Vietnamese police discovered a large number of durians immersed in suspected chemicals of unknown origin at a local business last week.
During an unexpected inspection on July 6, authorities in Dong Nai Province, a neighbor of Ho Chi Minh City, found several workers painting a yellow paste onto the stems of durians at a fruit storage facility owned by Nguyen Thanh Tam, a local trader.
The color was used to give durians an appearance of freshness.
The painted fruits were then soaked in a bucket of what police officers thought as chemicals, before they were dried on shelves and expected to be labeled and packaged for sale.
Police seized nearly 14 tonnes of supposedly adulterated durians contained in over 800 boxes.
They also found 20 bottles of chemicals, around 30 kilograms of labels printed in different languages, and more than ten bags of yellow powder.
Local authorities are examining the samples to determine whether the durians had been contaminated with any noxious substances at the facility.
Technology has revolutionized just about every industry and Vietnam’s motorbike taxis are no different. Here’s how xe ôm (motorbike taxi) drivers have adapted to this ever-changing market, shifting from local customers to a city-wide network of riders.
Traditional xe ôm culture
The motorbike taxi has been a mainstay in Vietnamese communities for decades. In urban areas there was at least one on almost every street corner. They waited for regular customers to find them, and often napped during the hotter midday hours. They were essentially setting up shop, and drivers typically staked claim to valuable, high-traffic areas where potential customers could easily find them, like schools, banks and hospitals.
While some customers called their favorite drivers, most people simply walked to where they knew they would find a driver waiting. It was low-tech, but it worked well enough for many years. For drivers, however, this meant that most of their day was spent waiting, hoping one of the people who happened by would need a ride. It was an inefficient use of time – like fishing with a single line instead of a net – but now they have the biggest net of all: the Internet.
Ride-hailing apps
In November 2014, Grab forever changed the world of motorbike taxis in Vietnam by connecting riders to a network of drivers with their GrabBike service. The advantages were evident right away: drivers would be available to customers over a much larger area, meaning much less downtime. Customers had price estimates, route maps and the names of their drivers should anything inappropriate happen.
“The price is better with Grab,” said Ms.Lương, a regular customer who lives in Ho Chi Minh City. “For a xe ôm, sometimes I pay double for the same trip. And I think it is much safer to use Grab, especially for women, because you have their name and can report the driver.”
GrabBike has grown at an astounding rate in Vietnam, from 100 drivers when it started to over 50,000 now – but some traditional xe ôm drivers are fighting back against the tide of change.
As the popularity of ride-hailing apps like Grab and Uber (now shut down) grew, traditional xe ôm drivers found themselves being squeezed out of the market. Their profession had been unattractive for many people because of the long hours and unstable income, but now thousands of new drivers are using these new ride-hailing apps to make a bit of extra income outside their normal jobs – and these new drivers don’t even need to know the layout of their area, because the map tells them where to go, making one of the main advantages that came from years of xe ôm driving obsolete almost overnight. Unfortunately, some groups of traditional xe ôm drivers resorted to violence to stake their claim to certain locations, even attacking people wearing Grab uniforms. Several drivers who work for ride-hailing apps have been hospitalized, and brawls regularly make the news.
Growing pains
Violence and reticence to change aren’t the only problems. Drivers – both traditional and digital – say that because of the low fares and high commissions charged by ride-hailing apps, it’s difficult to make a liveable wage from driving a motorbike taxi.
“I drive Grab nights and weekends,” said Mr.Hiệu, who works in Ho Chi Minh City. “It’s good for a second job, but I don’t think I will do it full-time. There are many drivers, so a lot of time is waiting for customers. And in the day, when traffic is very bad, you go very slow and don’t make a lot of money.”
Some traditional drivers who made the switch to work with a ride-hailing app have said they now make a small fraction of what they used to earn. Drivers in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City recently protested when Grab and Uber tried to raise the commission percentage. But despite the growing pains, it’s clear that ride-hailing apps are here to stay in Vietnam.
There are still traditional xe ôm drivers, especially in touristy areas, but ride-hailing apps now dominate. As of April 2018, Uber ceased operations in Southeast Asia, leaving Grab as the only widely used choice for both drivers and customers – which is why they have 95% market share for 3rd party ride-hailing apps in the region. But not for long, though, as Indonesia-based Go-Jek has confirmed they are looking at expanding into Vietnam in the near future. This competition threatens to lower the incomes of drivers, but it will also allow them to have a choice of employer. With so much flux in the Vietnamese ride-hailing market, it remains to be seen how companies will adapt to retain experienced drivers. For riders, however, it has never been easier to travel in Vietnam.
European firms continue to be optimistic about the business environment in Viet Nam and expect that the EU-Viet Nam Free Trade Agreement will soon come into effect – Dtinews reports.
The information was released in the European Chamber of Commerce in Viet Nam (EuroCham Viet Nam)’s latest Business Climate Index (BCI) in the second quarter of 2018.
The BCI score in the first quarter reached 78 points, one point higher than the previous one.
However, the percentage of respondents rating the business situation as excellent dropped by nearly 10%, with an increase of 7% in respondents describing the situation as good. Negative responses were at almost the same level as in the fourth quarter of 2017.
More respondents showed their confidence of a stable and continuously improving macroeconomic scenario in Viet Nam with a 9% increase, while those expecting no change in the next quarter increased by nearly 10%.
Only 1% supposed that inflation will threaten their operation.
The number of businesses expecting to maintain the current size of their workforce remained at 40%, while 12% will significantly increase their workforce. Responses indicating intention to reduce headcount a little bit accounted for 5% compared to 10% in the previous quarter.
Meanwhile, 45% of the respondents said they intend to maintain their level of investment, a 9% rise.
EuroCham Co-Chairman Nicolas Audier said that the BCI survey results for the first quarter of 2018 manifested optimistic prospects from European businesses for Viet Nam, however, lower than in 2016.
EuroCham expected that in the upcoming time, the Vietnamese Government will accelerate forces in improving the business environment, especially legal changes which allows Viet Nam to complete its commitments in the EVFTA.
Vietnam’s manufacturing and energy industries could benefit massively from 5G technology.
5G has the potential to generate over US$3 billion in Vietnam says president of Ericsson for the region Denis Brunetti.
Speaking at a press conference on the acceleration of 5G technology and the digitisation of industry held in Hanoi last week, Brunetti said that 5G will be in place in Vietnam in one or two years with the manufacturing, energy and utilities sectors holding the largest potential for 5G.
“We are confident that the pioneers of the 5G path will have a competitive advantage in the global marketplace as their multidisciplinary digital transition is accelerating,” he said. “5G’s most profitable industries are those that can take advantage of high-speed, low latency, and extreme 5G reliability to increase efficiency, improve quality and safety, or create innovative products or services.
“2018 is also the year 5G will launch the market and launch large-scale mobile IoT introduced. These technologies promise new possibilities that have a major impact on human life, and transform industry.
“This change will only take place when authorities and industry leaders strive to reach agreement on the appropriate spectrum, standards and technologies,” he added.
Brunetti also spoke about the fourth industrial revolution, claiming that it will bring about much change for the region’s manufacturing industry.
He said: “The concept of ‘Industrial Revolution 4.0’ will change the way Vietnam manufactures and designs products. Based on the power of large data, high computing power, artificial intelligence and analysis, Industry 4.0 brings the mission of digitizing the entire manufacturing industry.”
He did however stress that the country needed to speed up operations in order to take full advantage.
5G has been promised as the generation that will bring IoT devices and other data-heavy technologies to the forefront of many industries.
The technology offers massive improvements to wearables, smart homes and machine to machine (M2M), placing itself as a remedy for industrial connectivity woes, rather than solely to the consumer.
This comes after Chinese phone-maker and infrastructure business Huawei outlined its plans for 5G in Vietnam earlier this year.
Speaking at the 4G/5G International Conference 2018 in Hanoi in April, Dr. Mohamed Madkour, vice president of Huawei Global Wireless Network Marketing, said: “Huawei is committed to working together with government and telecom operators in this market to drive digital transformation and move towards a 5G future.
“We aim to create an open, collaborative, win-win industry ecosystem to have in-depth conversations, discuss the latest trends and share opinions together.”
Madkour went on to discuss the time it will take to bring about established 5G networks, saying that operators in Vietnam should start investing in building capabilities now, ready for future 5G services.
Madkour also highlighted how the next generation of wireless internet will enrich not only businesses and economic growth, but improve the lives of Vietnam’s population.
The Government has agreed with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST)’s proposal to organise the 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games 31) and the 11th ASEAN Para Games (Para Games 11) in Vietnam in 2021.
At a meeting in the capital on July 9, the Cabinet assigned Hanoi as the site city, which successfully hosted SEA Games 22 in 2003, the Asian Indoor Games in 2009, and several other big international sports events.
The ministry’s proposal was made after the SEA Games Federation (SEAGF) informed Vietnam that it would hand over the right to host SEA Games 31 to the country.
The federation said Cambodia, scheduled to host SEA Games 31, proposed postponing the hosting until the next Games in 2023 as it is not ready for the task.
Concluding the meeting, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc lauded the substantial determination of the culture, sports and tourism sector, as well as of Hanoi and the relevant ministries and agencies.
Hosting the events is both the responsibility and honour of Vietnam as a constructive member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), he said, adding that this is also a chance to promote the Vietnamese land and people.
The leader asked Hanoi to continue to complete infrastructure, set forth a detailed plan on the organisation of the events, and mobilise the participation of different economic sectors in these efforts.
The sports sector should make preparations to reach the highest results at the tournament, he said.
According to the MCST, SEA Games 31 is scheduled to last for about 17 days and Para Games 11, around 11 days, from October to December 2021. About 11,000 athletes and coaches are expected to participate in SEA Games 31, with some 2,100 to join Para Games 11.
The average room rate for five-star hotels in Vietnam in 2017 recovered from a 2.2 percent decline from the previous year, picking up 4.2 percent to 107.6 USD, according to a recent survey by US-based audit, tax, and advisory service provider Grant Thornton.
Four-star hotels experienced a similar trend, seeing their rates climb 1 percent to 75.2 USD last year, the Hotel Survey 2018 by Grant Thornton revealed.
This year’s report marks the 15th consecutive year of the US firm conducting the comprehensive research on high-end hotels and resorts in Vietnam.
According to the survey, Vietnam welcomed 86 million domestic and international visitors in 2017, an increase of 19 percent from 2016. To accommodate the increasing arrivals, a large amount of investment was pumped into the country’s hospitality industry.
The revenue per available room (RevPAR) continued to go up in both star categories, with a 7.6 percent rise at four-star hotels and a 10.2 percent rise in five-star hotels. The RevPAR growth last year is lower than that of 2016 at four-star hotels, while much higher in the five-star category.
Revenue structure varied between the northern, central, and southern regions. In the south, revenue from added services increased while that from rooms dropped. Visitors spent more money in dining services in central and southern Vietnam than in the north. In addition, domestic tourists appeared to spend more at hotels and resorts in the north than foreigners.
The survey also found that holidaymakers and visitors travelling in a group accounted for 60 percent of guests at luxury hotels. Those on business trips slight rose by 0.5 percent.
Travel agencies and tour operators remained the largest booking channel for four-star and five-star hotels, making up 33 percent of the booking market share
The changes in tax policy and investment incentives are the issues of greatest concern for foreign investors in Việt Nam.
Bui Ngoc Tuan, deputy general director of Deloitte Vietnam said on Tuesday in Hanoi, at a workshop themed “Investment incentives, related party transactions: situation and solutions,” the workshop was co-organised by Vietnam’s Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Ministry of Finance. VNS reported
“The factors impacting foreign direct investment activities often include the fluctuation of the tax rate through the years, available incentives in the country, flexibility in the application of incentive schemes, time for investment procedure and advantages and disadvantages of administrative investment procedures,” Tuan said.
The Vietnamese Government continues to make policy adjustments toward a flexible and transparent orientation to create the most favourable conditions for foreign investors to enhance their national competitiveness, Tuan said.
The tax system reform strategy for the 2011-2020 period has brought achievements, said Nguyen Thu Thuy, a representative from the Taxation Policy Department of the Ministry of Finance.
Under the reform, tax policies create a fair and equitable environment without discrimination between different economic sectors, forms of ownership and taxpayers.
However, Thuy said, many foreign invested enterprises (FIEs) are taking advantage of strong investment incentives, such as land rent, Corporate Income Tax (CIT) and Personal Income Tax (PIT), to transfer prices and profits.
An analysis of financial statements of FIEs from 2012 to 2016 shows that the number of FIEs reporting losses is between 44 per cent and 51 per cent.
At the same time, the increase in scale of investment and business activities from these FIEs reporting losses is higher than the increase in the number of FIEs reporting losses, which shows that the problem of transfer price in the FDI sector is increasing and becoming more complex, Thuy said.
Besides the price transferring activities of FIEs from Vietnam to abroad, there are also cases of the backward transfer of profits (from abroad to Việt Nam) of some large FIEs enjoying high incentives in CIT rates and CIT exemptions and reduction periods.
“This is shown by the data that the average return on equity (ROE) of FIEs in some sectors over the years has always remained very high, such as electrical components computer, peripherals, telecommunications and software, with ROE before tax more than 30 per cent.”
There should be a control mechanism to limit the FIEs reporting losses or losses in capital that still continue to invest in expanding operations in order to enjoy incentive tax, Thuy added.
Transfer pricing is an integral part of global trade, hence it cannot be avoided, said Thomas McClelland, General Director of Deloitte Viet Nam.
“Transfer pricing is not only about margins and benchmarking analysis, it also requires business performance assessments,” McClelland said.
He added that tax authorities need to understand the business realities and then take an appropriate course of action. They also need to enforce basic compliance first rather than cherry picking taxpayers for audit.
The national legal system needs to be internationalised in order to promptly catch up with international trends. For example, more bilateral treaties should be signed, he said.
“If Vietnam currently does not have mechanisms in place to measure the impact of their incentives, it is strongly advisable that a monitoring and evaluation system (M&E) be implemented,” said Wim Douw, a senior expert for trade and competitiveness policy at the World Bank.
Such a system should be based on clearly defined policy objectives and would track the performance of both the costs and benefits of the incentives offered.
The strong rise of online sales has brought great opportunities to the transport industry, especially light cargo transport.
In the competition for market share, technology is a great competitive edge.
In March, Ninja Van, the South East Asian last-mile logistics company, announced its official operation in Vietnam after a two-year trial.
Phan Xuan Dung, chief representative of Ninja Van Vietnam, said 35 million people are often buying goods online and the figure is expected to increase to 42 million by 2021, offering opportunity for Ninja Van to provide delivery solutions to online sellers.
Nguyen Tran Hieu, managing director of Bac Ky Logistics which joined the market in 2009, has increased its capital to VND173 billion and scaled up its business.
In late 2017, UPS Vietnam enhanced services in 10 provinces/cities, cutting transportation time for imports/exports from Asia to one day and time for imports/exports from Europe to two days.
Ninja Van, which has more than 300,000 orders a month, has become a partner of big players in the e-commerce sector, such as Lazada, Sendo and Tiki.
The logistics companies have also spent big money on technology.
In late January, Ninja received investments to expand its business in Vietnam. Dung said the company now has over 1,000 deliverymen.
With an increasingly high number of orders, Ninja Van has to use technology algorithms to manage and optimize the system and delivery.
With the technology, Ninja Van allows goods owners to access the management system, enabling them to do order posting, order management and shipment tracking.
They can also schedule receipt of goods. In addition, customers can easily track the order in real time on the website or contact Ninja Van’s customer services.
To become more competitive, Bac Ky Logistics in early May began deploying the Oracle Transportation Management Cloud, using IoT Fleet Management to manage waterway and domestic inland transportation.
With the solution, Bac Ky Logistics has the ability to automate the planning of the transportation and manage delivery, thus heightening transparency and service speed and optimizing the cost. The technology platform helps the company mobilize vehicles in an effective way, improve the billing process, and choose shipment sub-contractors.
The company management officers can check vehicles’ current positions as well as drivers’ behaviors, thus anticipating breakdowns and troubles.
Meanwhile, based on real-time data, Bac Ky’s drivers and officers on the spots can make the right decision in different cases.
State Bank of Vietnam on Wednesday adjusted up its reference exchange rate between Vietnamese dong and U.S. dollar by 7 Vietnamese dong to 22,647 Vietnamese dong per U.S. dollar.
With the current trading band of plus or minus 3 percent, the ceiling exchange rate is 23,326 Vietnamese dong per U.S. dollar, and the floor rate is 21,968 Vietnamese dong per U.S. dollar, said the State Bank of Vietnam.
Meanwhile, listed rates at big commercial banks in Vietnam went up slightly against Tuesday. Vietcombank raised both rates by 5 Vietnamese dong, buying the greenback at 23,005 Vietnamese dong per U.S. dollar and selling at 23,075 Vietnamese dong per U.S. dollar.
Rates at Bank for Investment & Development of Vietnam remained unchanged at 23,005 Vietnamese dong per U.S. dollar for buying and 23,075 Vietnamese dong per U.S. dollar for selling.
Last week, the reference exchange rates saw one up and two downs with total magnitude of 8 Vietnamese dong and 20 Vietnamese dong, respectively.
According to the central bank, as of June 11, the reference exchange rate rose 0.63 percent against the end of 2017, while the average rate offered by commercial banks advanced 0.47 percent.
Police in Vietnam on Tuesday arrested a former chairman of one of the country’s largest mobile carriers and a senior official of the Ministry of Information and Communications on allegations of economic mismanagement, as the communist-led government widens a crackdown on corruption.
Le Nam Tra, former chairman of state-owned Mobifone Corp. and Pham Dinh Trong, head of the ministry’s enterprise management department, were accused of “violating regulations on state capital management and usage, causing serious consequences,” the Ministry of Public Security said in a statement.
The arrests of Tra and Trong came after the government accused Mobifone of overpaying for a 95 percent stake in a loss-making private pay TV provider, causing losses to the state budget.
Mobifone Corp., one of Vietnam’s three largest mobile carriers by subscription, bought the stake in Audio Visual Global JSC (AVG) for nearly 8.9 trillion dong (US$386.30 million) in late 2015.
A plan to sell a stake in Mobifone has been touted as one of the most anticipated in Vietnam’s privatisation drive, but has never materialised.
The government earlier this year said AVG was making losses at the time of the purchase, with accumulated losses standing at 1.63 trillion dong (US$70.75 million) as of March 31, 2015.
The government said in a separate statement earlier this year that it plans to sell a stake in Mobifone in an initial public offering in 2019, adding that Sweden’s Comviq had shown interest.
Calls to Mobifone and the Ministry of Information and Communications seeking comment went unanswered.
The Ministry of Public Security said in Tuesday’s statement it was carrying out further investigation into the case.
Tuesday’s arrests come amid a corruption crackdown in Vietnam that has seen several senior government officials and executives of state-owned enterprises arrested and jailed.
Earlier this year, Vietnam jailed former Politburo member Dinh La Thang for 31 years for financial irregularities at PetroVietnam, formally known as Vietnam Oil and Gas Group.
Thang, 57, who denied any wrongdoing at his trial, was the highest-level politician to have been jailed in Vietnam for decades.
New vehicle sales in Vietnam declined by 3.7% to 21,913 units in June from already weak year-earlier sales of 22,750 units, according to member data released by the Vietnam Automobike Manufacturers Association (VAMA).
Despite strong economic growth in the country, estimated at 7.1% in the first half of 2018, the vehicle market is struggling to recover from last year’s decline.
Vehicle importers and distributors are still adjusting to regulatory changes introduced by the Vietnamese government at the beginning of the year, including new minimum standards for emissions, warranties and aftermarket services.
The government also cut import tariffs to zero on built-up vehicles originating from neighbouring ASEAN countries and cheaper imports are eventually expected to lead the market higher once procedures are improved.
Total vehicle sales in the first six months of 2018 were down by 1.9% at 123,060 units from 125,490 units in the same period of last year, driven lower by a more than 20% drop in commercial vehicle sales to 40,470 units from 51,049 units a year earlier.
Sales of pickup trucks, many of which are imported from Thailand, were almost 49% lower at 5,888 units, according to the association, while passenger vehicle sales increased by almost 11% to 82,590 units.
Truong Hai (Thaco) group, the local assembler and distributor of brands such as Kia, Mazda, Peugeot and Hyundai and a significant player in the commercial vehicle segment, reported a 5.3% year-on-year rise in group sales to 50,397 units in the first half of 2018.
Mazda sales alone were up by over 27% to 16,502 units, while Kia sales rose by close to 16% to 13,781 units.
Toyota remained the leading vehicle brand in the country over the six-month period, albeit with sales falling by more than 13% to 25,750 units, while Honda’s sales more than doubled to 11,181 units. Ford’s sales fell by over 33% to 9,579 units and GM’s were just over 9% lower at 5,197 units.
Kong: Skull Island director Jordan Vogt-Roberts revealed in a new profile that he was almost killed in a club attack by gangsters in Vietnam last year.
The filmmaker, 33, opens up about the attack in a lengthy interview for GQ discussing the extent of his injuries following a random attack in Saigon, Vietnam in September 2017. Vogt-Roberts was jumped by two Canadian-Vietnamese gang members after he exchanged contact information with a woman who had previously turned down their advances.
Kong: Skull Island (2017), which starred Brie Larson, Tom Hiddleston and Samuel L. Jackson, was partially shot in Vietnam.
In security footage described in detail in the article, Vogt-Roberts is seen being attacked repeatedly by two men and their friends in the middle of a night club. The director spent 10 days in the hospital suffering a concussion, fractured skull and hemorrhaging. The worst injury came when a bottle was broken over his head.
“This was not a fight. I was almost killed as were others,” Vogt-Roberts said in the profile. “This was a f—ing assault by insane gangsters.”
CHIANG RAI, Thailand (Reuters) – Rescuers freed the last four of 12 Thai boys and their soccer coach from deep inside a flooded cave on Tuesday, a successful end to an extraordinarily perilous mission that gripped the world for more than two weeks.
The “Wild Boars” soccer team, aged between 11 and 16, and their 25-year-old coach became trapped on June 23 while exploring the cave complex in the northern province of Chiang Rai when a rainy season downpour flooded the tunnels.
“We are not sure if this is a miracle, a science, or what. All the thirteen Wild Boars are now out of the cave,” the Navy SEAL unit, which led the rescue, said on its Facebook page, adding all were safe.
British divers found the 13, hungry and huddled in darkness on a muddy bank in a partly flooded chamber several kilometers inside the Tham Luang cave complex, on Monday last week.
After pondering for days how to get the 13 out, a rescue operation was launched on Sunday when four of the boys were brought out, tethered to rescue divers.
Another four were rescued on Monday and the last four boys and the coach were brought out on Tuesday, prompting rounds of spontaneous applause as ambulances and helicopters passed.
Celebrations were tinged with sadness over the loss of a former Thai navy diver who died on Friday while on a re-supply mission inside the cave.
“I want to tell the coach thank you so much for helping the boys survive this long,” said one Chiang Rai woman wearing a traditional dress, tears brimming in her eyes.
“I remember all of their faces, especially the youngest one. He’s the smallest one and he doesn’t have as much experience as the others… I felt like he was one of my own children and I wanted him to come home.”
The last five were brought out of the cave on stretchers, one by one over the course of Tuesday, and taken by helicopter to hospital.
Three members of the SEAL unit and an army doctor, who has stayed with the boys since they were found, were the last people due to come out of the cave, the unit said.
Police and military personnel use umbrellas to cover a stretcher near a helicopter and an ambulance at a military airport in Chiang Rai on July 9, 2018. (Photo: AFP/Lillian Suwanrumpha)
Officials did not comment on the rescue mission as it took place, so details of the final day of the rescue and the condition of the last five to be brought out were not immediately known.
The eight boys brought out on Sunday and Monday were in good health overall and some asked for chocolate bread for breakfast, officials said earlier.
Two of the boys had suspected lung infections but the four boys from the first group rescued were all walking around in hospital.
Volunteers from as far away as Australia and the United States helped with the effort to rescue the boys. U.S. military personnel also helped.
U.S. President Donald Trump hailed the rescue.
“On behalf of the United States, congratulations to the Thai Navy SEALs and all on the successful rescue of the 12 boys and their coach from the treacherous cave in Thailand,” Trump said on Twitter.
“Such a beautiful moment – all freed, great job!”
Authorities did not reveal the identity of the boys as they were brought out, one by one. Parents of the four boys rescued on Sunday were allowed to see them through a glass window at the hospital, public health officials said on Tuesday, but they will be quarantined for the time being.
The boys were still being quarantined from their parents because of the risk of infection and would likely be kept in hospital for a week for tests, officials said earlier.
Reporting by Panu Wongcha-um, Juarawee Kittisilpa, Patpicha Tanakasempipat, John Geddie and James Pomfret in CHIANG RAI, and Aukkarapon Niyomyat, Panarat Thepgumpanat, Amy Sawitta Lefevre and Chayut Setboonsarng in BANGKOK; Writing by James Pomfret; Editing by Robert Birsel and Nick Macfie
Ho Chi Minh City has been listed among Asia’s ten best destinations to visit in the year ahead by global travel guidebook publisher Lonely Planet, which revealed its 2018 ‘Best in Asia’ list on Tuesday.
For this third edition of the annual list, Lonely Planet’s in-house Asia experts have named the “eclectic” and “vibrant” city of Busan in South Korea as the number one destination, while the jeweled architecture and ancient cities of Uzbekistan are in second place.
In third comes Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City, “a supercity that somehow keeps getting cooler.”
“Aging apartment blocks are being colonized by vintage clothes stores and independent coffee shops, innovative breweries are fuelling one of the best craft beer scenes in Southeast Asia, and…eclectic venues are strengthening the local music scene,” Lonely Planet writes in its introduction of the southern metropolis on the list.
“Add in long-standing attractions [such as] The War Remnants Museum and a pioneering street food scene…and this buzzing Asian megalopolis is in no danger of going out of style,” the description goes on.
Ho Chi Minh City, also widely known by its former name of Saigon, is the Vietnam’s largest city by population.
It is also one of the country’s most popular tourist destinations among global travelers, having welcomed over six million foreign visitors in 2017, according to the municipal tourism department.
An aerial view of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Photo: Tuoi Tre
Other destinations featured in this year’s Best in Asia list include Western Ghats (India), Nagasaki (Japan), Chiang Mai (Thailand), Lumbini (Nepal), Arugam Bay (Sri Lanka), Sìchuān Province (China), and Komodo National Park (Indonesia).
Lonely Planet’s Asia-Pacific media spokesperson Chris Zeiher regards Asia as a “vast and diverse continent” for anyone dreaming of an escape.
“Our experts have combed through thousands of recommendations to pick the best destinations to visit over the next 12 months…this is a line-up to inspire a multitude of travelers – whether they’re based in Asia, or maybe they’ve already visited some of the region’s heavy-hitting destinations,” he said.
The 2018 list is available online, with accompanying articles for each destination, at lonelyplanet.com/best-in-asia.
Lonely Planet, based in Tennessee, the U.S., is the world’s leading travel guidebook publisher, having printed more than 145 million guidebooks over the past four decades and grown a large global community of travelers.
Ho Chi Minh City has been listed among Asia’s ten best destinations to visit in the year ahead by global travel guidebook publisher Lonely Planet, which revealed its 2018 ‘Best in Asia’ list on Tuesday.
For this third edition of the annual list, Lonely Planet’s in-house Asia experts have named the “eclectic” and “vibrant” city of Busan in South Korea as the number one destination, while the jeweled architecture and ancient cities of Uzbekistan are in second place.
In third comes Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City, “a supercity that somehow keeps getting cooler.”
“Aging apartment blocks are being colonized by vintage clothes stores and independent coffee shops, innovative breweries are fuelling one of the best craft beer scenes in Southeast Asia, and…eclectic venues are strengthening the local music scene,” Lonely Planet writes in its introduction of the southern metropolis on the list.
“Add in long-standing attractions [such as] The War Remnants Museum and a pioneering street food scene…and this buzzing Asian megalopolis is in no danger of going out of style,” the description goes on.
Ho Chi Minh City, also widely known by its former name of Saigon, is the Vietnam’s largest city by population.
It is also one of the country’s most popular tourist destinations among global travelers, having welcomed over six million foreign visitors in 2017, according to the municipal tourism department.
Other destinations featured in this year’s Best in Asia list include Western Ghats (India), Nagasaki (Japan), Chiang Mai (Thailand), Lumbini (Nepal), Arugam Bay (Sri Lanka), Sìchuān Province (China), and Komodo National Park (Indonesia).
Lonely Planet’s Asia-Pacific media spokesperson Chris Zeiher regards Asia as a “vast and diverse continent” for anyone dreaming of an escape.
“Our experts have combed through thousands of recommendations to pick the best destinations to visit over the next 12 months…this is a line-up to inspire a multitude of travelers – whether they’re based in Asia, or maybe they’ve already visited some of the region’s heavy-hitting destinations,” he said.
The 2018 list is available online, with accompanying articles for each destination, at lonelyplanet.com/best-in-asia.
Lonely Planet, based in Tennessee, the U.S., is the world’s leading travel guidebook publisher, having printed more than 145 million guidebooks over the past four decades and grown a large global community of travelers.
