Hanoi launches new bus route to Noi Bai Airport

Hanoi launches new bus route to Noi Bai Airport



The new buses that serves public transport between Hanoi Railway Station and Noi Bai Airport. Photos: Ha AnThe new buses that serves public transport between Hanoi Railway Station and Noi Bai Airport.

Congestion makes Hanoi buses unpopular choice

A closer look at Ho Chi Minh City's brand new airport-downtown buses

New bus service connecting Ho Chi Minh City airport, downtown

Hop-on hop-off bus service for tourists launched in HCMC

Hanoi on Saturday launched a high-quality bus service connecting its railway station in the city downtown with Noi Bai Airport.

The unsubsidized route, numbered 86, runs 33 kilometers from Hanoi Railway Station in Dong Da District to the international airport. Tickets cost VND30,000 (US$1.30) a person.

The new buses are each designed with 25 seats, but there is enough space for a maximum of 80 passengers and luggage.

Hanoi Transport Service Corporation, which operates the route, said the service will start from 6:18 a.m. to 11 p.m. There will be one bus every 25-30 minutes.

Hanoi has been operating two other bus routes connecting the airport with Hoan Kiem and Cau Giay Districts, at subsidized fares of less than half a dollar.



The new bus has a lot of space for luggage.

Officials in the city said the new service is another effort to revive the enthusiasm for public transport, which has been losing popularity compared to motorbikes. Many bus passengers are unhappy with how often the bulky vehicles get stuck in heavy traffic.

Buses were a common means of transport in Hanoi in the 2000s. But it has continued losing popularity, after reaching its peak in 2012 with 416 million travelers.

A new report said bus passengers in the first quarter dropped 14 percent from a year ago to 82 million. The number last year was down 7.5 percent from 2014.

~News courtesy of Thanh Nien~

Ha Tien Border (Vietnam - Cambodia)

Truoc bien tho dai - Nguyen Duc(伤心太平洋 - 任贤齐)

No more BBQ on Vung Tau beaches

No more BBQ on Vung Tau beaches



A group of tourists eat and drink on a Vung Tau beach. Photo: Nguyen LongA group of tourists eat and drink on a Vung Tau beach.

Pollution puts off visitors to Vung Tau

A 2015 ban on street vending and drinking and cooking in beaches in Vung Tau to check pollution, that has remained on paper, will be strictly enforced from tomorrow, authorities have said.

Truong Thi Huong, deputy chairwoman of the city People’s Committee, said vendors and tourists do not clean up after they gather to cook, eat and drink on the beaches, causing pollution and making the beaches ugly.

Some even leave charcoal behind after cooking, instead merely burying it in the sand, which is soon washed away by the waves, exposing the charcoal.

The city Friday ordered eateries to quickly remove kiosks, carts and other equipment they used from the beaches and clean up. Huong said swimmers could go to restaurants and eateries near beaches instead of cooking themselves.

The city plans to create fast food areas on the beaches, and traders can bid to put up kiosks, she said.

~News courtesy of Thanh Nien~

Người Ấy - Trịnh Thăng Bình

Nếu Em Còn Tồn Tại - Trịnh Đình Quang

TIÊN COOKIE - Tâm Sự Với Người Lạ

HCMC to ban eating, drinking from walking street

Ho Chi Minh City to ban eating, drinking from walking street



Eating and drinking, along with several other activities, will be prohibited from the Nguyen Hue pedestrian street in Ho Chi Minh City, which will take effect later this month.

The municipal People’s Committee has issued a ban on several activities, including eating and drinking, on the street and the area around the statue of President Ho Chi Minh.

Other actions to be banned include the illegal occupation of roadways and sidewalks, unlawful construction, behaviors that affect order and aesthetics in the area, superstitious activities, and all wrongdoings that compromise public hygiene.

The sale of food and drink, marketing, the vending of other products, and those cultural activities that violate regulations on civilized lifestyle, social security and order, and the prevention of fire and explosion.

In addition, the new rules will forbid the use of loudspeakers, horns, gongs, drums, and whistles, and assembly of people without permission of competent authorities.

The Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee has decided to establish a special team to control the situation on the walking street and to directly work with other relevant agencies.

The new regulations will take effect on April 18 and will be enforced directly by authorized units and indirectly with surveillance cameras installed along the street.

The 670-meter long walking street was opened in April 2015 and has become one of the favorite destinations of local people as well as tourists.

The venue attracts many people every night and is even more crowded on the weekend.

According to Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper reporters’ observation on Saturday evening, the street was packed with citizens, mainly young Vietnamese who are high school and college students.

The young people were sitting in groups along the street to enjoy their street foods, of which many were spilled while leftovers and food containers were often left on the ground.

Despite the placement of numerous recycle bins along the road, littering has remained an unsolved issue as it is easy to spot plastic bags, empty water bottles, candy wrappers and others around the planters.

Even after being reminded, many people still throw their trash on the ground, according to a volunteer working on the walking street.

~News courtesy of Tuoi Tre~

British tourists complain about hotel scam

British tourists complain to Hanoi authorities about hotel scam



The three British tourists at Hanoi Tourism Department.

Three British tourists have complained to Hanoi tourism authorities that they were cheated by a man who took them from the gate of a hotel they had booked into to another one by lying to them.

Bradley Spillman, Jonathan Bearman and Matthew Taylor, all 21, told officials at the Hanoi Tourism Department Thursday that they had booked rooms at Hanoi Old Town Hotel, 95 Hang Chieu.

On Wednesday they arrived at the hotel from airport by taxi when a man who introduced himself as the “manager” of the hotel jumped into the vehicle.

He said the hotel’s water system was broken and he would take them to another branch of the hotel at 9 Nguyen Truong To Street, Ba Dinh District.

They booked into the new hotel, called Hai Nam, when they received an email from the Hanoi Old Town Hotel asking why they did not turned up.

Meanwhile, the man sold some tours to them, and after learning he had scammed them, they wanted the money back. But he only made a partial refund.

They told department officials they wanted their money back and the man and the hotel to be punished.

On Thursday Vu Cong Huy, deputy chief inspector of the department, said they were investigating the case together with Ba Dinh District authorities.

Do Dinh Hong, Director of Hanoi's Tourism Department, said the authorities will "seriously address any violation" to "maintain the good image of Vietnam's tourism."

~News courtesy of Thanh Nien~

One-year visas for US citizens

Vietnam parliament gives green light to one-year visas for US citizens

US citizens will be able to travel to Vietnam on one-year, multiple-entry visas, the National Assembly has decided.

A parliament resolution to ratify the Diplomatic Note on Visa Granting between Vietnam and the United States, which is expected to boost tourist and business ties between the two countries, won 92.9 percent of votes at a NA session this morning

US citizens have so far been granted three-month visas, which caused many difficulties to US visitors, according to the newly-elected President Tran Dai Quang, who proposed the change to the NA on Apr. 4.

The US, meanwhile, grants one-year visas with multiple entries to visitors from Vietnam.

~News courtesy of Thanh Nien~

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