Goober Gun pop rockers to perform in December

U.K. alternative pop rock group Goober Gun will play in Vietnam in December as part of their Asian tour.

The band will bring stadium sized songs and great harmonies together with a full on, utterly engaging and energetic live performance with one show in Hanoi and two shows in HCMC including the outdoor music festival LoretoFest.

The band’s influences include Jimmy Eat World, Def Leppard, Carpark North, Cheap Trick and The Wildhearts. In the summer of 2009 Goober Gun recorded their new EP ‘1979’. Their strongest and best sounding work to date, it has caught the attention of promoters the world over, and Goober Gun headed off on a tour of Taiwan and Thailand in January 2010.

The band will perform at the Factory Bar, 11A Bao Khanh Street in Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi at 9 p.m. on December 4. Tickets are VND100,000.

In HCMC, the band will perform at the SuperSize Saigon at Vasco 74/7D Hai Ba Trung Street in District 1 at 9 p.m. on December 12 with entrance at VND100,000 including a free drink, and at LoretoFest International Music Festival at RMIT, 702 Nguyen Van Linh Parkway in District 7 at 2 p.m. on December 11. Tickets cost VND500,000 to VND650,000.

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Xmas and New Year at Majestic and Grand

The Majestic Saigon Hotel is having parties for Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve at two of its venues.  You can enjoy both big nights at gala parties at Prima Ballroom – Breeze Sky Bar on the fifth floor. Feast on the Asian and Western buffet, while being entertained by music shows for children with Christmas carols, bartender performances, a dancing contest and a live flamenco band.

Tickets cost VND1.5 million per adult and VND745,000 per child, inclusive of wine and beer.

M.Bar on the eighth floor will also hold Christmas and New Year parties with BBQ buffets, bartender performances and carols on Christmas Eve. Cost is VND1.08 million per adult and VND540,000 per child, inclusive of drinks.

At the Grand Saigon Hotel, Chez-nous Restaurant will welcome Christmas and 2011with great food and entertainment.

The Saigon Christmas Gala event will serve hotel specialties - abalone soup, clam soup, grilled jambon with honey, grilled shrimps and steamed rabbit with wine while diners are entertained by flamenco dancers and live music from Cocoband.

At the New Year’s Eve party eat sumptuous turkey, shrimp, salmon, veal and clam while some of Saigon’s best music acts keep your toes tapping.

Tickets are US$50 per adult and US$30 per child with the buy 10 tickets get one free deal for purchases before December 22.

At the Bar Des – Amis on the hotel’s first floor, there will be a poolside BBQ buffet both nights with music by a Philippines cover band.

Tickets are priced at US$35 per adult and US$20 per child. Guests who buy 10 tickets will get one free.

The Majestic Saigon Hotel is at 1 Dong Khoi Street, HCMC’s District 1, tel: 3829 5517, email: banquet@majesticsaigon.com.vn.

The Grand Saigon Hotel is at 8 Dong Khoi Street in HCMC’s District 1, tel: 3824 5771, email: banquetsales@grandhotel.vn.

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Hotel tells story of a squandered fortune

The hallway on the ground floor in the Cong Tu Bac Lieu Hotel in Bac Lieu City - Photo: Tran Phong Dieu

Cong Tu Bac Lieu Hotel in Bac Lieu Province in the Mekong Delta is a building that tells the story of the rise and fall of a small family empire.

Located at 13 Dien Bien Phu Street, Bac Lieu City, the hotel was originally a wealthy family mansion built in 1919 by Tran Trinh Trach. The hotel is named after Trach’s son, Tranh Trinh Huy, who was known as Cong Tu Bac Lieu or the playboy of Bac Lieu (cong tu actually means the son of a wealthy family).

The house that in its day was the most magnificent house in the Delta has two floors, four halls, five bedrooms. It was built and designed by a French architect and all the materials were imported from France.

In front of the house is a stone path near the Bac Lieu River. The interior and antique furniture and ceramics haven’t changed over the years and you could be mistaken to think the Tran family still lives there.

Cong Tu Bac Lieu was known by everyone in the province for the way he squandered money on gambling, women and all the fineries he could get his hands on. There’s a story about the young playboy burning money to boil an egg in a competition with another wealthy man for the attention of beautiful local lady.

 As the Vietnamese saying goes, “No family is rich for three generations” so when Cong Tu Bac Lieu died in 1973, he left nothing but debts behind. The family had to sell their house and assets to pay the banks. One of his children is now 62 years old and works as a motorbike taxi driver in Saigon, a very low income job. That is how their house in Bac Lieu became the Cong Tu Bac Lieu Hotel.

Cong Tu Bac Lieu was very tall and suntanned so he was also given the nickname Hac (black) Cong Tu to distinguish him from Le Cong Phuoc or George Phuoc, the son of the extemely rich, Le Cong Sung. Le Cong Phuoc was called Bach (white) Cong Tu because he was also notorious for wasting money in self indulgent pursuits.

During your stay at Cong Tu Bac Lieu Hotel, you can visit the stone clock at 84 Hai Ba Trung Street in Bac Lieu City or Vinh Hung Ancient Temple, Xiem Can Pagoda and Quan De Pagoda.

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Postcard paradise

Bai Tru Beach on Hon Tre Islet in Nha Trang City - Photo: Dang Hoang Tham

Bai Tru Beach on Hon Tre Islet in Nha Trang City is one of the nicest beaches in Vietnam – a tropical paradise for tourists to enjoy.

To get to the islet, take a taxi to Cau Da Port and then take a cable car to Vinpearl Land at VND320,000 return. After playing some games at the Vinpearl Land such as outdoor games, 4D movies, water sports at Vinpearl Water Park and a visit to the bizarre marine creatures at Vinpearl Underwater World, it’s just a few steps more and your toes will be squeaking in the fine white sand of Bai Tru Beach.

The beach is like a postcard. There are lines of coconut trees leaning toward the sea, blinding white sand, azure water that is as flat as bathtub and bungalows under the shade of the palms. Get yourself an umbrella or lay back on a reed mat under the coconut palms and let Bai Tru help you forget your worries.

You can hire a motor boat and cruise around the island, even hire some diving equipment to go underwater and admire the reef.

If thrills are your thing, try the hot air balloon to take in an amazing panoramic view of the islet and Nha Trang City.

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Ice skating in the tropics

Hockey players at the ice-skate rink in HCMC’s District 1 - Photos: Tuong Van

Skating in a tropical country like Vietnam seems like an unlikely sport. But at an ice skating rink that opened last month in HCMC, people are doing just that – spending their free time and weekends skating on ice.

The ice-skate rink that covers about 425 square meters is on the third floor of the HCMC Youth Culture House at 4 Pham Ngoc Thach Street in District 1. It’s had a good reception from the young people who are keen to try a new and interesting recreation.

Hoang Van Anh, owner of the ice-skating club, said that he used to live in the U.S for dozens of years and played many games with ice and snow, so he made the rink for Saigonese to have fun on the ice indoors away from the heat.

The playground is kept at 16 to 18 degrees Celsius. Everything is imported from the U.S. according to international standards, said Anh. He added that the surface has some synthetic materials but has the feel of real ice.

Two skaters balance and glide on the ice in tandem

“Ice skating gives me a new and amazing feeling more than rollerskating because it’s faster and I can do more moves,” said Nguyen Van Duy, an enthusiast.

The rink supplies the iceskates and some instructing. After two or three times newcomers can begin to walk and skate, and move on to the next level.

Ice hockey players also have a club there.  “They need to be good skaters and know the hockey rules as teams need spirited players with discipline,” said Anh.

The hockey club is open for anybody from 8 to 55 years old. The center offers free training for new players in December. 

With about VND50,000 for 85 minutes, including equipment, all the Saigonese can try iceskating for fun and health.

The rink has only been open for two months but is already popular with children from international schools, youth and women who want to keep fit, and dancers and singers. It will have special programs for Christmas and New Year.

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New venue for fun and fitness

A yoga class instructed by Master Sumesh at BeYou Yoga & Fitness Center  - Photo: Kieu Giang

BeYou Yoga & Fitness Center at 200-200B-200C Le Lai St., District 1 has high-quality facilities and trainers for anyone to improve their physical condition and stay young.

The nine-storey center in Le Lai Street that opened in March has rooms for yoga, hot yoga, yoga dance (Bollywood dance, Indian dance, fusion dance, free style dance), GroupX (belly dance, aerobics step, body balance, Tai Chi - balance) and gym. Plus free services like sauna, steam bath, bathroom, make-up room and terrace café.

BeYou also offers personal training programs to suit individual needs.

Classes vary from beginners’ to advanced levels. A healthcare consultancy on level nine will be set up next month to give advice on training programs and health regimens.

Nguyen Thi Tan, chairwoman of BeYou Yoga & Fitness Center, said “Apart from attracting newcomers who are entrepreneurs and office staff, we also design exercise programs for groups, schools or companies to encourage everybody to exercise and to build the BeYou brand-name across all society.”

The center is offering promotion prices at US$500, US$344 and US$265 for 12-month memberships, to practice a whole week, three days per week and two days per week respectively.

BeYou also has a second center at 127/135 Dien Bien Phu St., District 1, HCMC.

For further information, contact the head office at 200-200B-200C Le Lai St, Ben Thanh Ward, Dist 1, HCMC, tel: 3536 6799, email: contac@beyoucenter.com.

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Where the Mekong meets the sea

Ba Dong Beach in the Mekong Delta province of Tra Vinh

Duyen Hai is a coastal district in the Mekong Delta province of Tra Vinh, where the Mekong River meets the East Sea.

From Tra Vinh take National Road 53 east to get to Duyen Hai. The first place of interest there is Ba Dong Beach in Truong Long Hoa Commune. Ba Dong has giant sand dunes, formed by the action of the river and the ocean.

Lining the beach at the foot of the sand dunes are endless miles of casuarina forests.

Behind the sand dunes are potato farms where visitors can join in the harvest with local farmers to learn how to farm and about the local culture. As the soil is sandy and soft, it’s easy to dig the big sweet potatoes up. Along the beach there are farms that grow rau muong, a type of water spinach with purple flowers.

Farmers in their potato garden near Ba Dong Beach in Tra Vinh Province - Photos: Phuong Ha

Also in Truong Long Hoa Commune, about 55 kilometers from Tra Vinh Town, is the Nha Trang – Duyen Hai, also called Ba Dong tourist area where tourists can find accommodation, a swimming beach, volleyball court and places to relax.

The tourist area covers seven hectares. There is also a food area and bungalows to rent. The sunsets are spectacular.

The tourist area contains an old temple dedicated to worship Trieu Thi Trinh who led the revolution against the Chinese in 248AD. She failed and drowned herself in the river.

The temple attracts many visitors and pilgrims every year to the heroine’s commemoration ceremony.

About 200 meters from the temple is an old tomb built of stone under the shade. Locals say it is the tomb of a princess in Nguyen Dynasty who may have been the sister of Gia Long King. 

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