VA offers promotional fares

VA offers promotional fares on domestic, int’l flights

Vietnam Airlines, the country’s national carrier, announced on April 5 a special promotional program to cover the coming holiday season called ‘Hello-Summer Vacation 2013’.

The Airline will offer passengers preferential fare rates on both domestic and international flights from April 8 to 21.

All one-way fares on domestic flights departing from May 5 to October 31 will cost either VND333,000(US$15.9) or VND666,000 ($31.8).

Similarly, return-fares on international flights starting April 22 to October 31 will be priced from VND189,000 ($9) to VND8,363,000 ($399).

The above fare rates exclude VAT and other surcharges. The promotional offer does not apply for flights during the Independence Day holidays from April 30 till May 1.

For more information, please see log onto www.vietnamairlines.com.

~News courtesy of SGGP~

Lexicon

The words in orange belong to the Vietnamese native lexical stock while the ones in green belong to the Sino-Vietnamese vocabulary.

Like other east Asian countries, as a result of close ties with China for thousands of years, much of the Vietnamese lexicon relating to science and politics is derived from Chinese - see Sino-Vietnamese vocabulary. 

At least 60% of the lexical stock has Chinese roots, not including naturalized word borrowings from China, although many compound words are composed of native Vietnamese words combined with Chinese borrowings. One can usually distinguish between a native Vietnamese word and a Chinese borrowing if it can be reduplicated or its meaning does not change when the tone is shifted. As a result of French occupation, Vietnamese has since had many words borrowed from the French language, for example cà phê (from French café). 

Nowadays, many new words are being added to the language's lexicon due to heavy Western cultural influence; these are usually borrowed from English, for example TV (though usually seen in the written form as tivi). Sometimes these borrowings are calques literally translated into Vietnamese (for example, software is calqued into phần mềm, which literally means "soft part").

~Info courtesy of Wikipedia~

Language

Vietnamese (tiếng Việt) is the national, official language of Vietnam. It is the native language of Vietnamese people (Kinh), and of about three million Vietnamese residing elsewhere. It also is spoken as a first or second language by many ethnic minorities of Vietnam.

It is part of the Austroasiatic language family of which it has, by far, the most speakers (several times that of the other Austroasiatic languages combined).

Much of Vietnamese vocabulary has been borrowed from Chinese, and it formerly used a modified set of Chinese characters called chữ nôm given vernacular pronunciation. As a byproduct of French colonial rule, Vietnamese was influenced by the French language; the Vietnamese alphabet (quốc ngữ) in use today is a Latin alphabet with additional diacritics for tones, and certain letters.

~Info courtesy of wikipedia~

First five-star resort opens in Ben Tre

First five-star resort opens in Ben Tre Province

The first five-star resort has just opened in Ben Tre Province across 21 hectares of land in Phu Tuc Commune of Chau Thanh District, providing such facilities like restaurants, spas, luxury villas, a golf course and conference facilities.

Forever Green Resort has been built by Lo Hoi Company at a cost of US$50 million, and considered the largest investment in tourism in Ben Tre Province.

The resort provides 60 modern villas, restaurants, an ecological park, a spa, karaoke bar, fitness and recuperation centre.

The facility also has 120 rooms, a swimming pool and conference facilities for 1,000-1,500 guests.

Still to be built are 120 bungalows, a golf course and a seafood restaurant by 2018.

~News courtesy of SGGP~

Flights from Nha Trang to Moscow

Vietnam Airlines opens flight from Nha Trang to Moscow

Vietnam Airlines has just announced the opening of a direct flight route from Nha Trang City to Moscow, starting April 5.

Passengers getting on board of Vietnam Airlines' plane (Photo: U. Phuong) The national flag carrier will launch its first direct flight from Nha Trang to Moscow on April 5 via Boeing 777. Every Friday, a flight will depart Nha Trang City at 10.25 am and arrive in Moscow at 8pm local time.

The carrier will soon increase two flights per week on Monday and Friday to meet customer demand from October.

On its debut flight, a return ticket from Nha Trang City to Moscow will cost VND10.5 million (US$503.5), excluding VAT and additional charges, from April 1 to March 31--except for two holidays, April 30 and May 1.

This is the third direct flight between Vietnam and Russia that Vietnam Airlines has opened.

Nguyen Tien Nam, a representative of Vietnam Airlines in Russia, said the new route aims to maintain large numbers of Russian visitors to Vietnam in the face of global economic slowdown. In 2012, the number of passengers on the Moscow-Hanoi-HCMC flights rose by 10,000, to reach 79,000 visitors.

~News courtesy of SGGP~

Vietnam Airlines offers ‘buy-1 get-1’

Vietnam Airlines offers ‘buy-one get-one’ free package



Vietnam Airlines announced on March 20 that they are offering a promotional package, under which any economy class passenger above the age of 18 can avail of a free ticket for an accompanying child of less than 12 years of age on the same flight.

An adult economy class passenger can get a free ticket for an accompanying child of less than 12 years of age

This offer is open on 38 domestic flight routes of Vietnam Airlines and the Vietnam Air Services Company.

The promotional program will take effect date from now until January 31, 2014.

~News courtesy of SGGP~

City to use electric cars for sightseeing tours

City to use electric cars for sightseeing tours



The Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee on March 20 ordered the Department of Transport to operate electric cars for sightseeing tours of the City’s tourist destinations as an initial pilot project.

In addition, the department has been asked to implement a moving service for household and office goods, for which the department will hire vehicles from four and three wheel vehicle owners, who have switched to other vehicles as per the law.

On the same day, the City People’s Committee asked volunteer groups to implement a pilot project for the management and maintenance of the East-West Highway.

~News courtesy of SGGP~