Sep
08
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Simultaneous investment to boost craft village tourism
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Over the past years, traditional craft villages in the southern provinces of Tien Giang, Dong Thap, An Giang, Tay Ninh and Ba Ria-Vung Tau have proved popular destinations for travel companies. However, due to lack poor planning and limited tourist products, these villages have been unable to cash in on return visits.
Craft village tourism is a type of tourism to discover the traditional culture of the local people combined with purchasing the products they make. In southern provinces like Tien Giang, Dong Thap and Ba Ria-Vung Tau, there are many craft villages that have a hundred-year history of development and now still keep their craft production ways and draw the attention of tourists, especially those coming from Germany, Japan, Australia and the US.
According to Master of Arts Phan Buu Toan - Deputy Director of Saigon Tourist College, craft villages development associated with tourism not only make tourism activities more diversified but also increase consumption demand for craft village products, create jobs for local laborers and contribute to the economic restructuring. However, the State plays an important role in making orientations and drafting a sustainable development plan for craft villages to exploit their potential and promote links among travel companies and the local people.
Trinh Van Thanh, Director of Thanh Dat Cocoa Co, Ltd in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province said from the wish to popularize and build a brand name for cocoa products, the company has also upgraded infrastructure to receive visitor arrivals. Every month, it welcomes from three to five delegations of foreign tourists (6-80 people in a delegation). They come to visit cocoa gardens, the process of manufacturing cocoa and enjoy products made from cocoa and most of them felt excited about their trips. The company is currently coordinating with Saigontourist Company to expand this tourism model.
Simultaneous investment required
Nguyen Thi Nam from Tan Thanh Tourism Company said craft villages mainly intend to do business but not promote tourism. Every time when tourists want to visit craft villages, the travel companies have to make an appointment with production households in advance. Despite this, most of tourists were excited and impressed as they enjoyed the natural scenes and witnessed the real life works of local residents.
In the coming time, one of the main targets of localities is to increase international tourist arrivals. The Director of Ba Ria-Vung Tau's Tourism Promotion and Information Center Trinh Ngoc Hoan said to effectively exploit craft village tourism potential, the Center has determined traditional crafts that are likely to attract more tourists including arca and snail fine arts products, Hoa Long wine and girdle cakes.
Nguyen Huu Phuc, a visitor from the US shared his experience during his tours to some craft villages specialized in making souvenirs made of bamboos, tea and food made of tea. He said that when taking tours in the villages, visitors seemed to be lost in modern workshops with private sections for each processes including putting in materials, primary treatment, processing and packaging. Apart from sightseeing and shopping, tourists could take part in producing handicraft products under the instructions of craftsmen and they could buy these products as the gifts to their relatives. If they buy handicraft products in a large amount, the goods would be sent to them by post. Such kind of tourism and services, however, have not been adopted in craft villages in Dong Thap, Tien Giang, Tay Ninh and Ba Ria-Vung Tau provinces.
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Sep
08
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Step back in time at Hoi An Town
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Tourists or locals keen to admire landscapes and Vietnam of the past, are most likely to head to Hoi An. There the passion of discovering the natural beauty of the nation is easily done with the romantic and unique features of the world heritage ancient town.
The diversity of a complex of relics, pristine landscapes of old streets, river banks, religious, civil and folk architectural works in an urban area by Thu Bon River, near Dai Beach, combined with the town’s history and natural conditions make Hoi An such an attractive spot.
Coming to Hoi An, strolling along Hoai River or walking amidst the ancient town, tourists may not realize it but the town used to be a busy trading center in the 17th and 18th centuries.
Hoi An was the cradle of Sa Huynh Civilization and home to cultural relics of My Son, Tra Kieu and Cu Lao Cham cultures.
Highlights of the old town include various relics and diverse architecture and designs and chilling under the shade of malabar almond trees.
Tourists will be able to appreciate the vestiges of time and the lull of space on ancient homes with green moss, old trees and bas reliefs. There are many old pagodas worth a visit such as Cau, Long Tuyen, Phu Kien or Ba Mu.
Amidst the town are also many old communal houses, ancient wells and traditional long houses of ethnic people.
Architecture in Hoi An is a harmonious combination of Vietnam, China and Japan, creating an unique look in this area. Moreover, Hoi An is also blessed with a fresh and cool climate.
On Thursday, Hoi An is more upbeat with outdoor folk artistic performances on full-moon nights. Lingering under the moonlight with colorful lights of lanterns, hanging around the old streets and listening to folk songs of the past and joining folk games, tourists will have some amazing and unforgettable moments.
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Sep
08
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HCM City's Monkey Island offers kids a real experience
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Heart of darkness: A boat tour through Rung Sac mangrove forest, a guerrilla base during the American War, is part of a visit to Monkey Island.
Through the underbrush: A group of teens explore the mangrove forest on Monkey Island. — VNA/VNS Photo Manh Linh
When I asked my four-year-old son where he wanted to go for the weekend, he said he wanted to visit a place where monkeys lived.
"Real monkeys, not the ones you see on television or in cages at the zoo," he said.
Searching the internet to find such a destination, I discovered Monkey Island in Can Gio District, HCM City.
We left home at 9am on a sunny Sunday.
The sunshine in HCM City is really different. It did not make us feel worn out and tired like in the north and the central areas, where we just want to stay at home, especially in the summer.
We decided to open the car's windows to enjoy the natural wind and gaze at the landscape outside.
The drive to Monkey Island from the centre of HCM City is not really far. It is about 70km and the beautiful view along the road makes the trip feel much shorter.
After a little over one hour, we reached Can Gio.
The road from here to the island was very beautiful with many trees, green rivers and tiny yellow flowers, which we guessed were wild peanut flowers.
The flowers, together with the light green leaves, created a colourful carpet along the road. The sight energized us and made us excited to start our trip, on which we hoped to have many new experiences.
The amazing landscapes, cool winds and blue sky made me realise that Viet Nam's winding coastline was home to many beautiful sites that we had not discovered. Some places, I thought, were more beautiful than similar places in other nearby countries and even Europe.
A sign at a crossroads told us that we had reached the Monkey Island.
Passing the gate, we saw our first monkeys: a family with parents and two little monkeys.
My son was really excited that his dream was coming true. He shouted out a series of rapid-fire questions: "Why do they live together? Why do they climb up the tree? Why do the little monkeys hug their mothers?"
We walked around the island on a cement road while trying to answer all of these questions.
Monkey shines: Monkeys are the island's major citizens and are well-acquainted with a human presence. — VNA/VNS Photos Ngoc Ha
It's called an island because it is surrounded by a mangrove forest. But just 200m from the gate, we really saw an island of monkeys. There were some 1,000 monkeys! They ran around and climbed up mangrove trees. They followed us or just stood still to look at us with no fear.
Other visitors told us that the monkeys were sizing us up to see if we would give them food.
My father decided to buy some food for them. He bought four small bags of potatoes, gave them to my son and taught him how to feed the monkeys.
When the first potato bag came into my son's hands, tens of monkeys came around him and stared at the bag.
He started to deliver the potatoes to the monkeys very happily. He threw the snacks as quickly as possible because the small amount was unlikely to be enough for the primates.
Suddenly, a monkey quickly ran to my son and took the bag away. Although we had been warned at the gate that monkeys might take stuff from us, this action really surprised all of us because the monkey was so quick that we did not have any time to react.
We all laughed out loud but my son looked so tense and sad. His face turned grey and it looked like he was going to cry.
To console my children, I promised to show them a new thing that they had never experienced: canoeing.
We decided to go on a boat tour to visit Rung Sac, a guerrilla base during the American War inside the Monkey Island. It was lucky for us that the water level was high that day. If not, we could not use boats because this is a muddy area.
This is a famous historical place, dating back to a majestic period of Vietnamese history. A commando regiment of the liberation force was stationed at the jungle from 1966-75. It served as a spring board for them to fight in Sai Gon.
In fact, the place we visited was just one part of the whole base but it was enough to help us understand the challenges that Vietnamese fighters had to face in the past.
The landscape was very beautiful with thousands of mangroves growing in a big muddy area. Sometimes, we all had to bend down low to avoid being hit by the mangroves' branches. The boat sped quickly through the water, splashing water on us: a really amazing experience.
The bamboo bridges connected me and the other tourists to places where we could see how the commandos had meetings, slept, fought and ate.
The sudden advent of a rainstorm cut our visit short. We came back to the boat station with many feelings.
My parents especially liked the tour as it reminded them of the days of the war against the Americans.
To say good-bye to the forest, we treated ourselves to ice creams. When we turned around, we were startled to see five monkeys waiting for us.
"You have potatoes. The ice cream is for me," my son told the monkeys and held onto his ice cream, very tightly. — VNS
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Real life of delta via Duong Sen’s brush
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08/09/2012 10:06:45
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H-Artistry returns to Vietnam
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08/09/2012 10:00:07
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German conductor wields baton at Opera House
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08/09/2012 09:55:45
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Artist works with bamboo paper
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08/09/2012 09:51:10
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New history museum to be built
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08/09/2012 09:49:39
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Art performance highlights sea and islands
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08/09/2012 09:47:24
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Vietnam’s image promoted in Cuba
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08/09/2012 09:45:43
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Monk proposed for UNESCO honour
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08/09/2012 09:44:13
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Vietnam’s image promoted in Cuba
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08/09/2012 09:06:35
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