Vietnam attracts nearly 3 million foreign tourists in six months

Nearly 3  million foreign tourist arrivals visited Vietnam in the first six months of 2011, a year-on-year increase of 18.1 percent, reported the Vietnam General Statistics Office.

Over the past six months, tourists visiting Vietnam for travel and recreation reached more than 1.77 million, a year-on-year increase of 11.2 percent, while more than 493,000 arrivals came to Vietnam for business purposes, a decrease of 1.7 percent and nearly 513,000 arrivals arrived in Vietnam to visit relatives, a rise of 77.6 percent. For other purposes, the figure was about 186,000 arrivals, a surge of 49.7 percent. On the whole, 2.97 million tourists entered Vietnam for the first 6 months.

 Huong Hai Junk on Halong Bay - a favorite spot for foreign visitors

Most tourists came to Vietnam by air, with nearly 2.5 million arrivals, making up 83 percent and a year-on-year increase of 23.8 percent.

China still led among markets seeing increasing number of foreign tourists to Vietnam with 662,500 arrivals, up 51.5 percent, followed by the Republic of Korea with nearly 262,000 arrivals, up 3.7 percent, the US with nearly 239,000 arrivals, up 3.4 percent and Japan with 235,000 arrivals, up 11.7 percent.

Over the past six months, Cambodia saw the highest rise in the number of tourists to Vietnam with 77.4 percent compared to the same period last year. 

Source VNA - Translated by Dan Tri

Summer Deals 2011!

Discount $5/ room for all international guests to explore Halong Bay on Huong Hai Junks. 

Applied from 25 May to 30 September, 2011

To get more information, please email to: info@halongdiscovery.com 

or enter website: http://www.halongdiscovery.com/

Rates policy for 2 day 1 night sail: click here

To book now: click here

Warmly Welcome You to Halong Bay! 

Vietnamese Shrimp and Crab Crispy Spring Rolls Recipe

Bob and Jenny Cockill from Perth, Australia trying their hand at spring rolls. Photo by Sue Frause.

Pork and shrimp cha gio can be made by using 1 pound ground pork and 1/2 pound shrimp. 1 – 1.5 ounces of thin cellophane noodles, chopped into 1/2″ pieces and soaked in water until soft, is a common ingredient and can also be added to the mixture.

Ingredients

2 cloves garlic, minced
2 carrots, small dice
6 green onions, thinly sliced
1/2 head small cabbage, thinly sliced
4-5 Shiitake mushrooms, stems removed, diced
1 pound shrimp, shelled and deveined
4 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 pound crab meat
1 egg, white and yolk separated
1 package large (8 inch) spring roll wrappers

Announcement

Since May 2011, Managing Board of Halong Bay has NOT allowed any junk to operate 3D2N tour. On the second day, our captains MUST turn back to the port. After adopting procedures, we can continue our cruise. Yet the itinerary will be repeated. We hope you mind this when taking your trip into account to enjoy the best time on the Bay.

We apologize to guests recently cruising aboard Huong Hai Junk for not informing you previously. This information has been noted under the itinerary of 3D2N trip on our website.

All news from Managing Board of Halong Bay will be updated as soon as possible. 

Updated review

Huong Hai Junk cruise with overnight stay was absolutely wonderful

Photo taken from Titov Island

Date of review: May 10, 2011 

My husband and I went on a Halong Bay tour with an overnight stay on board a Huong Hai junk. The boat was small with only 6 cabins with ensuites which gave it a lovely personal touch. Our Vietnamese guide named Man went out of his way to ensure our trip was enjoyable. The food was delightful, all fresh seafood and the boat had a lovely dining room with windows all around to enjoy the view. The open top deck had lounges for each guest and we lay there mesmerised and watched the sun set as our little boat sailed ever so quietly past the mountains, so very beautiful and tranquil. We were taken on a cave tour and fish farm tour in the bay. It was incredible value for low cost.

Source: TripAdvisor.com 

Reviews of Huong Hai Junks

“Huong Hai Junk - Excellent!” by Sisabell, Victoria, BC, Canada.

Scenery from Titov Island 

This will be a long review as there are a lot of positive things to say about this company. We booked this company after doing quite a bit of research on the Internet. There are a lot of junk boats and we had trouble choosing which company to use. After finally deciding we booked through an agency (Tonkin Travel, who also booked all of our hotels for a better price than I could get. I would also highly recommend using them.) 


The shuttle picked us up from our hotel as arranged and drove us on the four hour trip to Halong City. When we arrived the port was very chaotic but we didn’t have to worry about it as the representatives from the company were very organized and quickly got us on a tender and out to our junk boat. When we arrived on the boat we were greeted with a chilled towel and a welcome drink before we were shown to our cabin. We were very impressed with the boat. The cabin was all wood, had a nice sized window, and was very clean. We had our own bathroom in our cabin with a western toilet, sink and a shower. The bed was comfortable and had nice linens. There were seven passenger cabins on our boat and three staff cabins. The dining room was on the floor above the cabins and was very beautiful. There was an area outside the dining room where guests could sit and chat. (I noticed some other Huong Hai Boats also had sundecks above the dining room, ours didn’t. Next time I will request a boat with a sundeck.) From what I could tell some of their boats were not as nice, but I believe that there were two prices and we had paid for the more expensive room. We met people staying on the less expensive boat and they had no complaints at all. For us what really stood out on our two night trip was the incredible food. There was so much food we couldn’t eat it all! It actually got to the point where we felt bad because we couldn’t eat anymore and they had clearly put so much effort into the cooking and presentation.

We went on the three day/two night trip and strongly recommend that you do the same. We went kayaking on the second day, which was the highlight of our entire trip to Vietnam. With the kayak you can reach places that the junk boats are too big to go. 

The final thing I wanted to say was that the crew were wonderful. They made sure we were safe, happy, and definitely never went hungry! They do not expect a tip at the end of the trip, but certainly deserve one. 

One glitch, was on the shuttle ride back to Hanoi, the driver had not received the correct information about which hotel to drop us off at, and his English was not good enough for him to understand when we tried to explain this to him. Therefore we were dropped at a place that wasn’t our hotel and had to make our own way to our hotel. Make sure the driver has your correct hotel written on the list before you get in the van with them (the representatives at the pier should be able to sort this out for you). Despite this small glitch, I highly recommend this company. When we return to Halong Bay we will definitely use them again.


By a guest from Northampton


We have just completed a 3 day 2 night cruise with Huong Hai Junks which was excellent fun.

We found it expensive but that said we did go for New Years Eve which is an added cost.

The drinks onboard have to be paid for and are costly compared to the prices in Hanoi and the exchange rate used also higher if you are paying in anything other than dollars.

The cabins are a fair size but not as big as the web site says but they are comfortable and have showers and power.

The food is superb but only if you like seafood, if not you must remember to say this upfront to avoid disappointment. The staff are very attentive and meet all schedule times for meals and activities.

We had a great time and this is a trip that must be taken if you are in Vietnam.


***
We appreciate your compliments on our service. Your happiness is also ours. We assure that we shall do better and better to make you more satisfied. Your sincere assessment contributes to the improvement of our service quality. Huong Hai Junks is still doing best with a view to showing you an impressive image of Halong Bay with friendly people and ideal destination in your travel plan. We hope you will come back one day and discover other beautiful sites in our hidden charming country. Vietnam always warmly welcomes you. 


We'd be thankful if you could send us your review after the trip to e-mail: info@halongdiscovery.com.


Thank you very much for joining us!


Source: tripadvisor.com

Discount in May

Discount $5/pax for new booking check in on: 04, 05, 08, 09, 12, 14 May, 2011 on Huong Hai Junks.

To get more information, please email to: info@halongdiscovery.com
or enter website: http://www.halongdiscovery.com/

Reservation now: reservation@halongdiscovery.com 

Phone: (+84 33) 3845042

In the Itinerary (Part 3)

Titov Island (Đảo Ti Tốp) (Panoramic view of Halong Bay from Titov Island's peak - Source: fotopedia.com)

Titov Island is situated about 7-8km south-east of Bai Chay. The island is noted for a beautiful crescent-shaped beach that's popular with swimmers and water sports enthusiasts. You may also hike 420 steps up to a pavilion at the summit for a panoramic view of Halong Bay. It also displays sand that has been washed to a snowy white by the tide.

Small though it might be, Titov Beach wins kudos for its quiet and airy atmosphere, its clean and clear waters, as well as its alluring landscape. At present, there has a bar in the island which also provides swimming costumes, floats and lukewarm shower. Fresh water was carried to the island from inland.

Quang Ninh welcomes nearly 2 million visitors in Q1

About 2 million tourists visited Quảng Ninh in the first three months of 2011, reported the Department of Culture Sports and Tourism.

Huong Hai Junk

The number of foreign visitors is over 600,000, a 13 percent increase over the last year. Over 614 thousand travelers visit Halong Bay, up 7 percent compared to the same time in 2010.
 
The Province's tourism turnover in the first quarter is estimated to reach VND 913 billion, showing a six percent increase compared to the same time last year.

Indochina Sails Café

We are very delighted to inform you that our place for embarkation and disembarkation has been changed into Hoang Gia Dock (opposite to Halong Bay Hotel) since Jan. 22, 2011. Huong Hai Junks and Indochina Sails now share the common dock.

Indochina Sails Café, located right on the left of Hoang Gia Dock’s entrance, is a nice place for you to relax after the 3.5-hour shuttle bus travel from Hanoi to Halong before you are aboard one of the Huong Hai Junks or after ashore. Here you can use free WiFi connection to enter the Internet and have a drink. There are a variety of beverages available. You may just sit comfortably and refreshingly, chat with your friends or new acquaintances.

Indochina Sails Café is a convenient location decorated cleverly with modern equipment. Our service staff will be whole-hearted to serve you.

Join Huong Hai Junks on Halong Bay

The accident of sunken Truong Hai 06 boat on February 17^th­, leaving 12 dead, on Halong Bay was the worst accident of Vietnam tourism. The principle reason was for the irresponsibility of the young captain and chief mechanic both lacking in rescuing skills. Their shipmen were inexperienced in the cruise ship branch.

It was irresponsible people that had a catastrophic effect on the province’s tourism in particular and on the country’s image generally.

Following the accident, the province set up an inter-sector delegation to examine all 166 cruise boats that are licensed to provide overnight service in the bay, including Huong Hai Junks.