Travel in brief on 26th March

Path to Heaven Cave being carved
Work is now on to open a new 4.7km route to Thien Duong (Heaven) Cave in the central province of Quang Binh on April 30. The forest road can be traversed foot, by bicycle, or horse cart.
Discovered in 2005, Heaven Cave is in the park's ecological restoration area. Situated 191m above sea level, it has the most spectacular stalactites anywhere in the park.
Cities mark 50 years of friendship
Celebrations to mark 50 years of friendship between Ha Noi, Hue, and Sai Gon were held in Hue from March 24 to 26 during which the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism in the three cities organised spectacular music shows.
On March 24 a Ha Noi-Hue-Sai Gon photo exhibition and a book exhibition celebrating the 35th anniversary of the liberation of Thua Thien-Hue and 50th anniversary of the three cities' sisterhood opened.
A ceremony was held at the King Quang Trung monument yesterday and it will be followed by a workshop on Ha Noi-Hue-Sai Gon at the International Convention Centre in Hue today.
The event also included boat races, performances of Hue traditional songs, and release of lanterns on the Huong River.
Tour operator offers huge discounts
Sai Gon Tourism Petroleum Services Co Ltd (SPSC Tour) has launched promotional tours offering 30 to 35 per cent discounts and a bonus of VND1 million for making bookings on either March 22 or 29.
The promotions are available on a six-day Ha Noi- Ha Long - Sa Pa tour costing VND6.7 million, a four-day Ha Noi - Ha Long - Ninh Binh tour costing from VND4.23 million, a five-day Da Nang - Son Tra - Hoi An - Ba Na tour priced from VND3.6 million, a Da Nang - My Son - Hue - Phong Nha tour costing VND4 million, and a three-day tour of Phu Quoc Island costing VND3.8 million.
The VND1 million is available on tours of Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Macau, and the Chinese mainland.
SPSC is receiving discounts on airfares from Vietnam Airlines and so tourists are required to book one month before departure, the company said.
Thailand tours continue despite unrest
Uncertainty caused by the unrest in Thailand has been blamed for the cancellation of tours to the country last week by tour operators. Ben Thanh Tourist said it would stay out of Thailand until the end of April and the HCM City-based Lua Viet, until the end of March.
Others like Viettravel and Youth Tourist Company have resumed tours to Thailand but are keeping a close watch on the situation. The latter said it takes nearly 20 clients daily.
The Tourism Authority of Thailand's HCM City Office said airports, tourist attractions, and shopping malls are functioning normally and the protests have not disrupted normal life in Bangkok.
Nippon offers daily service to Tokyo
Japanese carrier All Nippon Airways (ANA) has announced that it will add two weekly flights from HCM City to Tokyo to offer daily service between the two cities from this Sunday, after nine years' operation on the route. ANA predicts that not only the flow of passengers from Japan and the US to Viet Nam would increase but that the amount of cargo flown into Viet Nam from these countries would increase as well.