Millions of flowers bloom in HCM City markets; Youth Cultural House celebrates Tet holiday; Khanh Hoa resort offers special Tet package; Travel firm slashes package tour prices

The city’s largest flower market, Ho Thi Ky in District 10, has seen a large influx of fresh flowers from Da Lat and some provinces in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta.

The Dam Sen Flower Market in District 11 is handling a flower flow that is three times the normal. The market is teeming with popular flowers like sweet-briar buds, lilies, orchids and roses.

On display along Thanh Thai Street in District 10 are orchid and chrysanthemum pots priced over VND400,000 each. This year has also seen big pots of ornamental dragon fruits emerge as a new Tet decoration.

Youth Cultural House celebrates Tet holiday

The Youth Cultural House in HCM City has a full schedule of traditional events to celebrate Tet. The Tet Viet Ky Suu 2009 (Vietnamese Lunar New Year of the Buffalo 2009) festival opened last Thursday with displays of pictures and calligraphy that are also for sale. It also features lion dancing and a contest between don ca tai tu (traditional southern folk music) groups.

A “calligraphy street” has been set up in front of the house in Pham Ngoc Thach Street, which will remain open until Sunday. It has calligraphers showing off their skills, exhibitions and sales of their art works. A photography exhibition will trace Viet Nam’s development through the years, and a week-long tea festival opening today will showcase different facets of the nation’s tea-drinking culture.

Three days before Tet, visitors will be taught how to make banh tet (round glutinous cake), which will be given later that day to 2,000 orphans along with li xi (lucky money given to children for Tet).

Khanh Hoa resort offers special Tet package

The White Sand Doc Let Resort & Spa in Khanh Hoa Province has launched a special package for the Tet holidays. The three-day tour to the resort, which includes a two-night stay at a superior or Deluxe room in the resort, two lunches and two BBQ dinners, free sea-bath and shuttle bus services between Cam Ranh Airport and Nha Trang Railway Station to the resort, is priced US$155 per guest.

Travel firm slashes package tour prices

To support the “Impressive Viet Nam” promotion campaign launched by the Viet Nam National Administration of Tourism, HCM City-based Vietravel has reduced its tour prices. Under a new plan, the company will slash US$180 from its nine-day tour of Australia, standing at $2,999 per guest; a seven-day tour of Malaysia will enjoy a $140/tourist discount, to $459 per visitor. Meanwhile, domestic tours will also enjoy discounts.

Vietravel’s tour of northern provinces will cost VND700,000 less per person; its package tour to Hue city, Da Nang and Hoi An will cost VND500,000 less per person; and that to Phu Quoc will fall by VND200,000 per person.

(Source: Viet Nam News)