administration of Tourism and other stakeholders, Đam also said that the plan should focus on measures to develop commercial and agricultural products as tourist souvenirs.
Vietstar Airlines Deputy General Director Lương Hoài Nam agreed that tourism products, not just souvenirs, will have to play a key role in restructuring the tourism industry.
Apart from souvenirs, Việt Nam was seriously short of tourist attractions like interesting museums or amusement parks, he said
He also stressed the need to “expand and improve the quality” of existing tourism products.
Tuấn noted at the meeting that the growth in the inbound tourist market was not balanced, with neighbouring countries and regions accounting for a disproportionate number of visitors. Tourists from Northeast Asia account for about 55 per cent of total inbound visitors and those from Southeast Asia make up 16 per cent.
Tourists from markets farther away remain minimal so far, Tuấn said.
He also said that apart from underdeveloped transport infrastructure, the quality of tourism workers was another issue.
“Nearly half of the workers in the industry don’t receive any training. Those who have college degrees account for just 7.4 per cent,” Tuấn said.
Deputy PM Đam agreed that the tourism industry was facing a lot of challenges now and needed a restructuring boost to develop sustainably.
“The restructuring should first begin with tourism products, then move to inbound markets, labour quality, and investment in infrastructure,” he said.
He asked the National Administration of Tourism to map out a detailed timeline and development plan for key tourist destinations, as well as a transparent plan on spending of the State budget’s allocation for the sector that shows “who will be in charge of what.” — VNS
  
 
 
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Detailed tourism reform needed

Detailed tourism reform needed HÀ NỘI — A “very detailed” restructuring plan is needed to resolve prominent problems in the tourism sector, ...

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Red Dao ’capital’ is mountain wonderland

Red Dao ’capital’ is mountain wonderland
The commune, with thousands of hectares of terraced rice fields and topped with the “grey hat” of Chieu Lau Thi Peak, is considered the capital of the Red Dao ethnic group, which numbers about 450,000 people in Viet Nam alone. The area is also the starting point for the Chay River, which runs like a giant snake through the mountains and forests.
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It takes half a day riding on motorbikes to reach Tan Phong Village in Ho Thau Commune from Thong Nguyen Commune through a 35km distance of terraced fields, forests and grass fields surrounding other Red Dao villages, Nam Khoa, and Nam Ai.
Then we feasted our eyes on the green mountain forests surrounding yellow terraced rice fields shining in the sun. Our rest was marked by relaxing talks with local farmers, who were busy harvesting their fields.
After long hours of bumpy travel, we finally had lunch in a homestay in Tân Phong Village, which had a spectacular view over a valley. Truong Cong Dinh, chairman of Ho Thau Commune, said the focus was on developing ecological tourism, even risky tours of Chieu Lau thi Peak, while preserving the cultures of tribal people.
“To further promote tourism, the authorities use financial resources from the province and districts to advertise local destinations, pay for train tourism and encourage households to open homestays,” he said. “Hoang Su Phi District authorities have called for investors to open more restaurants, hotels, hold motorbike races and establish trekking routes from Chieu Lau Thi peak to nearby primitive forests.”
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Trieu Mui Mui, owner of Homestay Chan Mui, one among two experimental homestays in a project titled Improving the Livelihood of Ethnic Minorities through Community-Based Tourism sponsored by Swiss-based Helvetas Intercooperation and the Centre for Rural Economy Development, said her family had received hundreds of tourists in the past year.
“It makes us busier, but happier, to offer guests a close look at a Red Dao family,” she said, “The guests often stay one or two nights with us, have meals and enjoy traditional singing and dancing by locals. Since we stay far from the centre of the district, we often pay more to buy goods and food from the plain because it takes more time to transport them here,” she said.
From Tan Phong, we rode to Chieu Lau Thi Mountain, which peaks at  2,402m above sea level. Chieu Lau Thi in local language means nine ladder layers.
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The 12km road was covered with mud and rocks and rain-caused erosion. Our bikes bumped up and down over the rocks like wild horses. In some places, they did not seem to touch the road, but seemed to fly over the rocks. Many times we had to walk so as not to fall down steep cliffs.
But the surrounding scenery was great, with mountains after mountains stretching forever, huge rocky hills with red moss that glowed inn the sunlight – and wild orchids in many colours. Higher up the mountains were pine forests like those in Europe. Streams trickled and gushed down the hillsides. Birds sung in the trees.
We sometimes saw farmers’ timber houses, ideal spots for resting and taking photos of magnificent scenery over the valleys.
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From the peaks, the sky seem to be closer with so many clouds to nurture the imagination.
After nearly three hours, we reached a height of 2,000m and then trekked 400m to the peak. We had to hurry as it got dark quickly and we had to return before night set in and the roads became too horrible to navigate.
It was colder here. I put on another jacket, but got hot again as the steep climb and moist air made it hard to breathe. We had to walk slower and take deeper breaths.
Our xe ôm drivers were useful guides, willing to carry our bags and help us by hand through hard-to-climb places. “The best weather for climbing is in winter,” said Bàn Tà Liều, my driver. “At that time, both the roads for biking and the paths for trekking are drier and easier to climb.”
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Many tourists choose to stay overnight at a homestay at the 2,000m high stop so that they can climb up early in the morning to meet the first sunlight hitting the peak.
“Winter and spring are a better time to see clouds at the peak,” he said. “In summer, clouds are more beautiful in the afternoon. Winter offer nice views of maple forests, while summer has do quyen (Rhododendron) flowers in full bloom. In May and June, locals water their terrace rice fields while in autumn, September and October, they harvest their crops.
We passed 100-year-old tea trees with moss all over their trunks. That was Shan Tuyết tea that grows at a height of more than 2,000m above the sea level. The tea leaves get wind and fog for four seasons, sprouting valuable leaves used for people’s health.
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After nearly one hour trekking, we reached the peak, where a triangle stated that it was 2,402m high. We took many photos while watching clouds hanging in the middle of other peaks and a zigzagging road that we travelled on two hours ago. In the far distance, there were terrace rice fields. I felt I was so small in front of Mother Nature herself. I admired the locals who have toiled hard to make a living from this land.
Chieu Lau Thi and Tay Con Linh (2,427m), located in the northwest of HaGiang Province, are two highest peaks in the northeast of the country. Many trekkers try their strength conquering them – without the help of chair lifts!
 
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Red Dao ’capital’ is mountain wonderland

Red Dao ’capital’ is mountain wonderland The commune, with thousands of hectares of terraced rice fields and topped with the “grey hat” of C...

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Nguyen Hoang night market in Quang Nam

Nguyen Hoang night market in Quang Nam

Nguyen Hoang night market in Quang Nam In the World Heritage-listed town of Hoi An in Quang Nam Province, there is a night market on Nguyen ...

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