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Monday, August 26, 2013
Saturday, August 24, 2013
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~
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~
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
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~
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~
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~
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
Friday, August 2, 2013
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~
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~
Thursday, August 1, 2013
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~
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~
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