Investment needed to restore historical Da Lat cog railway | Look At Vietnam

Investment needed to restore historical Da Lat cog railway

May 30, 2012

LookAtVietnam – Central provinces of Lam Dong and Ninh Thuan are calling for investment to restore the 84km railway linking the coastal Phan Rang – Thap Cham City in Ninh Thuan Province and the mountainous resort city of Da Lat in Lam Dong Province.

Back track: An historical railway in the mountainous resort city of Da Lat in Lam Dong Province, one of the most attractive tourist destinations in the area, is in need of restoration. — File Photo

The restoration project, which would cost VND5 trillion (US$238 million), was officially approved by the Government in 2007.
The 84km cog railway, built by the French in 1928, was destroyed in the wars and abandoned in the late 1960s. It is one of only two such railways in the world; the other is in Switzerland.
Although it was scheduled to be restored and put into use by 2015, the project is still on paper.
The restoration project is part of the two provinces’ tourism-development plan through 2020.
A portion of the track, 7km between Da Lat and Trai Mat, has been rebuilt and operating for tourism purposes since 1997.
Currently, the station is one of the most attractive tourist destinations in Da Lat.
Last year, it received 47,000 passengers.
The Government has allowed the private sector to take part in the re-construction of the railway, as the entire railway will be restored to its original state.
Once finished, the railway is expected to boost tourism in the mountainous and central coastal provinces.
The route, which has five tunnels through mountains, 46 bridges and 14 stations, will be restored for train travel at the speed of 35 to 70km per hour.
VietNamNet/Viet Nam News

Festival of flowers in tourism city | Look At Vietnam - Vietnam news daily update

Festival of flowers in tourism city

November 10, 2011 about News, Travel

LookAtVietnam - Two highlights of the
Da Lat Flower Festival this year will be the floral parade, entitled Flower and
Light, organised by the provincial cultural centre, and a flower show by the Da
Lat Flower Association.

Photo: Internet

The festival
will be held from December 31 to January 3 in the highlands province of Lam Dong.

The parade will
take place in the district of Hoa Binh, in the city centre. It will combine
light, street art and flower decoration.

The flower show
at Da Lat golf course will feature the biggest exhibition of tulips in Viet Nam.

Other events
will include a flower market, an international ornamental plant exhibition,
drawing competition, scientific conference and a floral fashion show.

“Most of the programmes
will take place in open spaces to give visitors easy access,” Nguyen Vu
Hoang, director of the festival and Lam Dong province cultural centre, said.
VietNamNet/Viet Nam




Festival of flowers in tourism city | Look At Vietnam - Vietnam news daily update

Vietnam Supermodel 2011 finalists

30 finalists of Vietnam Supermodel 2011

September 13, 2011  about Uncategorized

LookAtVietnam - 30 models are competing in the final round of Vietnam Supermodel 2011, in the resort city of Da Lat and HCM City on September 10-20.
In this round, they have to show off their skills in sport dance, photographic, night gown and swim suit.
The final night will take place on September 25 in Hanoi. The winners will be decided based on the audience’s votes and the jury’s marks.
The 30 finalists:

The three jury members (from the left): Movie director Le Hoang, supermodels Thanh
Hang and Binh Minh.

Elephant stabbed to death...

LookAtVietnam - A 38 year old male elephant, named Beckham, was killed in the Tuyen Lam Lake Tourism Area in the resort city of Da Lat on April 24.

The elephant was found dead near Tuyen Lam forest with two cuts on his two hind legs. It is said that the elephant died because of losing blood from the two cuts. Its ivory and tail however were not removed.
Phan Thi Hoa, director of the Nam Qua Ecological Tourism Co., Ltd, which owns the elephant, said that the elephant was still healthy on April 23. Its corpse was detected by elephant keepers on the morning of April 24, around 1km from the Tuyen Lam tourist site.
The elephant was raised by Nam Qua Company to serve tourists in the Tuyen Lam tourist site.

Before the lunar New Year, this elephant was attacked twice and injured seriously, but fortunately survived the elephant tusk and tail hair hunters.
“We had to hire a veterinary doctor to take care of him for weeks. It had just recovered four months before it was killed,” said Hoa.
In August 2010, some elephants in Da Lat’s tourist sites were attacked to take tail hairs. It is said that elephant tail hairs are “sacred objects”, so elephants are often attacked.

Ninh Phan

SGGP English Edition- Foreigners cycle Vietnam in 22 days

Foreigners cycle Vietnam in 22 days

Tourists are on a cycle tour through Vietnam (Photo: SGGP)
Twenty-eight European tourists on April 10 arrived on schedule at the central hill city of Da Lat in their journey through Vietnam.Twenty-seven French and one Dutch, aged 32 to 74, have been cycling through the country. They departed Hanoi on March 24 to begin their 22 day long tour. They are expected to end in Ho Chi Minh City on April 16. The cycle tourists have an excellent chance to view the scenery and understand the country’s culture and people.
The tour company Nam Long, based in Hanoi, launched the tour. As expected, the visitors will arrive at Phan Thiet on April 11.
By C. Hoan - Translated by Uyen Phuong