Saigon, with no doubt, to both travellers and local residents is certainly a busy city with dense traffic flows in rush hours filled by motor bikes and cars, fast moving life pace, full of activities both night and day. The city, however, like all other places, contains several hidden surprising corners that visitors often miss because of their ‘ordinary’ nature: early morning flower market, the typical street foods, corner café stands, and the city’s rare slow pace moments of the day. All together, create a different angle of the city life and the ordinary but precious daily life experience that surprise visitors and even locals.

5:30AM – Visit the Hidden Flower Market 

Start our tour early in the morning, ride our motorbikes from your hotel to the Ho Thi Ky Flower market which is around 15 minutes from the city centre. The first amazing view comes into our view are huge bunches of roses, lotuses, lilies, daisies and orchids being unloaded from trucks and motorbikes mostly from the highland and Mekong Delta. In the air, we could feel the eternal springtime magically created by the pleasant fragrances of hundreds of varieties of fresh flowers. A short chat with a flower seller here, we can learn the flower trading is not an easy job because the vendors have to work from very early morning until mid-nights but with their strong passion of work. Given the fast developing speed of the city, the flower market remains as the bridge to nature and countryside.


7:00AM – Enjoy Street-Food Style Breakfast 
The period from 7.00am to 9.00am is really rush hours when everybody tries to escape from daily crazy heavy traffic to reach their workplace in time. After 20 minute riding in the crowded motorbike lines, we stopped at a local street food stall in Ho Ba Kien Street to order a very delicious dish named “Cơm Tấm Sườn Bì Chả” (Steamed broken rice with grilled pork ribs, thinly shredded pork skin, and egg custard). A small bowl of sweet fish sauce mixed with ground garlic & chilly is the must-have to make this combination tasteful & more special. “Cơm Tấm Sườn Bì Chả” is considered as a very traditional specialty of Southern Vietnamese breakfast.

9:00AM – Get Into the Oldest Part of China Town

Get back on our motorbikes after the breakfast and head to Tran Hung Dao Boulevard – a main vein to enter China Town. Our first stop on Tran Hung Dao Boulevard is at an antique Minh Huong Temple (also called Ming Dynasty Assembly Hall) built in 1789 to the dedication and worship of the Ming Dynasty. Especially, Minh Huong Temple is the remnant of Minh Huong Village – the foundation of present China Town. Here still we find architecture and hundred year old relics in the temple. We continue on this big boulevard then off to colorful Luong Nhu Hoc Street, where many traditional shops concentrate on selling unicorn heads & royal costumes. Turn to the oldest street of Chinese Herbs & Medicine: Hai Thuong Lan Ong. The strong odors of different types of medicinal herbs impressed us as soon as we reach this street. Smells come from many medicine stores built in a mix of western and Chinese architectural elements in the mid-1800s. Continue riding slowly on Hai Thuong Lan Ong Street, we encounter most of ancient houses & stores where patterns still remain for more-than-100years. Walk into a traditional medicine shop for a chance to see how Chinese medicine is made & used. Next, we leave the medicine street to ride a round of Binh Tay Market to view the special structure, colorful surrounding Chinese house-shops, and vibrant atmosphere.

11:00AM - Taste Special Lunch in China Town
It’s time to have “Sui Cao” (shrimp wonton soup) - one of traditional Chinese food on Ha Ton Quyen Street for our lunch before riding back to Saigon center (District 1) to end our half-day trip.

 If you are looking for the similar experience, email Vietnam Jeep Tours at adventure@vietnamjeeptours.com or call +84 909 602 370

Air Mekong to launch direct flight from Hanoi to Con Dao

Air Mekong is set to launch a new direct route between Hanoi and Con Dao starting May 19, to meet the increasing demand of tourists from the northern regions to the southern historical island during the summer months, the airline announced.

The two-hour flight will depart from Hanoi at 1pm every Wednesday and Saturday so far. However the airline is prepared to add and   increase the number of flights to four a week, if the demand increases during the summer.

In addition, the carrier will also increase the number of flights on the Ha Noi-Phu Quoc route to nine per week. Promotional tickets for the Hanoi-Phu Quoc and Hanoi-Con Dao routes will be around VND2.4 million on a one way ticket from May 1-20.

In related news, Jet Star Pacific will launch a daily service between Hanoi-Da Nang and Hanoi-Nha Trang, to meet the excessive tourist demand in the summer.

Flights from Hanoi to Da Nang and Nha Trang will re-open from June 1 to August 31.
Source: www.saigon-gpdaily.com.vn
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Con Dao located as an archipelago of Ba Ria-Vung Tau province, in southeastern Vietnam, is also an island of immense natural beauty with forested hills, deserted sandy beaches and extensive coral reefs making for some excellent diving.
Beside its interesting great history, Con Dao is part of a maritime and national park and is made up of 20 or so islands. The islands are mostly rugged and still have a lot of original forest cover and associated flora and fauna. The most famous indigenous animal is the dugong or sea cow although it is rarely seen. Several species of rare squirrel and apes are found here and there is an important breeding program for turtles on Banh Canh island near to Con Dao island.
Related programmes to Con Dao Island: (Please contact adventure@vietnamjeeptours.com or sales@vietnamtraveldepot.com for more services in Con Dao Island):
http://www.vietnamjeeptours.com/adventure-tours/diving-and-snorkeling-tours/con-dao-island-snorkeling-and-trekking-package-105.html

More boat trips for tourists to visit Wild Ly Son Island

With many historical, cultural relics and fascinating tourist areas, Ly Son Island in the central province of Quang Ngai is becoming an amazing travel attraction of Vietnam.

Thank to The district’s Passenger Transport Co-Operative, there are now four boat trips to the island each day to cope with the increasing number of visitors. Since the beginning of this year The Island has welcomed more than 6,000 visitors, receiving 200 to 350 tourists a day. Tourists can catch boats from Quang Ngai province’s Sa Ky port to reach Ly Son Island after nearly one hour.

Visit isolated Ly Son Island referred as the “fairy island” & “Garlic Kingdom”, travelers have chances not only to learn about its very diverse ecosystem with five mountains including many mysterious caves, imposing waterfalls, and splendid rivers and lakes (Thoi Loi, Gieng Tien, Hon Vung, Hon Soi and Hoi Tai) and the  lines of stunning beaches laid with colourful rocks, pebbles and corals but also to see many artifacts of Sa Huynh and Cham Cultures. Especially, the Thien Yana and old ruong houses are evidence for Sa Huynh and Cham’s ancient civilizations.

Vietnam Travel Depot is operating 03 days 2 nights package tour to visit beautiful Ly Son Island, for more information, please contact sales@vietnamtraveldepot.com or hotline: +84 909 602 370.

Vietnam mountain elevator to open by end of April

The Ngu Hanh Son Mountain Elevator, in central Vietnam, will be operational in time for the country’s Reunifi cation Day holidays on 30 April, local media has reported.

According to the Saigon Times, the 50-metre tall elevator, which lies approximately 8km from the central city of Danang, was completed seven months ago but has not yet been put into service. The lift has two cabins which can transport approximately 20 guests at a time to the pagoda that sits on top of the mountain. A journey on the elevator will cost VND30,000 (US$1.40) per person – twice the price of a ticket to the pagoda itself.

Source: Travel daily asia

Majestic Hotel To Expand New Hotel Complex

Saigon Tourist Company plans to invest VND1, 900 billion (US$92 million) in expanding the old Majestic Hotel in District 1 of Ho Chi Minh City.

Two 24 and 27 storey buildings with a total of 353 rooms and four basements will form the expansion plan.

The old Majestic Hotel built in 1925 in French architectural style and recognized by the Viet Nam National Administration for Tourism (VNAT) as a 5-star hotel in 2007, will remain unchanged and will preserve its heritage status.

The old hotel has 185 rooms and along with 353 rooms in the new hotel complex, the majestic hotel will offer a total 538 guest rooms. The new complex will be fully operational by 2014.

For more information about the hotel, you can visit http://www.majesticsaigon.com.vn/ or contact Email: sales@majesticsaigon.com.vn.

Vietnam to host the first international balloon festival in Binh Thuan Province

Vietnam to host the first international balloon festival in Binh Thuan Province The event will take place from April 26 to May 1 in the skies over Phan Thiet City and Hoa Thang commune of Binh Thuan Province at the altitude of 150m to 500m. During the festival, there will be 20 to 30 balloons (ranging in height from 20-25m and diameters of 16-18m) which will be performed by pilots from many countries including France, German, Belgium, Japan and Indonesia.

The festival will not be limited to daytime activities, as lantern performances are scheduled for the evenings. During the daytime, balloons will be flown within the observation range of viewers. At night, the flying team will perform lantern effects. Once successful, the festival will be held annually in Phan Thiet City, Binh Thuan province.
Related programs to Phan Thiet of Binh Thuan Province: (Please contact adventure@vietnamjeeptours.com for more tours to Phan Thiet – Mui Ne & around):
  5 Days Southern Coastal Lines on Motorbikes 
- Full Day Mui Ne Kite Surfing
19 Days on Bike from Saigon to Hanoi

U MINH THUONG NATIONAL PARK – WETLAND ANGLERS’ PARADISE

Every weekend, hundreds of people flock to U Minh Thuong National Park in the southern province of Kien Giang to go fishing for different kinds of fish far beyond their wildest dreams.

Most of anglers from Saigon travel by car down to the Mekong Delta area. The approximately 300 km trip from Saigon to the forest takes them around seven to eight hours drive crossing most of the delta provinces such as Vinh Long, Can Tho, Dong Thap.

The route is quite lengthy, across two river ferries (Vam Cong & Tac Cau Ferry) but it is worth for tourists to see the landscapes on the way as well as people daily lives on the way. Especially for many people, fishing in this remote area is a unique way to escape from the bustle of city life and enjoy the primitive cajuput forest, where they are greeted by birdsong and chirping insects.

Declared as a National Park in September 2000, U Minh Thuong covers 21,100 hectares. The core 8,000 hectares are strictly protected, while locals live in the remaining 13,000ha growing rice and fruit and vegetables and exploiting government owned cajuput forests.

U Minh Thuong is home to more than 250 species of plants and 500 species animals, with nine species of birds that are listed in the Red Book as endangered. At least eight species of economically valuable fish have been found at the park.
One of the last significant peat forests remaining in Viet Nam, the park has also been recognized as one of the three highest priority sites for wetland conservation in the Mekong Delta.

In order to preserve and maintain the natural environment, tourists are only allowed to travel within a 500 hectare area of the park's central zone.

Most of the tourists like to fish under humble cajuput-wooden tents by Hoa Mai Lake which is the only place that offers food and other basic services.

While the boats glide through the water, visitors may see thousands of bats hanging on tree branches. If they are lucky, they may even spot some monkeys quickly fleeing deep into the jungle after catching sight of humans.

Many tourists look forward having a meal prepared with fresh fish and other indigenous vegetables right on the spot, and then lying in a hammock to enjoy the forest's tranquility.

Those who are not interested in fishing can climb to one of the several watchtowers and enjoy a panoramic view of the reserve. An immense green zone stretches as far as the eye can see, and the harmonious melody of the wind blowing and birds singing will purify and refresh anyone’s spirit.
For more information about U Minh Thuong National Park, please visit