Sword Lake(HoGuom) overflowed, many Hanoi streets flooded

Heavy rain all day long on August 8 flooded Dinh Tien Hoang and Le Thai To, the streets around the Hoan Kiem (Sword) Lake. The other "black spots" such as Dien Bien Phu, Le Duan, Nguyen Khuyen ... were also 40-50 cm deep.

Owing to heavy rain all day long, the Sword Lake overflowed.

Dinh Tien Hoang and Le Thai To streets were also flooded.

Workers were mobilized to prevent flooding in the city center.

Water flooded the sidewalk...

...making Dien Bien Phu Street more immense.

Nguyen Khuyen Street.

Part of Tho Nhuom Street was blocked to enable faster drainage.

Tran Hung Dao Street.

Flooding made many vehicle break down...

Prolonged congestion at Cua Nam.

Nguyen Xien Road was 40 cm deep.

A bus stop on Nguyen Xien Road.

A foreign tourist at the Sword Lake (photo VOV).

Police vehicles carry motorcycles through flooded road
Rain stopped but at noon August 9 the Road 70 in Ha Dong District, Hanoi, was still heavily flooded. The authorities sent vehicles to the site to help people.

Da Nang boost tourism push

Da Nang boost tourism push

More than 80 travel agencies, hotels and transport companies have come together in an effort to boost tourism to the central coastal city of Da Nang.

The promotion programme was launched on July 31 with the aim to attract 3 million domestic visitors this year to the region, especially during the low season, between September and December.

“As many as 52 hotels in the city have committed to discount bookings from 10 to 50 percent, while 10 major tours will offer from 20 to 25 percent off as the usual price,” said Ngo Thi Hoang Anh, deputy head of the Accommodation Service for the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

“We want to attract tourists from Hanoi , Ho Chi Minh City , the Republic of Korea , China and Thailand during the rainy season and make inroads with Meeting, Incentives, Conferencing and Exhibition (MICE) tourism,” she said.

She said Green Plaza in the city would offering a 40 percent discount during the promotion, while five-star resorts Furama (Sandy Beach), Ba Na mountain resort and Debay hotels were also offering a 20 or 30 percent discount.

Budget Airline, Jetstar, was also offering promotional flights from Hanoi and HCM City to Da Nang for only 99,990 VND per ticket (4.7 USD) on Friday.

Restaurants and markets will give a 10 percent discount in peak times as well as 30 percent off during the three months of the promotion.

The Cham Sculpture Museum and Nguyen Hien Dinh Theatre of Tuong (Classical Drama) will offer 50 percent off ticket prices in December.

However, the general secretary of the city’s tourism association, Trinh Bang Co, said the programme should be a year round effort.

“We should do the promotion programme every quarter and during big festivals to attract more tourists. Travel agencies and hotels need to cooperate closely to host visitors with the best service,” Co said.

“The city’s major tourists come from Hanoi , HCM City and northern provinces , and the city has to introduce its promotion programme nationwide,” he said.

Nguyen Van Xuan from Sai Gon Tourane hotel said that booking discounts should not be a crucial factor in the promotion, rather the quality of service should be important.

“Tourists do not come to sleep and eat in the city. They want to join attractive and exciting tour programmes with the best quality and hospitality,” Xuan speculated.

Deputy director of the city’s Culture, Sports and Tourism Department Tran Chi Cuong said the city will launch a roadshow programme to promote tourism in the Mekong Delta; Bangkok , Thailand ; Russia and China from this month.

The city has hosted 1.5 million tourists in the first six months of this year.

HaLong Bay Travel Guide

Halong vietnam travel guide

A cruise on Ha Long Bay -- or theBay of the Descending Dragon -- for many represents the pinnacle of their experience in Vietnam. easily one of the most popular destinations in the country, UNESCO World Heritage-listed Ha Long Bay is both mystical and magnificent, an incredible feat of nature that almost never fails to impress.

Yes, it really is that good.

Last time we counted, UNESCO had picked out 830 World Heritage sites around the world, chosen for their cultural and historical importance, and also for their geological uniqueness. Ha Long Bay offers a little of all three.

It's not the cliffs themselves that make Ha Long Bay unique, but rather their sheer number. A huge bay, dotted with nearly 2,000 mostly uninhabited limestone cliffs, the breathtaking scenery is very similar to that of the Andaman coast of Thailand, Vang Vieng in Laos and Guilin in China.

Created over millions of years, tectonic forces slowly thrust the limestone above the water-line. During this process waves lapping against the stone carved out a number of vast, striking caverns, as well as other geologically interesting formations, such as tunnel caves and uniquely shaped massifs.

Over the ages, Vietnamese fishermen with too much time on their hands began to see shapes in the stone massifs atop many of the islands, and named the islands accordingly -- Turtle Island, Human Head Island, Chicken Island and so on.

In what constitutes one of the most fascinating cultural features of the area, some of these fisherman still live on the bay today -- on floating fishing villages, where houses are set atop barges year round, the inhabitants catching and cultivating fish throughout.

Ha Long Bay cruises mostly run out of Hanoi or the coastal town of Halong City (which faces out and over the bay). There are hundreds of agencies selling tours on the bay, but very few actually run their own boats -- instead most are consolidators or resellers. Organising a tour is very much a buyer beware scenario -- talk to other travellers and shop around -- if you're paying $15 a head for a two day tour of Ha Long Bay rest assured it will be pretty dodgy. Try to include a stay on Cat Ba Island if you can.

Ha Long Bay

Sung Sot (Surprise) Grotto

Geographical position

Situated in the north-east region of Viet Nam, Halong Bay is a part of Bac Bo Gulf and comprises the sea area of Halong City, Cam Pha Town and a part of Van Don island district, Quang Ninh Province. It borders Cat Ba Island to the south-west, the mainland to the west with a 120km-long coastline.

Geological value

Trinh Nu (Virgin) Grotto 

The most remarkable geological events of Halong Bay’s history in the last 1,000 years include the advance of the sea, the raising of the bay area and the strong erosion that has formed coral and pure blue and heavily-salted water. This process of erosion by sea water has deeply engraved the stone, contributing to its fantastic beauty. Present-day Halong Bay is the result of this long process of geological evolution that has been influenced by so many factors. It is because of all these factors that the tourists now visiting Halong Bay are not only treated to one of the true wonders of the world, but also to a precious geological museum that has been naturally preserved in the open air for the last 300 million years.

Value of biological diversity

Trong Mai (Cock and Hen) Islet 

Results of scientific research show that Halong Bay features ecosystems of a tropical ocean region such as ecosystem of coral reefs with 232 species of coral distributed mainly in the areas of Cong Do and Bo Hung. It is also home to 81 species of gastropoda, 130 species of bivalvia, 55 species of polycheta and 57 species of crab. The ecosystem of salt water-flooded forests chiefly concentrated in the zones of Tuan Chau, Cua Luc and Ba Che has the most diversified collection of species of salt water-flooded plant in North Vietnam. Also living in this ecosystem are a great many species of animals: migrating birds (200 species), polycheta (169 species), seaweed (91 species), reptile (10 species). Halong Bay also has ecosystem of tropical rain forests with various rare and precious creatures: deer, weasels, squirrels and in particular, white-tabby and red-haired monkeys. In addition, there is a system of small caves along the sea, which are the living and development places for many animals and plants: seaweed, water plant, algae, fish and shrimp. Deeper into the water, there are also many species of shrimp, fish, abalone and other sea-specialities.

Historical and cultural value

Halong is a place closely linked to Vietnam’s history with such famous geographical names as: Van Don (site of an ancient commercial port); Poem Mountain (with engravings of many poems by emperors and other famous people of the past); and Bach Dang River (the location of two fierce naval battles fought against foreign aggressors). This is not all, Halong has been proven by scientists to be one of the first cradles of human existence in the area, with such archaeological sites as Dong Mang, Xich Tho, Soi Nhu and Thoi Gieng…

Ha Long Bay seen from Bai Tho (Poem) Mountain  

On December 17, 1994, Halong Bay was recognised as world natural heritage for its natural beauty at the 18th meeting of the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO in Thailand. On December 12, 2000, Halong Bay was recognised as world natural heritage for the second time based on its geological value at the 24th meeting of the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO in Cairns, Australia. The recognised site covers an area of 434km², comprises 775 islands and forms a triangle: with Dau Go Island (Driftwood Grotto) to the west; Ba Ham Lake (Three Shelter Lake) to the south and Cong Tay Island to the east.

Source: http://www.vietnamtourism.com