The show is the continuity of the show on February 28-29 and March 30, at Anh Tuyet’s ATB night club in HCM City to celebrate Trinh Cong Son’s 73rd birthday.

Anh Tuyet said that ATB club’s Trinh Cong Son show was at full capacity. After the show, the audience stayed at the club to share their opinion and feeling about the show. The success of this program has encouraged the singer to bring this show to Hanoi.

The show will be held at the Worker Theatre in Hanoi. Entitled “For a Love.” The show will have the participation of American singer Kyo York and British singer Lee Kirby, senior songwriter and pianist Nguyen Anh 9, guitarists The Vinh and Hoang Minh and saxophonist Quang Khai.

The two foreign singers have carefully prepared for the show. “I’m afraid of forgetting lyrics of Trinh’s songs, because each word in his songs contains profound meanings. I have to practice a lot and focus my entire soul on songs,” said Kyo York.

“It is difficult to thoroughly understand the music and words of composer Trinh Cong Son because lyrics of his songs have many layers of meaning. I understand Vietnamese language, but perhaps I need the whole life to understand the ultimate feeling of Trinh Cong Son,” said Lee Kirby.

Whenever Kirby had free time, he took his guitar to ATB Club to seek Anh Tuyet’s instruction to further understand Vietnamese people and Vietnamese music.

To commemorate the 11th death anniversary of Trinh Cong Son, another show named “Let’s Go with the Wind” at 7pm, March 31, at Ho Ban Nguyet, Phu My Hung, District 7, HCM City.

The show will group up many singers. All of them will join the show for free. Up to 20,000 free tickets will be delivered.

Thanh Van (VietnamNet)

While waiting for the government’s approval, the Ministry has asked the northern province of Bac Ninh, the hometown of Dong Ho painting and related agencies, to research and set up a file for Dong Ho painting–to add to the list of the national intangible cultural heritage of Vietnam.

Dong Ho painting is a genre of Vietnamese woodcut paintings originating from Dong Ho village in Bac Ninh Province. Using the traditional diep paper and colors derived from nature, craftsmen print Dong Ho pictures of different themes from good luck wishes, historical figures to everyday activities and folk allegories.

In the past, Dong Ho painting was an essential element of the Tet holiday in Vietnam. This tradition has gradually declined under the influence of modern types of painting and fake Dong Ho products. However, the art of making Dong Ho pictures is always considered a symbol of traditional culture and aesthetic value of Vietnam.

Dong Ho painting is considered a fine reflection of the traditional aesthetic value, social philosophies and humanitarian desires as spring approaches. The traditional themes of Dong Ho painting are good luck signs, historical figures, folk allegories, popular stories and social commentary.
Elements of everyday life are well integrated in Dong Ho painting so that it can be used to express the thoughts and wishes of people.
Because Dong Ho paintings are mainly bought and displayed on the occasion of Tet, contents of pictures are often humorous, optimist with many bright and powerful colors–like red, yellow or white.

Some Dong Ho paintings became famous for their interesting themes, like the picture Rat’s wedding which features a wedding march of rats with the rat bride and groom and other rat guests shaking before a big watchful cat.

According to locals, the making of Dong Ho painting has dated back to the 11th century during the reign of the Ly Dynasty; while researchers propose that craftsmen began to print pictures in Dong Ho village during the rule of the Le Dynasty in the 17th century. In the dynastic time, Dong Ho village is one of the few places which had the tradition of making folk painting along with Hang Trong, Kim Hoang and Sinh village.

In mid-2001, Bac Ninh authorities asked the government’s permission to set up file of Dong Ho painting to submit to the UNESCO for considering the art as a world intangible cultural heritage.

Residents in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue will actively participate in the Hue Festival as “real artists” and not as spectators.

In the peaceful surroundings along Thanh Toan Tile Bridge across the Nhu Y River in Thuy Thanh Commune, visitors will see real replicas of ancient markets of this rural area.

Near the beautiful tile bridge a scene of a bustling small market in ancient rural area in central Vietnam has been created. Here buyers can select specialties of the rural Huong Thuy Commune such as rice, sticky rice, wine from Chuon village, handicrafts, bamboo items, as well as enjoy traditional cakes and sweets like bowl-shaped cakes, glutinous rice cakes wrapped in bamboo leaves, and sweetened corn porridge.

Visitors can also join in interesting folk activities like chess, fishing, blind man’s bluff, sack race, walking on a miniature bamboo bridge and a slow bike race.

Besides activities, visitors can see the 500-year-old Phuoc Tich ancient village in Phong Hoa Commune in Phong Dien District, a highlight of the tour ‘Huong Xua Lang Co’ (Fragrance of ancient village). The structure of these houses in the village is typical of the north central region.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has identified 24 ancient houses in the village, including one built in 1850, as heritage and cultural historical monuments.

Unique pottery souvenirs of the village are also popular with travellers. Pottery artisan Doan Van Lua said that Phong Dien authorities have spent a lot on restoring the pottery handicrafts since 2006. Japanese pottery artisan Mizokami Yoshihiro helped the villagers restore the traditional handicrafts such as jars and pots as well as souvenirs to suit the modern styles.

Moreover, 23 art troupes from 13 countries and territories have registered to participate in the Hue Festival, including France, England, Denmark, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Israel, India, Mexico, United States, Philippines, Russia and South Africa. Domestic art troupes are also preparing for the festival.

Besides events such as “Royal Night”; “Oriental Night”; “Huong River Legend”; “Ao Dai” Festival; Imperial Palace Festival; Nam Giao ceremony; traditional trade villages; tours to explore the beauty of Hue ancient capital; the Hue Festival 2012 will have some new programmes as well.

Historical films, a Festival of drum and percussion instruments titled “Resounding Vietnam’s Spirit”, a festival to celebrate the 325th anniversary when Lord Nguyen Phuc Thai chose Phu Xuan as capital of South Vietnam, “The peaceful world” programme to be staged and a royal art performance to honour Hue cultural heritage values will also be held during the festival.

SGGP

The festival is considered one of Vietnam’s15 most special cultural events.

The ceremony was held in the foothills of Thuy Son Mountain, where the Goddess of Mercy Pagoda is located. According to legend, a block of stalactite resembling Goddess of Mercy was found there.

The most unique feature of this year’s festival was the participation of Indian Buddhist priests from the Namgyal-Dharamsala pagoda responsible for promoting Buddhist thoughts, such as Kim Cang Thua or Vajrayana and its historical development, the image of Compassion Avalokitesvara and Tara in Vajrayana.

The ceremony included incense offering ritual to pray for good luck and peace for the whole nation, greeting spring, and inviting the Goddess of Mercy to descend the mountain to bring blessings to people.

Folk games, a calligraphy display, floating multi-coloured lanterns, and boat racing were also organised as part of the event.

According to Ha Ke San, Vice Chairman of the Phu Tho provincial People’s Committee, the five-day festival, which starts from March 27 (the fifth day of the third lunar month), will be combined with tourism programmes promoting the homeland of the nation’s legendary founders – the Hung Kings, in Phu Tho.

Apart from traditional worshipping rituals dedicated to the nation’s legendary father and mother, Lac Long Quan and Au Co, as well as the Hung Kings, the festival will honour Xoan singing, the ceremonial singing originating in Phu Tho which has been recently recognised by the UNESCO as a world intangible cultural heritage in need of urgent protection.

There will also be a photo exhibition on places of worship dedicated to the Hung Kings and relics related to the Hung Kings period nationwide.

The festival aims to educate people about patriotism and continue completing the dossier on worship rituals dedicated to the Hung Kings to seek recognition as part of the World Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

(VNA)

Phu Quoc, also known as pearl island, is the biggest off-shore district of Kien Giang province, consisting of 20 islets.

It is famous not only for pepper and fish sauce, but also for cultural and historical relics and beautiful beaches such as Dai and Truong beaches with deep blue water and gold sand, Sao and Khem beaches with brilliant blue sky and crystal-like white sand.

Dai Beach on Pearl Island tops the list of five “Hidden Beaches” in the world selected by Australian website in 2008. It is the most primitive beach. The best time for visitors to stay there is from October to March.

Primitiveness and tranquility makes beaches on Peal Island all the more romantic and unique.

At the workshop on the implementation of the Law on Tourism on February 29, Huynh Tan Vinh, Chairman of the Tourism Association of Danang City, said that protection of visitors must be legalized and it is needed to have tourism police to protect the interests of tourists.

He also suggested applying the one-fare policy for all tourists. “The Law on Tourism says that the tourism industry is the key economic sector. However, hotels have to pay highest charges for power, clean water and taxes compare to other service providers,” Vinh added.

Nguyen Phuong Mai, head of the Tourism Operation Department of Thua Thien-Hue Province, said that managing tour guide is very loose. She proposed to strictly control tourist boats to avoid accidents.

Trinh Bang Co, director of Phuong Dong Viet Tourism Company, said that it is unfair for travel agents that offer outbound services will have to double their collateral deposit at banks to VND500 million (US$23,800) against the current rate, according to a draft decree on revising regulations of the Law on Tourism.

Current regulations set a collateral deposit of VND250 million for both outbound and inbound tourism. The draft compiled by the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) leaves the deposit for travel firms with inbound services unchanged, but doubles the rate for firms offering only outbound or both services.

However, the draft also allows travel firms to negotiate their deposit interest rates with banks directly, instead of receiving non-term interest rates regulated by the State Bank of Vietnam.

The collateral deposit is intended to be used as compensation for tourists when travel agents violate their contracts or deal with risks the tourists encounter.

Travel agents were concerned that the draft would cause them difficulty if approved. They said that since most travel agencies were small- and medium-sized enterprises, the new capital regulations would place a strain on operations.

Agents also said that the collateral deposit was currently used in an irrational manner. The deposit was now considered ‘dead’ money as travel firms could not make use of it. It is hard for travel firms to withdraw the deposit to compensate for tourists because the current regulations are not detailed. Currently, compensation is usually paid out by insurance agencies or by the travel firms themselves.

VNAT’s representative, Dr. Trinh Xuan Dung, said that the amended Law on Tourism will be considered and submitted to the National Assembly in March 2013.

(Source: VNN)

HCM City strives to receive 3.78 million foreign travelers in 2012. The 10 leading markets which had the highest numbers of tourists coming to the city by air in 2011 were the US, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Australia, China, Malaysia, Singapore, France and Canada.

Gathering strength to expand the key markets

Doan Thi Thanh Tra, Marketing Director of Saigontourist, said that the UK, Japan, France, China and Germany would be the key markets for Saigontourist, which would be on the focus of the travel firm’s promotion campaigns.

Since the different markets have different demands and tastes, the firm would offer different tours to satisfy their demands. For example, French and German travelers may come to Vietnam under trans-Vietnam tours which last 14-18 days, while Japanese travelers come under MICE tours (meeting, incentives, conference, and exhibition).

Vietravel has found from its latest survey that India and China are the two emerging potential markets, with great potentials with the high demand for sightseeing and heritage excursion tours. Meanwhile, Russian and Brazilian favor resorts and sea traveling, and European travelers like trans-Viet tours with which they can learn about Vietnamese cultural and historical values.

Therefore, Vietravel is now participating in some events to promote tourism in India. It also targets some other big markets including South Korea and Japan. Nguyen Minh Man, Head of the Communication Division of Vietravel, said the travel firms’ representative offices in foreign countries have helped the tourism promotion a lot. Vietravel plans to open 11 more representative offices in some key markets in 2012, after it opened the offices in Cambodia, Thailand and the US.

Nguyen Thi Tuyet Mai, External Affair Director of Fiditour, said that the travel firm is taking every opportunity to promote tourism at international tourism trade fairs in the UK, Russia, Germany, Japan, the US, Australia, China and regional countries namely Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia. The firm is now promoting direct sales in South East Asian markets in order to attract more travelers.

Creativeness – the key to success

Nguyen Bao Anh, a senior official of the HCM City Department for Culture, Sports and Tourism, has warned that 2012 would still be a difficult year for tourism. However, the city still has set up an ambitious plan to attract 3.78 million travelers.

Anh said that the city would target nearby key markets, such as North East Asia, ASEAN, South Asia and the Middle East, to take full advantage of the new air routes just opened by international airlines. The city would also organize FAM trips and Press trips to introduce Vietnamese tourist products and the projects calling for investment.

Travel firms have tried to design diversified tours themselves. For example, the travelers who go under the city tour can also have massage or spa service, or enjoy delicious food at the Ben Thanh night market, watch traditional art performance.

“Going sightseeing with pedicabs is also a very interesting thing for foreigners,” an officer of Saigontourist said.

It is expected that seat-in-coach tours, which developed strongly in HCM City in 2011, would be expanded to other localities of Can Tho, Da Nang, Hue and Hoi An.

According to Fiditour, other regional countries have been very successful with their tourism promotion activities in Vietnam. Thailand, for example, is a story of success. In the past, group travelers mostly booked tours to China, while nowadays, the travelers to Thailand are accounting for the highest proportion among outbound tourists.

Source: NLD

The one-hour trip by coach from Nha Trang City to the Yang Bay Tourism Park is immediately worth it as my eyes and ears feast on stunning views and sounds.

Little is known about the central coastal province of Khanh Hoa’s inland tourism attractions. Yang Bay Park, 45km west of Nha Trang, is one such destination.

Located in Khanh Vinh District, the ecological tourist park covers over 570ha and attracts many visitors, both domestic and foreign, with its protected forests, diverse wildlife and sublime waterfalls.

About 5km from the main road, one can feel the difference in temperature at the park entrance, as well as the serenity of the surrounding landscape. The park, en route from Nha Trang to Da Lat, is said to have the typically cool weather of Da Lat. For this reason, the park attracts its highest number of tourists in the summer from June to August.

Of the park’s three magnificent waterfalls, the largest is Yang Bay, a wide fall with steps going down as much as 100m. A side path brings one to the top of the falls, a place with a great photo opportunity.

The main falls have been modified, and some swimming areas have been artificially created, but the overall feel is fairly natural and quite beautiful.

Sounds of the forest

According to the vice director of the Yang Bay Tourism Park, Nguyen Phi Truong, traditional music performed by local artists is the most attractive entertainment activity at the park.

“Foreign tourists are quite impressed with the performances, while domestic ones express their surprise that there is such a professional art troupe in Khanh Hoa,” said Truong.

The mountain area of the province is known for Yang Bay Waterfall and the Raglay ethnic minority who have settled in the area. The Raglay have maintained their traditional music, and entertain travellers with songs from bamboo clarinets and lithophones made of stones, known as dan da.

“These amazing people are proud of their musical ability and are happy to entertain visitors. They even create many of their own instruments,” said Truong.

“One of the musicians showed me some traditional songs on the stunning lithophone. It is amazing,” said a tourist from Australia, Richard Henderson, after giving a try on the instrument by the waterfall.

Henderson also mentions artist Cao Dy – the only person who can make and play all of the instruments such as the chapi, t’rung, tacung flute, and taleploi clarinet, which the Raglay use in their festivals. Dy later sat on a cliff and played his handmade taleploi.

“I’m amazed by the flute-like sound and am glad that he invited me to his house to learn more about his passion for music.”

Apart from this ‘cultural speciality’, the park offers visitors a range of entertainment activities, including crocodile and bear ‘fishing’, operational early in the year.

“Of course, it’s just for fun,” Truong said. “For ‘bear fishing’, visitors stand on a platform, 2,5m above the bear cage, and use a rod with some food at the end to snare the bears.”

Truong added that games such as crossbow shooting or pig racing are based on local ethnic customs and bring about new and exciting experience for tourists.

“Feeding the crocodiles was fun but terrifying,” said American tourist Ken Jones, adding that he was particularly taken by the 4,500sq.m crocodile farm.

Thanks to the enormous area of forest, there are also personal trekking tours designed for tourists.

“Trekking tours here are a bit different from what is normally seen. Tourists are encouraged to discover caves or animal traps of local people years ago,” Truong said.

He added that during the final months of last year – the low season – the park received more than 1,000 foreign visitors each week.

After working up an appetite from hiking and swimming, tourists can stop at Yang Bay Restaurant, built in the traditional architectural style of the highlands.

Dishes of crocodile and ostrich meat are among the specialities which provide tourists with a unique taste of the mountainous area.

“It’s easy to see why this part of south-central Viet Nam attracts people from all over the world,” said Henderson.

“From the laid back atmosphere of the magical islands and beaches to the ancient temples in the heart of Nha Trang, there is so much to discover and enjoy here. Exploring and meeting members of the different ethnic groups gives you a sense of the diversity and beauty of Viet Nam.”

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News

Last Sunday, the debts to some resorts have been paid off, while others are working with Lanta-Viet on collating documents for payment.

According to Khoa, the operator is VND10 billion (US$480,000) in debt to their 17 partner hotels and resorts in Mui Ne.

A Lanta-Viet representative pledged to liquidate all debts within a few days.

Up to February 5, around 70 Russian tourists had left Phan Thiet city in Binh Thuan province to fly home.

The last Lanta-Viet tourists are scheduled to leave Vietnam on February 8.

Lanta-Tur Voyach is one of the leading Russian tour operators, working with more than 6000 agencies in Russia, Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries, and the Baltic region. Due to financial problems, the Russian-based headquarters halted operations on January 27, causing thousands of their customers to be stranded in India, Thailand and Vietnam.

VietNamNet/Tuoi Tre