source from: nhandan

Tourists can watch Pygathrix nemaeus – a rare species of langur which is listed in Red Book – up close during a half-day tour in the Son Tra Natural Reserve.

Nguyen Ngoc Hiep, who designed the tour, said tourists have two interesting options for touring around the peninsula in a single day at a price of VND450,000 (US$20) per person.

The peninsula is a 10-minute bus drive from Da Nang in the morning, when traffic is quiet. The first stop is the top of the Vong Canh Hills, 693m above sea level, where tourists get an overview of the city, the Hai Van Pass, and Da Nang Bay, as well as visit a radar station and heliport.

After a 30-minute stop, tourists continue their adventure in jungles and approach groups of the endangered langurs.

“We have to divide visitors into teams of six or eight when trekking in the jungles because the langurs sense danger when the tourists make noise,” Hiep said. “The trek route is just 1km, but tourists must move slowly, taking 45 minutes. Each team is allowed to stay watching the endangered langurs for 15 minutes only.”

The langurs can also be seen from a range of 30m in the morning when they forage for food, and travellers are provided with binoculars.

“The primates often feed on leaves and fruit in jungles, so it means that we can see them only once in a day,” Hiep said.

The next drive takes travellers to the eco-tourism site of Truong Mai, where they can eat lunch in a stilt-house.

“Tourists can arrange a prepared menu from a hotel or order hot dishes at the resort,” said guide Khanh Lai. “The cook will prepare a quick lunch with grilled chicken or pork in the local style, which most tourists prefer because they get a sense of something they’ve never experienced.”

After lunch, day travellers can kick back under a 1,000-year-old banyan tree for a small break after lunch.

In the afternoon, they can pay a visit to Linh Ung Pagoda, the home of the country’s highest Buddha statue at 65m from the top of a mountain. The last stop of the day is My Khe Beach, the city’s most beautiful, with long white sandy beaches, diving, fishing and sailing, and a blue sea at sunset.

Boats can take travellers to Hon Nghe Islet, where the waters have plentiful exotic fish and coral. “Tourists can catch snails and walk around the wild islet,” said Nguyen Hong Tuan, a freelance guide.

Tourists are provided with life-jackets, fishing rods and snorkeling gear for fishing and exploring the coral reefs.

“We suggest tourist wear a snorkel while fishing because they can see the colourful coral reefs and fish taking the bait through the snorkeling mask,” Tuan explained. “We have to set oysters as bait because they are a favourite for grouper or red snapper. A BBQ party can then be served on the islet, and tourists can grill their own fish, squid, crabs and snails on charcoal stoves.”

source from: vietnamnews

The officials of Russian tourism agents will be organised into six groups and their destinations will be Nha Trang, Phan Thiet, Da Nang and Hoi An.

Under the plans, first 60 of the Russian tourism managers from the Russian cities of Barnaul,  Uzno Sakhalinsk and Ulan Ude will soon pay working visits to Nha Trang and Phan Thiet and the others will survey in Da Nang, Hoi An and Nha Trang. Each programme will last at least 10 days.

The survey programmes, which are organised by the local tourism company of Anh Duong in association with the Turkish Russia-based tourism company of Pegas Touristik, are aimed at introducing unique Vietnamese tourist products and services to Russian travel agents in an attempt to attract more Russian visitors to Central Vietnam in next winter.

The Chairwoman of the local tourism company, Hoang Thi Phong Thu, said that the company had welcomed nearly 46,000 Russian tourists on chartered flights to Vietnam since November 2011.

“On May 12^th the company will start to receive Russian tourists on frequent chartered flights to Da Nang and Nha Trang and the programme will last until September this year,” she added.

source from: qdnd

At the meeting, the Chairman briefed the Ambassador on the socio-economic development of Da Nang and hoped that the Ambassador would continue his interest in boosting Da Nang–Malaysia bilateral trade.  He asked the Ambassador to allocate a locality in Malaysia with which Da Nang could set up and develop mutual friendship and cooperation, and to introduce Malaysian government scholarship programmes for Vietnamese students, including those from Da Nang, to go and study in Malaysia.

The Ambassador gave his impressions of Da Nang, a beautiful, developed and liveable city.  He proposed the city of Penang (George Town), the capital of the state of Penang in Malaysia, for Da Nang to establish a relationship with as Penang has many similarities to Da Nang.  Also, he introduced the Malaysia Technical Cooperation Programme, one of the Malaysian government’s scholarship programmes for foreign students.

During his visit to Da Nang, the Ambassador also met with Malaysian enterprises to learn about their performances, and to encourage them to push forward with expanding the investment, trade and tourism cooperation with central provinces in Viet Nam.

source from: danang

Vietnamese team prepares for the fireworks competition (Photo:SGGP)

The competition event themed ‘Colours of Da Nang’ will have past champions participating, from Canada, China, France, Italy, and host Vietnam.

City authorities in Da Nang are working hard to put the final finishing touches for the Fireworks Competition. A grandstand that will seat 32,000 spectators, 7,000 more than last year, has been constructed over 12,000 square metres along the east bank of the Han River. The city’s tourism board expects to welcome more than 4,000 visitors for the event.

The host Da Nang team will present a five part creative performance on Vietnam’s thousand-year history of national reconstruction and defence and showcase the beauty of the country, accompanied by popular revolutionary songs to reflect the joy of Vietnamese people for the forthcoming Reunification Day on April 30.

The Da Nang International Fireworks Competition promises to light up the Da Nang night sky with a spectacular display, a glittering ambience, blended with music and sparkling colours that will reflect on the Han River. Da Nang city will resounded with spectator cheers enthralled by this colourful fireworks and a diverse cultural spectacle.

As seen in the previous four successful firework competitions, Da Nang City has already established its image as a tourist city and an attractive destination for visitors from both home and abroad.

Da Nang International Fireworks Competition 2012 will be broadcast live on VTV Da Nang, VTV1 and VTV4 channels.

source from: saigon-gpdaily

Fireworks explode over the Han River during the Da Nang International FireWorks Festival in 2009

No one says the display at the International Fireworks Festival in Da Nang, soon to celebrate its fifth edition, is not spectacular.

But that cannot be said of getting to enjoy them fully. Many people have reported that their great expectations were belied by the hassle of getting a vantage point from which to watch the displays.

Experienced visitors say switching spots to have different views of the firework displays and not choosing hotels too close to the performances are among several things to keep in mind when attending the annual Da Nang International Fireworks Festival.

This year, the festival will not be a competition as in the four previous editions, but a compilation of performances by the host team and previous winners – Canada (2008), China (2009), France (2010) and Italy (2011).

The fireworks will explode over the Han River on April 29 and 30, the Vietnam Reunification Day, instead of during the commemoration of Da Nang Liberation Day, March 29.

There are tickets for 25,000 seats worth VND200,000-300,000 a night at the official stage for the festival, but half of them are reserved for guests, so there’s never enough space.

Visitors should rather become locals to find a good spot among many other options in the city.

As there are 15-minute breaks between each performance that will be held on two nights, visitors are recommended to choose at least two different spots to get alternative views of the fireworks with different landscapes as the background.

There are many good spots on bridges across the Han River, with favorite ones being the Han and Thuan Phuoc Bridges, according to advice carried in a recent report by the The Thao & Van Hoa (Culture & Sports) newspaper.

HOW TO GET THERE
Most carriers in Vietnam operate in Da Nang, with six daily flights by Vietnam Airlines, three by budget airlines like Jetstar and VietJetAir, and the private Air Mekong.
A train journey from Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City to Da Nang takes 15 hours.

Interested persons can also go on tours that are organized during this time of year. The tours not only cover Da Nang and the firework festival, but other attractions in central Vietnam including the UNESCO heritage towns of Hue and Hoi An, as well as the Phong Nha – Ke Bang National Park that includes the world’s largest and most beautiful caves.

Tour operators in Ho Chi Minh City, like Vietravel, TST Tourist and Saigontourist are offering three to five day tours departing from April 27 at prices ranging between VND7,590,000 ($365) and VND10,290,000 ($494) a person.

From the Han Bridge, fireworks are seen as “resting on the estuary,” the report says. From Thuan Phuoc, a higher bridge and the last one before the river joins the sea, visitors can see the fireworks blossoming above the city lights.

Fireworks would emerge from the water when visitors stand close to the river bank, which would be a hard spot to get and one would have to arrive hours before the performance. But if one has the luxury of time, it costs less than a dollar to hire a plastic stool.

Visitors can also take a boat along the Han River for a more romantic enjoyment of the fireworks. They can ask around fishing villages on Tran Hung Dao Street to hire some boats and boatmen.

But the service, which costs between VND200,000-500,000 (US$24) a person, is not reliable as far as some of the safety precautions like life jackets are concerned.

People can also enjoy a drink and listen to music while watching the fireworks at Memory Café near Han Bridge or the Green View building over 20 stories high on Bach Dang Street, for VND300,000-400,000 a person.

Those who want to avoid the crowd can ride motorbikes to the Son Tra Mountain near the city. The road up to the top of the mountain has been expanded recently from a military road and people can choose their own spot or stop en route at the Da Nang View café.

The good news, according to those who have attended the festival several times, is that it is quite easy to find a good spot to view the fireworks in Da Nang, as the city is not so crowded as Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City, and does not have as many high rise buildings dotting the skyline to obstruct the view.

Too close for comfort

Hotels that are located nearer to the firework performances such as those on Bach Dang, Tran Hung Dao, Dong Da and Ba Thang Hai streets are more likely to overcharge customers.

It’s not worth it anyway.

Not all hotels near the performances can offer a good view of the fireworks, and it would hard to leave one’s room or come back to the crowded area.

There’re hotels around four to six kilometers from the Han River, which would be good enough at prices around VND500,000 a room for two during the festival.

Other advice contained in the report are not to drink too much before the performance as there are few public toilets around, and not to carry unnecessary cash or jewelry because large crowds always attract thieves.

One should also think carefully when planning to travel to nearby attractions in the morning, since traffic jams and other obstacles can prevent one from returning in time for the fireworks at night.

Destinations like Hoi An, Lang Co Beach and Ngu Hanh Son – the five top mountain representing the five elements – are only around 7-30 kilometers from Da Nang, but the crowds that gather during the holiday clog streets and can lead to unexpected delays.
source from: thanhniennews

The officials, during their three-day sitting, will assess new technologies and applications, gaps in capacity between different economies and the specific challenges and actions that are suitable for each APEC member.

When addressing the function, Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Information and Communication Nguyen Thanh Hung, pointed out the difficulties and challenges that the information and telecommunications sector faces.

Seminars on issues including telecommunications and IT (ICT); the security of computer networks; urgently needed telecoms networks; competition in the telecoms sector and ICT for the disabled will also take place as part of the meeting.

All APEC economies are due to update their ICT policies and work closer together on ICT, the official said.

The meeting will also discuss APEC TEL projects by reviewing their operations and initiatives.

APEC TEL was first set up in 1990 to propose and support policies relating to ICT.

The group operates under three steering groups, one to promote liberalisation, one on the development of ICT and another that’s focuses on security and prosperity.

source from: vietnamplus

SHB Da Nang came from behind to beat Vincem Hai Phong 2-1 in their first-leg final game at Chi Lang stadium on Sunday to climb to the top of the V-League Eximbank Cup 2012 with 23 points after 13 rounds.

source from: nhandan

Eighty percent of vendors, beggars, and shoe polishers in Da Nang come from outside of the city, making the situation difficult to manage and handle, Nguyen Thi Thu Huong of the city’s Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs said in an interview with Tuoi Tre last Sunday.

From reporter’s observation last Sunday morning, vendors did not bother tourists visiting the area round the Trung Vuong Theater, Cham museum, or Linh Ung pagoda.

However, when foreigners arrived at the statue park near the Han River to take pictures, some women appeared and insisted that they buy a souvenir. As tourists crossed the street and went to the Han market, the vendors followed them.

Although security guards patrol the area and signs banning vendors are put up, no one intervened to help the tourists.

After a month of handling vendors and beggars, the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs has discovered and given warning on almost 200 cases. Among those cases, 128 immigrant vendors have been encouraged to go back to their hometown, and 50 wanderers and beggars were sent to the center of social affairs.

Huong said they have set up a hotline to handle vendors and beggars. The city has also created a team to receive and handle information provided by locals 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Three patrol teams work on the streets and around tourist sites to spot and remove vendors and beggars.

source from: tuoitrenews

 

For a song: Singer My Linh will celebrate her 20th year in the music industry with live shows in Ha Noi, HCM City and Da Nang. — File Photo

The show, titled Va Em Se Hat (And I Will Sing), will feature many of the songs that made Linh famous, including Thi Tham Mua Xuan (Spring Whispers) by composer Ngoc Chau, Chi Toi (My Sister) by Tran Tien, and Ha Noi Dem Tro Gio (Ha Noi – A Windy Night) by Trong Dai. She will perform with her husband’s band Anh Em (Brothers).

“Through the show, I would like to send a message to my audience that music always spreads power and endless inspiration, which connects love from all hearts,” Linh said.

Musician Hong Kien, Linh’s friend and the show’s art director, noted that the show would feature the most complex stages of Linh’s music career and the best professional technology.

The show will also feature various guest stars including South Korean singer Tae Kyung, who some call the “Micheal Bubble of South Korea”.

Kyung, who was born in 1973, has won the top prizes at the Music Excellence Awards and the Korea-Japan Youth Music Awards. He is well-know for classic pop songs such as Fly Me to the Moon, Music of the Night, You Raise Me Up and Time to Say Good-bye.

For the first time, painter Thanh Chuong will take the role of the MC for the show. He is a friend of Linh’s family and has closely followed her career from the very beginning.

The show will take place at the Ha Noi Culture Friendship Palace tomorrow and Thursday while the HCM City show will be on May 12 and Da Nang’s will be on May 25.

source from: vietnamnet