Vietnam’s Nam Hai resort unveils novel activity
By huonglan | February 4, 2010
Hotels and resorts around the world steer guests toward prescribed walking tours of nearby historic districts, to laud the local architecture and divert the inquisitive guest.
But one hotel, the three-year-old Nam Hai in the UNESCO World Heritage Site at Hoi An, has prepared a walking tour of itself.
The self-referential tour leads guests on a survey of Vietnam’s profound architectural heritage and underscores the resort’s attempts to serve not only its guests’ leisurely inclinations but its cultural aspirations, as well.
“For many travelers, Vietnam requires a substantial jaunt around the world,” said Herbert Laubichler-Pichler, general manager of The Nam Hai. “And so many of them, when they get here, they’re sufficiently seduced by the resort itself that they spend the bulk of their time on site. This Design Tour is an opportunity for these folks to plumb the depths of the culture without ever leaving the site.”
From conception, The Nam Hai’s villa complex aimed for development as an exquisite, modern interpretation of the Vietnamese nha ruong, which translates literally as “house of panels” and figuratively as garden house. The result so impressed the judges of Travel + Leisure’s 2008 annual design competition that they hailed The Nam Hai as the Best Resort in the world.
“Beyond all other arts, the Vietnamese esteem the legacy of their architectural heritage,” said Peter Ryder, long-time resident of Vietnam and CEO of Indochina Capital, the resort’s developer. “At The Nam Hai, we’ve mined that very rich tradition for a resort that is, in and of itself, a wonderful evocation of Vietnamese culture.”
Now, the resort wants its guests to see what the judging panels have seen, and moreover, the continuity of design elements and aesthetics that are borne of Vietnamese culture. The timber frames of the villa interiors. The phan, or platform beds. The binh phong, or screens, that figure so prominently into indigenous beliefs and design.
The Tour, narrated by the resort’s architect — Reda Amalou of Paris-based AW2 — and downloaded to all 100 of the hotel’s in-room iPods, embarks from two locations. The first is within the garden villa itself, where Amalou details the cultural significance of the timber framework, the spatial dimensions of the structure, the furnishings and other elements.
From the reception pavilion, Amalou leads the curious up and down the resort’s main axis, calling out influences from the imperial capital of Hue and the heart and soul of Vietnam’s agrarian culture.
“All architects derive their influences from myriad sources,” said Amalou. “But here in Vietnam, we’re dealing with a fresh suite of ideas — fresh because Vietnam was walled off from the rest of the world for so many years. I’m still fascinated by the coupling of culture and architecture in the Vietnamese tradition, and it’s my feeling that the resorts’ guests will be, too.”
Situated on 35 hectares of landscaped tropical gardens overlooking the East Sea, The Nam Hai is an exclusive, all-villa property featuring 60 one-bedroom villas and 40 pool villas ranging from one to five bedrooms, each with its own infinity pool.
Signature features of The Nam Hai include two gourmet restaurants; a tropical spa beside a lagoon; three beachfront swimming pools; and an 18-hole, Colin Montgomerie-designed golf course (The Montgomerie Links Vietnam).
Since opening in December 2006, The Nam Hai has established a reputation as one of the best resorts anywhere. In addition to the Travel + Leisure accolade, the hotel has claimed the following:
• 2009 Asia Spa & Wellness Festival: ‘Best Destination Spa’
• TTG (Asia-Pacific): ‘Asia’s Best Beach Resort,’ 2008 TTG Travel Awards
• Gourmet Traveller: One of the ‘Best New Hotels 2008’
• Conde Nast Traveller (UK): Inclusion in the ‘Hot List’ 2007
• Conde Nast Traveler (US): Inclusion in the ‘Hot List’ 2007
• Conde Nast Traveler (US): ‘One of the World’s Hottest New Hotels’ & ‘One of the World’s Top New Spas’
• Conde Nast Traveller (UK): ‘One of the World’s Top 75 Hotels’
• Gourmet Traveller: One of the ‘Best of the Best’ new hotels
• Travel + Leisure (US): Inclusion in the ‘It List’ 2007
• Travel + Leisure (Australia): Inclusion in the ‘It List’ 2007
• Cigar Aficionado (US): ‘Best New International Beach Resort 2007’
For more information about The Nam Hai, visit www.ghmhotels.com.
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Festival honours plough work
By Van Thuan | February 3, 2010
The Tịch Điền (Ploughing the Rice Field) Festival will be held in the northern province of Hà Nam from February 18-20. The event marks a spring day in the 10th century when King Lê Đại Hành ploughed a field in order to motivate farming.
The festival originates from AD 987. To celebrate Tết (Lunar New Year), King Lê Đại Hành decided to plough a field in Đọi Sơn Commune of Duy Tiên District, Hà Nam Province. Following kings maintained the tradition in early spring, to encourage the people to work and pray for a prosperous year, but the tradition died out.
However, last year, the festival was restored with the aim of recounting an old story and promoting work in agriculture, rural areas and farmers.
One hundred female drummers will open the festival, then representatives of the State and provincial authorities will take the stage to worship the spirit of agriculture and to pray for a bumper harvest, according to Tran Quoc Hung, director of the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
In the sacred atmosphere, full of fragrant incense, an elder representing the local people will assume the role of King Lê Đại Hành. He and the most beautiful buffalo will plough vigorously. Following the king, State leaders will plough three furrows to open the festival, provincial leaders wearing brown shirts will plough five furrows and local representatives will plough seven furrows.
The organising committee has selected 30 strong buffaloes to train and decorate for the festival.
Painters from all over the country, and even foreign painters from the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand have been invited to participate in the decorating contest. They will use water colours to decorate the buffalo. The decorative patterns will vary, depending on the painters’ inspiration, from dragons to phoenixes, to regular images, such as peach blossom, kites, traffic signs and abstract work which will cover the buffalo from head to tail.
This year, many events will be held around the time of the festival including the buffalo-decorating contest, a Chèo (traditional drama) performance, a martial arts competition and a lion dance.
Provincial leaders hope the festival will become an annual event and that it will be eventually upgraded to a national-level affair.
By attending the Tịch Điền Festival, people will have the opportunity to recall the merits of their ancestors and to learn about an old story as well. Moreover they will see the farmers’ enthusiasm and diligence at first hand.
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Montgomerie Links a truly transporting golf experience
By huonglan | February 3, 2010
Montgomerie Links, recently voted Vietnam’s best new course by Vietnam Golf magazine, keeps coming up with ways to make playing golf more carefree and fun.
The latest innovation is free shuttle service in the Montgomerie Links luxury van between the course, in Quang Nam, and Indochina Riverside Towers, in Danang.
The shuttle service completes the figurative loop in a comprehensive approach to customer amenities and convenience. The Central Coast’s first full-fledged, 18-hole course, Montgomerie Links has pioneered in a number of areas of progressive facility management devised with user-friendliness in mind, including:
• The first professional custom club-fitting system, featuring the prestigious Henry-Griffitts equipment and techniques.
• The region’s first state-of-the-art practice facility, staffed with PGA professionals and equipped with the latest swing-analysis technology. Electric lighting allows the driving range to remain open until 9 pm, also a first for the area.
• Ongoing instruction for junior golfers, including last summer’s “Let’s Go Golf” weekend, which attracted some 125 student-players; and a “free golf special” – with gratis greens fees, caddie fees, and even driving range balls — for kids under 18 to play when accompanied by an adult.
• A variety of flexible membership plans, the first of their kind in Asia, allowing both avid players and novices options to defer dues payments at manageable intervals.
• Game-within-a-game events to pique player interest, for example, a continuous hole-in-one contest with prizes including gold medallions and accommodations at the ultra-luxurious Nam Hai resort nearby; and a monthly nearest-to-the-pin contest at the Golf Academy, with the winner receiving a deluxe motor scooter.
• Numerous food-and-beverage promotions designed to encourage golfers to “make a day of it” or just to fully enjoy the time available to them. These include “Golf and Lunch on the Links,” a package with lunch and three holes of golf; and on the practice range, a “Weekend Brunch and Balls” special and a “Happy Hour Beer-and-Balls” offer, with its own happy-hour menu.
The half-hour shuttle ride from Indochina Riverside Towers to the new, 3,000-square-metre Montgomerie Links clubhouse departs daily at 6 a.m. and 11 a.m. daily; and to the Golf Academy at 5:30 p.m., Wednesday through Saturday. Return service leaves the clubhouse daily at 10 a.m., 2 p.m., and 6:30 p.m. Wednesday-through-Saturday return service leaves the Golf Academy at 9 p.m.
Of course, transport means not only “to carry people or goods from one place to another,” but also “to take somebody on a mental or imaginative journey to another place or time;” and “to put somebody in a state of intense or uncontrollable emotion, especially joy.” Thus does Montgomerie Links, the masterpiece named for its designer, sitting Ryder Cup Captain and European PGA Tour luminary Colin Montgomerie, offer a respite from thriving Danang, now Vietnam’s third-largest city.
“With the views of the Marble Mountains and the East Sea, our members often tell us they feel ‘a world apart’ while out on the course,” notes Jon Tomlinson, general manager at Montgomerie Links. “While they’re here, we also want them to feel like this is their home away from home. And now we can even get them home safely, too.”
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Princess d’Annam and Ocean Dunes Roll a Red Carpet from Villa to Tee Box
By huonglan | February 2, 2010
Golf as a novelty in Vietnam is giving way to great expectations as high-stakes consumers plot getaways to one of Southeast Asia’s most compelling new golf destinations.
At the end of January, the exclusive new Princess d’Annam Resort and Spa and the Nick Faldo-designed Ocean Dunes Golf Club rolled out an inaugural package that puts a premium on service and a shine to every duffer’s shoe.
The new ‘Great Expectations’ golf package shuttles players by limousine from Princessd’Annam villas on the shores of Ke Ga Bay to Ocean Dunes in Phan Thiet, where the red carpet runs from the locker room to the first tee box.
“Our travel agents are telling us that guests won’t bring their clubs all the way to Ke Gay Bay unless they can expect treatment of another order entirely,” said Jean-Philippe Beghin, general manager of the Princess d’Annam. “They want something completely different and absolutely memorable.”
Technically, the inquiring know they can expect as much from Oceans Dunes, one of Southeast Asia’s most acclaimed clubs, said Beghin. “But they want to know as well that the service component to the experience will be flawless.”
To meet these Great Expectations, Ocean Dunes (www.vietnamgolfresorts.com) is committing a number of guarantees to the package:
Guests of the Princess’s d’Annam (www.princessannam.com) will be handled by the club’s top-8 caddy corps exclusively; PdA guests will ride only the new electric golf club cars, as opposed to older gasoline-powered cars; and a PGA of America professional will provide 15 minutes of dedicated instruction to any Great Expectations player who wants some fine-tuning.
If the Princess’s guests need clubs, they’ll get TaylorMade. Need shoes? They’re digging in with FootJoy. They’ll enjoy private space on the driving range. And while they’re out and about, testing Nick Faldo’s design and the famed solar winds of the Binh Thuan coast, the clubhouse staff will be shining their shoes.
“We’re definitely experiencing a new class of clientele,” said Kurt Greve, general manager of the Ocean Dunes Golf Club. “The kind of people who fly personal jets and make short hops by helicopter. This is where Vietnam is today. Great Expectations, indeed. It’s about time.”
The new package from Princess d’Annam and Ocean Dunes is on offer at $690 for two nights accommodation in a Mandarin Suite and two rounds of golf per person. For reservation please contact reservation@princessannam.com or dial 84 62 3682 222.
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Lunar Calendar
By phamha | January 31, 2010
The year begins at the beginning of the second moon, after the winter solstice (in the middle of January, at the beginning of February). The lunar year account twelve the moons. The moon, a lunar month lasts 29 and a half days.
The day divides in twelve hours, one hour corresponds at western two o’clock. In the fact it is a “luni-sun” calendar, because one adds one month, every three or four years, among the third and fourth month.
The Vietnamese culture is influenced by that of Chinese. One considers the lunar calendar more or less similar of the Chinese. According to the Chinese calendar, the division of time is made in cycles of sixty years.
This cycle is crossed (gone through) by small two: the one, of 10 years – ten heavenly trunks (thiên can) the Vietnamese interprètetion of which differs from the Chinese and which corresponds to five elements making (doing) the world (water, fire, wood, metal, earth (ground); other one of twelve years in the ground branches (dia chi), with the 12 animals of the zodiac (12 giap): rat, buffalo, tiger, cat, dragon, snake, horse, goat(tackle), monkey, cock, dog, pig.
You can find during your stay in Vietnam that the daily life and the important events: festivals, Tet holiday, date of the marriage, of construction of the house, of the anniversary(birthday) of death(dead man) are all bound(connected) to the lunar year.
On calendars, you will often see both dates indicated on the calendar, that of the calendar lunar and that of the sun calendar..
Traditional Tet of Vietnamese or Vietnamese New Year approaches. Traditional Têt is based on the lunar calendar, Tet falls this year on Feb 13th , 14th , 15th, 16th, 2010 according to equivalent sun calendar on December 30, 2009 and January 1, 2 and 3rd, 2010 according to the lunar calendar.
Luxury Travel’s offices will be closing from 13 Feb to 18 Feb 2010. We provide 24/07 online support. I wish you a properous and happy Tet 2010, the Year of Tiger.
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National Hymn Of Vietnam
By phamha | January 31, 2010
Soldiers of Vietnam, we go forward,
With the one will to save our Fatherland,
Our hurried steps are sounding on the long and arduous road.
Our flag, red with the blood of victory, bears the spirit of our country.
The distant rumbling of the guns passes over the bodies of our foes.
Overcoming all hardships, together we build our resistance bases.
Ceaselessly for the people’s cause let us struggle,
Let us hasten to the battle-field!
Forward! All together advancing!
Our Vietnam is strong, eternal.
Soldiers of Vietnam, we go forward!
The gold star of our flag in the wind
Leading our people, our native land, out of misery and suffering.
Let us join our efforts in the fight for the building of a new life.
Let us stand up and break our chains
For too long have we swallowed our hatred.
Let us keep ready for all sacrifices and our life will be radiant.
Ceaselessly for the people’s cause let us struggle,
Let us hasten to the battle-field!
Forward! All together advancing!
Our Vietnam is strong, eternal.
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Hôtel De La Paix voted best in Cambodia
By phamha | January 29, 2010
Readers of influential US travel magazine Travel + Leisure have voted stylish Siem Reap boutique property Hôtel de la Paix the best in Cambodia in the latest ‘T+L 500’ annual list of the world’s top hotels.
Based on based on readers’ ratings across a range of criteria, Hôtel de la Paix achieved an overall score of 88.68 – comfortably the best in Cambodia and 33rd in the entire Asia region, ahead of countless competitors from prominent international luxury brands.
The new T+L 500 list, published in the January 2010 issue of Travel + Leisure, is based on the results of the magazine’s 2009 readers’ survey, in which readers rate hotels in several categories including rooms/facilities; location; service; restaurants/food; and value.
In the 2010 T+L 500 guide Travel + Leisure editors noted Hôtel de la Paix’s marriage of traditional Khmer and Art Deco design influences and its innovative Arts Lounge gallery and restaurant. T+L editors also recommend that readers book into a Courtyard Garden suite – complete with outdoor tub – and reserve a swinging dining bed at the hotel’s signature Meric restaurant.
The full T+L 500 list can be found in the January 2010 issue of Travel + Leisure, or online at travelandleisure.com/tl500.
For further information on Hôtel de la Paix, visit hoteldelapaixangkor.com
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Risotto Shooters Hit the Bar at Angelina
By huonglan | January 29, 2010
What do you get when you cross a martini glass, an Italian chef, a wet rice culture and a legendary hotel? A grand excuse for a risotto promotion.
Come Feb. 2, the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi will start lining up the shots for a month-long Risotto Martini promotion. The novel celebration at Angelina positions these inventive morsels as an answer to tapas, and other bartop snack foods.
Angelina’s Chef de Cuisine, Egidio Latorraca, has concocted nine distinct presentations, including shots featuring foie gras, Japanese scallops and crispy wild mushrooms. Look for risotto dressed up by Classic Saffron veal, Chantarelle mushrooms and Italian sushi.
The shots are expected to win diners looking for a light lunch, and for Happy Hour patrons looking for a little more sophistication. Consumption of the treats should enable business people with clients to close bigger deals faster.
Each Risotto martini shot costs $9.
ABOUT ANGELINA
Located on the ground-floor of the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi’s Opera Wing, Angelina opened in October 2008 as the country’s most distinctive new dining venue. Part lounge, part nightclub, part venue for trendy Italian dining, the space seats 120 on three levels and 16 more in a discreet, upper level suite.
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Golf legend Greg Norman makes mark in Vietnam
By huonglan | January 28, 2010
Howie Roberts takes his stance on the 16th tee, peaks over his left shoulder at the putting surface some 150 yards away, then unleashes a golf swing authentic enough to belie the fact he doesn’t actually hold a club in his hands.
Roberts takes a step back and with hands on his hips gazes adoringly at the green — a beguiling target framed by blown-out bunkers and backdropped by an azure East Sea. The flag flaps in the distance, contrasting with the fixed Cham Islands off Vietnam’s central coast.
“This will be different from anything anyone’s ever seen in Southeast Asia, I can assure you that,” he says.
It already is. While not quite finished, The Dunes Course at Danang Golf Club already possesses the characteristics that will allow it immediate entree into conversations about the best links layouts in the world. Firm and fast fairways that bleed gently into wild seaside vegetation, rugged waste areas, swales, hollows, even briny ocean air comprise its DNA.
“Links golf hasn’t traditionally exerted the same allure among Asian players as it has with golfers in other regions,” Roberts observes. “But that’s about to change, and I think Danang Golf Club will be a pivotal element in that transformation.”
The welcome mat gets rolled out in April, when Roberts, the club’s general manager, officially cuts the ribbon on this Greg Norman design.
And what a design it’s shaping up to be. In addition to the breathtaking 16th, the minimalist layout features 17 more holes that could just as easily be lifted and placed in Bandon, Oregon, or Doonbeg, County Clare, the homes of a few of golf’s most compelling modern links.
“Like Bandon Dunes or Doonbeg (another Norman design), Danang GC is going to look as if it’s been here for centuries,” said Roberts, who’s worked at internationally acclaimed golf venues such as Gary Player’s Cascades Course at Soma Bay, in Egypt. “That’s the type of course we were after, and I think we nailed it.”
Credit Norman, whose architectural chops are the result of his years of success as a world-class playing professional. He won two British Open titles, finished in the top 10 of Major tournaments 30 times and held down the No. 1 ranking for an astounding 331 weeks.
In 1987, The Great White Shark, as he came to be known, took his profound knowledge of the game and made the official jump into the design industry. He formed Greg Norman Golf Course Design (GNGCD) and the rest is history.
Over the past 22 years, GNGCD has created more than 70 courses on six continents and established a reputation for imaginative designs that acknowledge golf’s traditional origins and the landscapes on which it has been played.
Danang Golf Club is the latest beneficiary of that approach. Set amid 280 hectares of tropical linksland, the Dunes Course was crafted in the spirit of the world’s most recognizable links including the Moonah Course at The National in Australia and the aforementioned Doonbeg in Ireland — GNGCD designs that rake in awards for their creativity, quality and environmental harmony.
“Terms such as ‘links-style,’ ‘linksish,’ and ‘links-like’ are indiscriminately applied to coastal courses these days, but this is the real deal,” said Harley Kruse, senior architect of GNGCD. “It’s wild and exotic and lends itself to the development of the kind of golf course the likes of Old Tom Morris was playing on in Scotland almost 200 years ago. For someone in the golf business, the chance to work with terrain like this is like winning the lottery. And that’s how lucky we feel.”
With the addition of Danang Golf Club, the central coast solidifies itself as a bona fide golf destination. The Dunes Course gives the region two tracks, including the Colin Montgomerie-designed Montgomerie Links next door that opened in August of last year. A third layout, by three-time Masters champion Nick Faldo, will soon break ground next to a bay less than an hour north of Danang.
Some of the world’s most recognizable hotel management brands, such as Hyatt, Raffles and GHM, are either digging in or already there.
“The area has long had the fundamental ingredients for a world-class destination,” noted Roberts, “with golden-sand beaches and nearby UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Great golf is a perfect fit and it’s exciting to see the pace of development blossom to match the region’s inherent potential.”
When complete, Danang Golf Club will also feature a 3,800-square-metre clubhouse by Sydney-based architecture firm HASSELL, whose chairman was awarded the Gold Medal by the Australian Institute of Architects last year; a practice facility with swing studios and a custom club-fitting lab — both firsts for Vietnam; and 190 Ocean Villas, luxury residences ranging from two to five bedrooms.
Blueprints call for a second championship-standard course and an international-brand, 5-star hotel, as well. VinaCapital Group, Vietnam’s leading asset management, investment banking and real estate consulting firm, owns the property.
For more information about Danang Golf Club, visit www.dananggolfclub.com. For more information about Greg Norman Golf Course Design, visit www.gngcd.com. And for more information about VinaCapital Group, visit www.vinacapital.com.
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Mövenpick Tet, Valentine’s Specials
By huonglan | January 27, 2010
Talk about celebrations made in heaven: In 2010, Tet, Asia’s most-important family holiday, and Valentine’s Day, the most romantic occasion of the year, fall on the same day, the 14th of February. And Mövenpick Hotel Saigon’s offers to guests are as extraordinary as this holiday coincidence.
TET CELEBRATION
Café Saigon, from 14 to 16 February 2010, starting from 18hrs — Start the Lunar New Year off right by bringing the whole family to Café Saigon restaurant to feast on delectable Banh Chung, sweet Xoi Gac, and other Vietnamese specialties / VND 450,000++ per person.
Lucky Tet hamper, from now until 12 February 2010 — Show friends and family that you are thinking of them and the good fortune that 2010 will bring by sending a Lucky Tet hamper – a golden basket packed with goodies from the Mövenpick kitchens / VND 360,000+ per basket.
VALENTINE CELEBRATION on 14 February 2010
Express your love for that special other person with an ultra-romantic, four-course Valentine’s Day dinner. The complimentary bottle of Laurent Perrier or Jean Louis Rosé will warm your hearts – you may even want to pop the question / starting at VND 690,000++ per couple.
‘TET MEETS VALENTINE’S DAY’ PACKAGES
Treat yourself to a Tet holiday befitting the most important celebration on the Vietnamese calendar. Stay three consecutive nights at the Mövenpick Hotel Saigon — the offer is also available at the sister hotel, the Mövenpick Hotel Hanoi – and receive one night free, a 15 percent discount on all food and beverage, and complimentary daily buffet breakfast. The offer is valid from 12 to 21 February 2010 and is based on the best-available rate.
“We’ve designed our ‘Tet Meets Valentine’s Day’ packages to be as fabulous as the season and combined festivities it embraces,” said Dominik Stamm, general manager of the Mövenpick Hotel Saigon. “Let the celebration be as memorable and pleasurable as it is unusual.”
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