Mekong Travel - newsletter July 2002

July 2002

Diving:

Diving at The Furama Resort
The famous Furama Resort in Danang has recently featured diving possibilities in the centre of Vietnam. Danang is located in the sub-tropical waters of the Danang Bay, along the shores of the Son Tra peninsula (Monkey Mountain) natural park. This area is ideal for snorkelling and scuba diving - safe and protected from waves, which allows excellent visibility under water. Diving fans will love the diving environment here. A comfortable wooden bark brings you to the diving site and can also be rented for boat-tours up to 20 pax.

New River Cruises for 2003:

Thailand
Kwai Pandaw, a 10-cabin river cruiser built in colonial style will be launched on January 06, 2003 for year-round 6 nights cruises along the River Kwai.

Vietnam/Cambodia
RV Mekong, a 37-cabin colonial style river cruiser will operate 4 and 7-night cruises between Saigon and Siem Reap as of July 01, 2003.

Laos
VAT PHOU: River Cruise Special group rate for group/series is offered upon
request..

Burma:
RV Pandaw New Cruises
The Irrawaddy Flottilla Company will operate a new cruise itinerary on the Irrawaddy Delta starting from November this year. The familiar Pandaw I offers great comfort and high levels of service in a colonial atmosphere. The teak panelled rooms are all spacious (4m*3m) with own shower, air-conditioning and other modern amenities. In addition, there is a saloon, dining room and observation deck on cruise. The itinerary can be split into 3 segments as follows:
1) Yangon-Bassein / 3 nights
2) Yangon-Bassein-Yangon / 5 nights
3) Bassein-Yangon / 2 nights
Main meals, beverages (except drinks at the bar) and sightseeing will be included in the circular tour.

Hotels & Restaurants

.W MARRIOTT / Phuket
"Buy 2 nights Get 1 night free. This applies to Deluxe Garden View,
Deluxe seaview and Deluxe Terrace. Offer
valid from 01 Aug 2002- 31 Oct 2002 ( inclusive ). Special bonus: One
free round trip transfer shuttle bus to Patong or Phuket Town.

BANYAN TREE / Phuket
Stay 5 nights, Pay 4 nights (on roomy only basis) at our contract rate.
Offer valid from now until 30 Sep2002.

LISU LODGE ADD MORE ROOMS
Additional land of approx. 5,000 square metres next to the Lisu Lodge was
recently expanded. By next season, 3 more lodges will be added in the new
site, 60 metres away from the present lodge. New lodges will be approx.
20 metres away from each other. This will total Lisu Lodge to 24 rooms
ample to serve the needs of those nature lovers.

CAPE PANWA HOTEL
Cape Panwa Hotel has recently opened its new "R-Wing", featuring 26 new
guest rooms of which 13 rooms are spacious family rooms with 3 beds and 1
sofa bed. Each room has a large balcony & faces the sea,

Travel

Lufthansa Adds VN Flight
Due to the growing demand for travel to Vietnam, Lufthansa German Airlines (LH) has increased its Ho Chi Minh City - Frankfurt route via Bangkok to thrice-weekly on the same Boeing B747-400 aircraft. The newly-added flight (LH773) departs Ho Chi Minh City every Tuesday at 21.35h and arrives in Frankfurt at 06.35h the following day. The return service (LH772) leaves Frankfurt on Mondays at 22.30h, arriving in Ho Chi Minh City at 16.20h the next day.

New Direct Flight Hanoi-Tokyo
Effective from 29th of June, Vietnam Airlines started operating direct flights from Hanoi to Tokyo and vice versa on Mondays, Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

Social

Mekong Club

Address: P O BOX 820, HP9 2JG, England
Tel: +(44) (0)973 231 446,
http://www.mekongclub.net

The Mekong Club is an informal, non-political, non-commercial association, primarily concerned with promotion of the cultures of the "Mekong Region" (i.e. Viet Nam, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and adjacent regions) in the UK. The Club will act as a forum for exchange of information and experience by:

The promotion of social and cultural events, tutorial groups and other meetings
Maintenance of a world wide web page and an address list for circulars on 'events and ideas'.

Membership is open to all, but it is envisaged that the club will be of particular interest to:

Expatriates from the Mekong Region living in the UK, with particular encouragement given to 2nd and 3rd generation family members.
British (and other European) citizens wishing to maintain in contact with people and issues in the Mekong Region.
Visitors from the Region needing temporary support whilst in the UK.
Citizens in the Mekong Region, wishing to develop contacts in the UK.

The Club will be organised by a chairperson, secretariat and webmaster, with a single, annual business meeting combined with a social event. The secretariat will be responsible for financial stewardship, with a "minimal" fund consisting of contributions for individual events and newsletters. An annual membership fee of £5 is envisaged per adult. For further details, please write or telephone the above number.

Mekong Club Application:

I/We ��.. would like to join the Mekong Club

My/Our address is: .......................................................................................................

.........................................................................................................................................

Please find enclosed the payment for membership of £5 and my/our voluntary contribution of £� Total: £�. (Cash or cheque payable to Mekong Club)

Posting Address: P.O. BOX 820, HP9 2JG.