Da Nang, Hoi An receive “2013 Asian Townscape Award” Da Nang, Hoi An receive “2013 Asian Townscape Award”   Central Da Nang city and Hoi An town (Quang Nam province) have recently been chosen for the 2013 Asian Townscape Award by UN-Habitat Regional Office in Asia. The award honors cities, region which are considered outstanding in landscape architecture. The theme of the 2013 Asian Townscape Award this year is “Townscape: a Source of People’s Pride”. Five review criteria include harmonious coexistence with the regional environment; safety, convenience and sustainability; respect for regional culture and history; high artistic quality; contributions to local development, capabilities of becoming models for other cities. The awarding ceremony is held on November 26 in Fukuoka city, Japan. In 1999, the ancient town of Hoi An was declared a world heritage site by UNESCO for being a well-preserved example of a Southeast Asian trading port in the 15th to 19th centuries, and containing buildings with a unique blend of local and foreign influences. Since then, it has been voted one of the top tourist destinations by several tourism magazines. In January of this year, it was voted the world’s best tourism city by UK tourism magazine Wanderlust. Last month, it also ranked second in a list of the Top 10 Asian Cities by prestigious American tourism magazine Condé Nast Traveler. Da Nang’s My Khe beach was voted one of the six most attractive beaches on the planet by American business magazine Forbes last year. Refreshing afternoon by the Saigon River Relaxing at a bar enjoying the nice cool breeze of late afternoon and gazing onto slow-moving boats on the Saigon River is a good option for visitors to HCMC to refresh their minds and shrug off the tiredness before they start to explore the city at night. Visitors and locals alike often select open-air bars at the Hotel Majestic Saigon at the corner of Dong Khoi and Ton Duc Thang streets and other food and beverage outlets in the buildings near the river to spend their free time from around 4 p.m. to observe boats, canoes and even container vessels crossing the river’s section in downtown HCMC. From those spots you can witness the beautiful architecture of Ho Chi Minh Museum and Nha Rong Wharf in District 4, tourist boats in the river preparing to let their passengers on board and the greenery of District 2, which is separated from downtown HCMC by the river. During a hot afternoon, a good suggestion for visitors is to arrive at the bars to revitalize and cool themselves down by drinking one or two beers with nuts or chips or a fruit juice and view the sun setting behind the high-rise buildings. First flight brings Ukrainian tourists to Khanh Hoa Cam Ranh International Airport on November 26 welcomed the first direct flight from Ukraine carrying 238 tourists to the central coastal province of Khanh Hoa. The weekly route, flown by Ukraine’s Kharkiv Airlines, will be piloted until April next year. The tour to Khanh Hoa is operated by the Ho Chi Minh City-based Anh Duong Co. Ltd. and its Russian partner PegasTuristik. They have also offered tours from the Far East region of Russia to Vietnam’s central provinces via direct flights to Cam Ranh Airport since late 2010. According to Chairwoman of Anh Duong’s Board of Directors Hoang Thi Phong Thu, over 136,000 Russian tourists have visited the central provinces of Khanh Hoa, Ninh Thuan and Binh Thuan, and Da Nang city through their tours so far this year. The figure is expected to reach 150,000 by the end of 2013. She pinned her hope on the growth of Ukrainian tourist numbers, with holidays lasting 10 – 14 days like their fellow travellers from Russia. Statistics from the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism show that more than 9,000 Ukrainian tourists have arrived in KhanhHoa by different means in the 11-month period. Source: VGP/SGT