Hoi An to host 3rd International Choir Festival

The ancient town of Hoi An in the central province of Quang Nam has been chosen to host the third International Choir Festival from June 19-22 next year. The event will be organized jointly by the Quang Nam provincial People's Committee and Interkultur Foundation of Germany, and directly managed by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Annual fruit festival juices up HCM City

Thousands of people flocked to Ho Chi Minh City 's Suoi Tien park for the annual Southern Fruit Festival that opened on June 1. The festival began with art performances and parades by Cambodian, Lao, Malaysian, Thailand and Indonesian artists in the presence of more than 20 foreign diplomats based in the city. During the three weeks of the festival, a floating fruit market with 70 boats will be re-created, there will be a contest for best fruits, farmers and artisans will match their talents in a contest for making things from fruits, and a "safe and delicious fruit" display will be set up by nearly 600 artisans from 21 provinces and cities. The festival seeks to showcase the wide range of fruits grown in the south, promote reputed brands, and honour Vietnamese farmers. At the opening ceremony, Hua Ngoc Thuan, deputy chairman of the city People's Committee, said the festival showcased the variety of Vietnamese fruits, especially those grown in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta, for foreign tourists and promoted the city's image.

Germany helps Hue City preserve ancient relics

Germany has provided more than 139,600 euro for a project to preserve Hue royal palace, said Phan Thanh Hai, director of the Center for Reservation of Hue Relics. This is the fourth project under the German international support programme for preserving Hue relics. The three previous projects were focused on preserving the Khai Tuong Lau – An Dinh Palace, King Tu Duc’s tomb and Toi Linh Tu in the Hue royal place. Ta Vu, built in the early 19th century and upgraded in 1899, was seriously damaged during the wars

Quang Binh to organize tourism month on caves discovery

In June, the tourism month on caves discovery will take place in Quang Binh to promote local tourism products to domestic and international tourists and call for investment to social-economic development in the province. This is an activity of Quang Binh province responding to the National Tourism Year of the North Central Coast - Hue 2012.

The tourism month will include a series of diversified activities such as: opening tourism routes to discover new caves in Phong Nha – Ke Bang National Park (Rao Thuong – Hang En route, 1,500m Phong Nha cave at night, Hang En and Sinh Ton Valley route); art photography exhibition on Quang Binh’s natural landscapes; traditional boat race on Nhat Le river; Quang Binh’s cuisine week; public art festival; Vietnam – Laos – Thailand international trade fair…

Exchange money
Exchange rate is virtually quoted everywhere now: banks, newspapers, internet, etc. You can check it any time at http://www.xe.com. Money is easily exchanged at the airport, hotel reception, official exchange bureaus or banks and all its transactional branches in big towns and cities. Thanks to low valuations of dong compared with other major currencies, it is extremely exciting to find yourself a dong millionaire in such an instant.

In small towns and remote areas, however, these facilities are currently limited or none. On heading to these places, hence, you should consider stocking up a bit more dong but not too much as you may have less chance to pour it. Particularly, there is no official exchange service in border crossings other than black market which must be dealt with high alertness. Miscalculation and fake money may cost you a lot.

Generally, all major currencies can be converted into dong without any hassle but American dollar is normally much more preferred. It is wise to cash your traveler cheques into US dollar in Vietcombank or other major local banks before jumping into anywhere. You may be charged 0.5 to 2% commission for this, still much lower than in black market.

Vietnam Packing List

Some would be perfectly comfortable with little more than a swimsuit, some sandals, and a couple of T-shirts, while others might have a forty-pound case of photographic equipment or dive gear.  We’ve put together some suggestions to help you make a start.

General 

Bear in mind to take your passport, flight tickets, credit cards/cash/travellers cheques (take several modes of payment in case the ATM swallows your card etc.), travel insurance, and a minimal amount of clothes and toiletries. And you'll probably want to take non-essential luxury items like Ipod and Camera, to while away long bus or train journeys (the 36 hour train from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City) , and make the experience more memorable.

What to Bring with you to Vietnam

Items that we suggest you bring depending on the season. 

Vietnamese Language

Origin

Though much effort has been paid to trace the origin of Vietnamese language, so-far findings remain debatable.  It is, however, unquestionable that it does emerge from the aspirations of its people to have something speak for their own cultural identity (in both oral and written ways). After a long time borrowing Chinese characters, in 14^th century, Vietnamese people created their own scripts called “chu Nom” to set down their language. In 17^th century, with huge joint effort of Western missionaries, notably Alexandre de Rhodes, it was transcribed again into Romanised scripts which later became the national language characters (chu Quoc Ngu).