Vietnam all set to welcome Christmas, New Year

People flock to Saigon downtown at night to celebrate festival

Photo: Tuoi Tre

With just a few days to go for Christmas and then New Year, festive cheer is blanketing the nation.

Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi will have music, circus, food, dancing, and comedy shows during the festivals.

The HCMC Youth Cultural House will have music and hip-hop dance performances and fashion shows from December 24 to 31 while Children’s House in District 1 will organize the “Winter Day” fest on December 24 featuring folk games, music, and circus. Tickets cost VND20,000 (US$1).

The annual Taste of the World Festival at the September 23rd Park from Dec 26 to Jan 2 will offer visitors the chance to sample food from more than 20 countries.

Chefs and representatives from hotels, restaurants, and hospitality agencies in Germany, France, Brazil, the US, and other countries will take part.

There will be comedy, music, and theater performances at HCMC’s Dam Sen Cultural Park from Dec 24 to Jan 2, while Binh Quoi Tourist Village will host a Russian Cuisine Festival from Dec 24 to 26.

In Hanoi, two nights of music titled “Pho cu tinh xua” will be held at the Hanoi Opera House on December 24-25. It will feature marquee names like Thanh Lam, Siu Black, Quang Linh, Tung Duong, Ngoc Anh, and Phuong Anh, and tickets will cost VND500,000 (US$25) to VND2 million ($100).

The Circus Center at 67 – 69 Tran Nhan Tong Street will offer spectacular performances of “Pyramid’s Secret” from December 24 to January 2. Tickets are on sale at VND80,000 to VND300,000 ($4 - 15).

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Three-part exhibit features multiple shades of Ha Noi

Multiple personalities: A painting by Bui Xuan Phai.

HA NOI — An exhibition entitled Ha Noi – City Mirrored in Art displaying works by more than 20 artists who have featured the capital city in their creations opened on Thursday.

The exhibition, curated by Natasha Kraevskaia and Lisa Drummond, both of whom designed their exhibits based on their passion and scientific expertise, will be held in three separate parts.

The first part, to run until December 3, with theme Nostalgic, Utopian, Romantic and Idealised, shows Ha Noi as more of a dreamy than melancholy place, bright and airy rather than dark and muggy. Part one features works by artists such as Bui Xuan Phai, Nguyen Bao Toan, Vuong Thao, Brian Ring, Do Phan and Tran Nguyen Hieu, who have all portrayed Ha Noi as a romantic and nostalgic place.

A jazz concert by Thaerichens Tentett accompanied the opening ceremony in the courtyard of the Goethe Institute.

Ha Noi – Dystopian, Realistic, and Change will be the theme of the second part of the exhibition which will open on December 7. The six-day exhibition will focus on Ha Noi as an urban structure which is undergoing rapid change and upheaval.

Long considered romantic, Ha Noi is becoming a contradictory city which can be viewed critically through the works by Do Minh Tam, Vu Bich Thuy, Nguyen The Son, Vu Dan Tan, Nguyen Nhu Y and others.

The final part of Ha Noi – City Mirrored in Art will display the artistic research conducted by Hamburg photographer Andre Lutzen along the blurred border between private and public life in the Vietnamese capital.

In his series Public/Private Ha Noi, the artist plays with the contradictions and paradoxical harmonies of these two poles.

Opening on December 16, the final part of the exhibition will run until December 30.

Enjoy the exhibit at the Goethe Institute, 56-58 Nguyen Thai Hoc Street. — VNS

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Viet Nam tops travel polls

Viet Nam has emerged as one of the top destinations for travellers from Thailand, Australia, Japan, and Singapore, a recent survey compiled by Visa and the Pacific Asia Travel Association found.

The survey polled 6,714 respondents in 13 countries and territories and found that among travellers most likely to visit Viet Nam in the next two years, 17 per cent are from Thailand, 16 per cent are from Australia, and 11 per cent are from Japan and Singapore.

Most of the potential tourists listed natural scenery, new places, and affordability as their main motivation for visiting Viet Nam.

They plan to budget more than US$1,200 for their next vacation and pay more for good food and opportunities to experience a new culture.

Food festival month arrives

Rice dishes from around the country and cuisines from around the world will feature at two food and culture festivals to be held in HCM City in December.

Hat Lua Que Toi (My Country's Rice Grain), to be held at the Binh Quoi Tourist Park in Binh Thanh District from December 10 to 12, will showcase some 100 rice dishes.

From December 27 to January 3, the HCM City Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism will host the Tastes of the World 2010 festival at the September 23 Park in District 1.

It will feature food from 20 countries.

Viet Nam promo in Egypt

Representatives from Egyptian travel agencies attended a seminar held by the Vietnamese embassy in Egypt to promote Vietnamese tourism on Monday.

Besides screening a short film on Ha Long Bay, Phong Nha-Ke Bang, Sa Pa, Da Lat, and some beautiful beaches, the embassy also provided participants a full list of Vietnamese travel agencies and information about the country's economic potential.

Ambassador Pham Sy Tam told them that Viet Nam is a safe and ideal destination for tourists.

Air link from Da Nang to Japan

On December 15 Vietnam Airlines will launch a new route from Da Nang to Narita on the outskirts of the Japanese capital Tokyo.

Seven flights per week will fly the route which will go through HCM City to Japan, departing Da Nang at 2.55am and arriving in Narita at 1.20pm.

After March 31, Vietnam Airlines will begin flying directly between Da Nang and Narita.

The carrier also begins direct flights between the central city and Hong Kong today.

Binh Thuan delays yacht festival

The first international sailing festival in Binh Thuan Province, scheduled to be held from December 8 to 11, has been pushed back to January 15 – 18 due to bad weather.

Le Thi Thanh Lien, deputy director of the province Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said the organisers fear the weather will affect the yachts' performance.

Binh Thuan will host the race together with the Viet Nam National Administration for Tourism, Viet Nam Airlines, and XT AsiaINC.

It will feature around 200 yachts cruising from Mui Ne to Cape Ke Ga and Hoa Thang Beach. — VNS

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