Tourists flock to ecological areas in Mekong Delta's Bac Lieu province

Picnic time: A longan garden adds a certain charm to the area, which is already popular among locals.

Getting lost in such a green space is a gentle experience even on the hottest of days thanks to the scent of rice, soil and the taste of sweet fruits.

About 6km due east of the Bac Lieu City centre lies a road named after late composer Cao Van Lau, on the right of which stands one of the largest bird sanctuaries in the delta, home to more than 60,000 birds and over 40 species. On the left hand side, the century-old longan garden features the luxuriance and pride of the delta province.

The garden covers an area of over 200ha across the communes of Hiep Thanh and Vinh Trach Dong. It was reportedly established over 100 years ago with longan seeds brought from China by a local resident named Truong Hung and which adapted well to the coastal area.

Today, in a family garden in Chom Xoai Hamlet, Truong Kiet, Hung's great grandson, is still caring for the gigantic longan tree allegedly planted by his great grandfather.

Longans from Bac Lieu are famous for their big fruit, thick and fleshy pulp, small seeds as well as their sweet taste and scent. On average, each tree can produce 300-400kg of fruits each year, helping local growers prosper..

Roads along the longan garden help visitors reach the site easily while farmers have installed a lighting system to keep bats away from the fruit, adding a certain charm to the area, which is extremely popular among locals.

The garden is planned to become a thriving tourist attraction, according to Vu Duc Tho, head of the provincial Culture, Sports and Tourism Department.

"By 2015, we will introduce typical historical features related to the development of the Kinh, Hoa and Khmer ethnic groups," Tho added.

This is part of a provincial eco-tourism development plan to connect the villa of Cong Tu Bac Lieu (the playboy son of a local rich landlord from the early 20th century famous for his extravagant lifestyle), Nha Mat – Hiep Thanh Beach, the longan garden and a coastal mangrove forest.

Vinh Trach Dong Commune additionally plays host to a 300-year-old mango tree 20m in height and believed to have mythical healing powers as well as a ghost as resident.

According to legend, when people first settled in the area, a rampant tiger was terrorising the vicinity. After it got caught in a trap, it supposedly bit off its own leg to escape on the remaining three. After considerably veneration and offerings beneath the magical tree, the tiger never re-appeared.

It is easy to reach ancient Vinh Hung Town in Vinh Loi District if driving on the National Highway from Bac Lieu towards Ca Mau.

The tower is the only vestige in the Mekong Delta to include the Angkor-style architecture of the Khmer. Found in 1911, Vinh Hung Tower, also known as Luc Hien or Bhah Dhat, is one of the most historical sites in southern Vietnam.

Archaeologists discovered a stele engraved with Sanskrit script in a pagoda next to the tower, dating from AD 892.

The 8,9m-tower was built on a low hill with a simple structure including a rectangle basin and an arching rooftop.

Inside you will find hand made copper Buddhas, the lower body part of a goddess, a statue of a goddess made from green stone, a statue of Brahma, a copper Buddha head and many other items.

Monks at the pagoda chant twice a day at 4am and 4pm. Every year, local residents organise an anniversary on the 15th day of the first lunar month at the tower. A large number of Buddhists inside and outside Bac Lieu Province make pilgrimages to the pagoda to pray.

The holy atmosphere around the tower makes it an ideal place for people to find inner peace and comfort. While time has left its trace on the tower walls, for thousands of years rice fields and orchards have continued growing in the delta province.

| VNS | June 22, 2012 11:55 PM

Free wireless Internet for Hue city

VietNamNet Bridge – The authorities of the central province of Thua Thien – Hue has approved the plan to supply free wireless Internet service in the entire Hue city.

The plan will be implemented based on experience, learning from the similar plan that was successfully carried out in the ancient town of Hoi An.

In 2011, 22 broken phone boxes in Hue city were restored into free phone boxes where locals and tourists can make free urgent phone calls.

Early this year, Hoi An drew public attention when it became the first city in Vietnam and in Southeast Asia to offer free wireless internet in the whole city.

According to the local government, by the end of 2012, equipment would be installed completely in Hoi An and Cu Lao Cham Islet. At present, 50 out of the total 350 free wireless internet spots have been installed in central Hoi An.

With the free service, tourists can surf the web and check mail everywhere in the ancient town. If they want to use high speed Internet to listen to music and watch movies, they have to use internet cards supplied by the Vietnam Post and Telecommunications Group (VNPT).

After the first phase, VDC 3 will implement the second phase of the project to bring wireless internet to the remaining area in Hoi An and the surrounding area.

Mai Lan

Low cost tours turn out to be expensive tours

VietNamNet Bridge – A lot of domestic tours under the tourism promotion program have been described as the “trap” for travelers. Clients think they can save money with the low cost tours, but in fact, they are overcharged.

A lot of domestic tours have been launched into the market in a national tourism promotion program, under which the attractive tour fee discounts of 50-60 percent have been offered. However, in many cases, travelers later realize that they have to pay too much money for bad services.

Unreasonable departure time eats into travel schedule

In principle, travel firms always try to design the travel schedules in the most reasonable way, so as to ensure that travelers can take full advantage of their time on traveling, while keeping them in the best health conditions.

However, the principle has been ignored by many travel firms which deliberately “forget” to inform the schedules of the trips, including the departure and the return time. A traveler said that when she called a big travel firm in HCM City to ask about the departure time, the officers of the firms refused to give answers, telling her to book tours first and she would be informed about the schedule on the day before the departure day.

Hanoi Redtours is one of the rare travel firms which have made public the travel schedules of its 10 tours under the tourism promotion program on its official website.

Those, who book the 4-day-and-3-night Tam Ky – Hoi An – Da Nang tour, would fly with Vietnam Airlines, and they would have to get into buses to go to the airport at 9 am of the last day of the trip. Meanwhile, the travelers booking the 4-day-and-3-night Quy Nhon tour would arrive in Noi Bai airport in Hanoi at 11 am of Wednesday, which means that they would waste half a day on transport.

The reason behind the unreasonable schedule is the dependence on the air carriers which offer low airfares. As for the Quy Nhon – Hanoi air route, Vietnam Airlines remains the only one airline that develops the route with one only flight a day.

In HCM City, Festival, a travel firm, announced the 20-25 percent tour fee discounts for the promotional tours. However, the travelers, who book three tours to the central region which would depart in August and September, would land in the Da Nang airport in the central region at 11.10 pm. As such, travelers would waste money to pay for hotel room for the first night, just because they want to start out early the next morning.

Meanwhile, those, who book the Da Lat tour (four days and 3 nights) with the departure time in August 22, in fact, would have three days and 3 nights to tour because of the unreasonable departure schedules.

Departing at the dawn, returning at mid-night

On its official website, Festival announced the tour fee discount of 40-60 percent for summer domestic tours. On June 22, the travel firm would kick off the tour from HCM City to Phu Quoc Island which offers the discount of 1-1.2 million dong.

However, in order to enjoy the discounts, travelers would have to see the travel duration shortened. On the last day of the tour, travelers would have enough time for sea bathing once and going to the market. After that, they have to get into airplanes to return home.

The clients of Hanoi Redtours have announced that its buses would pick up travelers at 3.40 am to the Noi Bai airport, from which travelers would fly to Can Tho. Saigontourist Hanoi, which offers the 34 percent tour fee discounts, and Vietran Tours, which offers the tours to Mekong Delta, using the air tickets with the 40 percent discounts, have also forced travelers to take off at 5.50 am.

Phuong Loan – Nguyen Long

Hanoi and Hai Phong collaborate on National Tourism Year 2013

Hanoi’s hospitality sector will work with Hai Phong city’s authority to organize activities for the National Tourism Year 2013 in the Red River delta region, which will be hosted by Hai Phong.

This was announced at a conference for the event held by the two cities’ Party Committees in Hanoi on June 19.

Under the theme ‘Red River Civilisation’, the programme will kick off on May 12, 2013 in Hai Phong with many activities, such as the Cat Ba Fishing Village Festival, the Red Flamboyant Flower Festival, and the Do Son Buffalo Fighting Festival.

Three tourism events will take place in Hanoi during the programme, including the Huong (Perfume) festival from February-April, the International Tourism Fair in April, and a tourism festival of traditional craft villages in Hanoi and Red River delta provinces in October. Hanoi will also send art troupes and artists to join performances in Hai Phong. The programme will bring together nine cities and provinces in the region, including Hanoi, Hai Phong, Nam Dinh, Ninh Binh, Thai Binh, Hai Dương, Hung Yen, Bac Giang and Bac Ninh. Many events will be held in the localities in response to the programme.

National Tourism Year 2012, which highlights the northern central coastal region, is being hosted by the Thua Thien – Hue central province.

(Source: Nhandan)