Travellers Notes

(04-03-2006)

Bargains to be had in HCM City

Some 550 HCM City shopping centres, restaurants and hotels kicked off a month-long Giant Sale on Wednesday. Thirteen Saigontourist enterprises, including hotels, travel companies and resorts, joined large trading companies and supermarkets in offering major promotions throughout the month.

Participating stores include the TAX Centre, Zen and Diamond Plazas, Co-op Mart, Maximark, Binh Dan, Citimart, Ben Thanh and Xom Chieu markets. Everything from consumer goods to mobile phones, motorcycles and electronics has been marked down by up to 30 per cent.

The sale is ten times larger than last September’s event, according to Do Xuan Ha, deputy director of the HCM City Department of Trade.

 

New air route from VN to Russia

This week Singapore Airlines began a new service on the Viet Nam-Moscow route using Boeing 777-200 aircraft.

The flights depart Viet Nam on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and leave Moscow on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. All flights from Viet Nam include stopovers in Singapore and Dubai.

A return ticket from HCM City and Ha Noi to Moscow is priced at US$900. The carrier also offers daily flights from HCM City and Ha Noi to Singapore.

 

Vung Tau Tourist proposes fishing

Ba Ria-Vung Tau Tourist Corporation has sought the permission of provincial authorities to conduct tuna fishing expeditions for foreign visitors.

The company director, Tran Tuan Viet, said that proposed tours would last 10 to 15 days including seven days at sea. He said the company planned to co-operate with an overseas Vietnamese company in Russia to arrange the trips for Russians seeking adventure travel.

Participants would fly from Saint Petersburg to HCM City before heading to Vung Tau for a few days of fishing followed by a trip to Con Dao Island.

 

Brunei carrier to launch City service

Royal Brunei Airlines will begin service to HCM City beginning on May 11. The carrier announced three weekly flights departing Brunei’s capital Bandar Seri Begawan every Monday, Thursday and Sunday and returning to Brunei on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday.

Promotional fares start from US$154 per round-trip ticket. Rozman Junaidi, RBA’s acting head of corporate communications, said he saw HCM City as an excellent shopping and sightseeing alternative for Bruneians.

 

Visitors cruise into central city

The Panamanian cruise ship Seven Seas Voyager docked at Tien Sa Port in Da Nang on Wednesday with 600 passengers on board.

The tourists visited the Cham Museum, Ngu Hanh Son (Marble Mountain) and the ancient city of Hue.

The vessel was originally scheduled to dock at Chan May Port in Thua Thien-Hue Province, but rough seas forced a change of plans. Da Nang received some 4,000 cruise ship passengers in the first two months of the year.

 

Ben Thanh Tourist to join ITB

Representatives of the HCM City-based Ben Thanh Tourist and other Vietnamese travel agencies will attend the annual ITB International Tourism Fair in Berlin, Germany, later in March.

The Vietnamese contingent said they would attempt to expand their overseas markets and help to make the country more widely known as an international tourist destination. — VNS

 

 

 

 

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