Vietnam offers visitors a rare opportunity to see a country of traditional charm and beauty. With an area of 329,566 sq km (128,527 sq mi)and a population of 80 million, it has been able to attract over two million foreign tourists annually of whom 200,000 are Taiwanese visitors, said Jack Tsai, president of Hong Yi Travel Service.
China Airlines offers two daily Taipei-Saigon flights while EVA Airways has 10 flights a week. Vietnam Airlines and Pacific Airlines also offer Saigon-Taipei flights seven and six times a week respectively. A joint venture between Vietnam Airlines and China Airlines provide one daily Taipei-Hanoi flight. There are also flights from Kaohsiung to Ho Chi Minh.
Only a three hour flight from Taipei, Vietnam is an excellent place to visit all year round. When one region is wet, cold or extremely hot, there is always somewhere else that is sunny and warm.
Hong Yi Travel Service Co, Ltd, established in 1986, is a specialist in Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia individual and tour package. Jack Tsai, president of Hong Yi Travel Service said, "You have to visit Vietnam to experience its culture, food, and distinctive lifestyle. Food aficionados can relish authentic French cuisine for only US$15 amidst classical European decor."
Jack Tsai recommends various scenic places to visit in Vietnam. Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), the heart and soul of Vietnam, is where visitors can feel the romance of Paris. It's a bustling, dynamic and the cultural trendsetter. There are at least 10 five-star hotels and one even claiming to be a six-star hotel in Ho Chi Minh. There are myriad of elegant shops, as well as stalls and vendors selling their merchandise on sidewalks. Some recommended sights to visit include the Giac Lam Pagoda, the neo-Romanesque Notre Dame Cathedral, Reunification Hall and Cholon market.
The city of Dalat, Emperor Bao Dai's Summer Palace is famous for its cool temperature and green city environment. It's an ideal location for trips into the surrounding highlands, which remain serene. Places to visit include the Hang Nga Guesthouse & Art Gallery, nicknamed by locals Crazy House, the old French Quarter, Valley of Love, villages of some of the hill tribes -- Chicken Village (with a huge statue of a chicken).
Dalat is famous for its coffee shops, and is extremely popular with domestic tourists and honeymooners.
In Nha Trang, visitors can enjoy snorkeling and diving. As a major fishing port, there are numerous excellent seafood restaurants.
Hoi An features a rich history and where you can find Chinese and Japanese cultural influence. It's like going back to the past century. There is a magnificent collection of old structures and intact streetscapes as well as pagodas, public buildings and a whole city block of colonnaded French buildings.
One of the most beautiful cities in Vietnam is Hue. It has long been a major cultural, religious and educational center. Interesting sights include Nine Holy Cannons, Imperial Enclosure, the Palace of Supreme Harmony and the Halls of the Mandarin.
Halong Bay which means "Where the dragon descended into the sea," has some 3,000 islands and is one of Vietnam's natural marvels. Visitors can find numerous beaches and grottoes formed as a result of the wind and waves.
Hanoi, the capital, features lakes, shaded boulevards, various architectural treasures (1,500 year old pagoda), colonial French homes and modern skyscrapers. An exciting nightlife and excellent food attracts visitors from around the world to this ancient city. Art and coffee is very prevalent.
Sapa, located at an altitude of 1600m (6,112 ft), is where you can find minorities (mostly Hmong, Dao and Kinh people) who up until now still don their traditional clothes. All people (including kids) in Sapa can speak English as a result of an influx of tourists visiting all year round.
LONG FLIGHT: The jets would be flown by US pilots, with Taiwanese copilots in the two-seat F-16D variant to help familiarize them with the aircraft, the source said The US is expected to fly 10 Lockheed Martin F-16C/D Block 70/72 jets to Taiwan over the coming months to fulfill a long-awaited order of 66 aircraft, a defense official said yesterday. Word that the first batch of the jets would be delivered soon was welcome news to Taiwan, which has become concerned about delays in the delivery of US arms amid rising military tensions with China. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said the initial tranche of the nation’s F-16s are rolling off assembly lines in the US and would be flown under their own power to Taiwan by way
‘OF COURSE A COUNTRY’: The president outlined that Taiwan has all the necessary features of a nation, including citizens, land, government and sovereignty President William Lai (賴清德) discussed the meaning of “nation” during a speech in New Taipei City last night, emphasizing that Taiwan is a country as he condemned China’s misinterpretation of UN Resolution 2758. The speech was the first in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to give across Taiwan. It is the responsibility of Taiwanese citizens to stand united to defend their national sovereignty, democracy, liberty, way of life and the future of the next generation, Lai said. This is the most important legacy the people of this era could pass on to future generations, he said. Lai went on to discuss
MISSION: The Indo-Pacific region is ‘the priority theater,’ where the task of deterrence extends across the entire region, including Taiwan, the US Pacific Fleet commander said The US Navy’s “mission of deterrence” in the Indo-Pacific theater applies to Taiwan, Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral Stephen Koehler told the South China Sea Conference on Tuesday. The conference, organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), is an international platform for senior officials and experts from countries with security interests in the region. “The Pacific Fleet’s mission is to deter aggression across the Western Pacific, together with our allies and partners, and to prevail in combat if necessary, Koehler said in the event’s keynote speech. “That mission of deterrence applies regionwide — including the South China Sea and Taiwan,” he
UNPRECEDENTED: In addition to the approved recall motions, cases such as Ma Wen-chun’s in Nantou are still under review, while others lack enough signatures The Central Election Commission (CEC) announced yesterday that a recall vote would take place on July 26, after it approved the first batch of recall motions targeting 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers and Hsinchu Mayor Ann Kao (高虹安). Taiwan is in the midst of an unprecedented wave of mass recall campaigns, following a civil society push that echoed a call made by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) in January to initiate signature drives aimed at unseating KMT legislators. Under the Civil Servants Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法), Taiwanese can initiate a recall of district-elected lawmakers by collecting
RSS