Hanoi ranked 8th in Top Best Destinations list

Hanoi ranked eighth on TripAdvisor’s list of best destinations

 

According to TripAdvisor’s list of the world’s best destinations in 2014, which was announced on April 8, Hanoi was at the eighth position as a newcomer. Istanbul tops the travel review site’s list of best spots in the world this year, followed by Rome and London on the second and third positions.

This year’s top 25 list of global spots has Asian destinations climbing in the rankings. Six of this year’s top 25 global destinations are in Asia, with several Asian cities climbing 10 or more spots from their rankings last year. The world’s largest travel site decided the best spots based on the quality and quantity of reviews from its users. TripAdvisor attracted over 260 million monthly visitors in 2013 and more than 150 million reviews and opinions covering more than 3.7 million accommodations, restaurants and attractions around the world.

Saigontourist sets record

Saigontourist, Vietnam’s largest travel company, welcomed over 8,500 visitors and crew members from all over the world on the two luxury ships of Voyager of the Seas and Celebrity Millennium on April 8. This marks a record number of tourists served by the company at one time.

The Voyager of the Seas, carrying 3,500 visitors and crew members, anchored in Vung Tau Port from 7am to 7pm to visit the coastal city, Ho Chi Minh City and the Cu Chi Tunnels. Meanwhile, the Celebrity Millennium navigated from Vung Tau Port to Chan May Port in Thua Thien-Hue province on April 8 to visit the Hue ancient capital relic site, Hoi An ancient town and My Son Holy Land. It will head to Ha Long Bay in Quang Ninh province and stay in the bay from April 9-10.

Italian paper hails northern Vietnam’s beauty

The weekly feature Viaggli of Italian daily Le Repubblica recently introduced foreign visitors to major tourist attractions in Vietnam, including capital Hanoi, Ha Long Bay and some others in the northern mountainous region. The author of the article travelled the length and breadth of northern Vietnam, from capital Hanoi to the northern border province of Quang Ninh and mountainous provinces of Hoa Binh, Lai Chau and Yen Bai.

In the story Hanoi was described as a bustling, crowded city with major tourist spots such as President Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, Ho Chi Minh Museum, Van Mieu Quoc Tu Giam (Vietnam’s first university), Hoan Kiem (Restored Sword) lake, Ngoc Son temple, and the Old Quarter. The author was impressed by a water puppet show at Thang Long Water Puppetry Theatre near Hoan Kiem Lake, and a tour of the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology featuring cultural customs of 54 different ethnic groups. In Quang Ninh province, the author enjoyed cruising around Ha Long bay, a World Natural Heritage site recognised by UNESCO in 1994.

He then travelled to the northern mountainous localities where he met and talked with local ethnic people, sampled specialities, and did some sightseeing. The author also introduced the breathtaking and romantic beauty of the Sapa tourist resort and a five-day adventure tour of Fansipan Mountain peak, about 3,143 metres above sea level.

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Hanoi ranked 8th in Top Best Destinations list

Grapefruit blossom season has come in Hanoi

 

 

 

 

 

Comes March, comes grapefruit flower season.  These days, grapefruit flower baskets appear on Hanoi’s streets.

 

For many years, this woman has sat in the corner of Hang Khoai Street to sell offering flowers.

These days, she also sells grapefruit flowers.

Grapefruit flowers are rustic but have a dominant fragrance.

Mrs. Thu sells bunches of grapefruit flowers while others sell grapefruit flowers in weight, about VND100,000-VND150,000/kg ($5-7).

Hanoians usually buy grapefruit flowers to offer to their ancestors and to boil to shampoo their hair.

Every March, Hanoians who settle far from the homeland miss the scents of grapefruit flowers.

Dien is the famous pomelo growing land of Hanoi. Coming here in March, visitors will smell the sweet scent of grapefruit flowers everywhere.

Grapefruit blossom season has come in Hanoi

Nostalgia about hanoi peddled wares

For people living away from home, it sure no one country one breed. When someone referred to his memory, they image to customs, customs, festivals … remember that the landscape, where they were born and raised. Hanoian’s own, when memory of the homeland, many of them remember to taste sweeter, simple peddled wares, of empty. Born in Hanoi, they grew up with the herald of the hawker. The retail hours that not simply as the herald, it has become a tone, a part of life where they have lived the childhood.

 

 

 

 

 

If anyone lived in the surely have used the last good bridesmaid – shrimp paste. On the summer , streets shade of Sau trees, the sound of cicada the rich as a summer with the broken rice, Simple carry soft noodle , succinct. Under the original plans of selling her goods with broken rice, noodle place rattan or bamboo frame. A side of mud, beans, shrimp paste, aromatic vegetables, a side of the pan, bowls, spoons small. Just a few thousand now you have a lunch appetite, to eat. The short white thread broken rice, noodle, flexible software with the paste to squessze lemon juice, chilli scented very difficult forgotten. Fry bridesmaid pieces to the outside to the gold the bowel top, soft and fat. Just a cheap food, just delicious but full of nutrition.

Who has the age of poetry in Hanoi still sure you buy your candy sweeter drag. I also remember the small, I often supplication for his father spit hair deep prize cents to buy candy. Every hear the herald’s first medical candy drag street children is flood radiate coil, be in an eager bustle. Many request, requiring 10 is but the child may only have 2 child is money to buy candy. Taste of the delicious candy new, attractive young flood us how! Now every time I think to feel the sweetness of the sugar, circuit house, fragrance of ginger in the candy.

Then the summer. Lotus flowers bloom all over the lake surface. The smooth leaves of green lotus spread across the lake. When it is time to Cốm season. Perhaps the individual, the character of Ha Thanh is carry cốm. Rattan or bamboo frame sometimes with a few flounder on the mix of her and bring her cốm fragrant incense go across 36 wards uproarious city. The seeds cốm flat, flat. He that color, smooth cốm by those who look like gems makes it difficult to forget the dishes cốm Hanoi. Government’s green cốm have a concept of color, blue com. Cốm appetite and want to be long packages in lotus leaves picked fresh from the morning. Now that the leaves are closed the morning dew grain glitter, reagent of heaven. Cốm packages in lotus leaves 2 times and the external force in the fiber straw yellow sticky him. Cốm is not only a gift but dissipated into a gift to bring the full flavor of the very individual Hanoi.

The Hanoi still wandering outside the city and then to the marijuana to carouse simple. To winter, the cold – frozen to the bone. Until now I still remember the long cold last winter in Hanoi. The cold cut the skin, cut meat. But the Hanoi still wandering outside the city and then to the marijuana to carouse simple. Only a small table, two chairs, three things, a few cups and a jug of that you have a warm tea. Tea were raped to be to the average, in my skin with water only straw should always hot. The heat has just enough moisture to enjoy but do water and only in comparison. Clothes, caps, towels, two hand embracing the tea cup for moisture, slot whimper as the cold, find the sweet-fat candy bar at last, all the animals that drink the tea cup.

Of spring, growing fruit trees . Hanoi flowers bloom the same race, showing the flowers throughout the village along the lake west. At this town Hanoi as flaring with oddments load color. I would dare sure that one will not have a place in Vietnam and the world as a type of flower sales very poetic, very romantic as in Hanoi. Fresh flowers full color, all types hold loads at the end of carrying village girls, village like the full color butterflies flying around town eel crowded. And many, many of the items in the peddled wares. Each item has its attractive features of their own, but all create beautiful soft, ancient Hanoi in the eyes of people in Vietnam as well as international guests. Street, Hanoi people will know how sad you are missing out peddled wares.

Nostalgia about hanoi peddled wares

Exhibition features traditional worship of education

Shrines and altars honouring studying and education are being displayed at an exhibition organised at Hanoi’s Van Mieu (Temple of Literature), which also houses motifs of Confucius and other learned scholars.

 

The exhibition of Ancient Van Tu and Van Chi in Thang Long and Neighbouring Regions shows 130 images and many objects relating to Van Tu and Van Chi including books, tubes to store scrolls, wood blocks and ideographic scripts carved on stone stelae.

They show the architecture of Van Tu and Van Chi in Thang Long (the former name of Hanoi ) and some northern provinces such as Hung Yen, Ha Nam and Ninh Binh as well as how people worship Confucius and recognised scholars.

Van Chi was an open-air platform serving as an altar dedicated to Confucius and honouring the local laureates of mandarin competitions.

Images of Van Tu displayed at the exhibition are temples with three or five components and two wings. Once a villager passed the royal court exam, he received the title of First Doctoral Laureate conferred by the King. When he passed away, he would be worshipped at his home province’s Van Tu. In some provinces, Van Chi was built as a roofed communal house but it’s always smaller than Van Tu.

During wartime, many Van Tu and Van Chi were damaged or destroyed but the local authorities and villagers are aware of the value of these places and work hard to preserve them. In some regions, Van Tu and Van Chi have become a meeting place for community clubs.

“The exhibition brings the public messages of preserving the nation’s respect for teachers and education and fondness of learning,” said Pham Thi Thuy Hang, vice director of Van Mieu – Quoc Tu Giam Centre for Scientific Activities. “Preserving and promoting the value of Van Tu and Van Chi means we preserve and promote the nation’s cultural values at the same time.”

The exhibition will run until February 25.

Exhibition features traditional worship of education

Year-end rendezvous of antiques enthusiasts

The antique fair opens once a year, from 23rd to 30th of the 12th lunar month (January 23-30 this year) at the intersection of five streets in the Hanoi’s Old Quarter.

 

The market is held right at the intersection of Hang Ma, Hang Can, Hang Luoc and Hang Dong. From the morning of January 23, the first pavilions were built. The closer Tet comes, the more crowded the fair is. The items sold here are diverse; the most common things are worshiping items, Buddha statues or bronze statues of the four supernatural creatures (dragon, unicorn, tortoise, and phoenix). According to the introduction of the stall owners, antiques are traded through hands of many antique traders. The prices of antiques are fixed through bargaining. Bronze items like these are precious goods in this market. The price of each ceramic bowl is pasted on each item, ranging from a few hundreds to millions of dong. These old oil lamps lighted many houses before electric lights appeared. Some of the items sold here are introduced to be hundreds of years old, making the fair a miniature museum. Jars containing ancient coins. Coins are displayed for sale at the market and the prices are not very high. A seller is opening his boxes to showcase his items. All items are wrapped carefully to avoid scratching. Imitation ancient bronze items attract the most attention of buyers at this fair for their good designs and affordable prices.

Year-end rendezvous of antiques enthusiasts

Hanoi’s "minuses" in the eyes of foreign visitors

Most foreign tourists say that they are very upset being disturbed by peddlers while walking on the street. “They are tenacious and do not give up following us and they sold things very expensive,” a French female tourist complained.

Pickpockets

Although security in Hanoi is very good but some foreign tourists are victims of pickpockets. The popular trick of pickpockets is going in group to surround the victim in order to create a diversion for one of them pickpocket the victim’s wallets, bags and cameras.

Raising prices for food and services

Some food and service shops apply very high prices on foreign customers, normally 3-4 times higher than the prices on Vietnamese customers.

Most recently, some foreign tourists complained that they were cheated by Hanoi’s taxi drivers. The authorities immediately dealt with the complaints and drivers were severely punished.

Foreign visitors also complained about the poor quality of services compared to advertisement. Some foreign tourists left their warnings and advice on their facebooks or online forum, naming the providers of goods or service of poor quality in Hanoi.

Peddlers

 

 

 

 

 

Most foreign tourists say they are very upset by peddlers who always disturb them on the street. Not only following, bothering tourists, these people even threaten tourists.

Some tourists had to pay highly to peddlers for poor-quality products. This made them feel very terrible and left bad images on them.

Dog fighting

A group of young men were cheering two dogs fighting with each other. A number of Western tourists were very angry with this and they argued with the Vietnamese youngsters.

This is a new hobby of young people, which is very cruel and must be stopped.

Hanoi’s "minuses" in the eyes of foreign visitors

Hot air balloon display 2013 launched in Hanoi

‘Asian wings’, Vietnam’s first-ever international balloon display will take place in Hanoi, Ha Nam, Nam Dinh, Quang Ninh and Hai Duong on November 10-30.

The Asian Advertising Congress (AdAsia 2013)  is expected to welcome more than 1000 delegates from AFAA countries and territories, the world reputable advertising, communications, media groups, corporations, press-agencies, representatives of trade promotion chambers from Asia and the World.

Ten balloons, 22 metres high and 18 metres wide, are to be flown by eight Vietnamese pilots and ten foreign pilots from the US, the Netherlands, Malaysia, Thailand and Taiwan (China). Some visitors can take part in trial flights lasting from four to six minutes and reaching 40-50 metres high, after which a souvenir certificate is presented.

As known, the AdAsia 2013 is also an opportunity for media and advertising organizations, companies of Vietnam to approach current economic issues of the world from the world top speakers; a chance for meeting and exchanging with international delegates to promote trade and investment into Vietnam, conveying the message: Peace – Friendly – Corporation.

source: cinet.vn

Hot air balloon display 2013 launched in Hanoi