Hanoi’s celebrations presented to Australians

Travel Indochina, a leading Australian tourist company, has become the country’s first operator to introduce tours to Vietnam on the 1,000th founding anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi.
During a press conference in Sydney on Oct. 9, Travel Indochina’s Managing Director Paul Hole gave a briefing on Hanoi ’s development and history since King Ly Thai To moved the capital from Hoa Lu to Thang Long in 1010, as the city is preparing to celebrate this important event next year.
Hole underlined Hanoi ’s cultural and diverse features and symbolic historical sites such as the Thap Rua (Rua Tower) in Hoan Kiem (Returned Sword) Lake as well as modern architectural works like the Hanoi Opera House, the Foreign Ministry’s Headquarters and the Metropole Hotel.
The director said that around 160,000 Australians have arrived in Vietnam in 2008 and most of them visited Hanoi, which, he said, boasts many “unexplored” secrets for foreign visitors.
Travel Indochina plans to launch a programme called “Historic Hanoi” in January 2010. Holidaymakers will be enabled to explore Hanoi’s old streets and visit other well-known landmarks in Vietnam, including Sa Pa, Ha Long Bay, the former imperial capital of Hue and the ancient town of Hoi An.