VNAT has completed talks with relevant authorities in the three cities for the joint programme set for August and September.

During the [...]]]> Culture, sports and tourism departments of Ha Noi, HCM City and Da Nang have joined hands with the Viet Nam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) to promote the Impressive Viet Nam Grand Sale 2010 programme.

VNAT has completed talks with relevant authorities in the three cities for the joint programme set for August and September.

During the two months, shopping centres, retail outlets, and other traders will offer promotions, discounting products and services by 10 per cent to 40 per cent.

The Impressive Viet Nam Grand Sale 2010 is part of a national marketing campaign called Viet Nam – Your Destination.

SaPa gets ready for culture week

A week-long cultural event called “Walking in a Cloud in Sa Pa” will be held from April 30 to May 4 to showcase the rich and distinctive aspects of Sa Pa’s diverse ethnic cultures.

Visitors can discover how local ethnic minorities dye, weave, and decorate their garments and make their sandals. They can take part in forest tours to pick medicinal herbs and learn how to use them, and prepare traditional meals eaten by the various ethnic minority groups.

The organisers also plan to make the famous lovers’ market as authentic as possible. The market, held on every Saturday night, offers a destination and opportunity for young, single Mong, Dao, Tay and Ray ethnic people to go and find their true love. Those already married also seldom miss the event, since it offers them an opportunity to relive their youthful love.

There will also be a photography exhibition and fairs of north-western cuisines and orchids.

Tour firms shrug off volcano woes

Vietnamese tour operators have been affected by the eruption of the Icelandic volcano that has closed most of Europe’s air space but the impact is not as severe as initially feared.

HCM City-based tour operators say there are few Vietnamese visitors to Europe and European travellers to Viet Nam during the current low season.

Saigontourist Travel Service Co. said two groups of 50 French visitors have cancelled tours to Viet Nam while four other groups of French tourists scheduled to return home on April 20 had to change their plans due to flight cancellations.

Ben Thanh Tourist said a group of Vietnamese tourists cancelled their tour to France and Italy to have departed on April 18 while G7 Travel Group said four groups of tourists from France cancelled tours of Viet Nam.

Vietravel unveils Nha Trang tours

Vietravel is offering discounts of VND200,000 to 400,000 for tours from HCM City to Nha Trang departing on May 1.

The three-day Nha Trang-King Yacht-Doc Let tour by air, including lodging at the Novotel Nha Trang Hotel, is priced at VND6 million (US$314). The same tour by bus and train and stay at the Diamond Bay Resort will cost VND3.6 million.

Visitors will also be taken to Vinpearl Land Resort and Spa where they can watch water music, Yangbay Waterfall and Doc Let Beach.

Novotel holds beach clean-up

Novotel Nha Trang organised a beach clean-up yesterday to public create awareness about the importance of sustaining the environment.

The activity was part of Earth Guest Day begun by the hotel owner, the Accor chain.

The three-hour event began at 7am with participants of staff, guests and more than 140 students from the Nha Trang Vocational Education and Training College and representatives from the City Environment Company.

Accor holds the day, which is held on the same day as International Earth Day, to encourage its 150,000 employees around the world to organise initiatives and events to promote sustainable development. — VNS

Speaking at a seminar on cooperation for aviation-tourism development held in Hanoi on April 22, Tuan said that between 70-80% of passengers travelling by air do so for [...]]]> Aviation-tourism cooperation is a vital path for the two sectors’ development, benefiting the country, said Director General of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) Nguyen Van Tuan.

Speaking at a seminar on cooperation for aviation-tourism development held in Hanoi on April 22, Tuan said that between 70-80% of passengers travelling by air do so for tourism purposes and up to 80% of foreign tourists come to Vietnam by air.

Vietnam boasts a large tourism potential and diversified products and its tourism market has the potential to compete against other major regional tourism markets, said Deputy Head of the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam (CAAV) Lai Xuan Thanh.

The aviation sector plays an important role in the task of serving national tourism development, stressed Thanh.

Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Tran Chien Thang said that both the aviation and the tourism sectors need to be brought into play in promoting Vietnam’s image abroad.

Both sectors should collaborate in providing information on tourism destinations and products for tourists before planes land, he said.

Vietnam now has around 20 airports for regular civil flights. Apart from the Vietnam national flag carrier, there are more than 20 foreign airlines operating in the country. The nation also boasts more than 800 international and thousands of domestic travel agents.

Vietnam’s aviation sector is opening new air routes and modernizing its fleet to increase its competitiveness. These are advantages for both sectors in terms of cooperation for development, said the seminar.

This year, both administrations plan to jointly offer promotional and discount programmes to attract foreign tourists through a goods discount campaign at major retail outlets in Hanoi, the central city of Danang and HCMC. This is part of the “Vietnam – your destination” stimulus programme slated for August-September 2010.

(Source: VNA)

Because this is mountainous terrain, tourists have to walk from downtown Sapa Town for [...]]]> It would be a big loss for travelers for not visiting Cat Cat Village located in Sapa Town, Lao Cai Province because of its beautiful and wild terrace fields, curling stone road and long-standing culture of the Mong ethnic minority people.

Because this is mountainous terrain, tourists have to walk from downtown Sapa Town for about 45 minutes to get to Cat Cat Village instead of using a car to contemplate the landscapes.

On the way, tourists can capture the peaceful images of Mong girls smiling in their colorful costumes or selling brocade bangles or Mong women knitting brocades in different patterns of flowers, trees, leaves and animals in front of their house or cute children with rosy cheeks eating candy.

Mong people are quite friendly and have been attached to their traditional work of planting cotton trees, terrace fields and corn fields and weaving brocade cloth. Coming to Cat Cat, travelers should taste some specialties of the Mong people including corn wine, thang co (a mixture of animal meat and zangs) and chicken’s blood curds among others.

Cat Cat Village could be a hide-way destination for those living in noisy and animated cities to escape. Once visiting this village, our fatigue was replaced with excitement and refreshment with wild nature and the good-natured Mong people.
(Source: SGT)

However, the truth is that flowers are also alluring to the male soul. One young man with an [...]]]> Sapa – Mountain life makes engineer blossom: Some believe that only women have a close relationship with flowers, maybe because blossoms and the fairer sex seem to share a certain soft mildness – an image of slender femininity.

However, the truth is that flowers are also alluring to the male soul. One young man with an agricultural engineering degree decided to abandon the big city and all its modern conveniences to grow flowers in the mountains of Sapa.

Le Quang Thai said that he knew a little about Sapa from the book Lang le Sapa (Quiet Sa Pa) by writer Nguyen Thanh Long, but seeing the beautiful, peaceful mountain itself was an altogether different experience.

“I arrived in Sapa, a high mountainous place, on a densely foggy morning. Each biting gust of wind that blew across my face seemed to cut into my skin and flesh as an omen that difficulties would not pass me by easily,” said Thai.

As an agricultural engineer, Thai was familar with the difficulties and obstacles that faced the practical application of agricultural theory, but he also recognised that real scientists can’t only work on paper. They have to get their hands dirty.

Thai took a job with a small salary at the Sapa Flower Variety Centre, part of the Agricultural Genetics Institute, to learn more about the values, life and thoughts of farmers.

“Sapa is now quite different from the Sapa of two years ago which I first glimpsed. A greenhouse, an essential piece of equipment for flower research in order to protect them against harsh weather, seemed a precious and luxurious thing at the time,” he said.

“Furthermore, I had to spend nearly all of my days and nights monitoring the plants and taking notes about the growth rate of each new flower variety we were researching. This could be boring for a young man without passion for the work,” Thai said.

Thai rapidly became accustomed to his new life thanks to the assistance of his director. “Although Le Duc Thao is my director, he whole-heartedly gave me guidance and shared my burdens with me as a newcomer also living far from home,” said Thai.

“Thao encouraged me to stay here and now I do not regret my decision, because the value and talent of being a real scientist working with flowers has been proven to me,” Thai said.

Thai said that since the moment he first stepped onto the mountains, his fondest memory may be the lily flower project, which both his former classmate Ho Khac Trang and the director Thao participated in.

“We nurtured an ambition to export our beautiful lillies to the capital with an initial funding of only about VND20 million, which came directly from our own salary and other earnings we had been saving for a long time.”

“All of us understood it was a risky project because if we did not succeed, we would lose all our savings and capital. Fortunately God did not betray our efforts because after trial and error most of the lily buds were in full bloom ten days before the Lunar New Year,” Thai said with a smile.

It took Thai and his colleagues nearly seven years to research and test the lilies. They had many unsuccessful crops that didn’t bloom at the right time.

“Growing this type of flower can help you become a millionaire, but it can also push you to the edge of bankruptcy. Luckily, the new year crop made us mini-millionaires, with a little profit as a reward for our ambition,” Thai said.

“Sometimes I also think about the period of my life after graduation when I was deciding between two different lives. I still think I absolutely made the right decision.”

Thai finished his studies at the university and began earning money designing cards for a small private enterprise in Ha Noi. “I could both work and relax and still earn a high monthly salary of VND4-5 million. In Sapa I only make VND1.2 million per month,” he said.

“However, I recognised that a high salary was not enough and it was not my ambition or working towards my future because I had no feelings or passion for the work,” Thai said.

“I continue to design cards in my free time after spending hours working with the flowers in Sapa, which have become part of my blood and body and have helped reduce my sadness at the remoteness of the mountainous region,” Thai said.

The cards Thai designs now are distinctly different from his former pieces because they are not simply copied from illegal discs on Ta Quang Buu Street; now they are all pictures of flowers and leaves, painted with his whole heart.

“After more than two years far from my friends, relatives and the streets of the capital, I have learnt so many things, which would have been impossible in an urban environment. Spiritual values alway defeat material values,” Thai said.

“I now want to devote my efforts to improving my career. I think that happiness will come to me if I can overcome obstacles and difficulties to discover it and hold it tightly. That happiness is invaluable,” Thai said .

“I believe in our ability, talent and dedication, as well as the Sapa flower trademark, which will soon be a Vietnamese image which will have a strong reputation, as well as the welcome and respect of international friends,” Thai said. — VNS

by Cong Thanh

MUONG KHUONG, LAO CAI — Muong Khuong district is planning to remodel itself into a centre of community-based eco-tourism in northwest Lao Cai Province in its current period of development (2005-10), said the chairman of the district [...]]]> Sapa – Muong Khuong keeps it green: The district is looking to develop into an eco-friendly destination.

by Cong Thanh

MUONG KHUONG, LAO CAI — Muong Khuong district is planning to remodel itself into a centre of community-based eco-tourism in northwest Lao Cai Province in its current period of development (2005-10), said the chairman of the district people committee Nong Van Hung at a recent tourism conference.

The district, which has 13 markets and seven handicraft villages, has chosen tourism as the driving force that can better the lives of its population of 51,000 who’s current capita per head is VND3.5 million (US$209).

Muong Khuong District is about a 10-hour train ride from the capital and then approximately 50km east from Lao Cai centre. The district is then accessible by motorbike or bus from Lao Cai City.

The locality is home to 14 ethnic groups including Mong (the largest group who account for 43 per cent of the population), Nung, Dao, Pa Di and Phu La. The mix in ethnicities lends the area a colourful character, visible in the market and the wares each group has to offer.

“The market is one of the main tourist attractions which sees a lot of visitors, especially as the district also serves as a link to other famous sites like Sa Pa Town, Bac Ha and Si Ma Cai districts in the province and the border gate with Yunnan, China,” said Hung.

“The agriculture-based district will target community-based eco-tourism in a sustainable manner that will help develop future social-economic projects over the course of the next few years,” he said, adding that the district is expected to open more border gates for increasing tourism traffic from China.

Vibrant market

Muong Khuong District is well-known to travellers for its many markets lining National Road 4D. It gives visitors a chance to glimpse into the life and traditions, not to mention goods on sale, of the Mong, Nung and Dao.

“We want to transform tourism in Lao Cai Province into a powerful industry and Muong Khuong District is just one of the tourist destinations we want to focus on and improve upon. Currently, we are upgrading the infrastructure and landscapes in the district to make it more attractive to tourists,” said vice director of Lao Cai Province’s Culture, Sport and Tourism Department, Le Duc Luan.

Challenges ahead

During the conference, travel agents highlighted the problems tourists faced and how they needed to be rectified as it was important to ensure that travellers did not leave with bad impressions of the area.

“We are fully aware that Lao Cai is famous for its sites, especially Sa Pa Town and Bac Ha District and how tourists are drawn to the area’s weekly markets and lifestyles of the different ethnicities. However, we are afraid that an overload of tourist traffic could prevent visitors from travelling throughout the province,” said Dang Thi Tho, head of the Ha Noi branch of Phoenix Voyage travel company.

“What we have learned from our 10 years of offering tours in the province is that authorities need to open more sites so that visitors have more options to avail of when they visit Lao Cai. Our customers, mostly from France, would visit Sa Pa and Bac Ha but never considered prolonging their stay in the province because nothing attractive was on offer there,” Tho added.

Tran Thi Huyen Thanh, director of Wild Lotus company, said: “I have seen just how beautiful Muong Khuong District’s natural landscape is. That is its advantage but it needs to tap into it and explore creative ways to promote it so that the area becomes an ideal destination for travellers to Lao Cai Province.”

However, the 34-year-old director said that the District needed to revamp the markets to make them easier to access and browse through in a carefree manner. He said locals needed to be made aware of norms of social etiquette in their dealings with tourists.

“At the moment, many locals do not even smile or turn their heads if tourists want to take photographs with them. Instead it is common for them to ask for a little money if they are asked to pose for photographs or they trail tourists, and harass them into buying their wares. This chaotic atmosphere needs to change,” said Thanh.

The district opened a lodge in centre of Cao Son Village, where visitors could stay overnight and then go on a trek the following day throughout forests and markets in or near Cao Son, Lung Khau Nhin, Pha Long, Ta Gia Khau, Ban Lau, Ban Xen and Lung Vai.

Many spoke of their pleasure visiting brocade weaving sites and maize wine villages in Ta Chu Phung and Di Thang. Perhaps more such lodgings need to be opened.

New plans

In the current 2005-10 five-year plan for tourism development in the district, authorities in Lao Cai hope to complete work on a road that will link Muong Khuong and Si Ma Cai districts to Ha Giang next year. This should facilitate tourism in the area as it will give travellers opportunities to explore in a convenient manner.

The road will also turn Muong Khuong District into a centre of tourism and provide a viable trade route from Hekou, Ma Guan and Yunnan in China to Bac Ha, Si Ma Cai districts in Lao Cai and Ha Giang provinces. — VNS

The big garden [...]]]> Sapa destroys it’s precious pink heritage for quick Tet profit: SAPA — Tourists visiting Sapa Township in northern Lao Cai Province in the springtime could hardly forget the vast number of blossoming peach trees. Yet, the distinctive beauty of these trees fades with each passing year, as locals cut them down to sell.

The big garden of peach flowers in several communes surrounding Ham Rong Mountain bustle with tree purchases in preparation for Tet (lunar New Year).

A Ham Rong village patriarch, Ma A Chau, sighs as he says: “There were hundreds of households planting peach trees for fruit, but today they just cut the flower branches and often even the trees themselves to sell.

“The picturesque gardens are going to disappear.”

Chau added his regrets that local authorities had done nothing to prevent this.

Better colour

There has been an increasing trend for people in cities, particularly Ha Noi, to buy a peach flower branch or tree taken from the forest, despite prices that are triple or quadruple that of a tree cultivated in the capital city. The reason given is that the colour of flowers are more beautiful, and the shape of trees from forests look more ‘natural.’

“Each Tet I try to buy forest peach flowers,” said Ha Noi resident Nguyen Van Cuong. “The ones I like have been transported from Sapa.”

There are two main Sapa peach flowers, dao moc (misty peach) and dao phai (fading peach). Both types of flowers are light pink, but the former has less buds than the latter.

Dao moc often grows in forest, on high mountains or between mountains near springs. The tree trunks are big, rough, overgrown with moss and look like bonsai. So, merchants tend to dig up the whole tree.

Dao phai, on the other hand, usually only have the branches cut off since their trunks are smaller.

A peach flower tree can be sold at VND7-8 million (US$410-470) while a branch of fading peach flower is priced between 2-2.5 million ($110-140). Even the cheapest branch is estimated at VND500,000 ($28).

According to merchants, the consumer trend is to purchase a big tree, which pushes prices up. The big profit is the impetus for local people to sell their trees.

Ly May Chan in Ta Phin Commune regretted the selling off of the trees, but also said she would sell more since the income would help her have a better Tet.

She also admitted that her garden had become less charming with the loss of the peach flowers.

About two weeks before the lunar New Year, peach trees and branches are transported by trucks to cities.

Nguyen Van Cong, former head of the Sapa Forest Rangers, said there was nothing that his group could do to prevent local people from cutting trees, since peach trees are not classified as precious timber to be protected.

Hot commodity

“Local people said it is theirs, so they are eligible to sell. Merchants also argue that enjoying peach flowers during Tet is a long tradition that no one has prohibited,” he said.

Meanwhile, Nguyen Van Phuc, deputy chairman of Sapa People’s Council, said locals should not be blamed for harvesting wild peach trees.

Phuc said that peach flowers had become a hot commodity over the years, and locals had the right to sell their products.

“They used to sell peach fruit, but it did not bring much profit, so it is quite reasonable if they switch to selling flowers for a bigger profit,” he said.

Phuc did admit that fewer peach flowers did somehow affect the landscape in an area that is important for tourism.

He added that local authorities recognised the importance of peach flowers to tourism, but the only thing they can do is to encourage planters to keep their peach trees and instead increase their income by planting medicinal herbs and other flowers.

Nguyen Thuy Hong, a regular tourist to Sapa, lamented that during her last visit to the township early this year she could only see beautiful peach trees in far flung communes, and was disappointed not to see them in Sapa Township anymore.— VNS

The resort will be [...]]]> Sapa gets a resort upgrade with Life: LAO CAI — A Life Heritage resort will be built in the town of Sapa in northwestern Viet Nam by a joint venture announced last week between the Life Resorts Management Co, Blue Ocean Co Ltd and the Viet Nam Investment and Project Development Group.

The resort will be built at a cost of US$5 million on a 15ha site and will include 110 guest rooms, as well as luxury villas.

“Our resort is going to mirror the appeal of Sapa itself, a cultural and ethnic rarity that has incredible appeal for local and international visitors,” said Chris Duffy, general director of Life Resort Management.

Construction on the resort will begin in early October and be completed by the end of next year, with a grand opening scheduled in early 2009. — VNS

But this doesn’t stop the multitude of tourists who still flock to the town hoping to glimpse young, ethnic minority men and women flirting at the cho tinh (love market).

When they [...]]]> Gone are the days when young Mong, Dao, Tay and Giay people from Sapa’s surrounds headed to town to play music and seek a spouse.

But this doesn’t stop the multitude of tourists who still flock to the town hoping to glimpse young, ethnic minority men and women flirting at the cho tinh (love market).

When they get there the last thing they find is the melodious sounds of the khen (bamboo pipe flute) or the courtships between men and women dressed in their traditional rainbow of colours.

Instead, what they now see is a handful of self-conscious young people who try to hide themselves in the shadows of a completely deserted market.

“I have not yet seen a real cho tinh as described by the older people in town, although I have been living here for six years,” one street vendor said.

“I suspect tourists may have spoiled it,” she added.

Cho tinh was where people from the district’s different ethnic groups converged to meet potential lovers and renew ties with old ones.

A young Mong man might have demonstrated his ability to perform the khen dance while a Dao counterpart belted out his repertoire of hat doi (duet singing).

Both of them would have been keen to perform well to attract the eye of women they were interested in.

It was not uncommon to see a young Mong fellow walking around the market with a young lady in town. He would hide her in his house for a few days and then a wedding party would be organised if the woman accepted his proposal.

People went to the market on Saturday evening to relax and talk and then most of the buying and selling of goods would take place the next day.

No formal research has been conducted to determine why these customs have fallen into oblivion, but many Sapa locals believe it is the fault of tourists who tried to film and photograph the private flirtations.

National festival

The market may not be a lost cause, however, as provincial authorities are trying to revive the region’s cultural activities in a festival planned for October to celebrate Sapa’s foundation 100 years ago.

Just a few months ago, when Viet Nam was in the grip of the SARS outbreak, tourists were few and far between. But business is already picking up and Sapa traders are preparing themselves for a dynamic season.

“Road builders are working very hard, day and night. I like it very much because I will have a wider road to walk upon,” Dao woman Ly No May said cheerfully.

Sapa’s residents are working against the clock to get everything ready in time for the festival.

The province has invested more than VND100 billion (US$6.5 million) to upgrade the road between Lao Cai and Sapa, street lighting and water supply.

Many sections of the Lao Cai-Sapa road which were steep and dangerous have been widened to improve safety and most of the route has been asphalted.

Chairman of Sapa People’s Committee, Pham Tien Lap, said the road works would be completed by mid July at the latest.

The province and the Ministry of Culture and Information have produced a film chronicling tourism in Sapa and the many cultures and people in Lao Cai Province. The film targets English, French, Spanish and Vietnamese audiences and will be sent to 72 countries for distribution.

The province’s Trade and Tourist Service is also doing its bit, by training hotel and restaurant managers, volunteers and tourist guides to improve the quality of their services.

The Sa Pa festival is planned for October 4-5 this year and the province hopes to attract 10,000 people over the two days.

The town’s 73 hotels can only accommodate 3,000 people, but more hotels are being built to service the festival and future rises in tourist numbers.

To cover the accommodation shortfall, director of the Sapa Tourism Department, Do Du Bac, said the town will mobilise living quarters in offices, schools and stilt houses to house the expected tourist influx.

“The town will have enough places for visitors to sleep during the festival,” he said.

To stop hotels taking advantage of the room shortage, the province has asked them to announce their room rates for the weekend well in advance.

The festival will be packed with interesting activities. Cultural and sporting activities of the region’s main ethnic groups will be a feature, alongside the photo exhibitions Sapa Now and Then and Highland Tourism, a Sapa handicrafts and souvenir fair, Sapa cuisine, and traditional games such as archery and tug of war.

Sapa gets ready to celebrate birthday: Fireworks will illuminate the sky during the festival’s opening ceremony on Saturday.

Another out-of-the-ordinary site which should attract interest from visitors is the 16sq.km of stones which feature rock art and writing. First discovered and recorded by French archaeologist, Victor Goloubev, in 1923, the 200-odd stones are currently being studied by Vietnamese archaeologists.

In recent years, Sapa has seen increasing numbers of tourists. Last year, the town welcomed 75,000 visitors, including 26,000 foreigners. Despite the SARS outbreak in April this year, the number of tourists in the first four months reached 20,000.

“We are striving to hold the festival successfully. It will be a starting point to accelerate tourism in the province,” Chairman of Lao Cai Province’s People’s Committee, Bui Quang Vinh, said. — VNS