senior official of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) said that on December 15 VNAT began hurriedly compiling a plan on cutting fees on tours for foreign tourists to lure more travellers.

Tourists visiting Sapa Township in northern Lao Cai province in the springtime could hardly forget the vast number of blossoming peach trees.

VietNamNet Bridge – Love it or loathe it, the vibrancy of Hanoi’s old quarter always provokes a reaction, its throbbing effervescence giving the capital’s residents a sense of its own unique character and a charm that has captivated the hearts and minds of the city’s foreign residents, who have spoken of their love of this lively, interesting and beautiful place.

On the first day of 2009, about 1,100 visitors from Germany, Italy and France will arrive in the central city of Da Nang. The same day, another 130 tourists will fly to the city from Thailand. These are good signals of the New Year for the city in the context that its tourism sector has been strongly affected by the world recession.

Central Quang Nam province will open a “street festival” on December 31, 2008 to promote Hoi An city’s image. The festival, the first of its kind in Hoi An, a world cultural heritage, draws the participation of more than 300 local students and businesses, said the municipal People’s Committee deputy chairman, Nguyen Van Dung. It will feature specific characteristics of people in the Northern, Central and the Southern Vietnam as well as cultures of Thailand, China, Japan, Australia and the Netherlands, he said. “The festival’s message is that Vietnam wants be friend all other countries” Dung added.

Audrey Shanahan discovers that the Green Mango restaurant, with its quirky decor and avante garde style, offers plenty of opportunity to stuff yourself over Christmas. It’s that time of year when the smell of roasting chestnuts envelope the festive air, when cheerful carols are blasted onto the streets as shoppers scramble for the finest turkeys and seasonal veg. It’s a time for flouting weight-loss diets and embracing the calorific delights that Christmas brings. But you’re in Viet Nam. The importance of getting your fix of a hearty traditional feast will go by un-noticed this year, or so you think. Some joyful news for all you ex-pats out there: The Green Mango restaurant in Ha Noi hears you.The restaurant is laying on a four-course festive spread on Christmas day and New Years in a move that can only be extolled for answering the call of the ravenous.