Free Wifi provided in Hoi An

IV - Hoi An will become the first city in Vietnam and Southeast Asia to provide free provide Wifi over the entire area.

Mr Ho Quang Buu, the Director of the Department of Information and Communications of Quang Nam Province, said that according to the plan, in late February 2012, 350 wireless base broadcasting stations will be installed in Hoi An city to provide wireless Internet (Wifi) free of charge to meet the needs of tourists and local residents alike.

Before that, during the Lunar New Year Festival of Dragon, visitors were able to access free Wifi from 50 broadcasting stations located in the ancient town.

In February, the Department of Information and Communications is coordinating with the Vietnam Data Communication Centre 3 (VDC3) and Quang Nam telecommunications to install 350 broadcasting stations providing wireless Internet access all over the city to better meet the Internet needs of tourists.

Thus, Hoi An will become the first city in Vietnam and in Southeast Asia to have full Wifi coverage over the area. This will be another advantage to attract tourists to Hoi An.

The project to provide a Wifi signal free of charge is invested with approximately 23 billion VND from socialization capital. This model will be researched and may be replicated in other tourist cities like Vung Tau and Ha Long.

Source: CPV News

Palm Garden Resort

Palm Garden Resort, originally uploaded by Hoang Viet.

The name "Palm Garden Resort " was derived from its location, which ideally situates on 5-hectare of unspoiled tropical garden, features more than 400 palm trees and complexes of bungalows and suites that intermingle among a grass-covered landscape.

The Resort is located on Cua Dai Beach , Hoi An Town, and Quang Nam Province. The traveling time to the resort is 25 minutes by car from Da Nang International Airport and another 5 minutes to Hoi An Ancient Town .

The Resort is landscaped with several unique species of palm and coconut trees, as well as furnished it with selective Vietnamese products of silk, wood, and natural ceramics.

The planning of the Resort with all of its individual bungalows and guest facilities reflects a lifestyle that is calm and soothing. This wonderful ambience of the design and the resort's high standards of service add to a wonderful holiday experience.

Hoi An lanterns

The ancient town of Hoi An would lose its attractiveness and mystery if it didn’t have decorative multi-coloured lanterns.

While trading with Vietnam during the 16^th-17^th centuries, many merchants from China and Japan contributed to the distinguished culture of Hoi An commercial harbour.

The lantern is the result of exchanges among Vietnamese, Japanese and Chinese cultures famous for their various and specific identities. Originating from a popular appliance from life, the lantern has been lifted to an art of decoration. It now has a firm position in Hoi An inhabitants’ minds and lives. With skillful hands and bountiful imaginations, the lantern is made for different purposes. It is not only for living, but also an artistic work with pictures on silk. Having lost its initial shape, Hoi An lanterns nowadays can be seen in all different shapes and sizes.

Though made of diversified materials, lanterns with bamboo frames and silk covers are the most typical. You can choose lanterns with wooden frames, sometimes made from very precious wood, and on each side of the lantern is a painting depicting a legend. Once lighted, lanterns will illuminate with marvelous, mysterious and ethereal light as if the past of hundreds of years prior has returned to the present day.

Besides ancient houses of over 100 years old, lanterns are the most special things in Hoi An. Lanterns are seen everywhere in the ancient town, not only in lantern shops. At night, when all shops are closed, lanterns are lighted up. Tourists can see Hoi An people making lanterns on the pavement.

For many years, traditional coloured lanterns have enchanted visitors of Hoi An, particularly foreign visitors. Every year, tens of thousands of Hoi An lanterns are exported or bought by foreign visitors as souvenirs and gifts. As a cultural and tourist product, the lanterns have helped raise the incomes of Hoi An's residents.

Lanterns are not only a special handicraft item of Hoi An but also a unique characteristic of this ancient town, which can’t be found anywhere else in Vietnam.

Discounts to attract visitors to ancient town

Tourism businesses in ancient Hoi An in central Vietnam will offer discounts of up to 30 percent to domestic and foreign travelers next month, Hoi An City People’s Committee Deputy Chairman Truong Van Bay announced.


During the first phase of the discount program from March 26 to the beginning of April, visitors will receive free meals when staying for more than two days at local hotels rated four stars and above.

Discounts of up to 20 percent on food and beauty services will be offered to tourists staying at hotels of two to three stars.

Holidaymakers will also enjoy discounts of between 10 to 30 percent at local attractions, shops and restaurants.

UNESCO-listed Hoi An is a popular tourist destination in central Vietnam, known for its charming ancient architecture, craft products and nearby beaches.

Hoi An welcomed about 450,000 visitors last year, 320,000 of whom were from outside the country, an increase of 6 percent on 2007.

Compiled by Hong Nguyen/ Vietnews

Hoi An offers a deeper culinary experience

Hoi An Town is already well known as a world heritage site and a major tourism destination in Vietnam.

The 17th century architecture, the Japanese-built bridge with a tiled roof and the Phuc Kien Pagoda are all worth visiting more than once.



Visitors also discover quickly that the town has its own culinary specialties - cao lau, mi quang (Quang Nam noodle), com ga (chicken rice), banh dap (beaten baked cakes), banh bao, and banh vac (also called white rose cakes), for instance.

However, a new trend that is emerging allows visitors to learn how to make these dishes themselves. It is a fun way to spend valuable time in the town, interact with residents and go further into culinary exploration than just eating at various restaurants and trying out new dishes.

Local restaurants that have begun to offer regular cooking classes say they are acting on requests from the visitors’ themselves.

I watched as a group of four visitors from Australia attended a cooking class held at the Hoa Vang restaurant (Yellow Flower Restaurant) at the riverside on Bach Dang Street.

They were learning to cook three special dishes: spring rolls, steamed shrimp in coconut, and baked fish in banana leaves.

After an hour of receiving instructions from the restaurant chefs, the visitors pronounced their experience satisfactory, and enjoyed the dishes they had cooked themselves.

Pham Thi Tram, the restaurant owner, told me that the foreign visitors liked Vietnamese food very much and were proud to learn how to cook them, so that they could show off their cooking ability back home.

The class has been regularly held at her restaurant at the request of the visitors, and most are enthusiastic learners, she said.

(Source: SGGP)

Exploring a ’new’ Life Heritage Resort in Hoi An

Located on the edge of Hoi An Ancient Town and on the banks of the scenic Thu Bon River, the Heritage Resort Hoi An is a short stroll from the colorful and bustling ancient town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Though featured by old-time Asian design, the influences of French, Dutch, Chinese and Japanese cultures make up the distinct ambience and atmosphere of the resort.

The Life Heritage Resort spa treatment facilities situated along the romantic Hoai River are a welcoming place for relaxing. New plantings have increased the shade cover around the pool and the spa has moved indoors with three single treatment rooms open to views of the Thu Bon, while a double-room looks onto the resort's gardens.

Renovations at the popular 94-room resort pared the hotel back to its concrete shell and then, with Pisani Designs holding the palette, recast the property with more space in the rooms, more light in the bath-rooms and bespoke furnishings. The second-generation upgrade features a new spa and a new Heritage Bar that celebrates the history of the exquisitely preserved 19th Century trading port and provides an outdoor perch on one of the town's most quaint streets.

Inside the air-conditioned bar is a series of archival prints for visitors to explore the town's past. Upstairs at the Heritage Bar cigar aficionados hold court in segregated space, seasoned by the finest imports and Life's recommitment to a wine list that would do justice to the finest hotels.

At Senses, the resort's signature restaurant, the menu, like the resort itself, has been completely revamped to feature a fusion of Asian and Western cuisines. The open, riverfront exposure remains the same, but custom furnishings have redefined the ambiance.

At Vienna Cafe, the ground-floor pastry and light-meal eatery. Old World aesthetics conjure a remarkably different dining experience. But, like the rest of the resort, its tiling and furnishings are fresh and stylish.

This is a new window on Hoi An that has never been opened before, said Cathy McConkey, the resort's general manager. She added they always traded on their proximity to Hoi An and now visitors can watch the world go by from a prime perch outside the Heritage Bar.

Life Heritage Resort Hoi An reopened on August 1 after a six-month suspension of operations.

Life Resorts also owns and operates the Life Wellness Resort Quy Nhon, inspired by the architecture of the Kingdom of Champa, just as the Life Heritage Resort Hoi An was inspired by the classical design featured in Hoi An ancient town.