TRAVEL IN BRIEF 22/5

      Novotel Phan Thiet raises bar for waste water management
Novotel Phan Thiet Ocean Dunes & Golf Resort has become the first Novotel resort in Viet Nam to achieve the Green Globe certificate, a recognition of the hotel’s commitment to better waste management, less pollution, and energy and water consumption control.
The Novotel brand of hotels in Viet Nam has registered with the Green Global organisation, making a commitment to environmental sustainability.
A toast to Australian wines as consulate hosts festival in City
Famous Australian wine and food brands await HCM City gastronomes at a food and drink festival the Australian consulate will host from next Monday.
During the one-week event, many city restaurants will showcase cuisines and premium wines from down under.
Besides, the best wines imported into Viet Nam from Australia will also be named in the Australian Wine Challenge scheduled next Thursday.
A three-day exhibition on 150 premium wine labels and Australian food products will be held at the New World Hotel from May 29, providing the public an opportunity to sample a range of products from all major Australian wine-producing areas.
The hotel will also host a gala dinner next Friday.
While the wine exhibition is open to the public, there will be limited seats at the gala dinner.
Entrance tickets can be bought at the New World Hotel or the Australian Consulate General.
Southern fruits featured at annual HCM City festival
Farmers will be busy delivering ripe fruits to Suoi Tien Park in HCM City’s District 9 for the Southern Fruit Festival from May 24 to 28 which will offer best-quality fruits at 20 to 40 per cent below market prices.
The annual event will introduce 50 new varieties of fruits for the first time this year – like Lo Ren-Vinh Kim star apples from Tien Giang Province, Mat Troi Do (Red Sun) seedless watermelon from Dong Nai Province, seedless oranges and butter star apples from Ben Tre Province.
Fruit parades, cultural performances and folk games will be held for the entertainment of visitors.
Vintage vehicles on parade for Hoi An Heritage Journey Festival
The Palm Garden Resort in Hoi An will parade more than 200 antique motorbikes and cars through the ancient town as part of Quang Nam Province’s Heritage Journey Festival from June 3 to 7.
The owner of the resort, Nguyen Thanh Sang, said this year’s event looks set to "outperform" the last one held in 2007.
Some environmentally friendly and uniquely designed vehicles, all aged around 50 years, will travel from Hoi An to other destinations in the province. They will include 30 vintage cars, 20 jeeps, 50 Mobylettes, 50 Vespas, 20 Geely CD motors, and 50 coupes of various makes.
Miss World 2008 Ksenia Sukhinova, her predecessor Zang Ji Lin and three Vietnamese models will participate in the event.
Renowned local singers will perform at a gala dinner on June 5 to raise money for charity.
Special tours set up for tourists attracted to heritage festival
Vietravel has launched three tours for foreign tourists for the fourth annual "Quang Nam Itinerary Heritage" festival in Hoi An between June 4 and 7.
A five-day tour, departing HCM City on June 3, will take visitors to Hue, Phong Nha, Da Nang and Hoi An and is priced at VND6 million (US$335).
A four-day tour beginning on June 4 to Hue, Ba Na, Da Nang, and Hoi An costs VND5.1 million and a three-day tour leaving on June 5 to Da Nang, Ba Na, and Hoi An costs VND4.8 million. All of them include airfares.
The festival will celebrate the 10th anniversary of UNESCO’s recognition of Hoi An and My Son relics as world heritage sites.