Construction begins on Vietnam’s first cable car

Construction begins on Vietnam’s first cable car



A Ba Na cable car

Construction has begun on Vietnam’s first cable car system at the Ba Na Hills Resort in the central coastal city of Da Nang, said a report on the government’s website.

The funicular cable railway is expected to be 380 meters long and operational next March, according to The Ba Na Cable Car Service company, which began construction July 26.

Each of its cabins will be capable of transporting 80 passengers and move at an average speed of five meters per second. Ba Na Cable Car Service JSC is planning to import enough cabins to serve around 1,600 passengers per hour.

All equipment and techniques for the cable car system are being supplied by the Swiss firm Garaventa.

~News courtesy of Thanh Nien News~

A lesson in leisure from Tay Ninh

A lesson in leisure from Tay Ninh

As Vietnam reduces every attractive destination to sheer kitsch, locals who are being themselves save the day



Cao Dai adherents sweep up around the all-seeing eye at the religion's Holy See in Tay Ninh Province following noon mass. If you avoid the trashy tours, watching a ceremony there can be a pretty transcendent. Photo by Calvin Godfrey

A trip to Tay Ninh sounded like the most perfunctory vacation that one could muster in Saigon.

Busses left from the backpacker district every day, heralding hungover Australian 20-somethings into the Cao Dai’s Holy See to snap a few pictures and snigger.

I imagined these trips being led by a wise-cracking RMIT alum eager to make fun of everything about his own country before the foreigners had a chance.

So I never went.

Last Friday, a friend from Stockholm convinced me to get up early and drive down the blue line on his iPhone toward the stunning grounds of the Technicolor temple.

The Cao Dai’s Holy See sits on a campus of bright administrative buildings and old colonial rubber plantations. We arrived just before the noon mass and left my bike next to a tin shack on the edge of the grounds in the care of two old volunteers watching TV in hammocks strung under a tin shack.

Graham Greene famously described the place as a something of a cartoon spectacle.

A tall rearing tiger rears up on hits hind legs atop a copula painted like a half a globe. Jesus and Buddha and Confucius hang together on the ceiling. The Masonic eye peers out at you from high places.

My companion and I doffed our shoes and fell in line behind a French family as they plodded up the stairs to the viewing gallery.

What struck Greene as silly felt powerful, even hopeful, now. A chorus of young women chanted over one-string zithers sending sounds radiating down the shrinking, 100-yard hall to be answered by a disembodied voice at the other end. Only believers on the ground could see where it came from.

From above, the sight of the believers conspired to evoke the “oceanic” feeling that Freud attributed to the end of breastfeeding. But all of this felt much bigger than boobs. It rivaled black gospel Sundays, Thai meditation sessions and my grandmother’s funeral for atmospheric weight.

It left me with a feeling that made my ears tingle and my soul a wee bit ascendant.

And then an usher began shuttling all of the foreigners out into the sunlight.

The good feeling quickly evaporated when a slick young guide began torturing a pair of baby monkeys to get a rise out of their mother for the sake of a group of fat, nonplussed tourists.

We walked away from the crows to take tea with the ushers, who were watching a hurricane slowly move toward China and Northern Vietnam from their hammocks. They asked us our ages and about our love lives. They offered us cigarettes and asked about our families.

With the rest of the afternoon to go and a kind of spiritual craving still tugging at our hearts, we headed toward the imposing mountain jutting up into the clouds on the horizon.

Cao Dai graves are always oriented in the direction of this inexplicable bump in the pancake-flat expanse of the Mekong Delta.

The headline legend of Nui Ba Den (young maiden jumps to death to remain faithful to lover fighting foreign invaders) appealed to our moods and we headed toward its dark silhouette through brief but powerful downpours.

Control of the mountain has always been key to Vietnam’s survival. During the liberation war against the French, revolutionary soldiers hid in the caves that dot its base.

During the Vietnam War, the US Special Forces erected massive radio antennae on the peak to intercept transmissions between liberation forces.

After endless bombardments and raids, the forces streaming down the Ho Chi Minh Trail retook the mountain, stashing several American POWs in the caves they’d once hidden in.

Now, the mountain has been swallowed by an amusement park with virtually nothing in it.

We arrived at four and bought ten tickets for a blue tractor-turned-train tram emblazoned with a red star. Then, at the base of the new cable car, we argued with vendors about why we had to buy ten tickets to go up and come down the mountain.

In the end, it was a matter of company policy.

But the sun was setting and the leering concrete animal statues that filled the space gave the place a cheap, haunted Scooby Doo atmosphere.

By the time we returned to the parking lot, dogs had been set loose. The heavy-lidded attendant let them bark and snap at our ankles as we sped onto the road back to town.

On the ride through the gloaming we paused at a Cao Dai monastery to peer into the garden. Instead, strict nuns arranged us in front of an altar and taught us to genuflect before a small altar containing a painting of the all-seeing eye.

When all this was done, we had tea with the abbot—a smiling, shorn man who invited us to a vegetarian meal just as the sun set into purple rainclouds.

On the drive back, I couldn’t help but think that every effort to capitalize on the things that makes Vietnam beautiful inevitably reduces those things to a poorly maintained roadside attraction.

It is the people, every time, who save it again and again.

~News courtesy of Thanh Nien News~

Tourists flock to Phu Quoc prison

Tourists flock to Phu Quoc prison

The historical relic site of Phu Quoc prison has so far this year welcomed over 75,000 visitors, including 3,400 international arrivals.



Tourists take photos and watch pictures to display activties of prisoners in Phu Quoc prison in war time (Photo: Cat Tuong )

Phu Quoc prison is one of the most popular destinations for visitors when they set foot on Phu Quoc Island in the southern province of Kien Giang.

During the wars of resistance against French colonialists and US imperialists, many Vietnamese revolutionaries were detained and tortured in the prison, some 4,000 of whom lost their lives there.

The prison has since been named as a heritage site and its twelve sections have been restored. Many now preserve historical evidence of the atrocities that took place in the prison.

The restoration and decision to open the site to visitors benefits historical research and ensures that the heroic prisoners will never be forgotten.

~News courtesy of SGGP~

Vietnam Television - VTV

Đài Truyền hình Việt Nam

Spectacles & Clock

mắt kính 眼镜 spectacles
đồng hồ 钟表 Clock

Vietnam eyes joint tourism visa with Thailand, Cambodia

Vietnam eyes joint tourism visa with Thailand, Cambodia

Vietnamese tourism and foreign relations authorities are set to work with their counterparts from Thailand and Cambodia to introduce a single visa for tourists to the three countries.

Hoang Thi Diep, deputy head of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, was quoted by Thoi Bao Kinh Te Saigon (Saigon Economic Times) as saying Thailand and Cambodia get a large number of tourists, are close to Vietnam, and already have a common visa for tourists.

The two countries signed an agreement last year to allow tourists from 35 countries and regions including Europe, Australia, the US, Hong Kong, Japan, China, and South Korea to visit both on a single visa.

Diep said Southeast Asian countries also plan to have a common visa for the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) bloc.

Ho Chi Minh City authorities in May asked the tourism administration to push for a single visa for Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Myanmar, and Vietnam.

La Quoc Khanh, deputy head of the city’s tourism department, said Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, and Myanmar have been cooperating at international tourism fairs for the past few years and now want to bring Thailand into the fold.

Together the four countries attracted 14.8 million visitors last year, he said.

Travel agencies have been pushing for a one-visa policy that would enable tourists to travel freely across Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam.

But Vietnam already rejected the common visa concept when it was first mooted in 2010.

Vietnamese tourism officials had argued that the extra visa fees would not deter wealthy travelers and visa waivers would cause major losses to the tourism industry.

Tourists have also complained that when they go to Cambodia or Laos, they can simply turn up and pay US$25 on arrival while Vietnam charges almost double at $45 for a 30-day or 90-day single entry visa, the most expensive in the region.

~News courtesy of Thanh Nien~

Floating Markets in Mekong Delta

Floating Markets in Mekong Delta

In the Mekong Delta, floating markets comprise of many boats on the river from which people can purchase all kinds of commodities such as foods and other household goods.


Nga Nam floating market in Soc Trang Province

The floating markets are held all day long but the most crowded time is during the morning hours from 8 to 9am.

Visitors come to the famous floating markets of Cai Rang in Can Tho Province, Phung Hiep in Hau Giang Province or Nga Nam in Soc Trang Province in the Mekong Delta.

Each floating market has its own characteristics and many visitors go to the floating markets not just to buy things but also to view the daily activities of the Vietnamese people on the river.

These floating markets create interesting tours for both local and foreign tourists.



Food services display at floating market



Fresh fruit displays at floating market



Purchase activities take place at floating market



Foreign tourists visit and purchase commodities on river



Long Xuyen floating market

~News courtesy of SGGP~

Can Tho City to offer Homestay Tourism

Can Tho City to offer Homestay Tourism

My Khanh Eco-Tourism Company has plans to coordinate with households in traditional handicraft villages to offer Homestay Tourism in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho.



Can Tho offers homestay tour to visitors to promote the city's tourism. (Photo: KK)

The company will build rooms in 20 local households to provide accommodation for tourists and offer a unique experience of daily life and hospitality in the Mekong Delta Region.

Households will earn from the profits and also be able to sell their products directly to travelers.

The new service is expected to attract international visitors, promote tourism in Can Tho and help local people economically.

~News courtesy of SGGP~

Tỉnh

Tỉnh

Province
省份

Singapore and Vietnam form strategic partnership

Singapore and Vietnam form strategic partnership



Singapore will elevate bilateral relations with Vietnam to that of a Strategic Partnership as both countries marked the 40th anniversary on Thursday of the setting up of diplomatic relations.

President Tony Tan Keng Yam in a congratulatory letter to his Vietnamese counterpart, Truong Tan Sang said bilateral ties between both countries have taken great leaps forward in the past 40 years.

Singapore is one of Vietnam's largest investors and people-to-people links between both countries are robust and expanding.

Dr Tan hopes that both sides can use the Strategic Partnership to take their relations to greater heights.

In his letter to his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Tan Dung, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said the Strategic Partnership will inject fresh impetus to the partnership.

It will also pave the way for even stronger relations in the future.

Mr Lee said the four successful Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Parks reflect their excellent economic ties.

He added that he looks forward to opening the fifth such park during his visit to Vietnam this September.

Foreign Minister K Shanmugam also sent a congratulatory letter to his Vietnamese counterpart Pham Binh Minh.

Mr Shanmugam said Singapore and Vietnam work closely at various regional and international fora including ASEAN.

Both countries share many common interests, including the importance of strengthening ASEAN to maintain regional peace and stability.

He said economic cooperation continues to grow, buttressed by the Singapore-Vietnam Connectivity Framework Agreement.

Both sides are working more closely than ever in a wide range of areas such as defence, education, and arts and culture.

Mr Shanmugam said with the elevation of bilateral relations to a Strategic Partnership this September, relations are poised to move to a higher level.

He looks forward to working with Mr Nguyen to strengthen relations.

~News courtesy of Channel Newsasia~

Bánh xèo at its sizzling best

Bánh xèo at its sizzling best



At a small restaurant in Ho Chi Minh City, bánh xèo (sizzling cake) is still cooked the original way: deep-fried with pork fat and on ovens using firewood / PHOTOS: GIANG VU

Bánh xèo – a deep-fried pancake stuffed with pork, shrimps, hulled mung beans and bean sprouts – is a popular dish in Ho Chi Minh City that people cannot resist.

Over the years, all kinds of eateries, from the humble street-side stall to fancy, high-end restaurants, have “specialized” in bánh xèo – which can be translated as “sizzling cake.”

Furthermore, several bánh xèo trademarks have emerged, like Muoi Xiem and An la ghien.

Amidst this flurry, there is one place that has been open for decades, attracting clients for remaining faithful to the “original” recipe.

Indeed, the outdoor restaurant in a small alley on Dinh Cong Trang Street is the eatery of choice for many residents when they want to introduce bánh xèo to their foreign friends.

This has turned the restaurant to a venue frequented by local residents as well as foreigners.

Speaking for myself, I choose it because I feel, like many others, that the dish is made and served in an original way. There are several reasons for this.

First, this restaurant still fries bánh xèo in pork fat, while most other eateries have switched to cooking oil on health concerns.

One of the cooks there told me that they do not use oil because the cake will smell of oil after it cools. Although they use a big spoon of fat to fry the cake, all the fat will be taken out when the cake is cooked, he said.

Another original aspect to the way bánh xèo is cooked here is the use of firewood. The restaurant cooks claim, and I feel they are justified in doing so, that gas ovens can cook the cake quickly, but it does not taste and smell as good as the one cooked using firewood.

The ambience at this restaurant is another thing that harks back to the “good old days.” Feeling both the heat of the stove and the coolness of the breeze, seeing the cooks make the dish, and hearing it sizzle – these are all parts of the rural flavor that cannot be experienced in most other eateries that serve bánh xèo.

The appetite stimulating environment gets the customer ready to attack the yellow, crispy pancake with its basket of fresh leafy vegetables as soon as it is served. Wrapping a piece of the cake in various leaves, dipping it into the nước mắm (fish sauce) mixed with vinegar or lemon and sugar, gives me a gastronomic high, and I have seen this happen to others as well.

BÁNH XÈO ĐINH CÔNG TRÁNG

Address: 46a Dinh Cong TrangStreet, Tan Dinh Ward, District 1
Price: VND60,000-100,000
Hours: 9 a.m.-9 p.m.

When I took my Belgian friend to this restaurant recently, the dish proved to be a conversation stopper. Apart from various exclamations of pleasure, he remained intent on swallowing mouthful after mouthful of the delicious morsels. It was only when the cake was almost gone that he could take a break and start talking to me.

Finally, if you happen to visit the Dinh Cong Trang restaurant, do not forget to look around.

Chances are that you will be able to see groups of women chit-chatting continuously as their hands ceaselessly to wrap and dip the cake.

It is a scene that by itself is worth a visit.

~News courtesy of Thanh Nien News~