Vietnam Travel News In Brief

Tourists to enjoy Vietnam visa fee exemption

Visa fees will be exempted for all international travellers coming to Viet Nam if they travel with international travel companies that have registered with the national marketing campaign Viet Nam-Your Destination.

The exemption will be offered between October 1 and the end of the year. Vu The Binh, head of the Travel Department under the Viet Nam National Administration for Tourism (VNAT), said it would provide the tourism sector an opportunity to attract more foreign tourists to Viet Nam in the next three months.

Service providers win tourism awards

Nine tourism and transportation service providers in Viet Nam along with 18 companies in Laos and Cambodia were presented the Tourism Alliance Awards 2010 during the sixth International Travel Expo in HCM City last week.

In Viet Nam, HCM City was the biggest winner. The city’s Saigontourist was the Inbound Tour Operator of the Year; Vietravel, the Outbound Tour Operator of the Year; Caravelle Hotel, the Business Hotel of the Year; Park Hyatt, the Luxury Hotel of the Year; Palace Hotel Sai Gon the Budget Hotel of the Year; and Li Bai (Sheraton Hotel), the Restaurant of the Year.

Both of the other Vietnamese winners were located in Nha Trang. The Six Senses Hideaway Ninh Van Bay, the Resort of the Year; and Evason Ana Mandara, the Spa of the Year. Vietnam Airlines won the Airline of the Year award.

The organisers said 80 service providers in Laos, Cambodia and Viet Nam were nominated for these awards.

Lao carrier launches HCM City flights

Lao Airlines will launch its Vientiane-HCM City air route with a stopover in Pakse Airport in Champasak Province on October 19. The three weekly flights from Vientiane to HCM City will operate on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays while the HCM City-Vientiane flights will operate on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

The return HCM City-Pakse ticket is priced at $259, and the return HCM City-Vientiane ticket costs $501, including taxes. Lao Airlines will operate 72-seat ATR72 aircraft for these flights.

Thailand, VN join forces on tourism

The Tourism Authority of Thailand in HCM City (TAT) announced at the International Travel Expo 2010 last week the launch of the joint tourism development programme titled One Million Tourists in 2015.

The programme, which is co-organised by TAT and Viet Nam National Administration of Tourism, includes the exchange of information and the media, supporting each other to do roadshows, and a joint promotion to foster the relationship between two countries.

According to TAT, in the first seven months of 2010, Thailand welcomed more than 240,000 Vietnamese visitors, while 120,000 Thai tourists have already booked trips to Viet Nam.

Go-ahead given to int’l yacht race

After receiving approval from the Government, Saigontourist Travel Service Co is co-ordinating with the Hong Kong Royal Yacht Club to organise the fourth international boat race from Hong Kong to Nha Trang between October 20 and 27.

Since 2004, the Hong Kong Royal Yacht Club and Saigontourist have organised these biennial events. The 656-nautical mile race in 2008 attracted 13 yachts.

Ancient city bans pavement parking

The ancient city of Hoi An is prohibiting all vehicles from parking on the pavement starting this month – a decision deemed necessary by the municipal People’s Committee as the city becomes a bigger site of culture and tourism.

For the short term, the policy applies on the 13th, 14th and 15th nights of every lunar month. These dates coincide with the dates on which certain projects will take place, including “Streets reserved for pedestrians and non-engine vehicles” and “Ancient city nights”.

Parking is now allowed in reserved areas only. There is no fee for Hoi An residents and typical parking fees are halved for visitors, committee said.

Thanks to a number of implemented programmes, the number of tourists has increased significantly over the past year.

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Top Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam Shopping

In the planning stages you would not expect Saigon Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam to be a top ben-thanh-marketho-chi-minh-city-vietnam-300x200 Top Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam Shopping Experiences shopping     destination, but on arrival visitors  surprisingly find the opposite, a shopper’s paradise.

With hindsight it’s actually not that difficult to see why Saigon is a haven for shopaholics, just look at the the ground level of most houses on any major street, all setup to sell everything from shoes and clothing to food and alcohol, and then there are the numerous  markets scattered throughout this huge metropolis, with this variety and competition, you will be sure to find what you want at a great price, with a little bargaining.

If up market & brand name labels are more you’re your style, then Dong Khoi Street in district one won’t disappoint with the like of Yves Saint Laurent, Louis Vuitton, and Gucci, Saigon Ho Chi Minh City truly a shopping experience for just about every taste and budget, so let’s look at the must do shopping experiences on a holiday to Vietnam.

1. Top Saigon Shopping experiences

Ben Thanh Market - Number one on any trip to Saigon Vietnam should be the historic Ben Thanh Market; located in District one. The variety of items for sale at Ben Thanh market is quite staggering with the sale of everything from Clothing, fabrics, cosmetics, fake Rolex and coffee thru to fruit vegetables and live animals. As mentioned Dong Khoi Street in District one is the place to go for top quality brand labels, and is well worth a visit for a look even if this type of shopping is not your style, Dong Khoi street also houses some quality Vietnamese art and craft shops, Dong Khoi and the area around is also home to some of Saigon’s most trendy Café and nightclubs.

Diamond Plaza - The most popular shopping mall is Diamond plaza which has a good rang of quality designer clothing, fragrances and electronics, with a Cinema, Pizza Hut and Bowling alley on the upper floors.

Saigon Tax Trade Center - Sitting on the corner of Nguyen Hue and Le Loi Street is the Saigon Tax trade center, the ground floor mostly specializes is locally made gold and silver jewelry, throughout the store sells great quality locally and overseas made clothing, shoes, cosmetics and tourist souvenirs. Of special note is the 3rd floor where you will find a seller of pirated DVDs along with a reasonable sized supermarket selling a great selection of local and imported foods from around the world.

Parkson Department Store – Parkson  Department Store which opened its doors in 2005 is different from the two before mentioned,  as the entire store is owned operated entirely by Parkson, and they sell more of the big ticket items such as plasma TVs, and white goods, along with the usual clothing, cosmetics,  great for a look if you have the time.

An Dong Wholesale Market - (Near China Town) Shoppers are presented with an overwhelming choice, of clothes fabrics, jewelry and food, but with an emphasis on clothing and fabrics. Even though this is a wholesale market store holders are happy to sell to the public and international travelers,  fewer tourists frequent An Dong because it’s a little further away and not as well known as Ben Thanh, for this fact it’s a great opportunity to see a local Vietnamese market in action. The ground level of An Dong specializes in mainly gold jewelry, and food, with the upper levels of the market selling clothing and home items.

Binh Tay in Cho Lon (China Town) - Nearly every major city in the world has a china town and Saigon is no different, and Cho Lon District is Saigon’s China Town, with the huge Binh Tay wholesale market at its focal point which is bigger than Ben Thanh, and just like An Dong above sellers are happy to sell to everyone. Binh Tay has a huge array of items imported from China (as you can imagine) around the world along with locally made items.

Warning this market this market is not air-conditioned and not well ventilated so its recommend you get there early in the morning to beat the heat.

2. Great things to buy in Saigon:

* Ladies have a traditional Vietnamese Dress Ao Dai and other clothing tailor made

* Vietnam is renowned for stunning quality lacqureware pictures, bowls, plates & drink coaster plus many other items that have both decorative and practical uses.

* Vietnamese Art, Saigon Ho Chi Minh City is has many great traditional and modern art shops, from carvings, and rattan thru to stunning paintings.

* Vietnam’s coffee is some of the best in the world, renowned for its unique flavor and richness, it’s no wonder the global coffee giant Nestlé reportedly buys a third of the country’s entire coffee export. When purchasing your coffee also get yourself a coffee grinder and a Stainless Steel coffee filter.

* Shoes and Handbags, All women love their shoes and hand bags and Vietnamese women are no different, so you will find an enormous range and variety of shoes and handbags, from reasonable quality brand name rip offs thru to original Vietnamese designed masterpieces.

*Men have a casual or business suite made; Vietnams tailors are some of the most skilled in the world and importantly cheap.

*You can get some very cheap yet practice tourist items, nearly every trip I do to Vietnam I always buy a dozen or so fold up wooden business card holders, they are cheap and compact, friends and business acquaintances love them.

3. Tips for shopping and bargaining in Vietnam

* If the item does not have a price tag, the price is nearly always negotiable.

* When negotiating a price, knock at least three quarters off the top.

* If negotiations are getting you nowhere start to walk, you will be amazed by the number of sellers that will agree on your price while walking away.

* Vietnam has recently changed from paper to polymer (plastic) bank notes, and some of the notes look very similar because of their color, for example the 20,000 Dong note looks very similar to the 200,000 dong note and the same goes for the  50,000 and 500,000 dong notes. So It always pays to double check before handing over any money and also when receiving change.

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Tips for Vietnam travel

In Vietnam, tipping for good service in tourism is now expected & very much appreciated.. It is customary, though not compulsory, to tip tour guides and drivers at the end of a tour. Hotel and station porters should also be tipped, especially if the service exceeds expectations.

If you consider tipping tour guides, drivers, hotel staff, boat crews, waiters or waitresses, and cyclo drivers here are a few tips that can help you along you way:

- If someone ever politely declines your tip, thank them, take back your tip, and please do not overly press the issue (this is normal Vietnamese culture);

- If you want to tip the hotel staff, ask if there is a community tip box;

- A fair tip for tour guides on a one-day tour is from $5 to $10, for driver is half of it. But it is completely up to you, you can give more than the standard if our staff are doing great job.

- People rarely tip at street-food stands;

- There is no standard amount or percentage for tipping;

- For or multi-day tours you might tip more depending on how long the trip was, the quality of your guide, etc. (this was added thanks to Barry’s questions below)

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