Hanoi’s tourism affected by price hike

Many foreign tourists have cancelled their tours of Vietnam as these tours cost 20-30 percent more than earlier this year.

VietNamNet Bridge –Over the past nine months, Hanoi received 960,512 international arrivals, a rise of 5 percent over the same period last year, accounting for one third of the country’s total international tourists, according to the municipal department of Culture, Information and Tourism.

However, the Department says the number of tourists to the capital city is likely to decrease this year due to negative impacts of price rises. Many foreign tourists have cancelled theirtours of Vietnam as these tours cost 20-30 percent more than earlier this year.

The impact of the price hike on the city’s tourist industry is similar to what happened in 2003 when Hanoi was suffering from the SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) epidemic, says Mai Tien Dung, deputy head of the department. However, Hanoi’s authorities have been well-prepared for this unexpected.

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Central Nha Trang city to host int’l regatta

An international sailing regatta will be held in the central coastal city of Nha Trang from October 15-21, said deputy director of the Ho Chi Minh City-based tourism company (Saigontourist) Vu Duy Vu.

Racing boats are scheduled to leave Hong Kong on Oct. 15 and sprint to the finish at Nha Trang on Oct. 18. (Photo: www.jboats.com)

It is the third time the city hosts the competition which is held every two years by Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club, Vina Capital and Saigontourist.

The event is expected to bring together 130 local and foreign competitors with 10 sailing boats from many countries around the world.

Racing boats are scheduled to leave Hong Kong on Oct. 15 and sprint to the finish at Nha Trang on Oct. 18. They then will compete at Nha Trang Sea on the next day.

Nha Trang Beach Festival to take place in 2009

The Nha Trang Beach Festival will take place in central coastal city of Nha Trang on June 6 next year, the organising board said on Oct. 8.

The event, financed by local businesses and the US Rare Antibody Antigen Supply Inc (RAAS), will include cultural, sport and tourism activities such as art performances, masquerades, a kite flying competition, photo exhibitions and cooking contests.

The festival is expected to attract participants from France, Ukraine, the Republic of Korea and Japan, particularly Beauty Queens from a number of countries and territories around the world.

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Hue city tour

Tips for Vietnam travel.
Dominating the skyline is the 37m (120ft) high Cot Co or Flag Tower, first erected in 1809. Cot Co achieved international renown on the morning of 31 January 1968, when communist forces seized the Citadel and ran their yellow-starred banner up its tall mast.
The lower part of the gate is stone, while on top is the "Belvedere of the Five Phoenixes" where the emperor appeared on important occasions, and where the last emperor abdicated to HoChiMinh's Revolutionary Government in 1945.
Just inside the gate is a lotus pond with a bridge once reserved for the emperor's private use. Across the bridge is the ThaiHoa Palace used for official receptions and other important court ceremonies. The columns supporting the roof are lacquered and inlaid with gold.

Thai Hoa Palace
 Behind the ThaiHoa Palace are a pair of smaller halls used by mandarins to prepare for court ceremonies. The halls form a courtyard, the fourth side of which was once a wall dividing the more public area of the citadel from the emperor's private residence, the "Forbidden Purple City." The name conjures up images of grand palaces like Beijing. Unfortunately, it takes quite a bit of imagination to picture the buildings that once occupied what is now a grassy expanse. What wasn't destroyed by a fire in 1947 was bombed in the 1968 Tet Offensive. The picture at above left was taken from the upper-most level looking back at the Thai Hoa palace and the Flag tower.
Off to one side of the central axis of the forbidden city, about midway, is the Thai Binh Lau or Royal Library. This small building stands in a garden and is fronted by small pond mostly taken up by a mountain-island well-grown with moss and bonsai. You will find similar ponds, fountains or even large bowls of water in many structures all over Vietnam.
Although you must enter the citadel through the main gate, you can exit it at several other points. Between the Thai Hoa palace and the halls of the mandarins, a path leads to the Hien Nhon gate (left). Leaving by this gate is the shortest route to get from the forbidden city to themuseum at Long An palace. Along the path are a couple of buildings worth a look. 
A visit to Hue might be considered incomplete without a boat trip on the outstandingly lovely Perfume River. Boats are readily available for hire, either for an exploratory trip in the vicinity of Hue, or for a longer journey upstream to the tombs of Minh Mang and Gia Long.
Perfume River
It's hard to explain the uncanny beauty of the river, though doubtless the iridescent, aquamarine waters, together with the profusion of colourful craft and boat women sporting non la--the ubiquitous cream-coloured conical hat of Vietnam--all contribute to the effect. On a clear, sunny day the Perfume River can indeed be magical.
It is recommended that visitors coming to Hue joining a day tour around the city to make sure they fully enjoy visiting all the attractions this lovely city has to offer while understanding more about a colorful period in Vietnamese history. Aside from the classic Hue city tours that cover the tombstones and mausoleum, the Huong river and other popular attractions in the city, tourists can also choose some other less typical tours such as food tours, day tours to handicraft villages or Tam Giang Lagoon. There are day tours to DMZ area in Quang Tri starting from Hue city as well.

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