Today News

22 November 2013
Survey says only 7% of rural people are 'very satisfied with life'  

In a recent survey, about 42 per cent of respondents from rural areas in Vietnam say they are not very satisfied with their life and only 7 percent say they are very satisfied, a survey has found.

These figures, announced on Thursday, are among the results of a recent survey that is part of the study entitled “Economic Development and Happiness” jointly conducted by researchers from Denmark’s Copenhagen University and Vietnam’s Central Economic Management Institute.

The survey garnered responses from more than 2,700 rural households in 12 provinces nationwide, and is the first systematic study on the topic in the country, the researchers said.

According to the survey’s results, 7 per cent of the respondents say they are very satisfied with life; 45 per cent say they fairly satisfied with life; 42 per cent say they are not very satisfied with life; and 6 per cent claim they are not satisfied with life at all.

The survey also shows that couples with two children are the most happy, while couples with four or more children are the least happy.

Most of the respondents say that income has a lot of impact on their feelings toward life but this does not mean that the higher the income, the higher the level of happiness.

The survey shows that as many as 50 per cent of poor households suffer burdens from loans, and this obviously affects their satisfaction with life.

An issue worth noting is that most of the loans are from private lenders, while loans from banks account for only 13 per cent of the total amount borrowed by poor families.

This situation has triggered the concern that official credit institutions have not helped much in the improvement of rural households.

 (http://tuoitrenews.vn/society/15360/survey-says-only-7-of-rural-people-are-very-satisfied-with-life)

10 June 2013

News: City sets up team to assist foreign backpackers

(TuoiTreNews Updated : 06/09/2013 13:55 GMT + 7)

The Communist Youth Union of Ho Chi Minh City’s District 1 on Saturday launched a team of young volunteers to assist tourists in the Pham Ngu Lao quarters, a well-known backpacker area for foreigners.

The team includes 78 youths with good foreign language skills and they will work on two shifts: from 8am to 11am and 2pm to 5pm on weekdays.

From June 8 to December 29, the volunteers will be available to provide tourism information and help prevent scams targeting tourists at three hot spots in the area: the T-junction of Pham Ngu Lao - De Tham, the crossroads of De Tham - Bui Vien, and 262 De Tham.

Local authorities hope that this team will help promote the city as a safe tourism destination and attract more international travelers.

16th May 2013 

41oC in Central Vietnam

In the past  two days, it was very hot in Central Vietnam. Some places the temperature soared to 41oC.

Central Vietnam includes provinces and cities of Quang Ngai, Quang Nam, Da Nang, Hue, Quang Tri (with DMZ), Quang Binh, Nghe An...

(Tuoi Tre newspaper)

09 May 2013
Hotel hot promotion
May is the very low season in Vietnam, especially in Nha Trang beach city. With 26USD, you can stay in a standard king bed of a 3-star hotel with buffet breakfast, swimming pool, free wifi...

07 April 2013
Tram Chim national park: According to Tuoi Tre newspaper, there are more than 50 red-head cranes and 3,000 anastomus oscitans in the Tram Chim  national park now (Tuoi Tre, 7th April 2013)

Red-head cranes (Pic: Tuoi Tre newspaper)

Anastomus oscitans (Pic: Wiki)

09 March 2013
Khau Vai love market will take place from the evening of 5th May to late afternnon of 6th May, 2013 at Khau Vai village, Meo Vac district of Ha Giang province.

02 March 2013

Hanoi's very first leaf painting show to open

An art exhibition featuring paintings created from natural leaves will open to public in Hanoi on March 7, 2013. 

Titled “Dance of Leaves”, the exhibition showcases 20 unique artworks by artist Le Dac Trung.

Inspired by Kazuo Akasaki, the first Asian artist to have his work exhibited at the “Salon de Paris” – the official art exhibition of the French Academy of Fine Arts in Paris – for his contribution to leaf painting art, Trung has successfully created a new approach to the form by manually treating the leaves in different temperatures.

This breakthrough has added more colour and liveliness to leaf paintings.

Trung's work presents diverse aspects of Vietnamese daily life, taking people on an unprecedented tour of an authentic Vietnam.

Through his paintings, visitors can contemplate the plain and simple countryside of horizontal green fields, the blossom of a lotus under moonlight or a calm corner of bustling Hanoi.

The very first leaf painting exhibition in Hanoi will be held in the lobby of the Sofitel Plaza Hanoi, 1 Thanh Nien Road, until May 7.

                                                                                                                    (Source: VNA/VOV online)

Royal activities to be restored in Hue

The Hue Monuments Conservation Center will restore ceremonial activities conducted during the Nguyen Dynasty, thus creating an attraction for tourists to royal sites in Hue city. 

To be restored from March 26, the activities include the change of shift of royal guards and performances of royal ceremonial music and songs. 

Phan Thanh Hai, Director of the Center, said that through the activities, tourists will get an insight of the daily court lives of Nguyen Emperors, and this will contribute to preserving intangible cultural values of vestiges in the ancient capital, recognised as a World Cultural Heritage Site by UNESCO.

(Source: VNA/VOV online)  

Kazakhstan-Ho Chi Minh City air route opens

(VOV)- Air Astana officially launched its air route linking the city of Almaty in Kazakhstan and Ho Chi Minh City on March 1.

The airline will conduct two flights per week on Wednesdays and Fridays, served by Boeing 757s with six business class and 150 economy class seats.

Flights departing from Almaty to Ho Chi Minh City via the Thai capital Bangkok will take nine hours. Total flight time is only seven hours for passengers departing from Ho Chi Minh City to Almaty.

Air Astana Chairman Peter Poster said his airline is prioritising expanding its flight network in Asia.

He expressed hopes that Ho Chi Minh City’s numerous tourist attractions will attract large numbers of visitors from Kazakhstan and its neighbouring countries.

Air Astana is currently operating more than 50 international and domestic air routes.

Vietnam Airlines discounts HCM City-Yangon flights 

(VOV) - Vietnam Airlines made a February 28 announcement that they are upgrading their aircraft on the Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam)-Yangon (Myanmar) route to meet increasing travel demand between the two cities.

From March 31, Vietnam Airlines will employ Airbus A321 on the high traffic corridor, replacing Fokker 70s. The Airbus 321 is a more modern aircraft, providing services for business class customers. 

The change also means a 75 percent increase in the number of Vietnam Airlines seats available between these cities.

To mark the occasion, the national carrier will offer discounts on seats by up to 27 percent, starting from US$220 (around VND4,62 million) for a two-way economy class ticket.

The sale will apply to tickets sold from now until March 30, 2013, as well as journeys departing from April 1 to September 30, 2013.

Currently, Vietnam Airlines is the only national carrier to operate HCM City-Yangon direct route, with three flights per week, on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays.