Monday, January 17, 2011

Phu My Hung Flower Festival

A group of Vietnamese ladies wearing ao dai walk around last year’s Phu My Hung Flower Festival 2010 - Photo: The organizers
Phu My Hung Flower Festival 2011 will present a week dedicated to the Vietnamese craft of growing flowers starting January 26 at The Crescent in the Phu My Hung urban area in HCMC’s District 7.

The festival, co-organized by Phu My Hung Joint Venture Company and HCMC Ornamental Creature Association, expects to attract more than 500 enterprises displaying flowers, fruit and Tet (Lunar New Year) products.

One of the highlights will be a flower contest “Hoa dong co noi” for growers and gardeners to enter.

The festival also includes a flower-garland releasing festival to pray for happiness and good luck by the lake.

The lake will be decorated with giant lotus flowers which will be lit for photo opportunities. Different festival areas include Cat Square with flowers arranged in the shapes of cats, the apricot and peach blossom section, 12 animal designations of the lunar calendar and the legend about the man, Mai An Tiem, who discovered the watermelon.

Following the success of last year’s event, the organizers will hold
another orchid and frangipani contest.

There will be music shows at the festival every night till it ends Feb 1.

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Tet In HCM City And Beyond

Tet in HCM City for the New Year of the Cat is going to be bigger and better than ever with lots of entertainment venues and festivals to visit. Local tour companies are offering amazing Tet packages.

The HCM City People’s Committee has announced programs for Tet Festival 2011 in the city’s downtown area, including Nguyen Hue Flower Street 2011, Bánh tét (cylindrical glutinous rice cake) festival, fireworks, the lighting city, snapshots of New Year 2011 and doorshows.

HCM City

The annual seventh Nguyen Hue Flower Street 2011 is themed “New Heights” as HCM City sets its sights on a bigger and better city. Sections of the street will be decorated in different spring themes — Hn Vit (Vietnam’s Soul), Tt phng Nam (Southern Tet), Ni vòng tay ln (Get together), Vn lên tm cao mi (Reach New Heights), Xuân an vui (Happy and Peaceful Spring). Other attractions include a flower arrangement booth, a wishing pond to collect money for charity, coffee stalls, folk music and games.

Nguyen Hue Flower Street extending down Nguyen Hue Boulevard from the City Hall to the river opens from 7 p.m., Jan. 31 till 10 p.m., Feb. 6. It will be closed to traffic for the holiday week. In addition, from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Feb. 6, the nearby Le Loi Street from Ben Thanh Market to the Municipal Theater will be for pedestrians only.
The Bánh tét Festival from Jan. 26 to 31 is being jointly organized by all the city’s 24 districts. Activities will include bánh tét cooking contests and a bánh tét Tet gift drive for poor families. Saigontourist Holding Company, in cooperation with the HCM City Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs, will give 10,000 bánh tét to disadvantaged children.

The fireworks displays on the Lunar New Year’s Eve (Feb. 2) will take place at seven places around the city while Le Loi, Dong Khoi and Le Duan streets and Chi Lang Park on Dong Khoi Street are decorated with hundreds of lights from Jan. 26 to Feb. 13.

During the last days of the lunar year and the first days of the new lunar year, you can join the Spring Flower Festival at Tao Dan Park and Quoc Te Square, a.k.a. Tortoise Fountain, in the city’s District 1. This year the “Bird Competition” comes back after a long absence.

According to HCM City Greenery and Park Co., the event’s organizer, some highlights of the festival from Jan. 28 to Feb. 8 will be bonsai, flower and fish exhibits by locals and foreigners, an area for souvenirs, games and food at Tao Dan Park. The “Nha Rong – Ho Chi Minh Museum” miniature made from flowers and leaves by a Japanese artisan and orchids from the HCM City Orchid Club. Tortoise Fountain will be turned into a lotus pond with an exhibition titled “HCM City Socio-economic Achievement” and music performances.

Tours around Vietnam

Besides Tet programs in HCM City, tourists can enjoy Tet travel tour promotions around the country.
HCM City-based tour operator Vietravel is introducing the “Spring Travel 2011” program with over 100 tours and lucky prizes till Feb. 28. The spring heritage tour of the North will take you to Hanoi, Halong, Sapa, Trang An, etc. Witness the rich history of the central region by visiting Tet festivals along the Hoai River in Hoi An Town, Danang City, citadels in Hue City and Phong Nha-Ke Bang caves in Quang Binh Province. Waterfalls and thousands of flowers are symbols of the Central Highlands while opera songs for Tet are specialties in the Mekong Delta.
Vietravel is holding a Tet lucky draw with prizes including diamond jewelry, vouchers and 20,000 gifts.

Another local travel giant Saigontourist Travel and Service Co. is offering 100 tour packages to enjoy the New Year of the Cat. There are nearly 20 island tours to Con Dao, Phu Quoc, Nha Trang, Phan Thiet and Danang. A world heritage trip in spring, the legendary Central Highlands and spring in villages in the Central Highlands. Saigontourist has also launched special tours for overseas Vietnamese returning for Tet.

Cholontourist Travel and Service Co. this year has tours to highlands and beaches, including adventure tours.

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First Hotel Inaugurates New Section

First Hotel will put into operation new bedrooms and restaurants, built with funding from Saigontourist Holding Company, to serve the increasing number of customers, including VIPs 

Located in the heart of Tan Binh District and being around five minutes from Tan Son Nhat International Airport by car, the First Hotel is an ideal stopover for guests who take part in international conferences, fairs and exhibitions as exhibitors at nearby exhibition centers like Tan Binh Exhibition and Convention Center and Phu Tho Exhibition Center.

With its separate space, the hotel is an ideal place to stay for visitors to HCM City. Guests from here can go shopping at shopping centers such as Parkson, Maximark Cong Hoa, Big C and Lotte Mart, which are within the diameter of 2km from the hotel.

The First Hotel is one of the big four-star hotels in HCM City. Since 1999, it has been selected as one of Vietnam’s top hotels by the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism and the Vietnam Tourism Association.
By the end of 2010, the First Hotel completed a big projects worth VND60 billion (approximately US$3 million) to build 41 new deluxe bedrooms and two Japanese-Chinese restaurants, and upgrade four Vietnamese-Korean restaurants together with public utilities. With the new constructions, when put into operation, the hotel will have 152 rooms of international standards, classified as Superior, Deluxe, Executive Deluxe, First ED, Junior Suite and Suite, and six restaurants serving Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanese and Korean cuisines. In addition, the wedding party center with five halls has also been upgraded. The conference section has also been upgraded, with eight rooms to seat 20-700 people.

Explaining the reason for building and upgrading facilities of the First Hotel, Huynh Van Phat, the hotel director, says, “The First Hotel’s customers, especially foreigners, have higher demands. The First Hotel doesn’t want to lose its position, so we decided to invest in raising our position and maintaining it for the next 10 years.”
The hotel’s restaurants always attract the attention of local and foreign diners. Jacques Thermolle-First Hot Pot Restaurant, with deluxe, cozy space, serves European and Asian dishes. Its main room can seat over 150 people. Three rooms for VIPs are for groups of customers ordering parties for 5-20 people and one big room. Unlike other restaurants, the broths at the First Hotpot have their own sauce. Other dishes are ones that have won prizes at international gastronomic contests.

Pho Nuong De Nhat Restaurant, located outdoors, serves diverse grilled dishes of the three regions of Vietnam and seafoods. Aside from lunch, dinner and parties, the restaurant serves breakfast with special dishes.
Quan Ngon De Nhat Restaurant serves hundreds of Vietnamese dishes of different styles at reasonable prices. Decorated with the style of a countryside, the restaurant can receive more than 100 people. Rooms for separate parties are also available.

The Korean Restaurant on the ground floor serves Korean dishes prepared directly by Korean cooks.
At the new section of the hotel, the Japanese and Chinese restaurants with deluxe architecture and exclusive cuisines will be advantages for the First Hotel to lure more customers.

On the occasion of the new section’s opening, the First Hotel offer a discount of 40% for its room rates. In addition, it offers special incentives for customers who use its package conference service until June 30, 2011: US$19/guest (excluding lunch), US$28/guest (including lunch). The prices include decoration for the conference room for half a day, coffee, tea, fruit juices, screen and overhead projector.

First Hotel:
18 Hoang Viet St., Tan Binh Dist., HCM City. Tel: 08.38441199, email: sales@firsthotel.com.vn

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Sunday, January 16, 2011

Newspapers welcome Tet at festival

A newspaper festival to welcome New Year 2011 will be held Jan 20 and 21 from 9 a.m. at the Youth Cultural Center, 1 Pham Ngoc Thach St., HCMC’s District 1.

The festival will feature 45 booths from all the national print newspapers, magazines, radio news and electronic newspapers. Well-known reporters will be there to talk to visitors and discuss the special editions for the Lunar New Year.

One booth will display the cover pages of all the newspapers and have pictorial displays about 12 remarkable news events in 2010.

Visitors can relax in the Tet corner with special Lunar New Year editions to read over while enjoying a free drink. Participants can also vote for their favorite newspapers in a poll run by the organizers. Students will receive free copies of their favorite papers.

Other attractions include music, drama, health consultancy, circus, juggling and food. Amazing prizes will be granted to readers and visitors who come on stage to perform with the artists.

A music & fashion gala named “Thong diep mua xuan 2011” (A note from Spring 2011) featuring entertainment by Nguyen Phi Hung Jimmy Nguyen, Vietnam Idol 2008’s finalist Thanh Duy and special guests will be held at 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 20.

The festival is organized by the HCMC Department of Information and Communications and HCMC Journalists’ Association.

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Have a Saigontourist Tet at Majestic and Grand

An ao dai (Vietnamese long dress) fashion show at the Majestic Hotel Saigon - Photo: Courtesy of Saigontourist
For Saigonese and guests to the city to celebrate the Lunar New Year with delicious food and wine, two hotels under Saigontourist in downtown HCMC present special food and entertainment programs.

Majestic Hotel Saigon (1 Dong Khoi Street, District 1, tel: 3829 5517)

On Lunar New Year’s Eve (February 2), at the hotel’s Prima Ballroom & Breeze Sky Bar, guests can enjoy a buffet of Western and Asian dishes with free champagne, wine, beer, soft drinks, and mineral water from 7 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. for US$89 per adult.

At the hotel’s M Bar on the eighth floor, an outdoor barbecue buffet will be held from 7 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. on February 2. Tickets are priced at US$89 per adult, inclusive of all kinds of drinks.

Also that night, admire the fireworks display, at the Serenade Restaurant on the seventh floor to eat from a sumptuous selection of European and Asian cuisine. Tickets are US$79 per adult.

All the Majestic venues will have entertainment such as lion dance, calligraphy displays, New Year music and dance shows and fashion shows.

Grand Hotel Saigon (8 Dong Khoi Street, District 1, tel: 3829 4046)

Do the New Year in classic Vietnamese style with an exotic Vietnamese Tet food program featuring banh tet, banh chung (glutinous rice cakes filled with green bean paste and fat pork), steamed pork with coconut water, vegetable pickles and watermelon to name a few. The hotel will give lucky money for guests.

The program will be prepared at the hotel’s Chez-Nous Restaurant from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. from January 30 to February 5. Tickets are priced at US$20 each.

On Lunar New Year’s Eve, enjoy the view of the fireworks display at the hotel’s Belle-vue Restaurant and enjoy the excellent service and delicious dishes with a cocktail party, Flamenco band, dance shows, gameshow, and lucky door prizes. Tickets are priced at US$35 per adult and US$20 per child.

At the swimming pool area, relax at the barbecue buffet from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. from January 30 to February 5 featuring grilled salmon with salt, barbecued lamb ribs, oyster and salads plus music by Filipino music band.

Tickets are VND90,000++ to VND280,000++ per dish. Buy 10 tickets in advance before January 30 get one free.

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Beautiful roses made of wood at Flower Town

Pham Ngoc Vy, business development director of Flower Town Company, takes a vase of hand-made wooden flowers - Photo: My Tran
People are used to seeing artificial flowers made from paper, plastic, fabric, silk and porcelain, but a new shop in Saigon has resurrected a century old French craft of making flowers out of wood.

Flower Town Company makes amazingly realistic flowers out of wood to sell as decorations for houses and offices.

Pham Ngoc Vy, business development director, one of three founders of the company was born in Dalat, the city of flowers and mist.

“My childhood memories of Dalat are of colorful flower gardens, flower shops and flower markets. I think everybody loves flowers and so do I,” Vy said.

He also said he chose to use wood to make the flowers because it is a natural material and it is different.

Each flower is handmade. The petals are carved, dyed, bent and joined to make the finished blossom on a stem. Then they are placed in vases with dried flowers and leaves. It’s hard to tell the real from the artificial. So the job requires artisans to be much dexerous, patient and hard-working as each product takes them a couple of days or some weeks, even a month. “When I heard about flowers made of wood, I thought they would be very rough and unrealistic. But when I saw them I was surprised by how real and supple they looked,” said Tran Thi Tuyet Nhung, a customer.

The company makes flowers that are grown in Dalat City such as rose, lilly, daisy and gerbera. A vase of flowers is priced from VND120,000 to VND3 million, so there is something to suit everybody’s purse.

The company also sells oil paintings decorated with dried flowers.

The Flower Town is located at 49 Vo Thi Sau, HCMC’s District 3. Flower Town wooden flowers are also available at 216, Phan Dang Luu Street, HCMC’s Binh Thanh District, Sky Garden Apartment in Nguyen Van Linh Street, HCMC’s District 7 and 8 Nguyen Trung Truc Street in HCMC’s District 1.

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Friday, January 14, 2011

Get festive for Tet at Cham cultural center

Girls visit the Cham Cultural Exhibition Center - Photo: Khai Nguyen
The Cham Cultural Exhibition Center in Binh Thuan Province will host a week of cultural events for Tet (Lunar New Year) from January 30 to February 8.

The highlight of the program is the exhibition of royal costumes of the Cham imperial family. See what the Cham kings, queen, princes and princess were wearing – including crowns, seals and swords and betel nut making sets. Also see costumes, musical instruments, objects and products that Cham people used in festivals.

Apart from exhibits of traditional craft villages like brocade weaving and ceramics, the center will also display farming tools such as buffalo carts, fish traps and stone jewelries plus a collection of stone statues of Aspara dancers, Genesa, Avalo Kitecvara Gods, a lion, Linga-Yoni and many documents written in Cham language.

Brocade weavers and pottery makers will demonstrate for visitors, so guests can join contests. Learn how to cook at Cham cake making displays or just enjoy a free cake.

Rija Nugar ( New Year Festival) and folk artistic performances will be on every night during the festival week.

The Cham artist troupe from Bac Binh District will perform Saranai pan-pipe, Yin-Yang couple dance, Po Jija dance, Vai Chai singing and many kinds of ethnic Cham dance and singing.

The center is in Phan Hiep Commune, Bac Binh District, Phan Thiet City.

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