04 - 01 - 2008
Flower arrangements during Tet
The HCM City-based tour operator Ben Thanh Tourist has chosen February 2 to launch a two-day and one-night tour to Sa Dec in the Mekong Delta to see special flower arrangements for Tet (Lunar New Year). Tourists will see potted plants on wooden racks next to rice fields, placed there to take advantage of the extra humidity, as well as villagers working hard arranging flowers and selling them to different dealers.
Every house in every street will be decked out with flowers when spring arrives.
During Tet days, they will have an opportunity to see bustling preparations as women arrange flowers, and put flowers in pots or tie them up in bundles while men carry the flowers from the fields to trucks that wait along the roads to take them to HCM City.
As well as spending half a day exploring Tan Qui Dong, the company will also take tourists to Huynh Thuy Le old house, Kien An Cung Pagoda, a pottery village, and the Vinh Sang Farm in Vinh Long, where they can become amateur farmers or catch fish for their lunch, among other activities. The tour costs VND1 million (US$62) per guest.
Fiditour launches Tet tours
The HCM City-based Fiditour has launched Tet tours called Enjoying the New Year in Viet Nam. These are day-long tours that give a glimpse of the spring-time atmosphere in the country.
The Truong Son Road tour that connects three heritage sites is one such tours. It will show famous sites like Ngu Hanh Son (Marble Mountain) and Mt. Ba Na in Da Nang, the historic town of Hoi An, Hue and Phong Nha Cave in Quang Binh Province. They will also visit Hien Luong Bridge on the Ben Hai River which separated the north and the south of Viet Nam during the war, and the Nhat Le River in Quang Binh and Truong Son Cemetary.
The tour departs on the second day of the Lunar New Year (February 8) and costs VND2,860,000 (US$175) per person.
Park expansion approved
The provincial authority of Lam Dong in the Central Highlands has given the go-ahead to a plan by the Sai Gon-Madagui Joint-Stock Co, to double the size of the Madagui Tourist Park to 1,200ha.
Some US$9.5 million will be earmarked to realise the expansion plan which aims to make the park more attractive through diversifying its rehabilitation and entertainment facilities.
The plan includes developing a high-class resort, an adventure area, a small zoo for wild animals, a farm raising 27 species of avocado and typical fruit trees of the Central Highlands and a garden with a collection of 50 species of bamboo.
Located halfway on the way from HCM City to Da Lat, Madagui is part of Cat Tien National Park which covers 71,300has in Lam Dong, Binh Thuan and Dong Nai provinces.
Vietravel begin overseas tours
The HCM City-based tour operator Vietravel has launched several overseas tours including one to explore the Nile River in Egypt. The 9-day tour will take local tourists to the world of the pharaohs and pyramids. They will also study how the famous Cottage perfume is made.
The tour includes exploration of the Nile River on a 5-star cruise ship which takes them to the High Dam, the Unfinished Obelisk monument and Elephantine Island.
The tour costs US$1,699 per person. — VNS