The Saigon Travel Service Company (Saigontourist) has launched 20 tours to central and southern regions for northern holiday makers.

The tours will take visitors to heritage sites and famous beach resorts in the central coastal region such as Phong Nha, Hue , Da Nang and Hoi An as well as the colourful customs and daily activities of people in the Mekong delta region.

Among the destinations, the southernmost province of Ca Mau is becoming an attractive tourist site to northern visitors.

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan has agreed to let the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism submit 2 dossiers on 2 of the country’s cultural practices to the United Nations instructional, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

These proposals are expected to earn the country UNESCO’s recognition of Don ca tai tu Nam bo (southern amateur singing), and Tin nguong tho cung Hung Vuong (faith in and worship of Hung Kings), because the world’s intangible heritage. [...]

At January 22nd and 23rd, the Executive Board of ‘The Most Beautiful Bay In The World’ gathered to Cargèse (Corsica) in France and officially confirmed the admission of the Bay of Cambodia to this prestigious fraternity.

The Kingdom of Cambodia is recognised the world over not only for the magnificent Angkor Wat and the hundreds of ancient temples.  Cambodia’s beaches are world class attractions as well.

It’s good information for cambodia travel, cambodia tour and cambodia vacation companies!

Eight foreign tourists were killed and five were still missing when a tourist boat sank Thursday in Vietnam, officials said.

The accidents occurred at 5 a.m. (2200 GMT Wednesday) at Ha Long bay when a boat carrying 22 people, including 21 foreign tourists, sank, said Ngo Van Hung, head of the management board of Ha Long bay.

Rescuers said they recovered eight bodies. Nine foreign tourists were rescued, and authorities were searching for the five missing.

Do Thong, an official of Quang Ninh province’s government, said the tourists came from 11 countries, including Denmark, the US, Britain, Russia, and Switzerland.

Hung said most of the tourists drowned while they were sleeping inside the boat, others escaped death because they were staying on deck. The weather had been calm and the visitors were staying overnight on the boat in Ha Long Bay, a popular tourist spot about 170 kilometres from Hanoi.

KPVI News 6, the local NBC (National Broadcasting Company) affiliated television station for Idaho, has advised Americans to tour Vietnam to get to know “Southeast Asia’s rising star”.

According to the TV station, as the world discovers more of Vietnam’s treasures, this Southeast Asian country is climbing higher on travellers’ must-see lists. A Vietnam tour is often the most effective way to take in the best of this fascinating country’s attractions including the highlands of the far north and the beaches of the south.

In its website, KPVI News 6 writes that travellers won’t want to miss Hanoi, Hue, Danang and Ho Chi Minh City. In Hanoi, Vietnam’s capital, its citizens are justifiably proud of that long history.

However, most visitors find that Hanoi isn’t just stuck in the past – it’s a forward-thinking metropolis even though it’s filled with the elegantly crumbling vestiges of French colonial architecture and dotted with ancient temples and pagodas. The best historic sights are the One-Pillar Pagoda, built in 1049 to resemble a lotus bud; and Hoa Lo Prison, which might be more recognizable by its other moniker, the Hanoi Hilton. One of the country’s delightful folk traditions with an evening at a water puppet theater performance, which have been held for centuries, is advisable.

Also according to the website, few visitors to the former imperial capital of Hue are disappointed. The city’s incomparable art and architecture make an impression with the grandeur of former imperial residences and temples. Ones should visit the Citadel and take part in Hue’s legendary cuisine, which is renowned throughout the country as being uniquely refined.

Danang is described as Vietnam’s appeal as a relaxing beach destination; a bustling, lively city, with ample opportunities to shop and play in the waves and a reputation for great food.

Ho Chi Minh City, also known as Saigon, is an essential stop. Its reputation is that of a pulsing, vibrant metropolis that is always on the go. It’s more modern than Hanoi, but there are still plenty of historic sights to see – like the History Museum, Saigon Notre Dame Cathedral and Giac Vien Pagoda – between stops at the city’s many shopping boutiques and great restaurants.

KPVI News 6 concludes that many travellers find that Vietnam fits well into a longer itinerary that also takes them to other popular Southeast Asian destinations like Cambodia and Thailand.

Savannakhet is the second largest town on the Mekong river bank where shares the borders with Vietnam and Thailand. It is also an important center for the flourishing trade between Thailand and Vietnam.
The provincial capital, Savan, lies just across the Mekong River from the Border City of Mukdahan, Thailand. It is a bustling commercial center due to the daily trade activity between Thailand and Vietnam. [...]

The annual monsoon cycles that affect all of mainland Southeast Asia produce a ‘dry and wet monsoon climate’ with three basic seasons for most of Laos. The southwest monsoon arrives in Laos between May and July and lasts into November.

The monsoon is followed by a dry period (from November to May), beginning with lower relative temperatures and cool breezes created by Asia’s northeast monsoon (which bypasses most of Laos), lasting until mid-February. Exceptions to this general pattern include Xieng Khuang, Hua Phan and Phongsali Provinces, which may receive rainfall coming from Vietnam and China during the months of April and May. [...]

Laos A–Z

B

• Bokeo Province
• Bolaven Plateau

C

• Champasak

D

• Don Det & Don Khon
• Don Khong [...]

Laos, ‘The Land of a Million Elephants’ may not have a million pachyderms anymore but it certainly has retained its old world charm and ways.