A new cave described as very beautiful and mysterious and with a complex maze of grottoes has been discovered in the northern mountainous province of Bac Can.
The first cave was found six weeks ago when workers were building National Highway 3B near Ang Toong Pass. The new cave was discovered 20m inside the first cave, with its stalactites untouched and shimmering like stars.
The first cave is 120m long, spacious, and comprised of three caves. The new one is 350m long and formed by five caves. Its walls are made of blue stone and in, some places, are mixed with soil and white stone.
There are more and more stalactites inside the cave. Stalactites and stalagmites of various sizes and colours make people believe they are in a lost world.
The Bac Can authorities have ordered related agencies to protect and develop the caves into a tourist destination.
Bac Can is famous for its beautiful landscapes including Ba Be Lake and miraculous underground caves like Poung, Tien, Na Phoong, Ba Cua, Son Duong, Nang Tien, and Tham Long.
Da Nang to welcome Chinese tourists
A programme to bring Chinese tourists from Beijing to Da Nang on chartered flights will begin late next month. With the twice-weekly flights each bringing 160 to 180 guests, and the five existing chartered flights bringing visitors from Kunming, Shanghai, Shenzen, Taipei, and Chengdu since May, the central coastal city will welcome some 1,000 Chinese visitors a week.
Cao Tri Dung, director of the Da Nang-based Vitours Co. which serves Chinese guests, said they preferred to visit beaches and the World Heritage sites in the central region.
Tourism Awards announce top hotels
The 2010 Tourism Awards were announced by the Viet Nam Tourism Association last week with New World, Caravelle, Rex, Renaissance Riverside, Ha Noi Daewoo, Majestic, Ana Mandara, Vinpearl Resort and Spa, Windsor Plaza, and Six Senses Ninh Van Bay being named the top 10 five-star hotels.
The top 10 four-star hotels were Palace, Grand, Yasaka Saigon Nha Trang, De Nhat, Continental, Hoi An Beach Resort, Sai Gon-Ha Long, Palace, Sai Gon-Phu Quoc Resort, and Lang Tre Mui Ne Tourist Site. Winning in the three-star category were Bong Sen, Victory, Vien Dong, Vung Tau Intourco Resort, Hoa Binh, Petro Song Tra, Rex, Festival, Cuu Long, and Cong Doan (Trade Union) Viet Nam.
The annual tourism awards are given based on room occupancy rate, business result, food hygiene and safety, and environmental hygiene, the association said.
VN tourists shrug off Bangkok floods
Vietnamese tourists continued to travel to Bangkok this week despite the serious floods in Thailand. Lai Minh Duy, general director of the HCM City-based TST Tourist travel agency, said that his firm still had four tourist groups in Bangkok and that tourist sites had not been affected by the flooding in the city. One of TST's tourist groups returned safe from Bangkok on Monday, he added.
Meanwhile, leading travel agencies like Saigontourist Travel Service Co still send tourist groups to Bangkok as scheduled.
According to the Tourism Authority of Thailand, downtown tourist attractions like Sukhumvit, Banglamphu, Ratchaprasong, the shopping centre, the Royal Palace, temples, and pagodas are not submerged and travelling there is easy. Art performances and dining and entertainment services also remain normal.
Charter flights offered to S Korea
Vietnamese tourists can travel to Jeju Island in South Korea on chartered flights until year-end under a programme offered by Asia World Travel Co.
A 140-seat South Korean aircraft will take tourists directly from Viet Nam to Jeju every Monday and Friday, and Vietnamese visitors are not required to obtain visas.
The tour is available at some leading travel agencies in HCM City.
The first group of Vietnamese tourists departed for a five-day tour of Jeju on Monday, paying VND13-14 million.
Tran Minh Truong of Asia World Travel said this tour was favoured by Vietnamese because obtaining a South Korean visa was not easy. — VNS
vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn