Vietnam Travel Guide, Restaurants, Hotels, Bars, Beaches, Tourists Information » Hanoi

Indochina given second chance to re-open flights

admin — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 02:12:08 +0000

The Civil Aviation Administration said it would give Indochina Airlines, the country’s only private carrier, a chance to resume services in mid-January after it failed to do so late last year.

Vo Huy Cuong, head of the administration’s Aviation Transport Department, said that although the administration had warned that it would revoke Indochina’s license if the airline couldn’t resume service by January 1, Indochina has made efforts to maintain its operation.

Cuong said Indochina reported its situation to the administration on December 31 and requested approval to restart flights in mid-January. The proposal was being considered, he said.

Indochina, which opened in November 2008, has postponed its plan to resume flights several times since suspending its service November last year due to both technical and financial problems. Before the suspension, it was using only one airplane on the Hanoi-Ho Chi Minh City route, having closed all other services since the middle of this year.

In a report published by local news website VietNamNet on Friday, Indochina Managing Director Le Hong Pho said the carrier had reached agreements with its service providers concerning its debts, reported to have reached more than VND30 billion (US$1.6 million) last year.

The carrier plans to rent two Boeing airplanes to resume both Hanoi-HCMC and HCMC-Da Nang routes for the upcoming high season before Tet, or the Lunar New Year, he said.

Source:vietnamnet.vn

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Hoi An now in Hanoi

admin — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 13:13:27 +0000

The ancient town of Hoi An has been brought to life in Hanoi – complete with ancient houses, Chua Cau pagoda, lanterns and folk games.

It’s part of the Quang Nam Culture and Tourism Festival which was organized in Hanoi between November 19-23 to mark the occasion of the 10^th year of UNESCO’s recognition of Hoi An ancient town and My San sanctuary as world cultural heritage sites.

Hoi An’s old houses.

Chua Cau pagoda

An ancient house.

Lanterns – Hoi An’s specialty

An ancient wooden house.

A rickshaw.

A Cham tower.

The model of a Hoi An’s farmer.

Singing “bai choi”, Quang Nam’s folk songs.

Making pottery.

A calligrapher

Playing chess – a traditional game of Quang Nam people.

Tasting Quang Nam’s cuisines in Hanoi.

Source:vietnamnet.vn

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Hanoi heralds national tourism event

admin — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 12:34:57 +0000

Tourism, cultural and sports activities will kick off National Tourism Year 2010 in Ha Noi beginning this month.

“The National Tourism Year is the country’s important event to promote national tourism sector to international countries,” Pham Quang Long, director of the Ha Noi Culture, Tourism and Sports Department, said.

The National Tourism Year, themed Thang Long-Ha Noi, Hoi Tu Ngan Nam (A Thousand-Year Meeting) will open on October 10 with a special ceremony celebrating the city’s 999th anniversary.

Ha Noi plans to introduce more eco-tours and homestay tours as well as develop handicraft village products.

For next year’s celebration, it expects to complete the Bat Trang Tourism Port and the Hai Ba Trung Temple upgrade next year.

New tourism programmes will be created, including Nguoi Ha Noi Don Ban Tham Nha (Hanoians Welcome Guests) and Green Tourism Year.

The Thang Long-Ha Noi International Tourism Festival 2010, International Water Puppet Festival and ao dai (Vietnamese traditional costumes), kite and flower festivals will also be held during National Tourism Year.

Source:vietnamnet.vn

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Century-old shrine in Hanoi rediscovered

admin — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 15:26:51 +0000

Swords found at the Trung Thien Shrine, which experts say was likely built over a hundred years ago.

Historians have recently rediscovered a shrine in Hanoi that has been virtually abandoned for generations.

Trung Thien Shrine on Dai Tu Street in Hoang Mai District, a suburban area in the capital, is dedicated to Tran Hung Dao (1228-1300), one of Vietnam’s greatest generals. Hung Dao was canonized after his death for defeating two Mongol invasions.

A caretaker said nearly no one had visited the temple in decades. The shrine was once a place where people gathered to try to communicate with Tran Hung Dao and other deities via mediums.

Tran Hung Dao, whose birth name was Tran Quoc Tuan, led Vietnam armies to repel two major invasions by the Mongol Yuan Dynasty in 1285 and 1287. His most remembered victory was at Bach Dang River in 1288 when he wiped out the Mongol army using wooden stakes planted in the riverbed to impale enemy ships at low tide. As a member of the Tran Dynasty (1225-1400) royal family, Dao also served as chancellor and advisor for the court until he died in 1300. Dao was bestowed with the title “The Saint Tran” and worshipped as a demigod immediately following his death.

Findings

Experts still debate when the shrine was built, but judging from items found inside, they agree it must be at least 100 years old.

The shrine is home to five swords, a set of parallel sentences (a form of traditional Chinese poetry), and several copies of decrees by the Nguyen Kings, dating back to the 19th century. The documents authenticate the structure as an official shrine.

Other documents found at the shrine indicate that villagers donated 1,000 square meters of rice paddies to the shrine in 1951. Locals still farm rice on the land.

“No private shrine has been found with architectural qualities as superb as Trung Thien Shrine’s,” said Nguyen Van Thuc, an expert from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism’s Heritage Department who is part of a team surveying the historical value of Trung Thien.

Nguyen Hai Ke, dean of the history faculty of Hanoi University of Social Sciences and Humanities, said the Dai Tu area had been a cradle of len dong (spiritual medium rituals) since the 16th century.

Len dong ceremonies, also known as hau dong, have long been a custom in Vietnam. Len dong practices feature psychics as mediums who are said to communicate with spirits and deities through colorful rituals held in many shrines throughout the country.

The activity has long been criticized as superstitious but many scholars say it is also an inseparable part of Vietnamese culture.

Ke said that as Tran Hung Dao was one of the most revered figures in Vietnamese history, it was likely that Trung Thien was a major len dong center for years.

Source:vietnamnet.vn

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Last lotus ponds in Hanoi

admin — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 15:25:45 +0000

On an area of nearly six hectares, lotus pond located near West Lake Water Park is a place providing lotus for scenting tea, one of specialities of Hanoi. This is also a favourite place for many young Hanoians at weekend.

Lotus ponds are often busy from early morning when lotus pond owners normally go to pick lotus. They said that only at that time when lotus is still wet in dew its fragrance can be kept for a long time.

Lotus is also used to scent tea.

There are various kind of lotus scented tea, pricing from VND2 to 7 million per kg

Lotus pond is also a favourite place for bride and groom coming for their wedding pictures.

Many young people like going to lotus ponds for their passion of photography.

And professional photographers also come here.

This year lotus has a poor harvest. Lotus is not enough for selling to customers every morning.

But the concern over the bad harvest of lotus is not as serious as when, in the coming years, construction projects will “swallow up” the very last lotus ponds in West Lake, Hanoi.

Source:vietnamnet.vn

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