The islands, which are spread across 15sq.km of ocean, can only be accessed by boat. However, visitors have a few different options when choosing their seafaring vessel: the wooden boat travels there in about an hour and a half, the speed boat gets visitors there in 25 minutes or the public boat, which shuttles residents of the Cham islands to Hoi An and back once a day. Visitors usually do not take the public boat, though the one-way ticket costs only VND10,000 per person........

Quan’s song The New ASEAN Anthem tells of a dream of peace and stability among Southeast Asian nations. It was recorded with a full orchestra and choir. The 10-member jury board, one for each of the ASEAN countries, voted for 10 songs for the final round, which will take place in Bangkok from November 19-22.....

On these routes tourists can contemplate the beauty of many of the areas that have contributed to the recognition of Halong Bay, including two of the largest and most beautiful grottos in the bay: Thien Cung (Celestial Palace) grotto (covering 3,000 square meters) and Sung Sot (Surprise) grotto (covering 10,000 square meters)......

The Vietnam Cultural University, coordinating with the Association for the Promotion of Overseas Education and Training (APEFE) in Wallonie Bruxelles, Belgium, held a training course on the preservation of paper objects for workers from 20 museums nationwide from October 20 to 25, 2008......

Fourteen Vietnamese foods and drinks producers are showcasing their products at SIAL 2008, the world’s biggest food fair in Paris from October 19-23, 2008. They received a lot of visitors who came to inquire into their products and exchange information.

Under the agreement with VNPT E-Travel, OrientSkys of Hong Kong and JetAsia of Macau will launch world-class travel service packages on VNPT E-Travel’s website http://e-travel.vn . The service includes flights on five-star jets to Vietnam for golfers. A VNPT E-Travel official said further negotiations continue and an official agreement will likely be signed shortly....

In fact the Ly Dynasty has eight kings and one queen, but the queen, Ly Chieu Hoang, the last of the dynasty, was worshiped at Rong (Dragon) Temple, two kilometers west of Do Temple. The Ly Dynasty originally originated in Dinh Bang (Co Phap) Village, one of the oldest villages in the north. According to Dai Viet Su Ky Toan Thu, a famous book about Vietnamese history written by many generations of Vietnamese historians in the feudal time, Do Temple was built in 1019 by the first king of the Ly Dynasty, Ly Cong Uan or Ly Thai To and was enlarged by his son Ly Thai Tong in 1030.....

Duong Lam Commune was having trouble attracting tourists because of poor promotion and lack of services, said Pham Hung Son, head of the Management Board of Duong Lam Ancient Village. The commune is home to over 900 old houses, 57 of which are more than 200 years old. But it is still a "sleeping beauty", according to Son. The board has organised training courses on tourism services, instructing 10 tourist guides and 10 owners of ancient houses on how to communicate with tourists. However, these tourist guides only accompany groups of tourists, while those who travel alone have no guide......

The new airport, which will be built on the grounds of an old military airport in Gia Lam District, aims to speed up travel time for domestic passengers, who are often caught up at Ha Noi’s main Noi Bai International Airport. The new airport will also have the advantage of being located much closer to Ha Noi’s centre than Noi Bai airport, which is a one-hour drive from the city centre......