TRAVEL IN BRIEF 1/8

Musician Hilary Scott to perform at Park Hyatt in HCM City
Hilary Scott, from Missouri will provide live entertainment in the Park lounge of the Park Hyatt Sai Gon Hotel every evening, except Tuesdays, until October 10. Scott tours Asia as a solo artist and had extended engagements at Grand Hyatt in Seoul and Park Hyatt in HCM City.
His fiery performances offers a wide variety of music and original compositions, ranging from jazz and soul classics to contemporary pop.
Travel firm organises tour to celebrate 1,000th anniversary of Ha Noi
To mark the 1,000th anniversary of Thang Long-Ha Noi, the HCM City-based Ben Thanh Tourist has introduced a five-day, four-night tour of Ha Noi, Ha Long Bay and Sa Pa.
The tours visit Thang Long Citadel, built during the Ly dynasty when Emperor Ly Thai To moved the country’s capital to Thang Long, now Ha Noi.
On the first day, tourists visit well-known Ha Noi attractions such as the Temple of Literature, Hoan Kiem Lake, Quan Thanh Temple and Tran Quoc Pagoda.
The final three days take in Sa Pa and Ha Long Bay which has about 1,500 large and small islands with many caves and mountains such as Thien Cung Cavern, Dau Go Cavern, Lu Huong, Cho Da and Ga Choi mountains.
Legend Hotel organises buffet brunch to mark Swiss national day
On Sunday, Swiss national day, diners at the Legend Hotel in HCM City can hear alphorn tunes and melodies performed by the well known alphorn ensemble, Engiadina St Morits, while enjoying Swiss delicacies during special programmes marking the day.
Swiss specialities in the buffet include fondue, pasttetli, Zurcher-style hot-pot, Zurich-style cut meat and many more. The Sunday brunch buffet is costs US$32++ for adults and $16++ for children.
Institute launches healthy food initiative to promote Vietnamese cuisine
A long-term campaign, Vietnamese Kitchen for the World, was launched by the Institute of Vietnamese Gastronomic Research to promote a healthy diet to international tourists.
The institute asked restaurants and food outlets throughout the country to introduce Vietnamese food and standardise customer service.
Institute head Nguyen Nha said Vietnamese cooking should be promoted because it offered a healthy diet. Local dishes, such as pho (noodles served with beef or chicken) and cha gio (fried meat rolls) were popular with tourists.
The campaign includes a guide to cooking and food safety practices to avoid food poisonings which occur in factories and school lunch rooms.
Ha Long Bay among 28 finalists in online seven wonders of the world poll
Ha Long Bay is among 28 finalists in an online poll to find seven new world natural wonders.
The poll finalists are the Amazon rain forest, Bu Tinah Shoals archipelago (United Arab Emirates), Galapagos islands (Ecuador), Iguazu Falls (Brazil-Argentina), Komodo National Park (Indonesia), Milford Sound (New Zealand), Table Mountain (South Africa), Angel Falls (Venezuela), Cliffs of Moher (Ireland), Grand Canyon (US), Jeita Grotto (Beirut), Maldives Islands, Mud Volcanoes (Azerbaijan), Ayers Rock (Australia), Bay of Fundy, Dead Sea, Great Barrier Reef, Jeju Island (South Korea), Masurian Lake District (Poland), Puerto Princesa Underground River (Philippines), Mount Vesuvius (Italy), Black Forest, El Yunque National Forest (Puerto Rico), Ha Long Bay, Mount Kilimanjaro (Tanzania), Matterhorn Mount (Switzerland-Italy), Sundarbans Delta (Bangladesh-India), and Yushan (Taiwan).
The seven winners will be named on July 7, 2011.