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Vietnam Open Tour News & EventsSATURDAY 28 NOVEMBER, 2009 |
 Dalat from a different perspective Dalat, the city of flowers, is not strange to tourists with its famous sightseeing spots such as Lang Biang Mountain, Xuan Huong Lake and Than Tho Lake. If this is your first time to this romantic land, you are advised to visit the places just mentioned which have become legends of Dalat. But for those who have been to Dalat many times, you are advised to visit places that will bring you a different Dalat.
A greenhouse growing colorful flowers in Dalat City. Visiting the greenhouse is an opportunity to admire at close range Dalat roses and gerberas. Standing in front of the glass with a furrow of flowers stretching on and on is an amazing feeling. The weather is cool, even under the noon day sun, while the flowers are full of colors that compliment each other. Veteran tourists should visit the coffee farm to learn how coffee beans, such as Robusta and Abrabica, are grown in Vietnam. Those interested in new kinds of business should visit the cricket farm to learn how crickets are raised and what they taste like. Those who prefer to learn about ethnic minorities should not miss Lat Village where the indigenous K`ho Lat live in Dalat. Guests will have a chance to know about the customs and habits of the people here. The silk weaving factory is also an interesting place to visit. Coming here, tourists can capture the process of releasing silk, making follicles from silkworms, spinning and weaving. Before coming back to Dalat, tourists should visit Elephant Waterfall. This is one of the most beautiful waterfalls in the Central Highlands at a height of 25 meters. With a powerful flow, the bouncing white foam is a spectacular sight. The highlight of the tour to Dalat is that instead of moving by car, tourists ride motorcycles. You will find it hard to drive yourself on the winding slopes of Dalat at first, but then an interesting feeling of exploring the land overwhelms each tourist. There are few tour operators organizing motorcycle tours to Dalat. For more information, call Dalat Toserco at 08 3821 3931, fax 08 3821 3896, or email dlt-tourcenter@hcm.vnn.vn or visit www.dalattoserco.com.vn. VietNamNet/SGT Escaping the heat on northern tour At a time when HCMC is in the grip of a scorching heat wave, Ben Thanh Tourist comes through with a seven day/six night tour to Hanoi, Ha Long, Mong Cai and Dong Hung, China. Northern Vietnam is getting colder and colder, a welcome change for so many people in the final weeks of autumn.
Ban Gioc Waterfall in Cao Bang Province. Pac Po Cave is renowned as a working and living place of President Ho Chi Minh. Near the cave, there is a stalactite which looks like a statue of Karl Marx, therefore President Ho Chi Minh named it Karl Marx. Below Karl Marx Mountain is a perfectly clear spring which the President named Lenin. The area, with its mighty natural charm, is attractive to ecology tourists and researchers. On the third day, the tour continues to Lang Son to visit the famous Tam Thanh Grotto. Its door is about eight meters high and opens onto a corridor with 30 stone steps carved into the mountain. Dense groves hide the grotto from the sun, making it mysterious and cool. The next day visits Ha Long Bay in Quang Ninh Province. Ha Long Bay boasts more than one thousand awesome limestone karsts and islands of various sizes and shapes along the 120-km coastline of Bai Chay Beach. Ha Long Bay hosts a great diversity of ecosystems including coral reefs, freshwater swamp forests, mangrove forests, small freshwater lakes and sandy beaches. VietNamNet/SGT Chopper way to see the bay It’s a nice day for tourist guide Nguyen Manh Cuong and his 11-strong group of visitors when they travelled Ha Long Bay by chartered helicopter.
Winging it: Passengers take a trip to Ha Long Bay on a Russian-made MI-17 helicopter. He woke up very early in the morning to pick up visitors at their hotel before driving to Gia Lam heliport 15km from the city centre and located on the outskirts of Ha Noi where the flight begins at 8.30am. Although Cuong was acquainted with helicopter, he feels a bit nervous with the noise from the Russian-made MI-17 helicopter. As a few weeks earlier, the guide and his group did not waste time getting in the 24-seat helicopter before reaching an altitude of 300m, where tourists can get a bird’s-eye view of the landscape of the Hong (Red) River Delta and Gulf of Tonkin. "It’s lucky day for us because the sky was so clear that we could see everything on the ground," Cuong recalled. "As the tour began during July, the rice fields – which create a mixed colour of yellow and green – were very beautiful from the sky. The Red River looks like a big snake crawling through a colourful garden." He said passengers can look at the landscape below through helicopter’s windows, but the engine noise means it’s best not to open them. The guide also reminded passengers that a helicopter flies slower and lower than a jet, so there is less likeliness of becoming sick when the chopper takes off or lands. The MI-17 helicopter is quite large and comfortable as it carries 24 passengers and luggage, but it needs air-conditioning, rather than just the current fans. "During the tour, passengers can visit the cockpit and talk with the four-member crew, but they have to speak loudly," Cuong said
Eye in the sky: An aerial view of Ha Long Bay from a helicopter. "Flying by helicopter saves tourists lots of time. Ha Long Bay, a UNESCO World Heritage in Quang Ninh Province, is 165km from Ha Noi and takes nearly three-hours driving. But it’s only 45 minutes by helicopter," said Luxury travel company’s sale manager, Nguyen Cuu Hung. "We try to offer tourists a daytrip tour with different vehicles from car, helicopter and cruise. I can say that it’s amazing tour for travellers in Viet Nam," he said. The aerial route flies past Cat Ba Island, offshore of Hai Phong city, and just five minutes over Ha Long Bay. "It’s fascinating. An overview of Ha Long Bay from helicopter is likely a painting with blue of the sea, white sand and green forest, dotting with mountains and islets," said the guide. "We can take photos of the bay just five minutes from the windows before the copter lands at the heliport, which was built on General Giap Hill (a hill in Ha Long city that was named of general Vo Nguyen Giap)." As planned, tourists can take a cruise to explore caves, beaches and around the bay in four hours with a seafood lunch on board. "We want to provide a variety of views in a day for tourists. They can explore the UNESCO World Heritage with different angles. As Ha Long Bay has been the most favourite destination in the north of Viet Nam, the tour is an option for tourists wanting another perspective on the site," said Luxury travel company’s director Pham Ha. Excursion After 45 minutes, the group arrived at General Giap Hill in the centre Ha Long city and boarded on a wooden cruise boat for a four-hour excursion around hundreds of karst cliffs and caves. The cruise is equipped kayaks to help sightseers adventure on the quiet bay and see floating aquaculture farms or beaches. The captain anchored in the middle of two cliffs and seafood was the main course for lunch. "Summer is always the best time visiting Ha Long as tourists can swim or have a rest on Titov beach, 14km east of Bai Chay port," Cuong said. After lunch the cruise returns to port before the helicopter arrives in Ha Noi at 3.15pm. "We have only had 10 minutes flying over Ha Long Bay, but it’s an unforgettable moment to all visitors," he said. Cuong, says tourists should confirm their trip two days in advance because trips can be cancelled due to bad weather. The Northern Service Flight Company has been offering 20 registered tourist routes by different helicopters such as the French-made EC-130 B4, Russian MI-17, MI-8 and the US manufactured S76C. "We provide various services from oil and gas operations, MIA programme, rescue and aerial photographing or filming with the best and safest helicopters," said the company’s marketing office’s Vu Thu Ha. "For the rising tourist demand, the company also offers a bird’s-eye view of Ha Long Bay by helicopter every Saturday, provided that at least 15 passengers book their seats for the flight," Ha said. Luxury travel offers the Ha Long Bay tour for a group of between nine and 12 and costs over US$9,300, while the weekend package tour service is priced at $616 per passenger. More details of the tour are available at: www.vietnamopentourist.com VietNamNet/Viet Nam News
News for Saturday 14 November, 2009
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