Hanoi has many heritage tours to attract tourists in the inner-city and suburban districts. The Hanoi Times spoke with Truong Minh Tien, Chairman of the UNESCO Hanoi Association, on ways to expand and link the city's heritage tours. What do you think about the link between Hanoi's legacy and tourism, given that the city has developed numerous heritage routes to draw tourists? A night tour at the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long. Photo: Lai Tan/ The Hanoi Times Cultural heritage is one of Hanoi's strengths. The capital's tourism and culture departments have worked together for many years to develop programs to utilize heritage values for tourism purposes. The Center for Scientific and Cultural Activities Van Mieu (Temple of Literature) - Quoc Tu Giam (Vietnam's first university) has cooperated with the Vietnam National Museum of Fine Arts to launch a tourism product with the theme "Tradition of Respect for Studiousness". The journey to … [Read more...] about Hanoi to develop heritage tourism
Tiya world heritage site
Two new Vietnam hotels among world’s hottest: Tripadvisor
Situated around 2.5 kilometers from My Khe beach, Cozy Danang Boutique Hotel ranked third in the TripAdvisor Traveler’s Choice Best of the Best list. A rooftop swimming pool at Cozy Danang Boutique Hotel in Da Nang City. Photo courtesy of the hotel Opened in May 2022, the nine-story hotel has 38 rooms and suites, a pool and a rooftop bar. A night’s stay here costs from VND950,000 (US$40.85). Bliss Hoi An Beach Resort & Wellness, situated around 18 kilometers from Hoi An town, was in 10th place. It too opened in May 2022 and has 135 rooms and villas overlooking a long, sandy beach. Free bicycles are available for guests to explore fishing villages and rice paddies. A view of Bliss Hoi An Beach Resort & Wellness. Photo courtesy of the resort There is a free shuttle bus service for guests to visit UNESCO heritage sites Hoi An and My Son Sanctuary. Room rates start at VND5.5 million a night. To compile the list, Tripadvisor analyzed … [Read more...] about Two new Vietnam hotels among world’s hottest: Tripadvisor
‘Cơm tấm’ and ‘bánh chưng’ rank in world’s best
Cơm tấm , a Vietnamese dish whose main ingredient is broken rice, was recently listed among the ten best rated rice dishes in the world by the Croatian online food guide Taste Atlas. Over the years, Vietnamese have become fond of broken rice grains and today cơm tấm is one of Vietnam’s most common street food dishes. Cơm tấm can be found on nearly every street of most Vietnamese cities, with street vendors relying on the sizzle and smell of grilled pork to grab the attention of passers-by. In Ho Chi Minh City, the dish is so popular that many deem it the primary representation of their culinary heritage, on a par with pho . In the Taste Atlas list, cơm tấm came in third place, following Japanese sushi and the leading Italian Risotto ai funghi porcini. “ Cơm tấm is a traditional Vietnamese dish that's typically sold as street food,” Taste Atlas wrote. “It consists of broken and imperfect rice grains that were traditionally chucked away after the milling process.” … [Read more...] about ‘Cơm tấm’ and ‘bánh chưng’ rank in world’s best
Trans-Vietnam railway among world’s most incredible train journeys: Lonely Planet
A section of the Vietnam ’s north-south railway (Photo: Lonely Planet) Hanoi (VNA) – The British travel guide Lonely Planet has named The Reunification Express, or Vietnam’s north-south railway, one of the most incredible rail trips in the world. The railway stretches for more than 1,726 kilometres between the country’s two biggest cities of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City over the course of two days. “Some railways rattle through historic cities; others swoosh beside spectacular coastlines. A few have an epic history, and one or two are remarkable for the colorful characters onboard. The Reunification Express line fulfills all these criteria,” said Lonely Planet . The site also stressed that travelers cannot find a more atmospheric way to travel between Vietnam’s twin metropolises. “And there’s no better way of exploring all the glories in between,” it concluded. The journey allows passengers to sit and enjoy romantic scenery and rural landscapes along coastal … [Read more...] about Trans-Vietnam railway among world’s most incredible train journeys: Lonely Planet
Fake photos of luxury hotel on Ha Long Bay waters go viral
In recent days some tour companies have posted the photos and said Fantasy Ha Long Bay hotel is set to open in 2024. Some photos also show a panoramic view of the UNESCO world heritage bay thanks to its glass facade. Photos of Fantasy Ha Long Bay shared on social media have been deemed fake. The photos quickly caught the public eye, and questions have been pouring in about its location and room tariffs. But on Thursday Pham Ngoc Thuy, director of the Quang Ninh Province Department of Tourism, said such a hotel would never be built in the core area of Ha Long Bay and warned tourists against being scammed. Bui Thanh Tu, marketing director of tour service provider Best Price, said some people could post these photos to trick tourists into booking rooms. A two-hour drive to the east of Hanoi, Ha Long Bay was voted among the world's seven new natural wonders by Swiss organization New Open World in 2011. Its popularity rose after Hollywood blockbuster "Kong: … [Read more...] about Fake photos of luxury hotel on Ha Long Bay waters go viral
Vietnam battles plastic blight in idyllic Ha Long Bay
Squinting in the bright light of a hot summer morning, Vu Thi Thinh perches on the edge of her small wooden boat and plucks a polystyrene block from the calm waters of Vietnam's Ha Long Bay. It's not yet 9 am, but a mound of styrofoam buoys, plastic bottles and beer cans sit behind her. They are the most visible sign of the human impacts that have degraded the UNESCO World Heritage Site, famed for its brilliant turquoise waters dotted with towering rainforest-topped limestone islands. "I feel very tired because I collect trash on the bay all day without much rest," said Thinh, 50, who has been working for close to a decade as a trash picker. "I have to make five to seven trips on the boat every day to collect it all." Since the beginning of March, 10,000 cubic metres of rubbish -- enough to fill four Olympic swimming pools -- have been collected from the water, according to the Ha Long Bay management board. The trash problem has been particularly acute over the past two … [Read more...] about Vietnam battles plastic blight in idyllic Ha Long Bay
Egypt unveils ancient mummification workshops and tombs
Archaeologists in Egypt have unearthed two human and animal embalming workshops, as well as two tombs, discovered in the Saqqara necropolis south of Cairo, the government said on Saturday. The vast burial site, at the ancient Egyptian capital Memphis, is a UNESCO World Heritage site and home to more than a dozen pyramids, animal graves and old Coptic Christian monasteries. Mostafa Waziri, head of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, told reporters the embalming workshops, where humans and animals were mummified, "date back to the 30th dynasty" which reigned around 2,400 years ago. Researchers "found several rooms equipped with stony beds where the deceased lay down for mummification", Egypt's tourism and antiquities ministry said. Each bed ended in gutters to facilitate the mummification process, with a collection of clay pots nearby to hold entrails and organs, as well as a collection of instruments and ritual vessels. Early studies of the other workshop suggest it was … [Read more...] about Egypt unveils ancient mummification workshops and tombs
Hue pilots electric trucks for waste collection
These are the first electric trucks for garbage collection in Vietnam. Chairman of the People's Committee of Hue Vo Le Nhat said the pilot replacement of some waste collection vehicles and garbage trucks by electric garbage trucks aligns with the goals and the desire of the city towards green public transport development and promotion of the waste classification at source program in the city. "The image of Hue city as the ‘ASEAN Environmentally Sustainable City', the ‘National Green City,’ is expected to be further advertised to international friends," Nhat said. "The living and working conditions of the people are expected to be improved. The socio-economic development is to be supported, contributing to implementing the U.N.'s Sustainable Development Goals and other international commitments of Vietnam." Vietnam has approved the action program on green transformation and carbon and methane reduction of the transport sector. The program aims to bolster energy efficiency and … [Read more...] about Hue pilots electric trucks for waste collection
Malaysia expects LIMA 2023 to generate approximately 4 billion USD in business pledges
Defence Minister Mohamad Hasan visits one of the exhibits during the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace exhibition (Photo: nst.com.my) Kuala Lumpur (VNA) - The Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition (LIMA) 2023 which will take place from May 23-27 is expected to be able to generate business pledges worth up to 18 billion RM (3.96 billion USD). Of that sum, 10 billion RM would involve Letters of Agreement (LoA) between the Ministry of Defence and defence-related companies, Malaysian Defence Minister Mohamad Hasan said at a press conference after inspecting the LIMA'23 maritime segment exhibition site at Resort World Langkawi on May 22. According to Mohamad, the participation of LIMA'23 is very encouraging and provides an opportunity for local and foreign companies from various countries to showcase technology and weapons as well as assets. It includes participation from five countries known for air shows namely Russia, Thailand, … [Read more...] about Malaysia expects LIMA 2023 to generate approximately 4 billion USD in business pledges
National Program on the Development of Culture approved
The National Master Program on the Development of Vietnamese Culture in 2023 - 2025 focused on five groups of objects and eight major missions. The National Master Program on the Development of Vietnamese Culture in 2023-2025 has been approved by a decision recently signed by Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha. The program will be implemented throughout the country and abroad in a number of countries with long-standing cultural relations with Vietnam, focusing on cultural heritage, grassroots culture, performing arts, visual arts, photography and exhibitions, film, library science, training, ethnic culture, culture for foreign relations, and cultural industry. Ambassadors started the cultural event Europe Village in Hanoi. Photo: EU Delegation to Vietnam The main tasks and solutions proposed by the program include the completion of the legal and political system of culture, the sustainable preservation and promotion of national cultural values, the … [Read more...] about National Program on the Development of Culture approved