Travel in brief 2/7

Binh Duong to host ceramics festival
The country’s first ceramics festival, themed Ceramics of Viet Nam-Tradition, Character and Development, will take place in Thu Dau Mot Town, Binh Duong Province from September 2-8. The Ceramics Festival Viet Nam-Binh Duong 2010, which aims to celebrate the 1,000th anniversary of Ha Noi, will honour craftsmen and the traditional ceramic trade villages of Viet Nam, particularly those in Binh Duong. The country’s ceramic trade villages and those of regional countries such as China, Japan, South Korea, Laos or Cambodia will showcase their typical ceramic products. At the event, collections of historic ceramic items from Dinh, Le, Ly, and Tran dynasties will be on display.
Ha Noi, provinces promote tourism
Tourism authorities of Ha Noi and the northern provinces of Vinh Phuc, Tuyen Quang and Thai Nguyen have met with officials in the Viet Nam National Administration of Tourism to work on co-operative efforts to further tourism in their areas.
Ha Noi earlier had a similar deal with four other provinces of Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Thua Thien-Hue and Binh Dinh. The tourism authorities of these localities pledged co-operation to jointly develop tourism products, promotions, human resources and business links for travel agencies.
Saigontourist offers new tours
To take advantage of the new air route linking Da Lat and Da Nang launched by Viet Nam Airlines yesterday, Saigontourist Travel Service Co has introduced new tours to the central coastal region and Central Highlands. A five-day tour to Ba Na Hill or Da Lat, departing on Saturdays from HCM City, is priced at VND4.1 million to VND4.5 million, excluding air tickets. An eight-day tour to Phan Thiet, Da Lat, Da Nang and Hue, departing on Thursday, costs VND8 to 12 million. Saigontourist also has two-days tours to Vung Tau and Can Gio, a three-day tour to Hue and a four-day tour to Nha Trang.
Da Lat to be in full bloom this year
Nearly 17,000 cherry trees will be planted around Tuyen Lam Lake in the resort city of Da Lat by the end of this year. This is part of the Tuyen Lam Lake Tourism Park’s five-year plan to plant 60,000 such trees along the shores of the lake, making Da Lat the largest cherry blossom destination in Southeast Asia. The 365-ha lake is already a major tourist destination, boasting spas, golf courses, villas, conference halls and artists’ clubs. Cherry trees will be planted amid an existing stand of aged pines. Nguyen Xuan Thanh, a manager of the Tuyen Lam Lake Tourism Park, said the cherry blossoms will add a special green space to the area.