On the eve of the traditional lunar New Year festival, travel companies are busy preparing for the Tet holiday demand. Due to higher than expected demand this year, many companies stopped accepting reservations a month ago. The lunar new year is a busy time for travel companies, especially prestigious ones such as Saigontourist, Viettravel and Vitour. Mr. Nguyen The Vinh, Director of the Saigontourist Company said: "A long holiday during Tet creates a good business opportunity for us. Tet plans are often made 6 months before Tet and based on the length of the holiday, we have designed appropriate tours. We try to make our tours relaxing for customers". … [Read more...] about Lunar New Year tours
Lunar new year
Where to celebrate Lunar New Year parties in Saigon
*Caravelle Hotel The Caravelle Hotel is putting on a mouthwatering Lunar New Year Buffet Dinner of Asian, Western and traditional Tet delicacies at the Nineteen Restaurant on Jan. 22 and 23 with banh chung and banh tet, fish and seafood, grilled and BBQ, and many others. Chefs at the hotel prepare French pastries with classic cream fillings and decadent toppings to delight guests in the Lobby Lounge from Jan. 14-21, featuring seven varieties of choux and eclairs including chocolate cream with poached pear slices and icing sugar, and toffee cream with sliced fresh bananas and broken walnuts. For further information, call 08 3823 4999. *Duxton Hotel From January 20-29, capture the mood of Tet at The Grill with traditional dishes of Tet dinner buffet including braised shark fin chicken soup, Shabu Shabu or Sukiyaki hot pot, baked item with sturgeon spice olive oil, hot dish with Chinese glutinous rice cake, Lap Mei Fanh, braised pork knuckle in dark sauce, traditional Tet sweets and … [Read more...] about Where to celebrate Lunar New Year parties in Saigon
Promising harvest for Lunar New Year
Lunar New Year ("Tet" in Vietnamese) is fast-approaching and Tu Lien kumquat and Nhat Tan peach blossom growers are expecting a profitable harvest. A "real" kumquat tree is worth anywhere from VND2 million ($107) to VND6 million ($321) per unit, but the original prices range from merely around VND400,000 ($21) to VND1.5 million ($80). Peach blossoms are particularly harvested for wealthier people, with a price tag anywhere from VND3 million ($160) to VND15 million ($800) per unit. We were amazed when we visited the Tu Lien peach blossom gardens on cold winter days to see so many ripe kumquat trees. Many gardeners were sure that the kumquat trees would be ripe this year. Nearly all kumquat gardens are reserved and some traders have even bought entire gardens. Nowadays, people in Hanoi aren't just buying the trees for Lunar New Year, but also for Christmas and the western New Year. The price at this times is anywhere from VND 700,000 ($37) to VND 3 Million ($160) per … [Read more...] about Promising harvest for Lunar New Year
Vietnam Red Cross Society hosts Lunar New Year charity program
Launched in 1999, the program has become popular in society. Over the past 5 years, the Society has donated 10 million Tet gifts worth nearly US$148 million to the needy people. President Tran Dai Quang praised the Society’s initiative and achievements, saying that the Vietnamese Party and State considers humanitarian policy implementation an important task. He suggested “The Vietnam Red Cross Society needs to continue reform its operation and build a stronger organization to play a core role in humanitarian work for the poor and disadvantaged in remote, mountainous, and island areas.The Society needs to organize more widespread programs and movements to help needy people, contributing to implementing the Party and State’s welfare policy and activities of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.”At the program, the Vietnam Red Cross Society and the National Humanitarian Information Portal 1400 launched a SMS campaign by texting TET and … [Read more...] about Vietnam Red Cross Society hosts Lunar New Year charity program
Indonesia repatriates Vietnamese fishermen ahead of lunar New Year
On January 6, 39 people of the group departed from the Soekarno–Hatta International Airport in Jakarta. Most of the leaving was held captivity on Indonesian islands as deponents at trials for their ship captains. A day earlier, 21 Vietnamese fishermen were repatriated. Eleven more will make their journey home on January 10.Tran Minh Cu, Counsellor of the Vietnamese Embassy, said more repatriation trips like these will be organised before the lunar New Year holiday.These fishermen were said to have not been equipped with sufficient legal knowledge; many of them were abandoned by their captains when being arrested. Their disadvantaged backgrounds made it hard for them to complete procedures to return to Vietnam. Some said they will stop sailing and seek other livelihoods on land.According to the embassy, in 2017, about 110 Vietnamese fishing boats caught fish in Indonesia’s waters and close to 1,300 fishermen were captured for the violation, compared with 58 boats and … [Read more...] about Indonesia repatriates Vietnamese fishermen ahead of lunar New Year